The study was conducted at Fincha Sugar Estate to evaluate the performance of eleven introduced in 2012 Cuban sugarcane genotypes for Plant Cane (PC) and first ratoon (R-I). The experimental design used was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), laid out in three replicates. Data were collected for millable stalk, plant height, stalk diameter, single stalk weight, cane yield, brix % juice, pol percent, sugar recovery percent and sugar yield. The differences among the Elven Cuban genotypes and two standard checks were highly significant for all analyzed quantitative traits. Generally, in both plant cane and Ratoon I crop cycles C88-556, C88-356, C90530 and C13281gave higher performances in cane and sugar yield (tons/ha) than the checks B 52-298 and NCO 334. Therefore C 88-556, C 132-81, C 90-530 and C 88356 were recommended for seed increase to use in further verification on large plots sooner as Ratoon II data will be confirmed.
Excessive NPK inputs but low grain yield and high environmental impact are common issues in maize production in North China Plain (NCP). The objective of our study was to test whether a combined strategy of optimizing plant density, balancing NPK input, and innovating one-time fertilizer products could achieve a more sustainable maize production in NCP. Thus, a field experiment was conducted at Luanna County NCP with the treatments of unfertilized control (CK), farmer practice (FP, conventional plant density and NPK input), conventional one-time urea-based coated fertilizer (CF, optimized plant density and NPK input), and five newly designed innovative one-time NPK fertilizers of ammonium sulphate and urea synergy (IF, optimized plant density and NPK input), innovative fertilizer with various additives of urea inhibitors (IF + UI), double inhibitors (IF + DI), micro-organisms (IF + MI), and trace elements (IF + TE). The grain yield, N sustainability indicators (N use efficiency NUE, partial factor productivity of N PFPN, and N surplus), and cost-benefits analysis were examined over the maize growing season of 2020. Results had shown that on average the five innovative fertilizers (IF, IF + UI, IF + DI, IF + MI, and IF + TE) and CF that had optimized plant density and NPK input achieved 13.5%, 98.6%, 105.9%, 37.4% higher yield, PFPN, NUE, net-benefits as well as 207.1% lower N surplus compared with FP respectively. Notably, the innovative fertilizer with various effective additives (IF + UI, IF + DI, IF + MI, and IF + TE) which can be commonly found in the fertilizer market hadn’t resulted in a significant improvement in yield and NUE rather a greater cost and lower net benefits in comparison to IF. In summary, our study highlighted the effectiveness of the combined strategy of optimized plant density, balancing NPK input, and innovative NPK fertiliser on sustainable maize production in NCP, however, the innovative fertilisers with effective additives should be properly selected for better economic benefits.
The main challenge of agriculture is to ensure food security in line with yield increases and minimize environmental costs due to complex interactions between social, economic, and ecological factors. Here we review to identify the impacts of socio-economic factors on crop production efficiency between China and Ethiopia. To set the economic reform and improve the grain yields in rural China, a series of policies on land reforms from communal systems to tax cancelation and subsidies have been implemented. Similar to China, Ethiopia has also experienced different types of land reform from landlord and peasant structure to land as the common property of nations, nationalities, and peoples of Ethiopia. The Gross Domestic Products per capita trends which represent the mean standard of leaving of residents in a country show almost similar growth in the 1980s while later significant variation was achieved between the two countries. It is suggested that to meet food security and increase agricultural efficiency in Ethiopia better infrastructure development that meets socio-economic demands should be prioritized while in China policies to reduce fertilizer inputs are highly recommended to minimize the environmental costs due to high agricultural inputs for sustainable agriculture growth.
Apples have become a major source of income for smallholder farmers in Bohai Bay. However, the annual productivity of apples in the area is relatively low and the interannual yield gap varies drastically. Identifying the apple yield gap and interannual production constraints can potentially promote the sustainable development of apple production. Based on track monitoring data of 45 smallholder farmers from 2016 to 2018, the yield gap and constraint factors were determined by adopting boundary analysis methodology. The results showed that the yield potential of apples during 2016–2018 was 75, 108, and 87 t ha−1, and actual yields were 36.8, 52.3, and 35.2 t ha−1, respectively. The explainable yield gaps were 40.5, 56.9, and 55.1 t ha−1. Soil, management, and climatic factors limit apple yield improvement. Among these, low temperatures during the bud break and flowering periods can induce yield losses. Soil nutrient content and fertilizer management are also important limiting factors that have polynomial relationships with yield. Too much fertilizer and high levels of nutrients in the soil have already caused yield losses in some fields. Sound scientific guidance to help farmers adopt reasonable management techniques adapted to climate change is necessary to close the yield gap.
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