Palm oil (PO) is a very important commodity used as food, in pharmaceuticals, for cooking and as biodiesel: PO is a major contributor to the economies of many countries, especially Indonesia and Malaysia. Novel tropical regions are being explored increasingly to grow oil palm as current land decreases, whilst recent published modelling studies by the current authors for Malaysia and Indonesia indicate that the climate will become less suitable. Countries that grow the crop commercially include those in Latin America, Africa and Asia. How will climate change (CC) affect the ability to grow oil palm in these countries? Worldwide projections for apt climate were made using Climex software in the present paper and the global area with unsuitable climate was assessed to increase by 6%, whilst highly suitable climate (HSC) decreased by 22% by 2050. The suitability decreases are dramatic by 2100 suggesting regions totally unsuitable for growing OP, which are currently appropriate: the global area with unsuitable climate increased from 154 to 169 million km2 and HSC decreased from 17 to 4 million km2. This second assessment of Indonesia and Malaysia confirmed the original findings by the current authors of large decreases in suitability. Many parts of Latin America and Africa were dramatically decreased: reductions in HSC for Brazil, Columbia and Nigeria are projected to be 119 000, 35 and 1 from 5 000 000, 219 and 69 km2, respectively. However, increases in aptness were observed in 2050 for Paraguay and Madagascar (HSC increases were 90 and 41%, respectively), which were maintained until 2100 (95 and 45%, respectively). Lesser or transient increases were seen for a few other countries. Hot, dry and cold climate stresses upon oil palm for all regions are also provided. These results have negative implications for growing oil palm in countries as: (a) alternatives to Malaysia and Indonesia or (b) economic resources per se. The inability to grow oil palm may assist in amelioration of CC, although the situation is complex. Data suggest a moderate movement of apposite climate towards the poles as previously predicted.

Studies on climate impacts and related adaptation strategies are becoming increasingly important to counteract the negative impacts of climate change. In Ethiopia, climate change is likely to affect crop yields negatively and therefore food security. However, quantitative evidence is lacking about the ability of farm-level adaptation options to offset the negative impacts of climate change and to improve food security. The MarkSim Global Climate Model weather generator was used to generate projected daily rainfall and temperature data originally taken from the ECHAM5 general circulation model and ensemble mean of six models under high (A2) and low (B1) emission scenarios. The FAO AquaCrop model was validated and subsequently used to predict maize yields and explore three adaptation options: supplemental irrigation (SI), increasing plant density and changing sowing date. The maximum level of maize yield was obtained when the second level of supplemental irrigation (SI2), which is the application of irrigation water when the soil water depletion reached 75% of the total available water in the root zone, is combined with 30 000 plants/ha plant density. It was also found that SI has a marginal effect in good rainfall years but using 94–111 mm of SI can avoid total crop failure in drought years. Hence, SI is a promising option to bridge dry spells and improve food security in the Rift Valley dry lands of Ethiopia. Expected longer dry spells during the shorter rainy season (Belg) in the future are likely to further reduce maize yield. This predicted lower maize production is only partly compensated by the expected increase in CO2 concentration. However, shifting the sowing period of maize from the current Belg season (mostly April or May) to the first month of the longer rainy season (Kiremt) (June) can offset the predicted yield reduction. In general, the present study showed that climate change will occur and, without adaptation, will have negative effects. Use of SI and shifting sowing dates are viable options for adapting to the changes, stabilizing or increasing yield and therefore improving food security for the future.

Global nitrous oxide (N2O) inventory estimates for pasture systems are refined based on measurements of N2O loss from simulated urine patches. A variety of methods are used for patch simulation but they frequently use a uniform wetted area (UWA), often smaller than a bovine urine patch. However, natural patches follow non-uniform infiltration patterns expanding naturally from a point of deposit with a non-wetted zone of influence. Using 2 litres of urine the UWA method was compared, using a 0·156 m2 collar, with a naturally expanding effective area (NEEA) method, using a 0·462 m2 collar under high (HL) and low (LL) N2O loss conditions. The method chosen affects urine nitrogen (N) loading to the soil. Under HL the UWA method induced a N2O-N loss of 280·6 mg/patch, significantly less than the 434·8 mg/patch loss for the NEEA method, for the same simulated urination. Under LL there was no method effect. Efforts should be made to employ patch simulation methods, which mimic natural deposits and can be achieved, at least in part, by: (a) Using a urine volume and N content similar to that of the animal of interest. (b) Allowing natural infiltration of the chosen urine volume to permit tapering towards the edges. (c) Measuring from the zone of influence in addition to the wetted area, i.e. the patch effective area.

The response of grain yield, grain nitrogen (N), phenological development and evapotranspiration of winter wheat to climate change was analysed over an 80-year period based on climate change predictions of four regional circulation models (RCMs) under the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) A1B emission scenario for the 21st century using three process-based models; A 20-year set (1991–2010) of observed daily climate data from Aarslev, Denmark was used to form the baseline, from which the RCM data were generated. The simulation of crop growth was performed with increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and under continuous mono-cropping system at different N input rates. Results indicated that grain yield and grain N will be reduced in the future despite increased CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. While the increased N input may increase yield, it will not increase grain N. The present study suggested that in Denmark, alternative strategies for organic N acquisition of plants must be developed. Statistical analyses showed that while the crop models were the main source of uncertainty in estimating crop performance indicators in response to climate change, the choice of RCM was the main source of uncertainty in relation to baseline estimations.

Climate change has greatly affected agricultural production, and will lead to further changes in cropping system, varietal type and cultivation techniques for each region. The potential effects of climate change on rice production in Fujian Province, China, were explored in the current study with CERES-Rice model and climate-change scenarios, based on the self-adaptation of rice production. The results indicated that simulated yields of early rice in the double-rice region in south-eastern Fujian under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B increased by 15·9, 18·0 and 19·2%, respectively, and correspondingly those of late rice increased by 9·2, 7·4 and 7·4% when self-adaptation adjustment was considered, compared to scenarios without that consideration. In the double-rice region in north-western Fujian, simulated yields of early rice increased by 21·2, 20·5 and 18·9% and those of late rice by 14·7, 14·8 and 7·2% under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B, respectively, when self-adaptation was considered, compared to without consideration. Similar results were obtained for the single-rice region in the mountain areas of north-western Fujian, correspondingly increasing by 4·9, 5·0 and 2·9% when self-adaptation was considered compared to when it was not. In this single-rice region, double rice might be grown in the future at the Changting site under scenarios A1 and B2. When the self-adaptation adjustment was considered, the simulated overall output of rice crops in Fujian under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B increased by 5·9, 5·2 and 5·1%, respectively. Thus, more optimistic results were obtained when the self-adaptation ability of rice production was considered.

The term ‘stay-green’ (SG) is used in studies with varieties showing delayed senescence in the field. However, delayed appearance of visual symptoms of leaf senescence does not guarantee a longer duration of photosynthesis. The question arises whether the variation in photosynthetic capacity between silage maize varieties currently on the Belgian market is large enough to define different SG types. Furthermore, physiological traits were investigated as proxies for photosynthesis, including chlorophyll concentration, nitrogen (N) concentration, SPAD readings and greenness score. Finally, the functionality of the SG trait was determined by studying dry matter (DM) and N partitioning in the plants. To address these questions, eight silage maize varieties were monitored at two sites in Belgium over 2 years (2013–2014). Two plant types were found: hereafter called ‘normal’ and ‘SG’. The SG varieties had higher values for photosynthetic capacity and they coincided with higher values for the proxies. Because a higher photosynthetic capacity did not provoke higher assimilate accumulation in the leaves, the SG trait was characterized as a cosmetic one. The SG trait influenced N dynamics in the plant: lower N translocation from the leaves to the ear resulted in lower ear N concentration and lower ear DM yield. No differences in whole-crop N concentration and whole-crop DM yield were found. As the SG trait mainly provokes shifts in partition of DM and N between vegetative and generative tissues, the energy source also shifts from starch (provided by the ear) to cell wall material (provided by the stover).

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.) is a naturally stress-tolerant plant, a major reserve crop and a model for panicoid grasses. The recent completion of the S. italica genome facilitates identification and characterization of WRKY transcription factor family proteins that are important regulators of major plant processes, including growth, development and stress response. The present study identified 103 WRKY transcription factor-encoding genes in the S. italica genome. The genes were named SiWRKY1–SiWRKY103 according to their order on the chromosomes. A comprehensive expression analysis of SiWRKY genes among four different tissues was performed using publicly available RNA sequencing data. Eighty-four SiWRKY genes were more highly expressed in root tissue than in other tissues and nine genes were only expressed in roots. Additionally, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to comprehensively analyse the expression of all SiWRKY genes in response to dehydration. Results indicated that most SiWRKY genes (over 0.8) were up-regulated by drought stress. In conclusion, genome-wide identification and expression profiling of SiWRKY genes provided a set of candidates for cloning and functional analyses in plants’ response to drought stress.

Drought and salinity are two major environmental factors limiting faba bean growth, leading to considerable reduction in their productivity. The WRKY gene family act as major transcription factors that might play an important role in abiotic stress tolerance. In the present study, two partial sequences sharing significant homology with known WRKY genes were isolated from faba bean by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using degenerate primers targeting the well-conserved WRKY domain. The isolated WRKY gene fragments were designated as VfWRKY1 and VfWRKY2 showing 62% similarity between them. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses revealed that VfWRKY1 and VfWRKY2 belong to WRKY group I and could be grouped with their orthologues from other plant species. The gene expression profile of VfWRKY1 and VfWRKY2 in faba bean showed that they are significantly accumulated in various plant organs. Further, quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that both transcripts were responsive to drought and salt stress, and also they are genotype dependent, meaning that different faba bean cultivars respond in a different way to drought and salt challenge. The expression patterns obtained suggest the important roles of VfWRKY1 and VfWRKY2 in drought and salt stress response and tolerance. This knowledge might be helpful in the identification of drought-tolerant cultivars and provide potential candidate markers for faba bean breeding in order to develop osmotic-stress-tolerant cultivars.

Assessment of the value for cultivation and use (VCU) of a new cultivar, essential for its official registration, is done through a series of trials carried out over a 2–3-year period and across many locations. In a set of multi-environment VCU trials, evaluation of new genotypes can be a laborious task due to the presence of genotype by environment interactions, which can hide their true genetic value. In an attempt to reveal the true genetic value of new cultivars, a good starting point is investigation of the importance of various genetic and environmental sources of variation, which can be done by estimating relative magnitude of corresponding variance components within the mixed model framework.

Genotype × location × year (G × L × Y) data set for seven crops taken from the 10-year period 2001–10 was used in the present study to estimate the variance components for main effects and their interactions in Croatian VCU trials. Depending on the crop, the most important and least important components were Y or LY, and L or GL, respectively. Genotypic effect was relatively small, ranging from 2·1 to 13·4% of the total variation. The current results are comparable with the relative sizes of the variance components obtained in studies from four- to sixfold larger countries, indicating that the environments within Croatia, if sufficiently widely sampled, can provide as extreme cultivar responses as a geographically more dispersed set of VCU trials. The gap range in different crops is much wider (30–60%) than in Western Europe (up to 30%), but it remained constant over the 10-year period.

Hazard identification is the first step in assessing the risk of a genetically modified (GM) crop. It employs the concept of substantial equivalence to evaluate crop safety. The current process relies on subjective opinions to integrate various comparisons among the GM crop, the non-GM counterpart and an assortment of non-GM references over an array of key endpoints measured in field trials. The pre-eminent need to control the consumer's risk in hazard identification has been left unaddressed. The current paper develops statistical strategies to resolve this issue. Hypotheses of individual tests are explicitly defined to reflect the study objectives. They are then grouped into families and connected by logical operators according to decision rules commonly used in crop safety evaluation. This pre-specification of hypotheses arranged in an organized layout leads to a simple, transparent decision-making process where the consumer's risk can be managed directly. A two-stage multiplicity adjustment procedure is created by applying fundamental principles for multiple testing to the newly assembled families of hypotheses. The practical utility of the proposed procedure is shown in a real-world example. Besides being easy to implement and convey, the proposed statistical strategies accommodate the addition of supportive evidence for safety and allow the nature of the genetic modification to be taken into account.

Cobalt (Co) is essential for rumen microbial metabolism to synthesize methane, acetate and methionine. It also serves as a structural component of vitamin B12 (cobalamin), which functions as a coenzyme in energy metabolism. A study was conducted to determine if Co form (carbonate v. glucoheptonate) supplemented above the National Research Council requirements would improve digestibility of a low-quality forage diet and change serum cobalamin concentrations. Nineteen ruminally cannulated cows (577 ± 13 kg) were fed individually in a completely randomized experimental design. Cows were fed a grass hay diet that contained (79·2 g/kg crude protein, 565 g/kg total digestible nutrients, 633·2 g/kg neutral detergent fibre (NDF), 874·2 g/kg dry matter) at a rate of 0·02% of body weight on a as fed basis for a 62-day study, which consisted of three periods; acclimation (AC), treatment (TR) and residual (RE). Measurements taken in the AC period were used as covariates for analysis in the TR and RE periods. Cows were stratified by age (5 ± 0·4 years) and lactational history, and assigned to receive 12·5 mg supplemental Co in one of two forms: (1) 27·2 mg of Co carbonate (CC, n = 11 cows) or (2) 50 mg of Co glucoheptonate (CGH, n = 8 cows). Supplement was administered daily via a gelatin capsule placed directly into the rumen 2 h after feeding. During the last 96 h of each period, forage digestibility was measured using an in situ nylon bag technique. Blood samples were collected 4 and 6 h following feeding, and 24 h before the end of each period. A treatment × period interaction was detected for in situ organic matter (OM) disappearance at 96 h; (TR period: 684 and 708 ± 81 g/kg; RE period: 676 and 668 ± 75 g/kg, for CC and CGH, respectively). Once inclusion of Co in the CGH group was removed, OM disappearance was reduced by 4·01% compared with 0·82% in the CC cows. The NDF disappearance (OM basis) was less for the TR compared with the RE at 48 h (629 and 652 ± 39 g/kg, respectively). However, by 96 h NDF disappearance was greater for TR than the RE (704 and 689 ± 44 g/kg; respectively). No differences were detected for cobalamin serum concentrations or rate of fibre fermentation. The outcomes of the current research signify that there may be a slight residual effect of Co supplementation on fermentation; there was also an indication that Co source may enhance the overall extent of fermentation.

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of different levels of crude glycerine (CG, 810·9 g glycerol/kg) replacing dry ground maize on intake, digestibility, microbial nitrogen (N) synthesis and N utilization in grazing beef cattle. Five Nellore bulls (332 ± 29·6 kg initial body weight (BW)) were used in a 5 × 5 Latin square design. The animals grazed five Marandu grass (Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu) paddocks of approximately 0·32 ha. Five supplements were evaluated: mineral supplementation (control, only ad libitum access to a mineral mixture) and 4 g of protein-energy supplementation/kg of BW with four levels of CG (0, 330, 660 and 1000 g/kg) replacing dry ground maize. Bulls that received protein-energy supplementation had greater organic matter (OM) pasture and digested OM (DOM) intakes than the control. No differences were observed among CG levels with regard to OM pasture, neutral detergent fibre and DOM intakes. However, ether extract intake increased linearly as CG levels increased. Protein-energy supplementation enhanced efficiency of microbial N synthesis, N balance and ammonia concentration, but they were not influenced by the CG levels. In conclusion, partial or total replacement of dry ground maize by CG in protein-energy supplements for grazing beef cattle exerted no changes on pasture intake, digestibility and N utilization. Therefore, the use of CG as an energy source in supplements for grazing cattle can be recommended.

In the near future, ruminants may be forced to consume low-quality water since potable drinking water will become increasingly scarce in some regions of the world. A completely randomized design trial was completed to evaluate the effect of increasing concentrations of total dissolved salts (TDS) (640, 3187, 5740 and 8326 mg TDS/l) in drinking water on the performance, diet digestibility, microbial protein synthesis, nitrogen (N) and water balance using 24 Red Sindhi heifers (200 ± 5 kg) that were fed Buffel (Cenchrus ciliaris) grass hay and concentrate in a ratio of 50 : 50. After a 15-day diet adaptation period, the digestion study was completed over a 5-day period and the performance trial was completed over a 56-day period. Dry matter intake, average daily gain, feed:gain, intake and digestibility of most feed components were unaffected by the concentration of salt in the water. However, intake and digestibility of neutral detergent fibre declined linearly as TDS inclusion rate increased. Further, the inclusion of TDS resulted in a linear increase in the intake of drinking water and total (food plus drinking) water intake. Similarly, TDS inclusion levels resulted in a linear increase in total water excretion, with urine being the major route of water excretion. In contrast, increasing concentrations of TDS caused a linear decrease in creatinine and allantoin excretions. Finally, increasing the inclusion rate of TDS resulted in a linear decrease in N retention and a linear increase in urinary N excretion, which may pose a considerable challenge for farmers with respect to the reduction and management of nutrient losses.