The application of organic manures was found to be beneficial, however, the integrated use of organic manures with chemical nitrogen fertilizers has proven more sustainable in increasing the photosynthetic attributes and grain yield of the winter-wheat crop. A multi-factor split-plot design was adopted, nitrogen and manure fertilizer treatments were set in the sub-plots, including nitrogen-gradient treatment of T1:0 kg N ha⁻¹, T2:100 kg N ha⁻¹, T3:200 kg N ha⁻¹, and T4:300 kg N ha⁻¹ (pure nitrogen -fertilizer application) The 25% reduction in nitrogen combined with the manure-fertilizer application includes T5:75 kg N ha⁻¹ nitrogen and 25 kg N ha⁻¹ manure, T6:150 kg N ha⁻¹ nitrogen and 50 kg N ha⁻¹ manure, and T7:225 kg N ha⁻¹ nitrogen and 75 kg N ha⁻¹ manure. The maximum results of the total chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate were 5.73 mg/g FW and 68.13 m mol m⁻² s⁻¹, observed under T4 in Zhongmai 175, as compared to Jindong 22 at the heading stage. However, the maximum results of intercellular CO₂ concentration were 1998.47 μmol mol⁻¹, observed under T3 in Jindong 22, as compared to Zhongmai 175 at the tillering stage. The maximum results of LAI were 5.35 (cm²), observed under T7 in Jindong 22, as compared to Zhongmai 175 at the booting stage. However, the maximum results of Tr and Gs were 6.31 mmol H₂O m⁻² s⁻¹ and 0.90 H₂O mol m⁻² s⁻¹, respectively, observed under T7 in Zhongmai 175 as compared to Jindong 22 at the flowering stage. The results revealed that grain yield 8696.93 kg ha⁻¹, grains spike⁻¹ 51.33 (g), and 1000-grain weight 39.27 (g) were significantly higher, under T3 in Zhongmai 175, as compared to Jindong 22. Moreover, the spike number plot⁻¹ of 656.67 m² was significantly higher in Jindong 22, as compared to Zhongmai 175. It was concluded from the study that the combined application of nitrogen and manure fertilizers in winter wheat is significant for enhancing seed at the jointing and flowering stages. For increased grain yield and higher economic return, Zhongmai 175 outperformed the other cultivars examined. This research brings awareness toward the nitrogen-fertilizer-management approach established for farmers’ practice, which might be observed as an instruction to increase agricultural management for the winter-wheat-growth season.

Long-term continuous cotton cropping results in a significant decrease in soil quality and soil organic carbon, threatening cotton yield. The application of organic amendments is considered an effective management practice for the sustainability of soil productivity and often increases yield. However, the sustainable improvement in the cotton yield, stability, and soil fertility over time resulting from organic amendments with cotton straw and organic manure still need to be confirmed with research, especially under a continuous cotton cropping system. This study evaluated the effect of 12 years of consecutive application of cotton straw and organic manure on continuous cotton yield, soil quality, and soil organic carbon. Four treatments, i.e., chemical N and P fertilizers (NP, control), NP plus cotton straw (NPS), NP plus manure (NPM), and NP plus cotton straw and manure (NPSM), were carried out. The results indicated that the addition of cotton straw and organic manure improved the temporal stability and sustainability of cotton yield. The combination of cotton straw and organic manure resulted in the greatest improvement, increasing the average annual cotton yield by 32.28% compared with the control (NP). A correlation analysis revealed that cotton yield was closely related to soil quality and soil organic carbon. The application of cotton straw and organic manure increased cotton yield by enhancing soil fertility, especially the quantity and quality of soil organic carbon, which improved the supply and cycling of soil nutrients and benefited the stability and sustainability of the cotton yield. Reusing cotton straw and organic manure could improve the sustainable productivity of cotton soil and provide additional environmental value as well as having great potential for cleaner and sustainable cotton production.

Water and fertilizer play an important role in crop growth in dryland areas. It is a necessity to improve the water use efficiency (WUE) of the crop once the water resource is limited. In northern China, where there is a wide shortage of water resources, it is therefore necessary to investigate how fertilization affects the WUE of spring maize and to quantify the effects. A total of 33 published peer-reviewed papers were collected, and a meta-analysis and random forest model analysis were performed with 364 WUE comparisons, aiming to explore the effects of fertilization on the WUE of spring maize and to clarify the optimal conditions for WUE under fertilizer management. The results showed that fertilization significantly increased the WUE of spring maize by 56.72% (P < 0.01) when compared with non-fertilization. The WUE effect under the organic–inorganic fertilizer combination (MNPK) was approximately twice as high as that under inorganic fertilizer (NPK) or organic fertilizer (M). The greatest increase in WUE occurred at 0–100 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen application (NA). Under environmental conditions including 7 ≤ mean annual temperature in the test year (T) ≤ 10 °C, 400 ≤ mean annual precipitation in the test year (P) ≤ 600 mm, and mean altitude (A) > 1500 m, and soil conditions including 10 ≤ soil organic matter content (SOM) ≤ 14 g kg⁻¹ and available phosphorus (AP) < 5 mg kg⁻¹, the fertilization optimally enhanced the WUE of spring maize when the agronomic measures of ridge–furrow planting (RFP) and mulching film (MF) were used. The random forest model analysis indicated that the influence factors (i.e., fertilizer regimes, environmental factors, soil factors, and agronomic measures) caused 65.62% of the variation in spring maize WUE effects, while in all influence factors, fertilizer types related to fertilizer regimes caused the most variation. The initial available potassium (AK) and available nitrogen (AN) of the soil were negatively correlated to the WUE effect, indicating that fertilization imposed a better effect on the WUE of spring maize when the soil was infertile. Fertilization significantly increased the WUE of spring maize, and organic and inorganic fertilizer application provided an effective measure for the sustainable development of spring maize in northern China. After clarifying the required conditions for fertilization increasing WUE, high-efficiency water use may be achieved.

Root rot is one of the main reasons for yield losses of red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) production. Pre-inoculation with Trichoderma harzianum can effectively lower the incidence of red kidney bean root rot. In this study, four treatments including CK (control), Fu13 (Fusarium oxysporum), T891 (T. harzianum) and T891 + Fu13 (T. harzianum + F. oxysporum) were arranged in a pot experiment to investigate how T891 affected the incidence and severity of root rot, plant growth, and changes of defense enzyme activity in red kidney bean plants. Community composition and diversity of the rhizosphere microbiota was evaluated through high-throughput sequencing, and co-occurrence network was analyzed. The results showed that when compared to the Fu13 treatment, pre-inoculation with T891 reduced the incidence and severity of red kidney bean root rot by 40.62 and 68.03% (p < 0.05), increased the root length, shoot length, total dry biomass by 48.63, 97.72, 122.17%. Upregulated activity of super-oxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) by 7.32, 38.48, 98.31% (p < 0.05), and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) by 23.70% (p < 0.05), respectively. Microbiological analyses also showed that F. oxysporum reduced alpha diversity resulting in alteration the composition of the rhizosphere microbial community in red kidney bean. T891 significantly reduced abundance of F. oxysporum, allowing the enrichment of potentially beneficial bacteria Porphyrobacter (ASV 46), Lysobacter (ASV 85), Microbacteriaceae (ASV 105), and Gemmatimonas (ASV 107), resulting in a more stable structure of the microbial network. The results of random forest analysis further revealed that ASV 46 (Porphyrobacter) was the primary influencing factor for the incidence of root rot after inoculation with T891, while ASV 85 (Lysobacter) was the primary influencing factor for the biomass of red kidney bean. In conclusion, T. harzianum promotes the growth of red kidney bean and inhibits root rot by improving plant antioxidant enzyme activity and regulating the rhizosphere microbial community.

As a potential crop in saline-alkali land, the growth of switchgrass could also be threatened by salt stress. Promoting the growth of switchgrass under salt stress by humic acid has great significance in the utilization of saline-alkali land. In this study, a pot experiment was arranged to investigate the responses of photosynthetic and physicochemical characteristics of switchgrass to HA under salt stress. Results showed that humic acid increased the photosynthetic function of switchgrass and enhanced plant height by 41.1% and dry weight by 26.9% under salt stress. Correlation analysis showed that the membrane aquaporin gene PvPIP1, malondialdehyde, ascorbate peroxidase, abscisic acid, polyamine, and jasmonic acid were important factors affecting the photosynthetic function of switchgrass in this study. Meanwhile, HA reduced the content of malondialdehyde, indicating the alleviation of the membrane damage caused by salt stress. On the other hand, HA upregulated the relative expression of the PvPIP1 gene and activated ascorbate peroxidase, abscisic acid, polyamine, and jasmonic acid in switchgrass to resist salt stress. These improved the membrane stability and promoted the photosynthetic activity of switchgrass to enhance the plant’s tolerance against salt stress and growth. Results from this study are helpful to the efficient growing of switchgrass and the sustainable development of saline-alkali land.

The effect of fallow tillage practices such as subsoiling and deep plowing on soil water storage and grain yields of dryland wheat has been frequently studied. However, the layered characteristics of water storage and their correlations with yield formation under each tillage were less investigated across several years. A randomized complete block design was conducted to investigate the effects of three tillage practices (NT, no-tillage; SS, subsoiling; DP, deep plowing) on soil water storage (SWS), yield structure, precipitation use efficiency (PUE), water use efficiency (WUE) and grain quality of dryland wheat for three consecutive years. The use of SS and DP increased SWS of 0–200 cm soil depths by 3.1% and 7.9% compared with NT over the 3 years. Subsoiling was more favorable for SWS in the 100–200 cm sublayer, while DP strongly increased the effect on the 0–100 cm upper layer. The grain yields, PUEs and WUEs under SS and DP were greater than those in NT. Grain yield had great correlation with SWS_0-100cm. Protein content and most grain quality indicators under SS and DP decreased. Grain qualities exhibited the most negative correlation with SWS at the sowing stage and precipitation in fallow period.