Global crop production must substantially increase to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. This is constrained by the availability of nutrients, water, and land. There is also an urgent need to reduce the negative environmental impacts of crop production. Collectively, these issues represent one of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century. Sustainable cropping systems based on ecological principles are the core of integrated approaches to solve this critical challenge. This special issue provides an international basis for revealing the underlying mechanisms of sustainable cropping systems to drive agronomic innovations. It includes review and original research articles that report novel scientific findings on improvement in cropping systems related to crop yields and their resistance to biotic and abiotic stressors, resource use efficiency, environmental impact, sustainability, and ecosystem services.
Subjects
nutrient use efficiency organic fertilization system approach Helianthus annuus L catch crop Texas High Plains forage yield and quality living mulch nutrient cycling quality leguminous cover crop conservation light sustainable crop production crop rotation WHCNS stemborer complexity perennial manure maize production SOC and STN stocks cover crops forage pea yield SDS-PAGE analysis vineyard system double cropping wheat partial returns soybean vetch nitrogen use efficiency enzyme activities agrobiodiversity gross margin residue C and N release systematic review maize protein crops no-tillage environmental quality fall grazing kura clover cover crop organization scenario analyses cropping system design irrigation sustainable yield index multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) Acidic soil Europe Zea mais L shade up-scaling water conservation agriculture water use efficiency Triticum aestivum L forage sorghum N use efficiency nutrient balance organic cropping system forage durum wheat cropping systems nitrate grain yield nitrogen nutrition conventionalization crop residue incorporation cereal rye green manure straw decomposition hierarchical patch dynamics N uptake farmer’s perception pearl millet nitrogen faba bean agroecology harvesting strategies rice gluten fractions weed suppression economics mineral N fertilization push-pull technology growth potato (Solanum tuberosum)