The need to intensify agricultural production due to a growing human population requires yield gaps to be closed. In 2009 and 2010, five management factors were assessed for their individual and cumulative contributions to reducing the corn (Zea mays L.) yield gap and yield components in a corn–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation. Five management factors (plant population, transgenic insect resistance, fungicide containing strobilurin, P–S–Zn fertility, and N fertility) were evaluated.

Nitrogen (N) deposition-induced soil acidification has become a global problem. However, the response patterns of soil acidification to N addition and the underlying mechanisms remain far from clear. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis of 106 studies to reveal global patterns of soil acidification in responses to N addition. We found that N addition significantly reduced soil pH by 0.26 on average globally. However, the responses of soil pH varied with ecosystem types, N addition rate, N fertilization forms, and experimental durations.

The Cauvery delta encompasses legendary farmlands for at least over the last 2300 years BP that had supported the growth of the famous Chola and Pandya kingdoms. The chrono-stratigraphic study from six sediment cores taken from the Cauvery basin indicates Holocene evolution of the present delta in response to past sea-level changes.

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A charcoal-rich product called biochar could boost agricultural yields and control pollution. Scientists are putting the trendy substance to the test.

Full-sun cocoa farming is currently the most widespread cocoa cultivation system in humid and sub-humid Côte d’Ivoire. Higher short-term yields from increasing surfaces under cultivation in this farming system have contributed to the country being ranked as top cocoa producer in the world.

Soil enzyme activities provide unique biochemical assessment of soil function as a good indicator of soil fertility which can be altered due to the profusion of fluoride in soil and seasonal change. Seven sites were chosen in the fluoride affected area of Nasipur, Birbhum district, West Bengal, India, to make a comparative assessment of the seasonal changes of enzyme (urease, amylase, cellulase and invertase), fluoride content, physicochemical characteristics along with the availability of microbes in the soil with control.

Advance biochar production technique, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC, wet pyrolysis) offers an option to tap the benefits of biomass residues of food industry characterized by high moisture and low calorific value. HTC is more energy efficient due to its low temperature operationsand higher biochar recovery rates (up to 90%).

The variation and control of soil organic carbon (SOC) and other nutrients in permafrost regions are critical for studying the carbon cycle and its potential feedbacks to climate change; however, they are poorly understood. Soil nutrients samples at depths of 0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm, were sampled eight times in 2009 in alpine swamp meadow, alpine meadow and alpine steppe in permafrost regions of the central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.