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Plant sciences, sustainable farming systems and food quality

Virtual Issues

Agricultural Science in China: Recent Research in Crop and Pasture Science

Chinese agricultural scientists have made a huge strive for excellence in the last two decades, starting from a modest base regarding availability of equipment and technical expertise to opening to the world, initially to learn and then to teach. The latest Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU, https://www.shanghairanking.com/) in agricultural science has Chinese universities listed as the top 2 (Northwest A&F University and China Agricultural University), with 7 Chinese universities in the top 10, and 31 in the top 100. This excellent science has translated into improved food production, with P.R. China achieving self-sufficiency in food production in 2005. Since then, the emphasis has shifted from simply maximising the food production to producing excellent-quality food with high resource-use efficiency and minimal environmental disturbance. The knowledge transfer from universities to farmers in PR China has certainly been enormously challenging given a highly fragmented nature of agricultural holdings, but the substantial achievements have already been recorded. I, personally, am in awe of Chinese agricultural scientists and their achievements, having visited PR China for the first time in 1996 and then witnessing, in my numerous subsequent visits, the progress they have made.

Crop & Pasture Science is proud to be a sought-after publishing outlet for Chinese agricultural scientists. This Virtual issue featuring a small selection of papers from China will hopefully contribute to raising further the profile of agricultural science in China and around the world.

Zed Rengel

University of Western Australia, UWA School of Agriculture and Environment

Email: zed.rengel@uwa.edu.au

Leading the Way in Canola Research and Development

Canola/rapeseed is an important crop for high quality oil and protein markets. Continuous research, development and innovation in areas such as breeding, agronomy, physiology and genetics among others, have made it possible to expand its global market.

This Virtual Issue includes a selection of papers published in Crop & Pasture Science. Pan et al. (2016) analysed the main challenges and opportunities for canola production in the inland Pacific Northwestern of the USA (iPNW) compared with other major semiarid canola producing regions such as Western Australia, the Great Plains of Central USA and the western Canadian prairies. The key drivers of yield formation and the importance of yield components in high-yielding canola crops have been addressed by Zhang and Flottmann (2016), while the genetic basis of yield for drought tolerance per se in canola has been investigated by Raman et al. (2020). Disease incidence is also a major concern. Al-lami et al. (2019) investigated the role played by foliage components in the development of Alternaria spot disease caused by Alternaria brassicae in canola. On the other hand, Van de Wouw et al. (2021) addressed the emergence of fungicide resistance in blackleg disease, caused by the pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans. From an environmental perspective, the potential of organic amendments to reduce water pollution by immobilising pesticide residues in canola grown in pots was addressed by Mahmoud et al. (2022).

In summary, this virtual issue provides a collection of important papers for the continued advancement of canola crop.

Sergio G. Atienza

Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, CSIC, Alameda del Obispo s/n, 14004, Córdoba, Spain.

Email: sgatienza@ias.csic.es

Genetics and Physiology of Water-use Efficiency in Wheat

As one of the three main cereals in the world, production of wheat needs to increase substantially in the coming decades to keep up with the demands of increasing population. This task will have to be achieved with declining quantity and/or quality of water resources (rainfall or irrigation) exacerbated by variable and changing climate. Advancements in wheat genetics and breeding as well as increased use of the phenotyping and genotyping data will underpin the efforts to enhance the amount and quality of grain produced per unit of water available (water-use efficiency). Increasing water-use efficiency is part of a broader objective to produce food while conserving natural resources, which is a hot topic of discussion among breeders, agronomists, soil scientists, crop physiologists and others.

This Virtual Issue contains a selection of the review and experimental papers published in Crop & Pasture Science elucidating some aspects of wheat genetics and crop physiology that underpin increased water-use efficiency in a range of environments (from Europe to Australia). The knowledge presented in this issue should be used as the step stones for further work to enhance water-use efficiency in wheat production worldwide.

Climate Change Science, Land Use and Food Production

Primary producers face what is both a significant challenge and major opportunity in coming decades – to make a substantial contribution to feeding the world’s population. Agricultural farming systems will need to increase our food production significantly to provide for an estimated nine billion people worldwide by 2050.

This virtual issue provides a unique opportunity to exchange research knowledge, ideas and innovations, and develop an understanding of how primary industries can tackle the challenge of a changing climate.

This challenge is significant when viewed through the context of future land, water, energy and nutrient availability; water quality concerns; policy barriers; and a general decline in the research investment that drives productivity.

Climate change provides a new layer of complexity and diversity, emissions reduction another.

Recent research innovations in climate change and primary industries are documented in this selection of research and review articles. The authors are world leaders in developing climate-smart primary production systems and are strong advocates for primary producers and decision-makers who are challenged with feeding the world in a changing climate. Key topics discussed are:
• Climate change impact on food production
• Options for adaptation to a new climate
• Options for mitigation in response to key drivers; e.g. water use efficiency and/or carbon sequestration.

The Crop & Pasture Science editors hope this collection of papers will inform and inspire.