Agricultural University of Hebei

About: Agricultural University of Hebei is a education organization based out in Baoding, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Gene & Population. The organization has 7372 authors who have published 5297 publications receiving 59054 citations. The organization is also known as: Hebei Agricultural University.

Producing more grain with lower environmental costs

Abstract: In an experiment across China to test integrated soil–crop system management for rice, wheat and maize against current practice, improvements in grain yield are equivalent to high-input techniques, but nutrient use, nutrient loss and greenhouse gas emissions are lower than current practice. Integrated soil–crop system management is a technique that aims to maximize yield and minimize environmental impact by adapting cropping systems to local conditions through optimal nutrient application, seasonal timing and the use of the best crop varieties. Fusuo Zhang and colleagues report the results of a China-wide test of this technique for the three main cereal crops — rice, wheat and maize. In comparisons with current practice and high input techniques, the authors find that the integrated system achieves yield improvements equivalent to high input techniques but with lower nutrient use, nutrient loss and greenhouse gas emissions than those found with the current practice. Agriculture faces great challenges to ensure global food security by increasing yields while reducing environmental costs1,2. Here we address this challenge by conducting a total of 153 site-year field experiments covering the main agro-ecological areas for rice, wheat and maize production in China. A set of integrated soil–crop system management practices based on a modern understanding of crop ecophysiology and soil biogeochemistry increases average yields for rice, wheat and maize from 7.2 million grams per hectare (Mg ha−1), 7.2 Mg ha−1 and 10.5 Mg ha−1 to 8.5 Mg ha−1, 8.9 Mg ha−1 and 14.2 Mg ha−1, respectively, without any increase in nitrogen fertilizer. Model simulation and life-cycle assessment3 show that reactive nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced substantially by integrated soil–crop system management. If farmers in China could achieve average grain yields equivalent to 80% of this treatment by 2030, over the same planting area as in 2012, total production of rice, wheat and maize in China would be more than enough to meet the demand for direct human consumption and a substantially increased demand for animal feed, while decreasing the environmental costs of intensive agriculture.

Genome sequence of cultivated Upland cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum TM-1) provides insights into genome evolution

Abstract: Gossypium hirsutum has proven difficult to sequence owing to its complex allotetraploid (AtDt) genome. Here we produce a draft genome using 181-fold paired-end sequences assisted by fivefold BAC-to-BAC sequences and a high-resolution genetic map. In our assembly 88.5% of the 2,173-Mb scaffolds, which cover 89.6%∼96.7% of the AtDt genome, are anchored and oriented to 26 pseudochromosomes. Comparison of this G. hirsutum AtDt genome with the already sequenced diploid Gossypium arboreum (AA) and Gossypium raimondii (DD) genomes revealed conserved gene order. Repeated sequences account for 67.2% of the AtDt genome, and transposable elements (TEs) originating from Dt seem more active than from At. Reduction in the AtDt genome size occurred after allopolyploidization. The A or At genome may have undergone positive selection for fiber traits. Concerted evolution of different regulatory mechanisms for Cellulose synthase (CesA) and 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase1 and 3 (ACO1,3) may be important for enhanced fiber production in G. hirsutum.

Genome sequence of the cultivated cotton Gossypium arboreum

Abstract: Yu-Xian Zhu, Jun Wang, Shuxun Yu and colleagues report sequencing and assembly of the genome of cultivated cotton, Gossypium arboreum. Comparison with the Gossypium raimondii genome sequence provides insights into genome evolution and speciation, and identifies two shared whole-genome duplication events occurring before the speciation event around 2–13 million years ago.

Pursuing sustainable productivity with millions of smallholder farmers.

Abstract: Millions of Chinese smallholder farmers were persuaded to adopt enhanced management practices, which led to a greater yield, reduced nitrogen fertilizer use and improved environmental performance throughout China. Two and a half billion smallholder farmers collectively manage 60 per cent of the world's arable land. How these farmers perform determines their own livelihood, but also affects global food security and ecosystem health. Here, Fusuo Zhang and colleagues show how some straightforward interventions have substantially improved the productivity and environmental performance of smallholder farmers across China over the past ten years. The team carried out more than 13,000 field trials across China's main agroecological zones and found that a series of management practices, collectively termed integrated soil–crop system management, increased maize, wheat and rice yields, nitrogen-use efficiency and farmer profitability. Scaling this approach up to 20.9 million smallholder farmer across 452 counties boosted grain yields to 33 million tonnes over the ten-year period, and reduced fertilizer use by 1.2 million tonnes and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 13 per cent. Sustainably feeding a growing population is a grand challenge1,2,3, and one that is particularly difficult in regions that are dominated by smallholder farming. Despite local successes4,5,6,7,8, mobilizing vast smallholder communities with science- and evidence-based management practices to simultaneously address production and pollution problems has been infeasible. Here we report the outcome of concerted efforts in engaging millions of Chinese smallholder farmers to adopt enhanced management practices for greater yield and environmental performance. First, we conducted field trials across China’s major agroecological zones to develop locally applicable recommendations using a comprehensive decision-support program. Engaging farmers to adopt those recommendations involved the collaboration of a core network of 1,152 researchers with numerous extension agents and agribusiness personnel. From 2005 to 2015, about 20.9 million farmers in 452 counties adopted enhanced management practices in fields with a total of 37.7 million cumulative hectares over the years. Average yields (maize, rice and wheat) increased by 10.8–11.5%, generating a net grain output of 33 million tonnes (Mt). At the same time, application of nitrogen decreased by 14.7–18.1%, saving 1.2 Mt of nitrogen fertilizers. The increased grain output and decreased nitrogen fertilizer use were equivalent to US$12.2 billion. Estimated reactive nitrogen losses averaged 4.5–4.7 kg nitrogen per Megagram (Mg) with the intervention compared to 6.0–6.4 kg nitrogen per Mg without. Greenhouse gas emissions were 328 kg, 812 kg and 434 kg CO2 equivalent per Mg of maize, rice and wheat produced, respectively, compared to 422 kg, 941 kg and 549 kg CO2 equivalent per Mg without the intervention. On the basis of a large-scale survey (8.6 million farmer participants) and scenario analyses, we further demonstrate the potential impacts of implementing the enhanced management practices on China’s food security and sustainability outlook.