Measuring the agricultural sustainability of India:An application of Pressure-State-Response(PSR)model

Analyzing agricultural sustainability is essential for designing and assessing rural development initiatives.However,accurately measuring agricultural sustainability is complicated since it involves so many different factors.This study provides a new suite of quantitative indicators for assessing agricultural sustainability at regional and district levels,involving environmental sustainability,social security,and economic security.Combining the PressureState-Response(PSR)model and indicator approach,this study creates a composite agricultural sustainability index for the 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions of India.The results of this study show that the Trans-Gengatic Plain Region(TGPR)ranks first in agricultural sustainability among India's 14 mainstream agro-climatic regions,while the Eastern Himalayan Region(EHR)ranks last.Higher livestock ownership,cropping intensity,per capita income,irrigation intensity,share of institutional credit,food grain productivity,crop diversification,awareness of minimum support price,knowledge sharing with fellow farmers,and young and working population,as well as better transportation facilities and membership of agricultural credit societies are influencing indicators responsible for higher agricultural sustainability in TGPR compared with EHR.Although,the scores of environmental sustainability indicators of EHR are quite good,its scores of social and economic security indicators are fairly low,putting it at the bottom of the rank of agricultural sustainability index among the 14 mainstream agroclimatic regions in India.This demonstrates the need of understanding agricultural sustainability in relation to social and economic dimensions.In a nation as diverse and complicated as India,it is the social structure that determines the health of the economy and environment.Last but not least,the sustainability assessment methodology may be used in a variety of India's agro-climatic regions.

Composting of Disposal Organic Wastes: Resource Recovery for Agricultural Sustainability

One of the major problems of agricultural soils in the tropical regions of the Pacific is the low organic matter content.Because of the hot and humid environment,the soil organic matter(SOM)is minimal due to rapid decomposition.Composted organic material is being applied on agricultural fields as an amendment to provide nutrients and enhance the organic matter content for improving the physical and chemical properties of the cultivated soils.In addition land application of composted material as a fertilizer source effectively disposes of wastes that otherwise are buried in landfills.In our soil program at the University of Guam,we are evaluating the use of organic material as an alternative to synthetic fertilizers.Its goal is to develop management strategies and use available resources for improving crop production while conserving resources and preserving environmental quality.Our case study project is designed to improve soil fertility status by using composted organic wastes and assessing how the nitrogen and other essential nutrients contribute to long-term soil fertility and crop productivity without application of synthetic fertilizers.In our pilot project,compost is produced from wood chips,grinded typhoon debris mixed with animal manure,fish feed,shredded paper and other organic wastes.Mature compost is then applied on the field at the rates of 0,5,10 and 20 t/ha as a soil amendment on the eroded cobbly soils of southern Guam.Corn is planted and monitored for growth performance and yield.The effect of land application of composted material on the SOM content and overall soil quality indices are being evaluated in this pilot study.

Assessment of the agricultural sustainability of Shaanxi Province,China

It is significant for the study on the sustainable development of regional agriculture to monitor and measurethe trend of agricultural development with an effective method. The sustainable development of regional agricultureshould accord with regional population, rural economic development, social progress, resource and environmentalsupport. This paper establishes the evaluating indicators system of sustainable development of regional agriculture,evaluates the agricultural sustainable development in Shaanxi Province with a comprehensive multi-indicator method,analyzes the support of resource and environment for regional agriculture by the resource-development index and theenvironment-development index, and gets the conclusion that the indicators, such as education level, the income gapbetween urban and rural residents, the per capita area under cultivation and the consumption of pesticides and chemicalfertilizers per hectare, are the main factors to restrict agricultural sustainability, and that the pressure of the developmentof subsystems of population, economy and society on the subsystems of resource and environment turns out to bestronger and stronger. Agricultural environment gets better, but resource becomes one of the important factors to restrictthe development of regional agriculture. In a word, this paper highlights the potentials and limitations of sustainableagriculture of Shaanxi and helps identify the development direction in the future.

Agricultural sustainability in a sensitive environment——a case analysis of Loess Plateau in China

Loess Plateau, an arid and semi arid region in Northwest China, is well known for its most serious soil erosion in terms of sediment yield each year. Soil erosion, which is intensified by agricultural activities, is the major factor influencing sustainable agriculture development in this region. It reduces productivity by removing nutrients and especially reducing water availability that is essential for crop production in the area. It also brings about off site costs by demanding more efforts for maintenance of banks and dams along Yellow River through raising the riverbed with sediment. Climate is capricious and extreme weather conditions occur frequently, which impairs normal agricultural production with erosion and also decrease of water availability. Extensive way of farming still dominates on the Loess Plateau, which cannot produce satisfying economic results and needs to be improved or altered. Conventional agricultural production pattern needs to be reconsidered for husbandry has not been granted its due position. Agriculture is the backbone of economy. Poor agricultural production impedes economic development and vice versa, backward economy also influences the advancement of agriculture. Besides a large population, education status of farmers is another threshold that requires being resolved for a sustainable agriculture. Although conventional agriculture has been practiced there for more than 5000 years, now it cannot meet the demand for food and fiber by the increasing population and some of its farming practices are contributing to environmental degradation directly or indirectly and can sustain no longer. Agriculture on Loess Plateau needs to find its own way of sustainability. To work toward a sustainable agriculture, chances and challenges both indwell on Loess Plateau.

Agricultural intensity for sustainable regional development:A case study in peri-urban areas of Karawang Regency,Indonesia

Peri-urban areas are playing an increasingly crucial role in the agricultural development and intensification in Indonesia.Peri-urban agriculture is highly vulnerable to change compared with urban and rural agriculture,due to its location in transitional areas.Indicators of peri-urban agricultural intensity can help guide regional development.In this study,we assessed the sustainability of peri-urban areas based on agricultural intensity in Karawang Regency,Indonesia.We developed a village-based index to assess the region’s agricultural intensity by rescaling the village agriculture index(VAI)and combining the local sustainability index(LSI)with factor analysis.Since the unit of analysis is the village,we modified the LSI to the village sustainability index(VSI).In addition,we also developed a logical matrix analysis to determine the level of agricultural sustainability(LoAS)of each village.The combined results of the three indices(VAI,VSI,and LoAS)generated information about agricultural sustainability.The results indicated that peri-urban villages with high agricultural intensity tended to exhibit low levels of social welfare,economic development,and disaster risk.Moreover,high agricultural intensity did not necessarily ensure the prosperity of the people.Instead,there was the economic disparity among the villages in the study area.Encouraging diversity of agricultural intensity seems to be more critical than promoting agricultural intensity itself.Overall,this study highlights the distinctive characteristics and dynamic of peri-urban areas.New approaches,variables,and information regarding the combination of agricultural intensity and sustainability need to be developed as valuable tools for regional planning.

Maize-soybean strip intercropping： Achieved a balance between high productivity and sustainability

Intercropping is one of the most vital practice to improve land utilization rate in China that has limited arable land resource. However, the traditional intercropping systems have many disadvantages including illogical field lay-out of crops, low economic value, and labor deficiency, which cannot balance the crop production and agricultural sustainability. In view of this, we developed a novel soybean strip intercropping model using maize as the partner, the regular maize-soybean strip intercropping mainly popularized in northern China and maize-soybean relay-strip intercropping principally extended in southwestern China. Compared to the traditional maize-soybean intercropping systems, the main innovation of field lay-out style in our present intercropping systems is that the distance of two adjacent maize rows are shrunk as a narrow strip, and a strip called wide strip between two adjacent narrow strips is expanded reserving for the growth of two or three rows of soybean plants. The distance between outer rows of maize and soybean strips are expanded enough for light use efficiency improvement and tractors working in the soybean strips. Importantly, optimal cultivar screening and increase of plant density achieved a high yield of both the two crops in the intercropping systems and increased land equivalent ratio as high as 2.2. Annually alternative rotation of the adjacent maize-and soybean-strips increased the grain yield of next seasonal maize, improved the absorption of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potasium of maize, while prevented the continuous cropping obstacles. Extra soybean production was obtained without affecting maize yield in our strip intercropping systems, which balanced the high crop production and agricultural sustainability.

Sustainability assessment of potato fields using the DEXi decision support system in Hamadan Province, Iran

Potato is a staple food crop and the most important agricultural commodity, which critically affects food security and economic stability in Hamadan Province, Iran. Ex-ante sustainability appraisal of new cropping systems and their comparisons with conventional systems can increase the efficiencies of innovations and changes within the production process. This study aimed to explore the sustainability levels of potato cropping systems in Hamadan Province, Iran. To this end, DEXi methodology was developed for the sustainability assessment of the cropping systems. For assessing the three dimensions of environmental, economic, and social sustainability in the four systems of traditional potato system （TPS）, Quasi-industrial potato system （QIPS）, industrial potato system （IPS）, and government-promoted potato system （GPPS）, five groups of features were utilized： （1） irrigation method; （2） seed placement; （3） farm machinery use; （4） agrochemical use; and （5） rotation. The impact a^sessments of the cropping systems were based on two, three, and two groups of ecological, social, and economic indicators, respectively. Employment, supply chain, protection, operational difficulty, productivity, profitability, input use, and biodiversity resulted in 21 basic indicators and 13 aggregated indicators, by which the cropping systems were described. The results revealed that GPPS with distinctive economic and social profiles could have a better overall sustainability despite the fact that some indicators like biodiversity could be negatively affected. Finally, three strategies were recommended for the sustainability of GPPS as follows： biodiversity enhancement, input substitution, and integrated water management.

The Stony Soils Reclamation Systems in Agricultural Lands: A Review

The agricultural soil is a highly variable and complex active medium for the plant’s life. Due to prolonged formation processes, it must be considered as a non-renewable resource, easily subject to many degradative processes, in most cases due to human activities. These activities lead to the definition of “anthropic” soils, often labelled also as “disturbed”, “manipulated”, “artificial”, or “deviations” of the natural soil continuum. In the agronomic sense, however, when these deviations result from the optimization of structural characteristics of fine earth fractions, they may represent the main quality parameters of soil in terms of physical, chemical, and biological fertility. Nevertheless, over the fine earth fractions, many agricultural soils have a variable percentage of varying coarse fractions in their arable layer, interfering with cultivation needs, damaging the machinery, and requiring extra energy and time for soil tillage. They may even make the use of machinery impracticable. When these conditions occur, it becomes necessary to proceed with soil destoning to recover arable land and optimize the cultural management according to modern farming techniques and machines for soil cultivation. The research aimed at evaluating the different possibilities of reclamation of stony soils and the machines that can be used in different environmental conditions, according to the various cultivation needs, and for the recovery and optimization of the non-renewable resource “soil”. This review briefly summarizes the soil destoning techniques currently available for agricultural lands: 1) the collection and removal of stones from the field;2) the on-site stones crushing;3) the stone burial.

Assessing Agricultural Sustainable Development Based on the DPSIR Approach: Case Study in Jiangsu, China

According to the contemporary ecosystem approach, the linkages of human actions with their environment have to be assessed in an integrative manner. The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response （DPSIR） model is applied to identify and describe processes and interactions in human-environmental systems. An example application from a research project dealing with the development of sustainable management strategies for the agriculture in Jiangsu, China, illustrates the potentials and limitations of its sustainable development. The concept and indicators of ecological integrity are used to assess the indicators in the dimensions of DPSIR between 2003 and 2006. The main drivers included population growth which caused increasing demand for food, growing environmental demands, and rapidly decreasing of land and other natural resources. The main environmental problem was water pollution. The results show that in the dimension of driver, total grain output and agricultural land productivity both increased. Labor intensive agriculture has been promoted to increase agricultural land productivity. In the dimension of pressure, on the positive side, infrastructure got greatly improved, the input level such as total power of machinery, and level of fertilizer use increased, and level of pesticides use decreased, but on the negative side, cultivated land per capita and irrigation rate decreased, natural resources keep decreased. Environmental pollution indicators such as industrial wastewater discharge and acid rain rate increased in Jiangsu Province. In the aspect of state, ecosystem state was improved, plant coverage index increased, biological abundance index increased, fertilizer productivity increased, eco-environmental quality index increased, but land degradation index also increased. In the aspect of impact, output level increased, output efficiency enhanced, farmer＇s social economic benefit improved. In the aspect of response, social support was greatly improved, input for environmental governance increased. To assess the effects of environmental governance, Jiangsu government was successful to increase compliance rate of sulfur dioxide emissions, but not so efficient in compliance rate of industrial wastewater discharge.

Study on Decision Support System of Agricultural Sustainable Development of Jianli County in Jianghan Plain

With the agricultural development and the modernization of decision-making, it is necessary to establish the agricultural sustainable development decision support system supported by GIS. We set Jianli county as an example; our aim is to realize decision spatialiazation with the support of information system, remote sensing and artificial intelligence. The system components are described in the aspects of database, knowledge base, model-base and method-base. This system will provide a workable system for local decision-makers and agricultural management sections.

ECOLOGICAL SECURITY EVALUATION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN KARST MOUNTAINOUS AREA—A Case Study of Du'an Yao Autonomous County in Guangxi

Ecological security is the main task and applied field of present geography, resources and environment sciences and ecology. Ecological security evaluation will efficiently promote ecological security and environmental construction in regional land use. In this thesis, the authors put forward the index system of ecological security evaluation in karst mountainous area on three aspects, the pressure of resources and eco-environment, the quality of resources and eco-environment, and the ability of environmental protection and ecological improvement. Using the evaluation method with single index, based on the case study ofDu'an Yao Autonomous County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the system of synthetic regionalization of ecological agricultural economy was formed, which includes three regions, south region with basic security and synthetic agricultural development, east region with critical security and agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry balanced development, mid-west and south region with ecological insecurity and compounded agriculture and forestry management. Meanwhile, for these regions, the countermeasures of sustainable agricultural development were pointed out, which provide the basis and example for ecological regulation and control of sustainable agricultural development in counties ofkarst mountainous area.

An Awareness-Adoption Matrix for Strategic Decision Making in Agricultural Development Projects: A Case Study in Yunnan Province, China

Significant achievements have been made in generating sustainable agricultural technologies in developing countries. Usually, these new technologies have been more effective in increasing production and productivity than existing technologies. However, many new technologies considered ＇effective＇ have not been successful in alleviating the associated sustainability problems, due to poor adoption by targeted users. Success of any novel technical intervention should be judged on the basis of how widespread adoption is in the target area by targeted users. In this context, a case study identified the factors affecting farmers＇ adoption of improved technologies extended by an agricultural development project in a rural Village in Yunnan Province, China. Initial adoption/adaptation of project technologies was influenced by farmers＇ awareness of the technology. Farmers were more aware of polythene mulch, contour cultivation, intercropping and tree planting technologies than others. This led to a comparatively high initial uptake of polythene mulch, contour cultivation, sweet chestnut, and intercropping technologies. Farmers had inadequate knowledge about some Project technologies, the adoption of which was particularly low. This reveals the need for increasing farmers＇ awareness about the rationale for Project technologies to achieve greater adoption/adaptation of project technologies by farmers over wider areas. Farmers＇ testing of the technology leads to better adoption/adaptation compared to mere awareness. However, considerable time and resources are required for testing/trying technologies. This justifies the usefulness of comparatively quick and less resource demanding options for awareness creation. Development of effective cropping technologies is important for sustainable agricultural development. The success of any agricultural development project, especially in terms of improving sustainability, depends on how widely those improved technologies are adopted/adapted by farmers in the targeted region. Therefore, farmers＇ adoption of technologies should be a key criterion for judging the success of any project. The awareness-adoption matrix is a useful tool to guide research and development projects to achieve expected adoption/adaptation of technologies. Use of the matrix helps identification of weak and strong aspects of research and development projects and thus assists strategic decision-making.

Effects of environmentally friendly agricultural land protection programs: Evidence from the Lake Seyfe area of Turkey

fully supported by the Turkish Scientific Research Council （TUBITAK in Turkish, 110O747）

AN ASSESSMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPING CAPABILITY OF INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL REGIONALIZATION IN CHINA

Based on the provincial units evaluation, this paper makes an assessment forsustainable developing capability of the integrated agricultural regionalization in China. At first,an index system of agricultural sustainable development in China is built up, which includes 5supporting subsystems of agricultural resources, agricultural development, environment andecosystem, rural society, sciences-education and management. We selected 95 factors on provinciallevel as basic indexes. Second, a relative assets/debt assessing method is used to gain relative netassets values (relative superiority) of every provincial unit, which are as supporting data forassessment. We also overlaid the Administrative Divisions Map of China and the Map of IntegratedAgricultural Regionalization of China by Geography Information System (GIS) to gain the area unitsof assessment. Third, according to the relative coherence principle of regionalizaticn, we transformadministration units to natural units through homogenizing all provincial relative net assetsvalues in every agricultural assessing unit. After making order and grade, we complete thesustainable developing capability assessment to integrated agricultural regionalization in China.The assessing outcome shows that the total sustainable agricultural developing capability of Chinais not high. Only about 1 /3 in number or in area has reached the level of agricultural sustainabledevelopment. The relative net assets values exists a reducing trend from East China to West China.It needs a long period and great efforts to realize sustainable agricultural development over allChina. Finally, there is a discussion to the study method.

Recent Developments to Mitigate Selenium Deficiency in Agricultural Eco-Systems

Under changing climate,trace elements like selenium(Se)have emerged as vital constituent of agro-ecosystems enabling crop plants to off-set the adverse effects of suboptimal growth conditions.The available form of selenium is important for boosting its bioavailability to crop plants having varied agro-botanical traits and root architectural systems.As compared to selenite,the selenate has a weaker soil bonding,higher absorption in the soil solution which results in a comparatively absorption by plant roots.Various factors including dry climate,high pH,optimal ambient air temperature,less accumulation of water,and low concentration of organic matter in the soil tend to boost the selenate ratio in the soil.The use of selenium pelleted seeds has emerged as an interesting and viable alternative to alleviate selenium deficiency in agricultural eco-systems.Similarly,the co-inoculation of a mixture of Selenobacteria and Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi represents an evolving promising strategy for the bio-fortification of wheat plants to produce selenium-rich flour to supplement human dietary needs.Furthermore,in-depth research is required to assure the effectiveness of biological fertilization procedures in field conditions as well as to explore and increase our understanding pertaining to the underlying main mechanisms and channels of selenium absorption in plants.The focus of this review is to synthesize the recent developments on Se dynamics in soil-plant systems and emerging promising strategies to optimize its levels for crop plants.Recent developments regarding the use of micro-organisms as a biotechnological mean to enhance plant nutrition and crop quality have been objectively elaborated.The study becomes even more pertinent for arid and semi-arid agro-ecosystems owing to the potential role of selenium in providing stress tolerance to crop plants.Moreover,this review synthesizes and summarizes the recent developments on climate change and bioavailability,and the protective role of selenium in crop plants.

Heavy Metal/Metalloid Indexing and Balances in Agricultural Soils: Methodological Approach for Research

Heavy metal(loid)accumulation in agricultural soils is a threat to the soil capacity,quality,and productivity.It also increases human exposure to heavy metal(loid)s via consumption of contaminated plant-based foods.The detrimental effects of soil contamination also deteriorate the environment of plants and animals.For sustainable agriculture,therefore,the soil must be protected from toxic levels of heavy metal(loid)s.Studies on heavy metal(loid)balances in agricultural soils are important in predicting future risks to sustainable production from agro-ecological zones and human exposure to heavy metal(loid)s.The latest and continuous indexing of the problem seems a prerequisite for sustainable agriculture.This review provides some background information and then summarizes key methodological approaches for studies on indexing and balance of heavy metal(loid)s in agricultural soils.In the end,important soil and health indices are explained that may be useful in understanding the extent of the problem.The provided information would contribute to sustainable heavy metal(loid)management in the agricultural soils,high crop production,better soil protection,and ultimately to human health.

Modified Metaheuristics with Transfer Learning Based Insect Pest Classification for Agricultural Crops

Crop insect detection becomes a tedious process for agronomists because a substantial part of the crops is damaged,and due to the pest attacks,the quality is degraded.They are the major reason behind crop quality degradation and diminished crop productivity.Hence,accurate pest detection is essential to guarantee safety and crop quality.Conventional identification of insects necessitates highly trained taxonomists to detect insects precisely based on morphological features.Lately,some progress has been made in agriculture by employing machine learning(ML)to classify and detect pests.This study introduces a Modified Metaheuristics with Transfer Learning based Insect Pest Classification for Agricultural Crops(MMTL-IPCAC)technique.The presented MMTL-IPCAC technique applies contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization(CLAHE)approach for image enhancement.The neural architectural search network(NASNet)model is applied for feature extraction,and a modified grey wolf optimization(MGWO)algorithm is employed for the hyperparameter tuning process,showing the novelty of the work.At last,the extreme gradient boosting(XGBoost)model is utilized to carry out the insect classification procedure.The simulation analysis stated the enhanced performance of the MMTL-IPCAC technique in the insect classification process with maximum accuracy of 98.73%.

The Systematic Analysis on the Relationship between Population and Agricultural Sustainable Development in Hebei

Regional agricultural sustainable development is the basement and important component of sustainable development system. In view of the relationship between population and regional agricultural sustainable development, this paper proposes some countermeasures on coordination development between population and sustainable agriculture in Hebei Province.

An Overview of Sustainable Agricultural Waste Practices of West Texas

This article returns to the topic of sustainability. West Texas, mainly known for its cotton and cattle production, is facing problems related to the dispensation of agricultural waste produced by these operations. The article looks at the ways of handling agricultural waste and the opportunities of dispensing it in West Texas. Since between 30 - 40 percent of food produced in the US is not consumed, reduction of food waste is another sustainability problem that, when solved, would lead to the reduction of agricultural production and, in turn, the reduction of agricultural waste. Waste reduction management practices of large food chain stores in West Texas are discussed, with a final goal of bringing waste to a zero level. Public sources of sustainable agricultural and non-agricultural waste handling are also mentioned. This research adds to the previous knowledge on sustainability by discussing agricultural waste practices of a specific local area, i.e. West Texas.

The effect of abiotic stresses on plant C:N:P homeostasis and their mitigation by silicon

In crop plants, various environmental stresses affect the balance of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus(C:N:P), leading to biochemical and physiological alterations and reductions in yield. Silicon(Si) is a beneficial element that alleviates plant stress. Most studies involving silicon have focused on physiological responses, such as improvements in photosynthetic processes, water use efficiency, and antioxidant defense systems. But recent research suggests that stressed plants facing either limited or excessive resources(water, light, nutrients, and toxic elements), strategically employ Si to maintain C:N:P homeostasis, thereby minimizing biomass losses. Understanding the role of Si in mitigating the impact of abiotic stresses on plants by regulating C:N:P homeostasis holds great potential for advancing sustainable agricultural practices in crop production. This review presents recent advances in characterizing the influence of environmental stresses on C:N:P homeostasis, as well as the role of Si in preserving C:N:P equilibrium and attenuating biological damage associated with abiotic stress. It underscores the beneficial effects of Si in sustaining C:N:P homeostasis and increasing yield via improved nutritional efficiency and stress mitigation.