Second generation biofuels from non-edible biomass, such as bioethanol from cereal straw, are more sustainable than first generation biofuels such as bioethanol from maize seeds. Sustainability could be further enhanced by cultivating both cereals and legumes, such as pea, because legumes are enriched in nitrogen that fertilises later the cereals. Nitrogen-rich cereal straw should facilitate yeast fermentation to produce bioethanol because yeast needs nitrogen to grow. Agronomists Pellicano et al. tested wheat, barley, triticale and oat grown in intercrop with pea. They found indeed that pea improves the N content of the straw mixture.
ASD
Earthworms are engineering soils for better food
Food production would not be sustainable without earthworms. Indeed, earthworms are major soil engineers. For instance earthworms transform organic residues into plant nutrients, and facilitate groundwater flow by tunnelling earth. Agronomists Bertrand et al. review the ecological services of earthworms, focussing on the effect of tillage, fertilisation and pesticide usage.
Rice-based crop rotations against global warming
Global warming is mainly due to the increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere. Agriculture highly influences atmospheric CO2 because plants and soils can sequester CO2 or release CO2. Researchers are thus trying to identify cropping practices, such as conservation tillage, that sequester CO2 in plants and soils in order to decrease atmospheric CO2 levels. Agronomists Motschenbacher et al. studied for the first time daily soil surface CO2 in rice-based crop rotations with corn, soybean, and winter wheat.
How to improve water availability in vineyards
In arid regions drought is becoming a serious threat for vineyards and wine production.
The article by Medrano et al. reviews methods to improve water availability in vineyards by modifying pratices and selecting cultivars.
Plants united we stand
Growing two or more plant species provides ecological benefits for a safe agriculture because some plant species such as legumes provide free fertilisers in the form of nitrogen (N), whereas other species fight pests without pesticide, for example. Agroecologists Gaba et al. review such ecological practices and propose guidelines to design safer cropping systems.
Baby plants for agroecology
Increasing population, climate change and pollution call for a safer production of food. An agroecological solution to those issues is to select, breed and design suitable crop plants. Agronomist Ochatt describes advanced technologies to design suitable plants during embryogenesis.
Four strategies to grow organic apples
Organic farming should provide safe food without using harmful pesticides. As a consequence farmers need alternative techniques to control pests. A survey of 24 organic apple farms in France by agronomists Marliac et al. reveals four control techniques: 1) the ecologically intensive technique that favours natural enemies of pests, 2) the substitution technique using pesticides, 3) the technological technique using for instance exclusion nets, and 4) the integrated techniques using a variety of previous techniques.
Strategies for agriculture with less water: back to the roots
Climate change is decreasing water content in many parts of the world. There is therefore a need to adapt by designed practices that save water and use less water. This can be done for instance by reduced tillage, mulching, selecting drought-tolerant cultivars and synchronizing plant demand with rainfall. Bodner et al. describe the most efficient strategies for better water management under dry climate. They found that selecting plant roots is a promising solution, yet still overlooked.
Posidonia seagrass as organic farming fertiliser
Conventional mineral fertilisers are costly, they have a low efficiency because only a minor part of the fertiliser reaches cultivated plants, and they often pollute water, e.g. nitrate and phosphate pollution. Scientists Grassi et al. show that seagrass Posidonia oceanica can be used directly or after composting to fertilise organic crops.
Water saved by wheat-maize relay planting with straw covering
Relay planting is planting seeds of a new crop among the plants of a mature crop so they will have a head start when the mature crop is done. As a consequence more crops per year can be brought to maturity in the same planting space. In northwestern China maize is planted about 40 days after wheat seeding, and this relay planting is popular for high yields. Yin et al. show that relay planting with reduced tillage and stubble mulching increases water use efficiency up to 46%.
