Fertiliser applied between maize plants by furrow application cannot be totally absorbed and used because of the wide planting space. To solve this problem, an intermittent fertilisation method for a single plant was proposed for maize seeding, and a synchronised control model of the seed and fertiliser was established and applied. The methodology of ‘one seed and one fertiliser’ reduced the fertiliser application amount and increased the fertiliser utilisation rate.

The symbiotic association between an Epichloë endophyte and a grass can result in the production of peramine, an alkaloid that can provide symbiont bioprotective effects against insects. The study showed that concentrations of endophytic hyphae and peramine increased in response to high amount of applied NaCl. Hyphal concentration was a good predictor of peramine concentration. The results have enhanced the knowledge of the application of endophytes to provide pest-resistant pastures under abiotic stress.

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is a major disease for soybean production that seriously affects the yield of soybean. We analysed the transcriptional changes of extremely SCN resistant and susceptible recombinant inbred lines after SCN HG type 1.2.3.5.7 stress, in order to understand the different resistance mechanisms of resistant and susceptible lines. There were 88 transcription factors from 18 transcription factor families that responded to SCN stress, and nine genes were found to be associated with resistance to SCN.

We collected common bean germplasm from two hot-spot regions in the Western Himalayas and evaluated it acrossfour nutritional traits: sugar, starch, protein and phenol contents. We present a comparison of germplasm from these two hot-spots based on trait data and allelic diversity detected by 25 SSR markers.

Large quantities of phosphorus are removed from fields in harvested cereal, oilseed and pulse crops each year and at some point, this phosphorus needs to be replaced. If phosphorus from all waste products was recycled back to Australian crop fields each year, it would only be able to replace phosphorus removed annually from around 54% of the total cropland. The deficit can only be overcome by importing phosphorus, reducing grain exports, or reducing the concentration of phosphorus in exported product.

Integrated crop–livestock–forestry systems can be an alternative to recover degraded pastures areas. However, the effect of the arboreal component on tillering and tussock dynamics of the understorey grass canopy is not well understood. Our findings clearly indicate the key role of the light environment as a determinant of Piatã palisadegrass horizontal structure and highlight the importance of carefully planning the levels of tree density and layout in areas of crop–livestock–forestry integration.

Cassava is an important source of food in the tropics, and its root yield depends on the right amount and timing of potassium (K) application in the cultivation fields. This study found the time of application and the amount of K applied to cassava plants with short and long growing periods to be different. This discovery showed that cassava farmers may adopt different K management strategies for each variety of cassava.