Climate-adaptive crop distribution can feed food demand, improve water scarcity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Optimizing crop distribution stands as a pivotal approach to climate change adaption, enhancing crop production sustainability, and has been recognized for its immense potential in ensuring food security while minimizing environmental impacts. Here, we developed a climate-adaptive framework to optimize the distribution of staple crops (i.e., wheat, maize, and rice) to meet the multi-dimensional needs of crop production in China. The framework considers the feasibility of the multiple cropping systems (harvesting more than once on a cropland a year) and adopts a multi-dimensional approach, incorporating goals related to crop production, water consumption, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By optimizing, the total irrigated area of three crops would decrease by 7.7 % accompanied by a substantial 69.8 % increase in rain-fed areas compared to the baseline in 2010. This optimized strategy resulted in a notable 10.0 % reduction in total GHG emissions and a 13.1 % decrease in irrigation water consumption while maintaining consistent crop production levels. In 2030, maintaining the existing crop distribution and relying solely on yield growth would lead to a significant maize production shortfall of 27.0 %, highlighting a looming challenge. To address this concern, strategic adjustments were made by reducing irrigated areas for wheat, rice, and maize by 2.3 %, 12.8 %, and 6.1 %, respectively, while simultaneously augmenting rain-fed areas for wheat and maize by 120.2 % and 55.9 %, respectively. These modifications ensure that production demands for all three crops are met, while yielding a 6.9 % reduction in GHG emissions and a 15.1 % reduction in irrigation water consumption. This optimization strategy offers a promising solution to alleviate severe water scarcity issues and secure a sustainable agricultural future, effectively adapting to evolving crop production demands in China.

Optimizing Grain Yield and Radiation Use Efficiency through Synergistic Applications of Nitrogen and Potassium Fertilizers in Super Hybrid Rice.

The remarkable yield performance of super hybrid rice has played a crucial role in ensuring global food security. However, there is a scarcity of studies investigating the contribution of radiation use efficiency (RUE) to hybrid rice yields under different nitrogen and potassium treatments. In this three-year field experiment, we aimed to evaluate the impact of two hybrid rice varieties (Y-liangyou 900: YLY900 and Quanyouhuazhan: QYHZ) under varying nitrogen regimes (N90: 90 kg N ha-1, N120: 120 kg N ha-1, N180: 180 kg N ha-1) and potassium regimes (K120: 120 kg K2O ha-1, K160: 160 kg K2O ha-1, K210: 210 kg K2O ha-1) on grain yield and its physiological determinants, including RUE, intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (IPAR), aboveground biomass production, and harvest index (HI). Our results revealed that both rice varieties exhibited significantly higher yields when coupled with nitrogen and potassium fertilization. Compared to the N90 × K120 treatment, the N120 × K160 and N180 × K210 combinations resulted in substantial increases in grain yield (12.0% and 21.1%, respectively) and RUE (11.9% and 21.4%, respectively). The YLY900 variety showed notable yield improvement due to enhanced aboveground biomass production resulting from increased IPAR and RUE. In contrast, the QYHZ variety's aboveground biomass accumulation was primarily influenced by RUE rather than IPAR, resulting in higher RUE and grain yields of 9.2% and 5.3%, respectively, compared to YLY900. Importantly, fertilization led to significant increases in yield, biomass, and RUE, while HI remained relatively constant. Both varieties demonstrated a positive relationship between grain yield and IPAR and RUE. Multiple regression analysis indicated that increasing RUE was the primary driver of yield improvement in hybrid rice varieties. By promoting sustainable agriculture and enhancing fertilizer management, elevating nitrogen and potassium levels from a low base would synergistically enhance rice yield and RUE, emphasizing the critical importance of RUE in hybrid rice productivity compared to HI.

Biostimulants alleviate water deficit stress and enhance essential oil productivity: a case study with savory.

Water deficit stress exposure frequently constrains plant and agri-food production globally. Biostimulants (BSs) can be considered a new tool in mitigating water deficit stress. This study aimed to understand how BSs influence water deficit stress perceived by savory plants (Satureja hortensis L.), an important herb used for nutritional and herbal purposes in the Middle East. Three BS treatments, including bio-fertilizers, humic acid and foliar application of amino acid (AA), were implemented. Each treatment was applied to savory plants using three irrigation regimes (low, moderate and severe water deficit stress FC100, FC75 and FC50, respectively). Foliar application of AA increased dry matter yield, essential oil (EO) content and EO yield by 22%, 31% and 57%, respectively. The greatest EO yields resulted from the moderate (FC75) and severe water deficit stress (FC50) treatments treated with AA. Primary EO constituents included carvacrol (39-43%), gamma-terpinene (27-37%), alpha-terpinene (4-7%) and p-cymene (2-5%). Foliar application of AA enhanced carvacrol, gamma-terpinene, alpha-terpinene and p-cymene content by 6%, 19%, 46% and 18%, respectively. Physiological characteristics were increased with increasing water shortage and application of AA. Moreover, the maximum activities of superoxide dismutase (3.17 unit mg-1 min-1), peroxidase (2.60 unit mg-1 min-1) and catalase (3.08 unit mg-1 min-1) were obtained from plants subjected to severe water deficit stress (FC50) and treated with AA. We conclude that foliar application of AA under water deficit stress conditions would improve EO quantity and quality in savory.