World agricultural production, resource use, and productivity
Over the past six decades, most regions of the world transitioned from a natural resource-dependent to a productivity-led agricultural growth path, made possible by developing and adopting new technologies and farming practices. This new USDA-ERS report documents these changes, providing insights into shifting patterns of agricultural production and resource use worldwide. It shows the evolution […]
Agricultural fertilisers contribute substantially to microplastic concentrations in UK soils
Good evidence about the major sources of microplastics in agriculture and suitable mitigation options is still scarce. This new study from the world’s oldest and most famous long-term experiment, Broadbalk at Rothamsted Research, is therefore very interesting. Unfortunately, the conclusions drawn in this paper are somewhat flawed or can easily be misunderstood, particularly with regard […]
Plant Nutrition in the Roman Empire
If you love history, then this is a must-read paper for you! It starts with a wonderful quote: “According to Tacitus, a Roman historian around AD 100, one of the significant differences between the Romans and the Germanic tribes was that the latter surprisingly did not try to heighten the fertility of their soil, just […]
Long-term changes in paddy soil fertility in tropical Asia after 50 years of the Green Revolution
When the Green Revolution in Asia started to take off in the late 1960s, a group of Japanese soil scientists had the foresight to go out and sample rice fields all over Southeast Asia. Led by Professor Kazutake Kyuma from Kyoto University, they felt that intensifying rice farming would significantly change soil fertility – or […]
Sixty years of irrigated wheat yield increase in the Yaqui Valley of Mexico: Past drivers, prospects and sustainability
Agricultural production progresses as farmers seamlessly integrate and adopt novel technologies and practices, supported by public policies and investments in research. Quantifying the contributions of different factors to agricultural productivity growth is challenging, which is why this new study is so valuable. Around 140,000 ha of irrigated wheat are grown each year in the Yaqui […]
Investigating tradeoffs in nitrogen loss pathways using an environmental damage cost framework
Holistic framework needed to address agricultural N management in background of environmental and social risks of nutrient losses.
A structural equation modeling approach to assessing soil health
A novel modeling approach assesses soil health indicators and depends on soil properties.
Intensification of rice-pasture rotations with annual crops reduces the stability of sustainability across productivity, economic, and environmental indicators
Intensifying farming rice-pasture rotations with annual crops increase system productivity but also nutrient and energy inputs.
How understanding soil chemistry can lead to better phosphate fertilizer practice
Phosphate effectiveness decreases with time and re-application to the soil is therefore necessary.
The direct assimilation of inorganic and organic forms of nitrogen by higher plants
Nitrogen-containing compounds can be readily assimilated, assimilated, likely not assimilated or toxic to plants.
