To determine the phthalic acid ester (PAE) contents within the soil and agricultural products of facility agriculture in Xinjiang Province, we detected 16 kinds of PAE compounds within 249 soil samples and 203 agricultural product samples through gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Five PAEs, namely DMP, DEP, DBP, DEHP, and DIBP, were identified in the soil. Their detection rates were found to range from 84.7% to 100%, with total concentrations spanning from 7.29 to 1064.1 μg kg⁻¹ and a mean concentration of 111.8 μg kg⁻¹. The primary PAE pollutants obtained in the soil included DBP, DEHP, and DMP, which accounted for 49.2%, 27.0%, and 12.4% of the total content, respectively. In the agricultural products, six PAEs were detected: DEHP, DBP, DIBP, BMPP, DPP, and DNOP, with detection rates from 3.0% to 46.8% and total contents varying from ND to 5140 μg kg⁻¹ (mean of 637.60 μg kg⁻¹). Among them, DBP, DNOP, and BMPP were the major PAE contaminants in the agricultural products. As demonstrated by a human health risk evaluation, dietary intake of PAEs constituted the primary route of exposure to both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks. DBP and DNOP posed the greatest non-carcinogenic risks to both adults and children; however, the non-carcinogenic risk values for the five PAE congeners in the study area were all less than 1. The carcinogenic risk associated with DEHP was lower than the USEPA-recommended level of carcinogenic risk. Based on these findings, the PAE contents in soil and agricultural products within our study area are not harmful to human health.

This study highlights how different agronomic practices reshape the microbial communities structure in brown-desert soils of Xinjiang’s Aksu region, with the goal of informing sustainable soil stewardship and agricultural strategies. Employing an L₉ (3⁴) orthogonal array, we assessed the effects of different planting densities, irrigation levels, and fertilization strategies on the soil’s physicochemical properties, enzymatic activity, and microbial community composition. Our results highlight the dual role of fertilization: while it is the best strategy to increase agricultural productivity on low-fertility soils in the short term, excessive fertilization can have potentially detrimental effects. (1) it triggers salt accumulation and exacerbates salinization, and (2) it leads to an imbalance in C/N metabolism that inhibits microbial bioactivity. Through high-throughput sequencing, we identified significant shifts in the soil’s bacterial and fungal populations (e.g., Proteobacteria and Ascomycota) in response to agricultural interventions, with the type and extent of fertilization being pivotal to microbial diversity. Redundancy analysis revealed a significant interplay between soil microbial assemblages and underlying physicochemical attributes. This research underscores the necessity for judicious agronomic practices to maintain the delicate balance of microbial life within the soil, offering critical insights for the sustainable soil management of agricultural lands in Xinjiang.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of planting density, irrigation volume, and nitrogen application on the resistance of rapeseed to lodging and yield and to provide technical support for achieving high yield and lodging resistance. We employed an L₉ (3⁴) orthogonal array, different planting densities, irrigation levels, and nitrogen applications to investigate their impact on rapeseed lodging and yield. The results showed the following: (1) Irrigation had the greatest effect on rapeseed lodging. This effect was most pronounced for the combination (A3B3C2), which exhibited the most severe lodging phenomenon (90%). Planting density had the greatest effect on yield, and the optimal combination was A2B2C3, which reached 3744 kg/hm² in 2023 and 3420 kg/hm² in 2024. (2) The agronomic practices increased the content of lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, crude fiber, pectin, and soluble sugar fractions in the stalks by enhancing their flexural, puncture, and stress resistance. This led to the highest yield while reducing the rate of lodging. This emphasizes the importance of agricultural practices for rapeseed lodging and yield, providing critical insights into rapeseed cultivation in the Aksu region of Xinjiang.