The antioxidant glutathione (GSH) mitigates adverse physio-metabolic effects and defends against abiotic types of stress, such as cadmium (Cd) stress. However, its function and role in resisting Cd phytotoxicity by leveraging plant antioxidant-scavenging, redox-regulating, and hormone-balancing systems have not been comprehensively and systematically demonstrated in the Cd-hyperaccumulating plant Brassica napus L. cv. Tammi (oilseed rape). In this study, the effects of exogenously applied GSH to the leaves of B. napus seedlings exposed to Cd (10 μM) were investigated. As a result, Cd stress alone significantly inhibited growth and increased the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the bioaccumulation of Cd in the seedlings compared with those in unstressed controls. Furthermore, Cd stress induced an imbalance in plant stress hormone levels and decreases in endogenous GSH levels and GSH redox ratios, which were correlated with reductions in ascorbate (AsA) and/or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) redox states. However, the exogenous application of GSH to Cd-stressed B. napus seedlings reduced Cd-induced ROS levels and enhanced antioxidant-scavenging defenses and redox regulation by both increasing seedling AsA, GSH, and NADPH concentrations and rebalancing stress hormones, thereby enhancing Cd uptake and accumulation. These results demonstrate that GSH improved plant redox status by upregulating the AsA-GSH-NADPH cycle and reestablishing normal hormonal balance. This indicates that exogenously applied GSH can mitigate Cd phytotoxicity in B. napus and possibly other plants. Therefore, GSH can potentially be applied to Cd-polluted soil for plant remediation.

Introduction: There is lack of information on the impact of acidity correctives (lime and silicate) and nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizers on the fertility, carbon stocks, carbon stratification, and carbon sequestration potential of paddy soils. To fill this knowledge gap and contribute to knowledge on how the treatments impact the soil ecosystem functions and services, a long-term field experiment was established in 1954 with four treatments and five replicates arranged in a randomized complete block design.Methods: Four treatments with five replicates per treatment were laid out in a randomized complete block design. The treatments included control/untreated (CT), only NPK, silicate-fortified NPK (NPKSi), and lime-fortified NPK (NPKLi). The treatments were applied to paddy soils classified as Fluvaquentic Eutrudepts.Results and discussion: Application of the treatments led to significant increases in soil pH by 0.9, 1.12, and 1.5 pH units in the NPK, NPKLi, and NPKSi-treated soils in 2021, respectively, compared to the initial soil pH. The increase in pH subsequently led to significant reductions in C stratification and C stocks, with reduced rates of C sequestration observed to be more pronounced in the soils treated with lime and silicate-fortified NPK fertilizers (NKPSi and NPKLi). Both NPKSi and NPKLi moderately increased soil fertility. The highest increase in soil fertility was observed in the NPKSi treatment, with an annual growth rate of 0.0160 and a relative change ratio of 128.2% relative to the initial soil fertility index recorded in 1970. A Pearson correlation analysis revealed that soil pH, exchangeable calcium, and available silicate were the soil properties that significantly contributed to the increase in the soil fertility of the treated soils in the rice paddy agroecosystem.Significance: Conclusively, the inclusion of silicate in long-term fertilization is an effective strategy to mitigate soil acidity and increase soil fertility.

Soil analysis is fundamental to sustainable agriculture; however, traditional laboratory methods are time-consuming, expensive, and environmentally hazardous. Spectroscopy techniques, particularly Near-Infrared (NIR), have gained considerable attention because they require minimal sample preparation, no chemicals, and predict multiple soil properties with a single scan. However, selecting appropriate equipment remains critical, as previous studies have reported inconsistent performance between conventional Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and advanced Fourier-Transform Near-Infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the predictive performance of conventional NIR and advanced FT-NIR spectroscopy for sixteen soil properties. Soil samples (n = 567) were collected from different land-use types across South Korea at a depth of 0–20 cm and analyzed using laboratory methods and spectroscopy techniques. Five models, including partial least squares regression (PLSR), Cubist, support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and memory-based learning (MBL), were evaluated using 15-fold cross-validation to assess prediction accuracy. Overall, conventional NIR spectroscopy yielded consistently higher accuracy for all soil properties than FT-NIR. Strong predictive accuracy was achieved for EC (R² = 0.84), OM (R² = 0.84), avl. P (R² = 0.77), TN (R² = 0.84), and CEC (R² = 0.76). In contrast, FT-NIR provided good prediction accuracy only for Ex. K (R² = 0.72) and TN (R² = 0.84). The average performance of NIR (R² = 0.67) outperformed FT-NIR spectroscopy (R² = 0.63) across all soil properties. These findings demonstrate that, despite their lower spectral resolution, NIR spectra provide robust predictive capability across a wide range of soil properties, which can significantly reduce the investment cost of advanced equipment such as FT-NIR for routine soil analysis.

This study evaluated whether compost produced by agricultural residues-mixed livestock manure could improve crop productivity and soil quality while reducing inorganic fertilizer use and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions in upland cultivation of autumn Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L.). Direct incorporation of crop residues often provides limited benefits due to slow decomposition and nitrogen immobilization; therefore, residues were aerobically co-composted with livestock manure and applied in combination with inorganic fertilizers. The results showed that treatments receiving the agricultural residue–manure compost significantly increased cabbage growth and yield. In particular, the treatment combining compost with 50% the recommended inorganic fertilizer rate produced higher yields than the 100% inorganic fertilizer treatment alone. Compost application improved soil chemical properties, including higher pH, organic carbon, available phosphorus, and exchangeable base cations, and enhanced nitrogen uptake and nitrogen use efficiency. Moreover, cumulative N₂O emissions were reduced by about 21% in the 50% rate inorganic fertilizer plus compost treatment compared with inorganic fertilizer alone. Overall, these findings indicate that co-composted agricultural residues and livestock manure can serve as an effective soil amendment, maintaining high crop productivity while lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reducing reliance on inorganic fertilizers, thereby supporting more sustainable nutrient management in upland cropping systems. Acknowledgments This study was supported by (2026) the RDA Fellowship Program of National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (Project No. RS-2022-RD010368), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.