Sustainable production systems

Simulation is a useful technique in agroecology to predict future climate and crop yields, for instance. However simulation research is rarely taking into account the knowledge from farmers and policy-makers. Such knowledge is essential to to achieve concrete results. Bellocchi et al. discuss the participation of actors in simulation research.

In many developing countries crop productivity is low. Many factors could explain this issue, but actually there is no successful, systematic method to identify those factors in order to solve the productivity issue. A literature review by Kraaijvanger et al shows that there are three categories of methods based upon either farmer control and opinion, or scientist control and opinion, or scientist control and farmer opinion. Methods were tested  in four localities in northern Ethiopia.

Identifying the factors that control wine quality could be useful to improve wine production. Wines are currently scientifically differentiated using chemical analysis of flavours, for instance. But it is actually unknown whether observed differences in wine composition are caused by winemakers, e.g. during grape fermentation, or by soil and climate factors. Scientists González-Centeno et al. designed a method based upon soil, climate and landscape to link wine with their Appellation of Origin.

Wheat has been improved by breeding for about 200 years. However this breeding selection has been done classically, that is by favouring aerial plants parts such as higher shoots, larger leaves and heavier seeds. Improving the root system may also benefit wheat, but no method is available so far. Agronomists Heřmanská et al. have designed a method based on electrical capacitance to measure the size of the root matrix. Their found that wheat selection based on root size increases grain yield.

Cashew is a South American tropical tree native that has been introduced in Asia and Africa by European explorers during the 16th century. Now cashew grows worldwide, particularly in emerging countries. Cashew production a major resource for smallholder farmers. However cashew farmers face several issues such as lack of agricultural education and access to cultivation hardware, and few investment in cashew production. Those issues are particularly impacting women. Agronomists Dendena and Corsi review the cashew production chain including management practices, processing methods and uses of products and by-products. They found a lack of integrated and systematic research on cashew production and on potential solution to help smallholder farmers.

Plant growth is decreased by the presence of salt in soils. In the world 20% of agricultural land and 50% of cropland is stressed by salt. This issue will increase with global warming and soil salinization is decreasing cropping land by 1–2% yearly. A potential solution is to favour  the development of some rhizobacteria, that are bacteria living in the root zone, named the rhizosphere. Paul and Lade review the beneficial effects of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria for plants growing in saline soils. The photo clearly shows the poor growth of wheat in the saline zone at the bottom. Salt causes yellowing and death of wheat leaves.

Industrial agriculture has decreased the amount and diversity of soil life. However, soil life is essential for food production because some soil organisms help plants to grow by providing plant nutrients. For instance mycorrhizae are beneficial fungi that live in association with plant roots. De Beenhouwer et al. compared the diversity of mycorrhizae in wild and cultivated coffee plants. They observed that wild coffee plants had a much higher mycorrhizal diversity. Their findings reveal the conservation value of wild coffee and the possible application of mycorrhizae inoculation for producing coffee with few or without external fertilisers.

Drought is decreasing wheat yields in semi-arid regions. This issue may be partly solved by better forecasting wheat production. Bregaglio et al. improved wheat forecast by adapting two wheat models to the specific agro-climatic of Morocco.

Canola is a major crop for food as canola oil, and energy as biodiesel. Many factors control the yield of canola, but there is actually little knowledge on the influence of the spatial arrangement of canola plants. Gan et al. shows that uniform canola stands increase seed yield by up to 32% at low-yielding sites and by up to 20% at the high-yielding sites, compared to non-uniform plant stands. Yields can thus be increased by more uniformity, regardless of environmental conditions.

Producing safe food could be achieved in a sustainable way by changing agricultural practices.  However, there is actually a lack of suitable methods and indicators that measure sustainability. This lack of knowledge is particularly deep at the farm level in poor countries that represent most food production worldwide. In addition, actual indicators are defined only by scientists, thus not taking into account essential farmer knowledge. Using participatory indicators designed with farmers Yegbemey et al. reveal weaknesses of maize cropping in Benin. This knowledge can be used to set up sustainable cropping practices.