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%.
Landscape management, a new option to fight wireworms in maize crops
Crop-damaging wireworms are the soil-dwelling larvae of click beetles. Wireworms have emerged in Europe over the last 15 years. There is actually few efficient control solutions, and actual control options use toxic pesticides. There is therefore a need for safer control techniques. A survey of 341 maize fields by Saussure et al. shows that wireworm damage is decreased by the occurrence of hedges and cultivated crops at the maize field border. Whereas wireworm damage is increased by the occurrence of grassland at the maize field border or during the rotation.
Safe control of banana-eating worm using a byproduct of sisal fabric production
The burrowing nematode, a worm, is damaging banana plantations worldwide. Actual control methods use toxic nematicides to kill the worm. Alternative control methods are therefore needed due to the high demand for safer and organic food. Agronomists Jesus et al. found that an extract of sisal, a plant species growing in desert areas, is effective to contol nematodes. This method is cheap because the sisal extract is a byproduct of fiber and fabric production from the sisal plant.
Phthalic acid ester contamination in chinese soils
Most plastic products contain phthalic acid esters that end up polluting water and soil after plastic degradation. Indeed, phthalic acid esters are endocrine disruptors. China is one of the largest consumers of phthalic acid esters. He et al. review the contamination of soils by phthalic acid esters. Findings show that the levels of phthalic acid esters in chinese soils are higher than recommended limits, thus contaminating vegetables. The main sources of phthalic acid esters in soils are plastic agricultural films, municipal biosolids, agricultural chemicals and wastewater irrigation.
