Drought has been a major cause of agricultural disaster, yet how it affects the vulnerability of maize and wheat production in combination with several co-varying factors (i.e., phenological phases, agro-climatic regions, soil texture) remains unclear. Using a data synthesis approach, this study aims to better characterize the effects of those co-varying factors with drought and to provide critical information on minimizing yield loss. We collected data from peer-reviewed publications between 1980 and 2015 which examined maize and wheat yield responses to drought using field experiments. We performed unweighted analysis using the log response ratio to calculate the bootstrapped confidence limits of yield responses and calculated drought sensitivities with regards to those co-varying factors. Our results showed that yield reduction varied with species, with wheat having lower yield reduction (20.6%) compared to maize (39.3%) at approximately 40% water reduction. Maize was also more sensitive to drought than wheat, particularly during reproductive phase and equally sensitive in the dryland and non-dryland regions. While no yield difference was observed among regions or different soil texture, wheat cultivation in the dryland was more prone to yield loss than in the non-dryland region. Informed by these results, we discuss potential causes and possible approaches that may minimize drought impacts.

Global Synthesis of Drought Effects on Maize and Wheat Production

What is the interpretation of "to reduce risks" in the context of Art. 4 para 1 of Directive 2009/128/EC establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides?

Micronutrients are part of many crucial physiological plant processes. The combined application of N and micronutrients helps in obtaining grain yield with beneficial technological and consumer properties. The main micronutrients needed by cereals include Cu, Mn, and Zn. The subject of this study was to determine yield, quality indicators (protein content and composition, gluten content, grain bulk density, Zeleny sedimentation index, and grain hardness), as well as mineral content (Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe) in winter wheat grain (Triticum aestivum L.) fertilized by foliar micronutrient application. A field experiment was carried out at the Educational and Experimental Station in Tomaszkowo, Poland. The application of mineral fertilizers (NPK) supplemented with Cu increased Cu content (13.0%) and ω, α/β, and γ (18.7%, 4.9%, and 3.4%, respectively) gliadins in wheat grain. Foliar Zn fertilization combined with NPK increased Cu content (14.9%) as well as high (HMW) and low molecular weight (LMW) glutenins (38.8% and 6.7%, respectively). Zinc fertilization significantly reduced monomeric gliadin content and increased polymeric glutenin content in grain, which contributed in reducing the gliadin:glutenin ratio (0.77). Mineral fertilizers supplemented with Mn increased Fe content in wheat grain (14.3%). It also significantly increased protein (3.8%) and gluten (4.4%) content, Zeleny sedimentation index (12.4%), and grain hardness (18.5%). Foliar Mn fertilization increased the content of ω, α/β, and γ gliadin fractions (19.9%, 9.5%, and 2.1%, respectively), as well as HMW and LMW glutenins (18.9% and 4.5%, respectively). Mineral NPK fertilization, combined with micronutrients (Cu + Zn + Mn), increased Cu and Zn content in grain (22.6% and 17.7%, respectively). The content of ω, α/β, and γ gliadins increased (20.3%, 10.5%, and 12.1%, respectively) as well as HMW glutenins (7.9%).

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Effect of foliar application of Cu, Zn, and Mn on yield and quality indicators of winter wheat grain

The aim of this research was to determine the potential effect of plasma on fungi colonizing winter wheat grain and the effect of this process on seed quality. The subject of our study was the winter wheat grain. The process of seed disinfection was conducted in a reactor with a packed-bed (wheat grain). The assessment of both the effectiveness of spore destruction and of seed quality were conducted under 3-, 10-, and 30-second exposures. The voltage was set at 8 kV. For the mycological tests, 200 seeds were selected from each variant of the experiment, including control treatment that did not undergo plasma processing. Half of the seeds, i.e. 100, were subjected on their surface to 10-minute disinfection with 0.5% solution of sodium hypochlorite. The other half were put on Petri dishes filled with glucose-potato medium acidified with citric acid (PDA). A detailed study of seed quality (germination energy and ability as well as leaf and root length and the dry matter of the plant), was conducted under laboratory conditions, in a Sanyo climatic chamber on Petri dishes in two independent series of 10 repeats for each duration of exposure. The experiment demonstrated that the exposure of winter wheat grain to low-temperature plasma resulted in the reduction of the number of colonies of fungi forming on grain in the optimum time of 10 seconds. The results also showed a positive effect of the use of cold plasma on the basic values determining seed lot quality as well as on the development of winter wheat in the initial growth stage.

The Effect of Low-Temperature Plasma on Fungus Colonization of Winter Wheat Grain and Seed Quality

Crop diversity through residue incorporation is the most important method for sustaining soil health. A field study was conducted over five consecutive years (2012–2017) to see the impact of residue incorporartions in Inceptisol of eastern India. The main plot treatments had five cropping systems (CS), namely, fallow−rice−rice (FRR), jute−rice−wheat (JRW), jute−rice−baby corn (JRBc), jute−rice−vegetable pea (JRGp), jute−rice−mustard−mungbean/green gram (JRMMu), which cinsisted of four sub-plots with varied nutrient and crop residue management (NCRM) levels, namely crops with no residue +75% of the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) (F1R0), crops with the residue of the previous crops +75% RDF (F1R1), crops with no resiude +100% RDF (F2R0), and crops with residue +100% RDF (F2R1). The highest system productivity was obtained for JRBc (15.3 Mg·ha−1), followed by JRGp (8.81 Mg·ha−1) and JRMMu (7.61 Mg·ha−1); however, the highest sustainability index was found with the JRGp cropping system (0.88), followed by JRMMu (0.82). Among the NCRMs, the highest productivity (8.78 Mg·ha−1) and sustainability index (0.83) were recorded in F2R1. Five soil parameters, namely, bulk density, available K, urease activity, dehydrogenase activity, and soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), were used in the minimum data-set (MDS) for the calculation of the soil quality index (SQI). The best attainment of SQI was found in the JRGp system (0.63), closely followed by the JRMMu (0.61) cropping system.

Improvement of Soil Health and System Productivity through Crop Diversification and Residue Incorporation under Jute-Based Different Cropping Systems

The mineral composition of cereal crops, the technological value of grain and flour, as well as bread quality are affected by the genotype, environment, and agronomic management practices The aim of the research has been to investigate the effect of the environment and agronomic factors on the mineral composition and baking value of winter wheat grain Opal cultivar grain of the genetically determined prime-quality wheat was obtained in a two-year field experiment (varied soil and weather) The agronomic management practices included tillage (conventional moldboard-plow, reduced ploughless, and strip-till) and nitrogen fertilisation rate (100 kg·N·ha−1, 200 kg·N·ha−1) In the grain samples, the content of macronutrients was assayed: P, K, Mg, Ca, and Na, total protein, and wet gluten as well as sedimentation value The colour and the water absorption of flour and its content of protein and ash were determined Laboratory baking was performed It was found that the content of protein and gluten in grain, sedimentation value, bread volume, and weight changed depending on the environmental conditions and research years Tillage and nitrogen rate, despite an effect on the properties of grain and flour, did not differentiate, however, the bread quality The environmental conditions and agronomic management practices did not have a significant effect on the content of mineral nutrients in grain, except for calcium The biofortification with mineral nutrients in prime-quality winter wheat cultivar grain by selecting the environmental and agronomic conditions seems more difficult than increasing the content of organic compounds and enhancement of flour and bread parameters

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Mineral Composition and Baking Value of the Winter Wheat Grain under Varied Environmental and Agronomic Conditions

The emergence of plants is especially important for the winter crops that are grown in the challenging environmental conditions of many countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The emergence and initial growth of winter rapeseed were compared in field trials in a randomized block design with three replicates for plants sown in conventional tillage systems (CT) and strip-till (ST), which had different weather conditions and on soil with a non-uniform texture over a period of two years. Sowing in the CT was carried out using Horsch Pronto 4DC (Germany) at a row distance of 0.29 m. The ST operations were performed using a Pro-Til 4T drill manufactured by Mzuri Limited (Great Britain) - row spacing of 0.36 m. In favourable rainfall and thermal conditions, the density of winter rapeseed plants two weeks after sowing was found to be higher if it was sown after the CT than in the ST system. In the year that had a serious shortage of rainfall during the sowing period, a considerably higher density of plants was achieved using the ST system. The uniformity of plant growth using the ST technology in soil with a varied texture, especially in a year with an unfavourable distribution of rainfall, was proven by less variability in the number of leaves in the rosette, in the dry mass of the leaf rosette and in the root neck thickness of the winter rapeseed than in the CT system. The ST system can create good conditions for the initial development and preparation of rapeseed plants for wintering.

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Strip-till technology - a method for uniformity in the emergence and plant growth of winter rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) in different environmental conditions of Northern Poland

Tillage is an agrotechnical practice that strongly affects the soil environment. Its effect on soil properties depends on the system and, more specifically, on the degree of soil inversion and loosening. Strip-till is a non-inversive method that loosens only narrow soil strips. In strip-till one-pass (ST-OP) technology, tillage is combined with a simultaneous application of fertilizers and seed sowing. In a static multi-year field experiment, the soil properties after application of ST-OP for 8 years were compared to those of soil under conventional tillage with the use of a moldboard plough to a depth of 20 cm (CT), and equally deep loosened and mixed reduced tillage (RT). A field experiment of these three treatments was performed since 2012 in sandy loam soil, Luvisol. A total of 44 features were examined that described the physical, chemical, biological, and biochemical soil properties in the 0–20 cm layer, and penetration resistance (PR), bulk density (BD), and soil moisture (SM) in the 25–30 cm layer. The influence of the ST-OP technology on the yield of crops was also determined. Multivariate analysis shows that the ST-OP method, in terms of affecting the soil properties, differs considerably from RT and CT treatments. The soil after the ST-OP method contained two- to four-fold more earthworms (En), with a mass (Em) 2- to 5-fold higher, than those in the soil following RT and CT, respectively. In the ST-OP soil the content of available phosphorus (Pa) and available potassium (Ka); the total count of bacteria (Bt), cellulolytic microorganisms (Bc), and fungi (Ff); and the activity of phosphatases (AlP, AcP) were significantly higher. Compared with CT, the content of total organic carbon (Ct) and its content in the fractions of organic matter were also higher, with the exception of humins (CH). The yields of winter rapeseed and winter wheat using the ST-OP technology were marginally higher compared with those using the CT and RT technology.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/10/1596/pdf

Soil Properties after Eight Years of the Use of Strip-Till One-Pass Technology

In the field experiment, conducted in 2007-2010 in Mochelek (53 o 13' N; 17 o 51' E) near Bydgoszcz on good rye complex, the effect of nitrogen fertilization (40, 80, 120, 160 kg N∙ha -1 ) on the yield and grain technological quality of winter wheat cultivars Bogatka, Nutka, Kris, Tonacja was evaluated. The study found that in agricultural techniques of winter wheat on light soil, cultivar and nitrogen fertilization are elements having an independent effect. Under these soil conditions, in this region and in the years of relatively low rainfall totals during the growing season, nitrogen fertilization above 80 kg N∙ha -1 did not significantly increase the grain yield, but positively affected its technological value. Among the compared winter wheat cultivars, Kris cultivar yielded the best. Grains of this cultivar, however, had the lowest grain technological quality.

http://yadda.icm.edu.pl/yadda/element/bwmeta1.element.agro-1f015436-501d-4c20-9e70-c42323d1aaae/c/7.pdf

Effect of nitrogen fertilization on yield and grain technological quality of some winter wheat cultivars grown on light soil

Greater vigour of plants that border with unsown areas, known as border effect, compensates for the use of tramlines in the lowland meadow but also gives an error to the results of field experiments. This phenomenon is well-known for certain cultivated plant species. However, there is a lack of publications which would make it possible to analyze and compare the border effect of several plant species in similar habitat conditions and evaluated in the same way. The aim of the study was to recognize and compare the border effect in the cultivation of spring cereals: wheat, triticale, barley, oat, pea, and yellow lupine, as well as to determine the effect of this phenomenon on yield overestimation in plot experiments. In years 2004-2010 at the University of Technology and Life Sciences Research Station at Mochełek (5313 N; 1751 E), a series of plot experiments was carried our, each according to the same methodology. Experimental factor was the situation of plant rows on the plot; four rows into the plots from the unsown path 50 cm wide were evaluated. It was found that the border effect resulted in greater values of nearly all the evaluated plant characteristics. Oat was the most susceptible to the effect. Border effect in cereals, in relation to most characteristics, was limited only to the row of plants directly adjacent to the path, while in the subsequent two rows the values of the particular characteristics were usually close to the evaluation of the fourth row. In the case of legumes, the effect was visible also in the subsequent two rows into the lowland meadow. Yields of plants harvested from the whole plot were greater by 18.3%-28.0% than in the mid area of the plot, depending on the plot area and plant species. It was also found that in order to avoid the border effect influencing yield size estimation, it is recommended to omit during harvest one border row of oat plants from both sides of the experimental plots and two rows of triticale and barley. In the case of wheat, lupine and pea, three rows of plants from each side of the plot should be excluded from harvest.

Lech Gałęzewski

Papers

Mineral Composition and Baking Value of the Winter Wheat Grain under Varied Environmental and Agronomic Conditions

Strip-till technology - a method for uniformity in the emergence and plant growth of winter rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) in different environmental conditions of Northern Poland

Soil Properties after Eight Years of the Use of Strip-Till One-Pass Technology

Effect of nitrogen fertilization on yield and grain technological quality of some winter wheat cultivars grown on light soil

Border effects in the growth of chosen cultivated plant species