Agroforestry is often seen as a sustainable land-use system for agricultural production providing ecosystem services. Intercropping with food crops leads to equal or higher productivity than monoculture and results in food production for industry and subsistence. Low rubber price and low labor productivity in smallholdings have led to a dramatic conversion of rubber plantations to more profitable crops. The literature analysis performed in this paper aimed at better understanding the ins and outs that could make rubber-based agroforestry more attractive for farmers. A comprehensive search of references was conducted in March 2023 using several international databases and search engines. A Zotero library was set up consisting of 415 scientific references. Each reference was carefully read and tagged in several categories: cropping system, country, main tree species, intercrop type, intercrop product, level of product use, discipline of the study, research topic, and intercrop species. Of the 232 journal articles, 141 studies were carried out on rubber agroforestry. Since 2011, the number of studies per year has increased. Studies on rubber-based agroforestry systems are performed in most rubber-producing countries, in particular in Indonesia, Thailand, China, and Brazil. These studies focus more or less equally on perennials (forest species and fruit trees), annual intercrops, and mixed plantations. Of the 47 annual crops associated with rubber in the literature, 20 studies dealt with rice, maize, banana, and cassava. Agronomy is the main discipline in the literature followed by socio-economy and then ecology. Only four papers are devoted to plant physiology and breeding. The Discussion Section has attempted to analyze the evolution of rubber agroforestry research, progress in the selection of food crop varieties adapted to agroforestry systems, and to draw some recommendations for rubber-based agroforestry systems associated with food crops.

The purpose of rice breeding is to create varieties that are well adapted, highly productive, and acceptable to farmers. However, rice productivity is limited as a result of combined biotic stresses (pests/diseases). This study combines assessment by farmers with the evaluation by breeders with respect to promising rice lines within a range of environments. The aim is to investigate farmers’ preferences and to characterize the yield of promising rice lines, as well as their resistance to pests/diseases by consulting 120 farmers and breeders. This study used an oversite design replicated three times with thirteen promising lines and two varieties, which were all evaluated at farmers’ fields between December 2019 and May 2020. The Importance Performance Analysis was used to compare line performance and farmers’ expectations. Lines Gamapadi-2 and Gamapadi-4 had the highest acceptability scores based on the farmers’ preferences. The yield performances were evaluated using the Finlay–Wilkinson test and the genotypes were evaluated using environmental models (GGE biplot) to determine the most stable lines to be recommended for large-scale planting. The Finlay–Wilkinson and GGE biplot conclusion analyses also showed that the Gamapadi-2 and Gamapadi-4 lines exhibited high potential yield and stability, as well as indications of specific advantages. The results for both lines in all locations indicated no symptoms of brown planthoppers or bacterial leaf blight due to its absence during the field research. These lines in all age ranges at two sites showed no symptoms of leaf blast.

Controlling soil-borne pathogens is a significant problem in agriculture. Arbuscular mycorrhizae have a potential role in controlling soil-borne pathogens by increasing plant phytohormone contents. However, the mechanism of resistance by mycorrhizae has not been fully elucidated, particularly against bacterial wilt disease in Solanaceae. This study examined the role of mycorrhizae in expressing genes involved in the signaling pathways mediated by jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) in tropical chili pepper against the bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum. Seedlings from ten genotypes of chili pepper were inoculated with a consortium of five mycorrhizal species and/or inoculated with a mixture of nine isolates of R. solanacearum. The leaves of 10-week-old plants after the treatment were sampled for real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. The results showed that the mycorrhizae strengthened the immune system of tropical chili pepper by increasing the relative gene expression levels of JA and SA in genotypes with high and low responsiveness to the mycorrhizae. The relative gene expression level of JA was related to the percentage colonization of mycorrhizae and the resistance of the tropical chili pepper genotypes to R. solanacearum. The relative gene expression level of SA was associated with the resistance of tropical chili pepper to R. solanacearum.

The rubber industry is facing major socio-economic and environmental constraints. Rubber-based agroforestry systems represent a more sustainable solution through the diversification of income and the provision of greater ecosystem services than monoculture plantations. Participative approaches are known for their ability to co-construct solutions with stakeholders and to promote a positive impact on smallholders. This study therefore implemented a participatory research process with stakeholders in the natural rubber sector for the purpose of improving inclusion, relevance and impact. Facilitation training sessions were first organised with academic actors to prepare participatory workshops. A working group of stakeholder representatives was set up and participated in these workshops to share a common representation of the value chain and to identify problems and solutions for the sector in Indonesia. By fostering collective intelligence and systems thinking, the process is aimed at enabling the development of adaptive technical solutions and building capacity across the sector for future government replanting programmes. The resulting adaptive technical packages were then detailed and objectified by the academic consortium and are part of a participatory plant breeding approach adapted to the natural rubber industry. On-station and on-farm experimental plans have been set up to facilitate the drafting of projects for setting up field trials based on these outcomes. Research played a dual role as both knowledge provider and facilitator, guiding a co-learning process rooted in social inclusion, equity and ecological resilience. The initiative highlighted the potential of rubber cultivation to contribute to climate change mitigation and food sovereignty, provided that it can adapt through sustainable practices like agroforestry. Continued political and financial support is essential to sustain and scale these innovations.

Agroforestry is often seen as a sustainable land-use system for agricultural production providing ecosystem services. Intercropping with food crops leads to equal or higher productivity than monoculture and results in food production for industry and subsistence. Low rubber price and low labor productivity in smallholdings have led to a dramatic conversion of rubber plantations to more profitable crops. The literature analysis performed in this paper aimed at better understanding the ins and outs that could make rubber-based agroforestry more attractive for farmers. A library was set-up consisting of 415 scientific references. Of the 232 journal articles, 141 studies were carried out on rubber agroforestry. Since 2011, the number of studies per year has increased. Studies on rubber-based agroforestry systems are performed in most rubber producing countries, in particular in Indonesia, Thailand, China and Brazil. These studies focus more or less equally on perennials (forest species and fruit trees), annual intercrops and mixed plantations. Of the 47 annual crops associated with rubber in the literature, 20 studies dealt with rice, maize, banana and cassava. Agronomy is the main discipline in the literature followed by socio-economy and then ecology. Only 4 papers are devoted to plant physiology and breeding. The discussion section has attempted to analyze the evolution of rubber agroforestry research, progress in the selection of food crop varieties adapted to agroforestry systems, and to draw some recommendations for rubber-based agroforestry systems associated with food crops.

Introduction: Addressing the global demand for rice production necessitates innovative approaches to enhance upland rice yield in rainfed agroecosystems, considering the challenges posed by increasing population, limited land fertility, low productivity, and water availability.Methods: In this study, our study investigated the impact of biochar and organic fertilizer on ten promising rice lines (G1 – G10) and two control (G11 – G12) cultivars under rainfed conditions. The experimental design used a split-plot design with four soil amendments as main plots, namely control, organic fertilizer, biochar, and biochar + organic fertilizer and 12 rice genotypes as subplot.Results: The absolute attainable yield gaps, differentiating organic and control (GAP₁), biochar + organic and control (GAP₂), and biochar and control (GAP₃), ranged from 1.5 to 3.7 or increased of 91–580%, 0.8 to 3.5 (72–560%), and 0.6 to 2.58 tons/ha (58–472%), respectively. Notably, G2 + organic exhibited the highest positive absolute yield gap, ranging from 1.1 to 5.38 tons/ha, based on the yield gap matrix. Furthermore, genotype main effect plus genotype-environment interaction (GGE) biplot analysis identified G2 as the most promising rice line, displaying superior yield performance for cultivation in biochar and organic amended soils.Discussion: These findings provide valuable insights for farmers, governments, and stakeholders, offering a roadmap to optimize rainfed areas for rice production, serving as practical guidance to enhance overall rice productivity in rainfed agroecosystems.