Crop productivity relies heavily on nitrogen (N) fertilization. Production and application of N fertilizers consume huge amounts of energy, and excess is detrimental to the environment; therefore, increasing plant N use efficiency (NUE) is essential for the development of sustainable agriculture. Plant NUE is inherently complex, as each step—including N uptake, translocation, assimilation, and remobilization—is governed by multiple interacting genetic and environmental factors. The limiting factors in plant metabolism for maximizing NUE are different at high and low N supplies, indicating great potential for improving the NUE of current cultivars, which were bred in well-fertilized soil. Decreasing environmental losses and increasing the productivity of crop-acquired N requires the coordination of carbohydrate and N metabolism to give high yields. Increasing both the grain and N harvest index to drive N acquisition and utilization are important approaches for breeding future high-NUE cultivars.

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Plant nitrogen assimilation and use efficiency.

An Introduction to Genetic Statistics.

The Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture (CA) seeks answers to the question of how freshwater resources can be developed and managed to feed the world's population and reduce poverty, while at the same time promoting environmental security. The CA pays particular attention to rice as this crop is the most common staple food of the largest number of people on Earth (about 3 billion people) while receiving an estimated 24–30% of the world's developed freshwater resources. Rice environments also provide unique—but as yet poorly understood—ecosystem services such as the regulation of water and the preservation of aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. Rice production under flooded conditions is highly sustainable. In comparison with other field crops, flooded rice fields produce more of the greenhouse gas methane but less nitrous oxide, have no to very little nitrate pollution of the groundwater, and use relatively little to no herbicides. Flooded rice can locally raise groundwater tables with subsequent risk of salinization if the groundwater carries salts, but is also an effective restoration crop to leach accumulated salts from the soil in combination with drainage. The production of rice needs to increase in the coming decades to meet the food demand of growing populations. To meet the dual challenges of producing enough food and alleviating poverty, more rice needs to be produced at a low cost per kilogram grain (ensuring reasonable profits for producers) so that prices can be kept low for poor consumers. This increase in rice production needs to be accomplished under increasing scarcity of water, which threatens the sustainability and capability to provide ecosystem services of current production systems. Water scarcity is expected to shift rice production to more water‐abundant delta areas, and to lead to crop diversification and more aerobic (nonflooded) soil conditions in rice fields in water‐short areas. In these latter areas, investments should target the adoption of water‐saving technologies, the reuse of drainage and percolation water, and the improvement of irrigation supply systems. A suite of water‐saving technologies can help farmers reduce percolation, drainage, and evaporation losses from their fields by 15–20% without a yield decline. However, greater understanding of the adverse effects of increasingly aerobic field conditions on the sustainability of rice production, environment, and ecosystem services is needed. In drought‐, salinity‐, and flood‐prone environments, the combination of improved varieties with specific management packages has the potential to increase on‐farm yields by 50–100% in the coming 10 years, provided that investment in research and extension is intensified.

Rice and Water

Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of drought-resistance traits for development of rice cultivars adapted to rainfed environments

Plant breeding and improved management options have made remarkable progress in increasing crop yields during the past century. However, climate change projections suggest that large yield losses will be occurring in many regions, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa. The development of climate-ready germplasm to offset these losses is of the upmost importance. Given the time lag between the development of improved germplasm and adoption in farmers’ fields, the development of improved breeding pipelines needs to be a high priority. Recent advances in molecular breeding provide powerful tools to accelerate breeding gains and dissect stress adaptation. This review focuses on achievements in stress tolerance breeding and physiology and presents future tools for quick and efficient germplasm development. Sustainable agronomic and resource management practices can effectively contribute to climate change mitigation. Management options to increase maize system resilience to climate-related stresses and mitigate the effects of future climate change are also discussed.

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Maize production in a changing climate: Impacts, adaptation, and mitigation strategies

Genotype differences in nutrient uptake and utilisation for grain yield production of rainfed lowland rice under fertilised and non-fertilised conditions

Sipaseuth

Papers

Genotype differences in nutrient uptake and utilisation for grain yield production of rainfed lowland rice under fertilised and non-fertilised conditions

Toposequential effects on water balance and productivity in rainfed lowland rice ecosystem in Southern Laos

Opportunities to increasing dry season rice productivity in low temperature affected areas

Genotypic performance under fertilised and non-fertilised conditions in rainfed lowland rice

Agronomic practices for improving yields of rainfed lowland rice in Laos.