Root-knot nematodes (RKN) severely reduce watermelon yields worldwide, despite its nutraceutical value. This study investigated the effects of rock dust (RD) and poultry manure (PM) amendments, applied singly or in combination, on RKN suppression and watermelon fruit yield enhancement. A two-trial field experiment was conducted utilizing a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The treatments included RD and PM each applied at 0, 2.5, or 5 t/ha and combined applications of RD and PM at 2.5 or 5 t/ha each. At 60-66 days post-inoculation, root galling and RKN population density were assessed alongside root-shoot weight. The results indicated that root galling in watermelons was reduced by 60-85 % and 67-89 % in the combined RD- and PMtreated plots across the 1st and 2nd trials, respectively, in contrast to the control plots. Likewise, the RKN population was suppressed by 94-99 % in treated plots in both trials, differing from the control plots. Notably, watermelon fruit yield was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in combined RD and PM treated plots, ranging from 24.7 to 33.7 t/ha and 34.6-46.5 t/ha in the 1st and 2nd trials, respectively, compared to control plots with 13.5 t/ha in the 1st trial compared to and 20.9 t/ha yield in the 2nd trial. In conclusion, our study indicates that coapplication of RD and PM effectively reduced RKN damage and enhanced watermelon fruit yield, providing a sustainable strategy for watermelon production.

Soil compaction caused by heavy agricultural machinery poses a significant challenge to sustainable farming by degrading soil health, reducing crop productivity, and disrupting environmental dynamics. Field traffic optimization can help abate compaction, yet conventional algorithms have mostly focused on minimizing route length while overlooking soil compaction dynamics in their cost function. This study introduces Soil2Cover, an approach that combines controlled traffic farming principles with the SoilFlex model to minimize soil compaction by optimizing machinery paths. Soil2Cover prioritizes the frequency of machinery passes over specific areas, while integrating soil mechanical properties to quantify compaction impacts. Results from tests on 1000 fields demonstrate that our approach achieves a reduction in route length of up to 4-6% while reducing the soil compaction on headlands by up to 30% in both single-crop and intercropping scenarios. The optimized routes improve crop yields whilst reducing operational costs, lowering fuel consumption and decreasing the overall environmental footprint of agricultural production. The implementation code will be released with the third version of Fields2Cover, an open-source library for the coverage path planning problem in agricultural settings.

In many soil processes, including solute and gas dynamics, the architecture of intra-aggregate pores is a crucial component. Soil management practices and wetting-drying (W-D) cycles, the latter having a significant impact on pore aggregation, are two key factors that shape pore structure. This study examines the effects of W-D cycles on the architecture of intra-aggregate pores under three different soil management systems: no-tillage (NT), minimum tillage (MT), and conventional tillage (CT). The soil samples were subjected to 0 and 12 W-D cycles, and the resulting pore structures were scanned using X-ray micro-computed tomography, generating reconstructed 3D volumetric data. The data analyses were conducted in terms of multifractal spectra, normalized Shannon entropy, lacunarity, porosity, anisotropy, connectivity, and tortuosity. The multifractal parameters of capacity, correlation, and information dimensions showed mean values of approximately 2.77, 2.75, and 2.75 when considering the different management practices and W-D cycles; 3D lacunarity decreased mainly for the smallest boxes between 0 and 12 W-D cycles for CT and NT, with the opposite behavior for MT. The normalized 3D Shannon entropy showed differences of less than 2% before and after the W-D cycles for MT and NT, with differences of 5% for CT. The imaged porosity showed reductions of approximately 50% after 12 W-D cycles for CT and NT. Generally, the largest pores (>0.1 mm3) contributed the most to porosity for all management practices before and after W-D cycles. Anisotropy increased by 9% and 2% for MT and CT after the cycles and decreased by 23% for NT. Pore connectivity showed a downward trend after 12 W-D cycles for CT and NT. Regarding the pore shape, the greatest contribution to porosity and number of pores was due to triaxial-shaped pores for both 0 and 12 W-D cycles for all management practices. The results demonstrate that, within the resolution limits of the microtomography analysis, pore architecture remained resilient to changes, despite some observable trends in specific parameters.

Quantification and evaluation ofthe spatiotemporal changes in soil quality is importantto understand soil degradation mechanisms and restore the damaged land productivity. However, the effects of coal mining subsidence on the spatial and temporal characteristics of soil quality are not well understood. We investigated the contents of pH, organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN), nitrate nitrogen (NN), ammonia nitrogen (AN), total phosphorus (TP), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK), total potassium (TK), cation exchange capacity (CEC), sucrase activity (SA), urease activity (UA), phosphatase activity (PA), catalase activity (CA) and dehydrogenase activity (DA) in the coal mining subsided area. The results showed that the contents of TN, NN, AN, TP, AK, TK, SA, UA, PA, CA and DA exhibited significant (P < 0.05) differences among the four seasons. Compared with the upper layer (0-20 cm), the lower layer (20-40 cm) contained higher contents of AN, NN, TN, TP and TK but lower contents of SA, UA, PA, CA and DA. The NN, AP, TP, AK and UA were identified as key indicators in the minimum dataset using principal component analysis. The seasonal changes of soil quality index (SQI) were in the following order: winter (0.707), spring (0.681), summer (0.616), and autumn (0.563). The spatial changes of SQI were highest for middle slope position 3 (0.508), followed by lower slope position 4 (0.507), top slope position 1 (0.446), upper slope position 2 (0.442), and bottom slope position 5 (0.437). Based on these spatiotemporal changes in soil quality, it was suggested that the application of multiple land use types may be a useful method for land reclamation and the interest of local farmers in the coal mining subsided area.

Investigating the natural propensity for land use is essential, especially in areas subject to intense human action. Using soil without considering its productive capacity can lead to underutilization or overutilization, resulting in inefficiency or severe damage. This study aimed to determine the land use capability at the Center for Agricultural Sciences (CCA) of the Federal University of S & atilde;o Carlos (UFSCar). By evaluating the morphological, physical, and chemical attributes of the soils, the land use capability was determined using the Land Use Capability System, which classifies soils according to their greatest limitation. It was found that the entire area falls into Group A, suitable for uses ranging from the preservation of fauna and flora to annual crops. However, there are differences in soil conservation needs observed among the classes. On the campus, class III predominates (94.14% of the total area), indicating areas with complex conservation and/or improvement problems; class II, with simpler issues, covers 2.31%, while 3.54% present serious soil conservation problems. In addition to the 23.78% of the area occupied by Permanent Preservation Area (APP) and Legal Reserve (RL), 67.59% of the area is being used appropriately, 3.54% above capacity, and 5.09% below. For overutilized areas, less intensive management or conservation designation, along with the implementation of recovery and erosion control practices, are recommended. Underutilized areas can be exploited to their full potential, while for adequately used areas, maintaining conservation practices is essential to ensure resource sustainability.

Organic mulching is a promising technique for sustainable weed control and soil management, as it enhances crop growth, soil quality, water retention, and erosion control. This research evaluated the effects of organic mulches-wheat straw, wood chips, spray cellulose pulp, compost, and a cover crop mixture-on the physical-mechanical properties of organic garden soil transitioning to natural farming. The controlled soil received no mulch. The soil was fertilized with mature bovine manure prior to a three-year crop rotation of tomato, lettuce, and savoy cabbage. Mulching occurred after the second harrowing and before transplanting. Soil analyses were conducted to assess changes after three years. Soil organic carbon levels increased significantly in soils treated with compost, cover crops, or chipped wood mulching (6.81, 3.17, and 2.07%, respectively) compared to other treatments (1.24% in the control plot). Different kinds of mulch had a significant impact on soil's physical-mechanical parameters. Compost, compared to the control, decreased the bulk density (from 1.22 to 0.89 Mg m-3), increased the infiltration rate (from 8.53 to 21.07 L m-2), and reduced compressive deformation (from 37.08 to 18.23%). The composition of mulch materials, specifically their nitrogen and carbon concentrations, C/N ratio, and moisture content, plays a significant role in influencing changes in soil properties.

Integrated crop-livestock production (ILP) is an interesting alternative for more sustainable soil use. However, more studies are needed to analyze the soil pore properties under ILP at the micrometer scale. Thus, this study proposes a detailed analysis of the soil pore architecture at the micrometer scale in three dimensions. For this purpose, samples of an Oxisol under ILP subjected to minimum tillage (MT) and no tillage (NT) with ryegrass as the cover crop (C) and silage (S) were studied. The micromorphological properties of the soil were analyzed via X-ray microtomography. The MT(C) system showed the highest values of porosity (c. 20.4%), connectivity (c. 32.8 x 103), volume (c. 26%), and the number of pores (c. 32%) in a rod-like shape. However, the MT(S), NT(C), and NT(S) systems showed greater tortuosity (c. 2.2, c. 2.0, and c. 2.1) and lower pore connectivity (c. 8.3 x 103, c. 6.9 x 103, and c. 6.2 x 103), especially in S use. Ellipsoidal and rod-shaped pores predominated over spheroidal and disc-shaped pores in all treatments. The results of this study show that the use of ryegrass as a cover crop improves the soil physical properties, especially in MT. For S use, the type of soil management (MT or NT) did not show any differences.

This study investigates the historical variability in annual average precipitation in the northwest region of Mexico, aiming to evaluate the cumulative impact of precipitation on soil degradation and associated risks posed by rainfall. Despite being known as The Agricultural Heart of Mexico, the region's soil has experienced significant damage to its granulometric structure due to unpredictable rainfall patterns attributed to climate change. Sixteen historical series of average annual rainfall were analyzed as stationary stochastic processes for spectral analysis. The results revealed exponential decay curves in each radial spectrum, indicating a linear relationship between frequency and amplitude. These curves identified initial impulses correlated with moments of severity for structural damages caused by rainfall-induced degradation. The degradation process, exacerbated by water stress, accelerates, as evidenced by maps illustrating approximately 75% soil damage. In the context of climate change and the uncertainty surrounding soil responses to extreme meteorological events, understanding this phenomenon becomes crucial. Recognizing the dynamic nature of soil responses to environmental stressors is essential for effective soil management. Emphasizing the need to employ numerical processes tailored to new environmental considerations related to observed soil damages is crucial for sustainable soil management practices in any region.

Conventional soil management in agricultural areas may expose non-target organisms living nearby to several types of contaminants. In this study, the effects of soil management in extensive pasture (EP), intensive pasture (IP), and sugarcane crops (C) were evaluated in a realistic-field-scale study. Thirteen aquatic mesocosms embedded in EP, IP, and C treatments were monitored over 392 days. The recommended management for each of the areas was simulated, such as tillage, fertilizer, pesticides (i.e. 2,4-D, fipronil) and vinasse application, and cattle pasture. To access the potential toxic effects that the different steps of soil management in these areas may cause, the cladoceran Ceriophania silvestrii was used as aquatic bioindicator, the dicot Eruca sativa as phytotoxicity bioindicator in water, and the dipteran Chironomus sancticaroli as sediment bioindicator. Generalized linear mixed models were used to identify differences between the treatments. Low concentrations of 2,4-D (<97 mu g L-1) and fipronil (<0.21 mu g L-1) in water were able to alter fecundity, female survival, and the intrinsic rate of population increase of C. silvestrii in IP and C treatments. Similarly, the dicot E. sativa had germination, shoot and root growth affected mainly by 2,4-D concentrations in the water. For C. sancticarolli, larval development was affected by the presence of fipronil (<402.6 ng g(-1)). The acidic pH (below 5) reduced the fecundity and female survival of C. silvestrii and affected the germination and growth of E. sativa. Fecundity and female survival of C. silvestrii decrease in the presence of phosphorus-containing elements. The outcomes of this study may improve our understanding of the consequences of exposure of freshwater biota to complex stressors in an environment that is rapidly and constantly changing.

Current soil- and land degradation seriously challenge our societies; it contributes to climate change, loss of biodiversity and loss of agricultural productions. Yet, soils are also seen as a major part of the solution, if maintained or restored to provide ecosystem services. Climate-smart sustainable management of soils can provide options for soil health maintenance and restoration. In the European Union, the resource management and sustainability challenge are addressed in the Green Deal that, among other goals, aspires towards a healthy climate-resilient agricultural sector that will produce sufficient products without damaging ecosystems and contribute to better biodiversity and mitigate climate change. The European Joint Programme (EJP) SOIL was set up to contribute to these goals by developing knowledge, tools and an integrated research community to foster climate-smart sustainable agricultural soil management that provides a diversity of ecosystem service, such as adapting to and mitigating climate change, allowing sustainable food production, and sustaining soil biodiversity. This paper provides an overview of the potential of climate-smart sustainable soil management research to the targets of the Green Deal that are related to soils most directly. The EJP SOIL EU-wide consultation (interviews and questionnaires) and literature analysis (national and international reports and papers) done in the first year (2020-2021) generated a wealth of data. This data showed that there are specific manners to do research that are essential for it to be effective and efficient and that can actively contribute to the Green Deal targets. We concluded that research needs to be: (i) interdisciplinary, (ii) long-term, (iii) multi-scaled, from plot to landscape, (iv) evaluating trade-offs of selected management options for ecosystem services and (v) co-constructed with key stakeholders. Research on climate-smart sustainable soil management should be developed (1) on plot scale when mobilizing soil processes and on landscape scale when addressing sediment and water connectivity and biodiversity management; and (2) address the enabling conditions through good governance, social acceptance and viable economic conditions. A guideline to European agricultural soil management: three layers for sustainable soil management: the biosphere: healthy soils and (bio)diverse landscapes (green bar); solutions: based on functioning of the natural system (yellow bar); enabling conditions: finding the social and economic enable conditions (blue bar).image