Improving smallholder farmers' maize yields and economic benefits under sustainable crop intensification in the North China Plain

Ren, Hao; Han, Kun; Liu, Yuee; Zhao, Yali; Zhang, Lihua; He, Qijin; Li, Zhenhai; Zhang, Jibo; Liu, Peng; Wang, Hongzhang; Zhang, Jiwang; Zhao, Bin

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143035

Cited by 37 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…frugiperda , which is necessary for the development of effective management strategies [ 47 ]. To meet the food demands of a growing population, the maize production systems deployed by smallholders in China have tended towards the highly excessive use of chemicals, which have caused severe environmental impacts [ 48 ]. However, there is little evidence on the efficiency of locally available synthetic insecticides against S .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laboratory efficacy of selected synthetic insecticides against second instar invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Maize is the most essential crop of China and its productivity has been recently endangered by the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda. Chemical pesticides are one of the most important strategies for managing FAW on a short-term basis. The seven synthetic insecticides including novel and conventional belong to four chemical group, spinetoram and spinosad (spinosyns), lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin and bifenthrin (pyrethroids), abamectin (avermectins), broflinilide (diamides), were assessed for their efficiency in causing mortality to second instar S. frugiperda larvae at 24, 48 and 72 h post-treatment at five different serial concentrations (10 to 0.625 mg liter-1). The second instar S. frugiperda larvae were susceptible to the tested synthetic insecticides, however, the toxicity index of synthetic insecticides was estimated based on lethal concentration 50 (LC50), while, LC50 was calculated from the data of larval mortality. The broflanilide and abamectin proved to be the most toxic having the highest toxicity index of 100 and 78.29%, respectively, followed by cypermethrin and bifenthrin were showed toxicity index of 75.47 and 66.89%, respectively. The LC50 values were 0.606 and 0.774 mg liter-1 for broflanilide and abamectin, respectively, followed by cypermethrin and bifenthrin were showed LC50 values of 0.803 and 0.906 mg liter-1 at 72 h post-treatment. Rest of the other synthetic insecticides were showed moderate toxicity index of 42.11 to 62.09%, based on LC50 values were 1.439 to 0.976 mg liter-1 at 72 h post-treatment. The efficiency of synthetic insecticides was increased by increasing concentration level and exposure time. The screened synthetic insecticides among seven insecticides perhaps, provide basis for the development of novel insecticides for controlling S. frugiperda population after further research to evaluate and validate the laboratory results in the field.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laboratory efficacy of selected synthetic insecticides against second instar invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In order to achieve high maize yield and quality, chemical fertilizers, especially N fertilizers, are commonly applied to soils. During the summer maize growing season, many observed N fertilizers have been observed, which can be as high 300-360 kg N ha −1 yr −1 [4][5][6], which surpasses the crop requirements of approximately 200 kg N ha −1 yr −1 [7][8][9]. The disproportionate use of N fertilizer results in substantial waste of resources, increased costs and decreased economic benefits, all of which seriously hinder the region's agricultural development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, excessive urea application would not only bring environmental concerns, but also lead to low nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). It is reported that the average NUE of summer maize over is only 25-30% in the NCP, which is far lower than that in developed countries [9]. Hence, improving NUE, reducing environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions caused by excessive fertilization, and developing efficient and sustainable and intensive agricultural have become the focus of food production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Combined Application of Urea and Fulvic Acid Solution Improved Maize Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism

Gao

et al. 2022

Agronomy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It has been reported that fulvic acid (FA) application improves soil structure and nutrient availability. However, the effects of combined application of urea (U) and FA solution on the photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism in maize (Zea mays L.) have rarely been reported. In this study, pot experiments were conducted in 2017 and 2018, and the effects of combined application of urea and FA solution (U+FA) on soil available nutrient contents, maize endogenous hormone concentrations, carbon and nitrogen metabolism-related enzyme concentrations, maize yield, and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) were researched. Compared with the U treatment, the maize yield and NUE in the U+FA treatment were significantly increased by 8.31% and 17.09 percentage points in 2017 and by 16.90% and 24.31 percentage points in 2018. At the jointing and 12-leaf (V12) stages of maize, soil NH4+ content increased by 139.32% and 12.08%, separately, in the U+FA treatment. At the V12 stage, the auxin, nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, and glutamine synthetase concentrations in maize root were increased by 42.31%, 74.17%, 16.61%, and 45.60%, respectively, and the concentrations of pyruvate phosphate dikinase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in maize leave were increased by 29.40% and 42.96%, respectively, in the U+FA treatment. The combined application of urea and FA solution significantly improved soil nutrient availability, increased the concentrations of endogenous hormones in maize, stimulated the activities of enzymes related to nitrogen metabolism, promoted the photosynthetic carbon assimilation efficiency, and ultimately improved crop yield and NUE.

show abstract

“…However, most of the studies on maize productivity are conducted in research centres and focus on obtaining maximum yields and incomes with hybrids grown in monocrop. Few studies use native maize seed with the factors that limit productivity (Ren et al, 2020) or in the context in which farmers live and produce (Cheng-Dong et al, 2019). The objective of this study was to quantify the maximum net income, food security and land equivalent ratio of the intercropped milpa (maize-husk tomato-squash), in two small farmer plots, one with irrigation and the other rainfed, in the State of Mexico.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intensification of Milpa in the State of Mexico: Net Incomes, Food Security and Land Equivalent Ratio

Fidencio¹,

Garduño

Santiago-Mejía

et al. 2022

agro

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The historical milpa has contributed to food security of small farmer families due to its biodiversity. The objective was to evaluate indicators of food access [basic food baskets (BFB), minimum wages (MW) and real food security index (RFSI)], Land Equivalent Ratio (LER), and maximum net income (NI) obtained from the polyculture of native maize-husk tomato-squash in two farm plots in the State of Mexico. The experiment was set up in San Pedro del Rosal (SPR) and San Juan Coajomulco (SJC), irrigated and rainfed, respectively, in the spring-summer cycle 2020. An experimental design in divided plots was used to evaluate two topological patterns: two rows of maize intercalated with one row of tomato and one of squash (MMTS) and one row of maize intercropped with one of husk tomato, one of maize and one of squash (MTMS). Five levels of fertilization with nitrogen, phosphorus and manure were tested. LER was evaluated with the yields of the three species in MMTS, MTMS and in monocropping at the same levels of inputs. BFB, MW, and RFSI were estimated using the regression equation that resulted in the maximum NI. In the two localities, the intercalated crops had higher LER than the monocrops. Comparing the two topological intercropping patterns, the maximum NI was obtained with MTMS in SJC and SPR (MXN $ 113 686.30 and MXN $ 204 649.70 ha-1 y-1). With the NI of the MTMS pattern in SJC and SPR, seven and 14 people, respectively, can be provided with BFB for a year. The highest daily MW were obtained with MTMS. In terms of land equivalent ratio, the highest LER were obtained with the MMTS pattern in SJC (2.78) and SPR (1.64). In economic terms, the better topological pattern is MTMS, and in function of LER, MMTS was better.

show abstract

Improving smallholder farmers' maize yields and economic benefits under sustainable crop intensification in the North China Plain

Cited by 37 publications

References 48 publications

Laboratory efficacy of selected synthetic insecticides against second instar invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae

Laboratory efficacy of selected synthetic insecticides against second instar invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae

The Combined Application of Urea and Fulvic Acid Solution Improved Maize Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism

Intensification of Milpa in the State of Mexico: Net Incomes, Food Security and Land Equivalent Ratio

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About