Sustainable agricultural technologies (SATs) are essential for improving agricultural sustainability, yet their sustained adoption among smallholder farmers remains challenging. Agricultural industry organizations (AIOs), including cooperatives and agribusiness enterprises, may complement government interventions by providing various forms of support. However, limited studies have examined how AIO support and government regulation jointly influence farmers’ sustained SAT adoption. Based on survey data from 484 kiwifruit farmers in Shaanxi Province, China, this study investigates the effect of AIO support on the sustained adoption of three SATs, namely soil testing and formulated fertilization (STFF), drip irrigation (DI), and orchard grass cover (OGC), using Probit models and the KHB mediation method. The results show that AIO support is positively associated with farmers’ sustained SAT adoption. Furthermore, AIO support is linked to adoption through its enhancement of farmers‘ perceptions of binding, incentive, and guiding regulations, with guiding regulation perception showing the strongest mediating effect. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that incentive support plays a more important role in STFF and DI adoption, guiding support has a stronger effect on OGC adoption, and market-oriented entities show a greater promoting effect on OGC adoption than collaborative-oriented entities. These findings highlight the role of AIO support in promoting sustained SAT adoption and provide evidence for designing targeted strategies.

Increasing the yield per unit area is crucial for achieving stable growth in China’s cotton production. Based on the transcendental logarithmic production function model and using panel data from eight major cotton-producing provinces in China from 1990 to 2022, this paper measures the elasticity of climate factors and factor inputs and calculates the contribution rate of each factor influencing cotton yield increase. The results show that accumulated temperature positively impacts cotton yield, while precipitation and sunshine duration have negative effects. Climate factors contribute 7.95% to yield growth. Among input factors, agricultural machinery and labor inputs positively affect yield, whereas fertilizer input negatively affects it. Factor inputs contribute 44.21% to yield improvement. Technological progress also plays a role in enhancing cotton yield. Finally, the paper suggests improving meteorological disaster forecasting, optimizing input structures, and promoting agricultural research and technology services based on local conditions.

Mulch film recycling is essential for reducing soil pollution, ensuring sustainable land use, and promoting green agricultural development. This study examines the impact of agricultural labor age on mulch film recycling behavior, utilizing survey data from 739 households in Xinjiang. The relationship between labor age and recycling behavior follows an inverted U-shape, with participation initially increasing and then decreasing as age advances. We explore the mediating roles of human capital and ecological cognition in this relationship. Both human capital and ecological cognition display inverted U-shaped patterns with age, which in turn influence recycling behavior. Furthermore, social norms were found to positively moderate the relationship between labor age and ecological cognition, while no significant moderating effect was observed between age and human capital. These findings suggest that enhancing human capital and ecological awareness, coupled with the reinforcement of social norms, can facilitate mulch film recycling. The study underscores the importance of developing targeted policies to support various age groups in adopting sustainable agricultural practices.