1. 2021-01-01 Soil fauna plays a key role in many soil functions, such as organic matter decomposition, humus formation, and nutrient release, modifying soil structure, and improving its fertility. Soil invertebrates play key roles in determining soil suitability for agricultural production and realizing...
  2. 2022-04-01 Traditionally, livestock manure has been used to provide nutrients for plant growth and to improve soil conditions. However, the increase in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) results in high levels of plant nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, in the proximal crop and...
  3. A pioneer in scholarly, open access publishing, MDPI has supported academic communities since 1996. Based in Basel, Switzerland, MDPI has the mission to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines. Our 386 diverse, peer-reviewed, open access journals are supported by more...
  4. 2020-01-01 The growing world population exerts tremendous pressure on our finite food resources. Since the lion's share of the global calorie intake is reliant upon a handful of plant species like rice, wheat, maize, soybean, and potato, it is the need of the hour to expand our dietary reliance to...
  5. 2020-01-01 Global crop production must substantially increase to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. This is constrained by the availability of nutrients, water, and land. There is also an urgent need to reduce the negative environmental impacts of crop production. Collectively, these issues...
  6. 2022-01-01 Scientific understanding about domestication and the origins of food production in East Asia is undergoing rapid change based on new data from archaeology, paleobiology, and paleoenvironmental studies. The earliest agricultural and pastoral societies emerged from the highly diverse habitats and...
  7. 2019-01-01 Agriculture is certainly the most important food supplier while it globally accounts for more than 70% of water used and contributes significantly to water pollution. Irrigated agriculture is facing rising competition worldwide for access to reliable, low cost, and high-quality water resources....
  8. 2022-01-01 Agriculture requires technical solutions for increasing production while lessening environmental impact by reducing the application of agro-chemicals and increasing the use of environmentally friendly management practices. A benefit of this is the reduction of production costs. Sensor...
  9. 2019-01-01 Agriculture requires technical solutions for increasing production while lessening environmental impact by reducing the application of agro-chemicals and increasing the use of environmentally friendly management practices. A benefit of this is the reduction of production costs. Sensor...
  10. 2019-01-01 Intensive agriculture has generally resulted in higher productivity, but also in a trend towards decreasing levels of agro-biodiversity, which represents a key point in ensuring the adaptability and resilience of agro-ecosystems in the global challenge to produce more and better food in a...