Understanding and representing the transformation of agricultural production systems has attracted increasing interest due to its importance for identifying drivers of changes and coping mechanisms in response to global challenges. These challenges are all the most pressing in North African countries exposed to a dramatic reduction in rainfall and increasing temperatures that affect sustainability in more than half of this semi-arid territory. This paper describes an improved way to understand such transformations through a cross-cutting analysis of crop–livestock system indicators over a period of 10 years in one community in Southern Tunisia. Our methodology is divided into four steps: (i) systems identification, (ii) indicator-based assessment of system crop–livestock sustainability, (iii) hierarchical clustering to identify sustainable intensification (SI)-based farm types and, finally, (iv) analysis of trajectories of these farm types. Results showed that the sustainability of the systems studied increasingly depends on diversification rather than intensification, which dominated in the 2000s. However, diversification has not necessarily improved socio-economic viability. Over the 10-year period, results revealed a dramatic increase of almost 50% in the population of small-scale farms whose viability depends on a range of on- and off-farm activities to meet the short-term needs that correspond to a buffer strategy. Additionally, the dominant SI processes were shown to be mostly based on diversification to livestock activities with both milking and fattening. Our holistic and timeline approach to system transformation makes it possible to account for sustainability between (systems) generations, which will be highly needed in future discussions about sustainability.

Integrated pest management (IPM) seeks to minimize the environmental impact of pesticide application, and reduce risks to human and animal health. IPM is based on two important aspects – prevention and monitoring of diseases and insect pests – which today are being assisted by sensing and artificial-intelligence (AI) techniques. In this paper, we surveyed the detection and diagnosis, with AI, of diseases and insect pests, in cotton, which have been published between 2014 and 2021. This research is a systematic literature review. The results show that AI techniques were employed – mainly – in the context of (i) classification, (ii) image segmentation and (iii) feature extraction. The most used algorithms, in classification, were support vector machines, fuzzy inference, back-propagation neural-networks and recently, convolutional neural networks; in image segmentation, k-means was the most used; and, in feature extraction, histogram of oriented gradients, partial least-square regression, discrete wavelet transform and enhanced particle-swarm optimization were equally used. The most used sensing techniques were cameras, and field sensors such as temperature and humidity sensors. The most investigated insect pest was the whitefly, and the disease was root rot. Finally, this paper presents future works related to the use of AI and sensing techniques, to manage diseases and insect pests, in cotton; for instance, implement diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive models to know when and where the diseases and insect pests will attack and make strategies to control them.

The spatio-temporal variation of leaf chlorophyll content is an important crop phenotypic trait that is of great significance for evaluating crop productivity. This study used a soil-plant analysis development (SPAD) chlorophyll meter for non-destructive monitoring of leaf chlorophyll dynamics to characterize the patterns of spatio-temporal variation in the nutritional status of maize (Zea mays L.) leaves under three nitrogen treatments in two cultivars. The results showed that nitrogen levels could affect the maximum leaf SPAD reading (SPADmax) and the duration of high SPAD reading. A rational model was used to measure the changes in SPAD readings over time in single leaves. This model was suitable for predicting the dynamics of the nutrient status for each leaf position under different nitrogen treatments, and model parameter values were position dependent. SPADmax at each leaf decreased with the reduction of nitrogen supply. Leaves at different positions in both cultivars responded differently to higher nitrogen rates. Lower leaves (8th–10th positions) were more sensitive than the other leaves in response to nitrogen. Monitoring the SPAD reading dynamic of lower leaves could accurately characterize and assess the nitrogen supply in plants. The lower leaves in nitrogen-deficient plants had a shorter duration of high SPAD readings compared to nitrogen-sufficient plants; this physiological mechanism should be studied further. In summary, the spatio-temporal variation of plant nitrogen status in maize was analysed to determine critical leaf positions for potentially assisting in the identification of appropriate agronomic management practices, such as the adjustment of nitrogen rates in late fertilization.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of Marandu grass (Brachiaria brizantha) haylage according to different dry matter (DM) contents in storage. The design adopted was completely randomized with four treatments and five replications. The treatments were DM contents of the plant at the moment of storage (in natura, 30–40, 40–50 and 50–60% DM). The analyses to assess the quality of the haylage were performed after 90 days of storage. The chemical composition, microbiological population, gas quantification, pH, N-NH3, volatile fatty acids, soluble carbohydrates (CHO) and the aerobic stability were evaluated. The means were compared through the Tukey's test and linear regression. The treatment with 50–60% DM presented the highest DM and CHO contents which were 563.8 and 42.0 g/kg, respectively. There was a higher presence of oxygen in the haylage of in natura material, which was 4.8%. There was no difference between treatments for the population of lactic acid bacteria; however, the treatment with 50–60% DM had the highest concentration of enterobacteria. The haylage with 30–40% DM and 50–60% DM presented high concentrations of acetic acid. There was no break in aerobic stability for any treatment within 120 h after opening the bales. There was a smaller amount of N-NH3 in treatments with 40–50% DM and 50–60% DM. The Marandu grass with a DM content of 50–60% for haylage making demonstrated better quality characterization of conserved forage.

The use of ‘cut-and-carry’ (the mechanical harvesting and feeding of fresh grass) has increased in some temperate regions in recent years and evidence suggests that sward management practices in this system differ to conventional grazing. In order to investigate this further, a 2 × 3 × 2 factorial experiment was used to examine the effect of low (1489 kg dry matter (DM)/ha; LHM) and high (2142 kg DM/ha; HHM) pre-cutting herbage mass; three ryegrass cultivars, diploid perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne; DIP), tetraploid perennial ryegrass (TET) and a hybrid ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum × L. perenne; HY); and the inclusion of red clover (Trifolium pratense) on sward herbage production, nutritive value and ryegrass morphology. Plots were harvested according to herbage mass from March to November in 2018 and 2019. Annual DM production was 1489 kg DM/ha higher in HHM than in LHM swards. Pre-cutting herbage mass had no effect on organic matter digestibility (OMD) in early season for DIP and TET swards or in late season for all cultivars. There was an interaction between ryegrass cultivar and clover inclusion in annual yield whereby red clover increased DM production in all cultivars however, its effect was largest in HY swards. Red clover inclusion increased DM production but reduced OMD in early and mid-seasons. Overall, TET swards were lowest in neutral detergent fibre and highest in OMD compared to HY and DIP. Pre-cutting herbage mass, ryegrass cultivar and red clover inclusion require careful consideration when establishing and managing pastures in cut-and-carry systems.

A field study was conducted to evaluate the effect of weed management practices in the main crop on growth, yield and economics of rice- ratoon rice cropping system in two consecutive years i.e., 2014–15 and 2015–16. The result showed that Cyperus difformis was the most dominant weed in the main rice crop, whereas Ludwigia adscendes was the dominant weed in ratoon rice. In weed-free plots, the main crop recorded the highest productivity of 47.52 kg/ha/day, whereas the ratoon crop registered productivity of 37.70 kg/ha/day which was the 79.3% of the main crop productivity. In the weedy plot, crop-weed competition caused 28.8 and 37.5% reduction in energy use efficiency and energy productivity of the rice-ratoon rice cropping system respectively. Yield reduction of 37.3 and 43.6% in the main crop and ratoon crop respectively recorded due to weed infestation in weedy check. All the weed control practices registered an increase in system productivity, nutrient uptake and energy use efficiency. Among the herbicidal treatments, application of bensulfuron-methyl + pretilachlor (60 + 600 g/ha) at 10 DAS to the main crop registered a higher net return of USD$ 639.2 and 260.1 of main crop and ratoon crop, respectively. Hence it can be recommended for weed management in rice-ratoon rice cropping system.

This study was carried out to determine the effects of different irrigation levels and different tillage and sowing methods on the amount of irrigation water, evapotranspiration, water productivity (WP) and yield in the second crop soybean in Çukurova Region, Turkey. Three irrigation levels were applied (I100: completion to the field capacity of the available water of 60 cm soil depth weekly. I70: 70% of the water applied to I100, I50: 50% of the water applied to I100), five tillage and sowing methods were used (T1: traditional soil tillage, T2: reduced soil tillage, T3: reduced soil tillage, T4: ridge tillage, T5: no-tillage). The research was carried out in a randomized block split-plot design with three replications. The result of, the highest yield was obtained in I100xT1 with 4990 kg/ha, while the lowest yield was obtained in I50xT3 with 3150 kg/ha in irrigation x tillage interactions. When the water consumption values of plants were analysed, the highest was obtained with 632 mm I100 and the lowest with 399 mm I50. When WP values were analysed, the highest was obtained with 8.7 in I50 and the lowest in 6.6 and I100. As a result, full irrigation and direct sowing methods (I100T1) are recommended in soybean cultivation considering the highest water-yield relationship in the Mediterranean Region.

Vegetables are widely cultivated in high rainfall and mountainous regions in Sri Lanka with poor soil conservation practices. Accumulation of essential mineral and toxic trace elements in the soils and widely cultivated vegetables of this region are poorly understood. One hundred soil and vegetable (i.e. cabbage, carrot and potato) samples were collected at the time of harvest and analysed for element concentrations. Soils contained high concentrations of essential mineral (N, P, K, Cu, Zn and Mn) and toxic trace elements (As, Cd and Pb). When comparing edible parts, cabbage contained the highest concentrations of mineral and toxic trace elements, and potato contained the lowest. Irrespective of the crop, edible parts contained high concentrations of N, P, K (14–35, 2–6, 15–24 g/kg, respectively), and Cu, Zn, Mn (2.5–6.7, 11–30, 8–147 mg/kg, respectively). Vegetables also contained As, Cd and Pb (0.04–1, 0.02–0.15, 0.02–0.26 mg/kg, respectively), but did not exceed the maximum permissible limits. Irrespective of the crop, 36–64 kg N, 6–11 kg P and 35–45 kg K per ha were removed with the harvest. According to the current rate of vegetable consumption by Sri Lankans (i.e. 240 g fresh weight (FW) per day), per capita consumption of 0.05–0.2 mg Cu, 0.45–0.65 mg Zn and 0.5–2 mg Mn per day through these vegetables was observed, i.e. 5–23% Cu, 7.5–11% Zn and 22–87% Mn of the recommended daily intake. Vegetables grown in the region served as a key source of essential mineral elements. However, agronomic mitigation strategies are needed to improve soil health and sustainability of these cropping systems.

Livestock plays a crucial role in food and nutrition security. However, livestock production accounts for 0.18 of global greenhouse gas emissions. India has one of the highest livestock densities globally, mainly produced under traditional systems. Specifically, the emission and particularly nitrogen losses from cattle in traditional systems cannot be ignored. Nitrogen emission is substantial when cattle roam free and waste is not collected or managed efficiently. This paper reviews the literature to piece together the available information on nitrogen emissions from cattle in India to synthesize the evidence, identify gaps and contribute to further understanding of the problem. At the same time, the paper highlights the solutions to reduce nitrogen pollution from cattle production in India. The main findings are that most cattle in India are not reared to provide meat protein. The implication is that reactive nitrogen per capita consumption is lower than most developed countries. However, there are substantial inefficiencies in feed conversion, feed nitrogen use and manure management in India. As a result, nitrogen losses and wastage are considerable in the different production systems. Furthermore, the review suggests that social, cultural and economic factors such as convergent social behaviour, urbanization, regulations, changing consumption patterns, the demand for cheap fuel sources, culture and religion influence the production systems and, consequently, the emissions from livestock. Suggested solutions to reduce nitrogen pollution from cattle production in India are improving livestock productivity, adopting better feeding, manure and pasture management practices and using behavioural nudges.

With social network analysis, group structures of animals can be studied. However, underlying behavioural observations face problems of missing events or deviations between observers. The current study analysed the robustness of node-level network parameters based on tail-biting observations in pigs affected by missed events. Real observations of one observer were used as a gold standard to build true networks and to compare two sets of erroneous networks to them. The first set consisted of networks from different observers of the same data basis. The second set consisted of networks with a fixed error rate (random samples of the gold standard). The stability of the ranking order was used as an indication of accuracy (range 0–1; ≥0.49 good accuracy; ≥0.81 very good accuracy). Comparing observers with true networks yielded overall bad accuracy scores. Generally, outgoing network parameters (active: biting) provided better accuracy scores than ingoing network parameters (passive: being bitten). The results of sampled networks showed decreasing accuracy scores with increasing error rates. At the same error rate, longer observation periods yielded better accuracy scores. For sampled networks, differences between outgoing and ingoing network parameters were more distinct and local parameters (direct contacts) provided better accuracy scores than global parameters (direct and indirect contacts). Overall, sampled networks with 3/10 missed events yielded good to very good accuracy. As networks with more observations handle missed events better, studies of behavioural observations always need to evaluate the required accuracy and feasible workload. The current study gives insights in the accurate estimation of behavioural observations.

The inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense has the potential to reduce the use of mineral fertilizers with efficient capacity to promote plant growth and yield. Most studies on the Azospirillum–plant association have been conducted on cereals and annual grasses. More studies are needed in perennial pastures, such as bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) that require substantial nitrogen (N) fertilization to maximize their production potential. Therefore, pastures based on Tifton 85 bermudagrass in association with annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), which were inoculated with A. brasilense and fertilized with increasing amounts of N fertilizer and grazed by lactating Holstein cows were evaluated. Three grazing systems were evaluated: (i) Tifton 85, inoculated + 180 kg N/ha per year; (ii) Tifton 85 + 230 kg N/ha per year; and (iii) Tifton 85 + 280 kg N/ha per year. Forage samples were collected before and after grazing to evaluate the responses of the plants and animals. The forage yields of the systems were 21.0, 20.8 and 22.1 t DM/ha per year and the stocking rates were 3.9, 3.8 and 4.0 animal unit/ha per day, respectively. Crude protein, total digestible nutrients and neutral detergent fibre concentrations were 162, 560 and 667 g/kg, respectively. Inoculation in pastures planted with Tifton 85 bermudagrass in combination with ryegrass (plus 180 kg N/ha per year) had a positive effect, providing forage yield and nutritional value equivalent to those with fertilization with 230 kg N/ha per year.

To overcome grass supply shortages on the main grazing block, some pasture-based dairy farmers are using zero-grazing (also known as ‘cut and carry’), whereby cows are periodically housed and fed fresh grass harvested from external land blocks. To determine the effect of zero-grazing on cow performance, two early-lactation experiments were conducted with autumn and spring-calving dairy cows. Cows were assigned to one of two treatments in a randomized complete block design. The two treatments were zero-grazing (ZG) and grazing (G). The ZG group were housed and fed zero-grazed grass, while the G group grazed outdoors at pasture. Both treatments were fed perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) from the same paddock. In experiment 1, 24 Holstein Friesian cows (n = 12) were studied over a 35-day experimental period in autumn and offered fresh grass, grass silage, ground maize and concentrates. In experiment 2, 30 Holstein Friesian cows (n = 15) were studied over a 42-day experimental period and offered fresh grass and concentrates. Average dry matter intake and milk yield was similar for ZG and G in both experiments. Likewise, ZG did not have an effect on milk composition, body condition or locomotion. Zero-grazing had no effect on total nitrogen excretion or nitrogen utilization efficiency in either experiment, or on rumen pH and ammonia concentration in experiment 1. While zero-grazing may enable farmers to supply fresh grass to early-lactation cows in spring and autumn, results from this study suggest that there are no additional benefits to cow performance in comparison to well-managed grazed grass.