Changes in climate can be expected to have significant impacts on crop yields through changes in temperature and water availability. The purpose of mitigation and adaptation measures is therefore to attempt a gradual reversal of the effects caused by climate change and sustain development. There are several mitigation and adaptation practices that can be effectively put to use to overcome the effects of climate change with desirable results. These methods fall into the broad categories of under crop/cropping system-based technologies, resource conservation-based technologies and socio-economic and policy interventions. These measures are discussed to suggest effective strategies among them to combat climate change with specific reference to India.

Planetary boundaries for terrestrial inputs of reactive nitrogen (Nr) are transgressed and reducing the input of new Nr and its environmental impacts are major global challenges. Grain legumes fix dinitrogen (N2) in symbiosis with soil bacteria and use soil N sources, but often less efficient than cereals. Intercropping grain legumes with cereals may be a means of increasing use efficiency of soil N. Here, we estimate the global sole cropped grain legume acquisition of N from soil to approximately 14.2 Tg N year−1, which corresponds to one-third of the global synthetic fertilizer N use (109 Tg N year−1) for all crops, assuming that grain legumes recover on average 40% of the fertilizer N. Published data from grain legume-cereal intercrop experiments, employing stable 15N isotope methods, have shown that due to competitive interactions and complementary N acquisition in intercrops, the cereals recover a more than proportional share of the soil N sources. As a consequence, the intercropped legume derives more of its N from the atmosphere, compared with when it is grown as legume sole crop. We estimated that the increased N use efficiency in intercropping can reduce the requirements for fossil-based fertilizer N by about 26% on a global scale. In addition, our estimates indicate that if all current grain legume sole crops would instead be intercropped with cereals, a potential net land saving would be achieved, when also replacing part of the current cereal sole crop area with intercropping. Intercropping has additional potential advantages such as increased yield stability and yield per unit area, reduced pest problems and reduced requirements for agrochemicals, while stimulating biodiversity. It is concluded that crop diversification by intercropping has the potential to reduce global requirements for synthetic fertilizer N and consequently support the development of more sustainable cropping systems.

Plants are in constant contact with a community of soil biota that contains fungi ranging from pathogenic to symbiotic. A few studies have demonstrated a critical role of chemical communication in establishing highly specialized relationships, but the general role for root exudates in structuring the soil fungal community is poorly described. This study demonstrates that two model plant species (Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago truncatula) are able to maintain resident soil fungal populations but unable to maintain nonresident soil fungal populations. This is mediated largely through root exudates: the effects of adding in vitro-generated root exudates to the soil fungal community were qualitatively and quantitatively similar to the results observed for plants grown in those same soils. This effect is observed for total fungal biomass, phylotype diversity, and overall community similarity to the starting community. Nonresident plants and root exudates influenced the fungal community by both positively and negatively impacting the relative abundance of individual phylotypes. A net increase in fungal biomass was observed when nonresident root exudates were added to resident plant treatments, suggesting that increases in specific carbon substrates and/or signaling compounds support an increased soil fungal population load. This study establishes root exudates as a mechanism through which a plant is able to regulate soil fungal community composition.

为探索适用于花生叶面积指数快速精准测量方法，基于田间调查实测数据，分别采用网格法、比叶重法、系数法、AutoCAD法以及扫描法等5种方法计算了花生不同生育时期的叶面积指数，并以基于扫描法的估算结果为对照，评价了基于其他4种监测方法估算结果的精度，并优化了系数法和比叶重法调查花生叶面积的关键技术指标。结果表明，比叶重法精度较高、监测速度较快、可操作性强，利用比叶重法监测花生叶面积指数，苗期、花针期、结荚期和饱果期叶片取样数分别为24、30、24和30片，相对误差分别为4.13%、4.07%、0.02%和0.13%，标准均方根误差为7.494%，适宜的干重比系数分别为150.00、143.26、187.58和157.20 cm2/g。比叶重法是适宜于花生叶面积快速精准测量的方法。

豆禾间作是有效提高土地利用率的方式，有利于缓解江淮地区草地面积不足的情况。本研究在2017-2018年，通过对五个播种比例下的金花菜（Medicago polymorpha L.）+燕麦（Avena sativa L.）间作与箭筈豌豆（Vicia sativa L.）+燕麦间作进行比较；通过其产量及营养价值等数据评价其优劣。结果表明，箭筈豌豆与燕麦比例3.3：8的间作具有最高总干草产量，为1 595.72 g·m-2。金花菜与燕麦比例6.6：4的间作具有最高的土地当量比和土地利用率，分别为1.36和132.58%，且总干草产量第二。竞争力指数表明金花菜的种群竞争力要高于箭筈豌豆。在营养价值方面，金花菜+燕麦间作更具优势；燕麦与金花菜间作后的粗蛋白含量达到13.88%~14.09%，高于箭筈豌豆间作中的13.19%~13.44%。综合来看，两种间作模式各有优劣，以燕麦产量为导向时，箭筈豌豆+燕麦比例为6.6：4和3.3：8的间作模式更优；而若是只考虑最高的土地利用率，则金花菜+燕麦比例为6.6：4的间作模式更优。

为了探究玉米-大豆间作对大豆生长策略、光合荧光特性及产量的影响,以大豆品种中黄39为试材,采用玉米-大豆带状间作和大豆净作2种不同的种植模式,研究间作下大豆的形态、物质分配及光合荧光参数的变化规律。结果表明,间作大豆植株的株高在四节期(V4期)、始荚期(R3期)和鼓粒期(R6期)分别比净作增加22.47%、47.33% 和32.72%。在V4期,间作大豆除株高显著高于净作外,大豆茎粗、主茎节数、茎叶柄生物量和叶绿素含量在净作和间作下均差异不显著。在R3和R6期,间作大豆植株的茎、柄生物量显著增加,但叶生物量、叶绿素a含量、叶绿素总含量及净光合速率(Pn)显著低于净作大豆。对于叶绿素荧光参数,间作大豆叶片非光化学淬灭系数(NPQ)在V4、R3和R6期分别显著高出净作大豆12.2%、5.04%和7.2%,而间作大豆叶片的PSII实际的光化学量子效率(F'_q/F'_m)、光化学淬灭系数(qP)和PSII反应中心潜在的激发能捕获效率(F_v/F_m)与净作大豆相比差异不显著。在产量构成因素中,间作大豆的单株荚数、单株粒数、百粒重及单株产量均显著低于净作,分别降低27.78%、12.33%、20.72%。间作下玉米对大豆生育后期的生长、光合特性的影响直接导致大豆产量及构成因素的下降。因此,在玉米-大豆带状间作种植模式下,要提高间作大豆产量,需降低大豆生育后期玉米荫蔽程度。本研究结果为间作大豆栽培及高产提供了一定的依据。

【目的】旨在明确施氮量对夏播玉米间作大豆的作物产量构成、经济效益及其后茬冬小麦产量的影响。【方法】2022—2023年，在玉米大豆条带复合种植主要推广区域山东省禹城市选择代表性农田，夏播季设置玉米单作（施肥量225 kg·hm-2）、大豆单作（施氮量45 kg·hm-2）、玉米大豆间作全量施氮（施氮量270 kg·hm-2，玉米条带和大豆条分别施氮225和45 kg·hm-2）、玉米大豆间作减量施氮（施氮量135 kg·hm-2, 玉米条带和大豆条带分别施氮90 和45 kg·hm-2）。后茬种植小麦，不设施肥处理。分析不同夏播处理对当季作物光合特性、农艺性状、经济效益以及后茬小麦产量的影响。【结果】种植模式和施氮量不同均会影响间作作物生长发育。相对玉米单作种植，间作减量施氮在拔节期和抽雄期玉米叶片的叶绿素含量以及P_n、G_s、C_i和T_r显著降低；而间作全量施氮中玉米叶片P_n、G_s和T_r分别显著提高了8.8%、10%、11.6%。不同间作处理下大豆叶绿素含量均降低，叶片P_n、G_s、T_r受到抑制，农艺性状方面茎长增加、单株荚数降低，导致产量降低65.1%—68.4%。间作全量施氮的玉米农艺性状和产量与单作玉米没有显著差异，且该模式下经济效益最高，达到22 607元/hm2，而减量施氮下玉米的穗长、穗粒数、百粒重等农艺性状显著降低，产量下降14.8%。但总体来说玉米大豆间作两种施氮量处理的土地当量比均大于1，经济效益、作物吸氮量分别较玉米单作提高4.8%—11.5%和19.7%—38%。后茬冬小麦在不施肥情况下，夏播季间作全量施氮的后茬冬小麦籽粒产量、吸氮量均高于其他处理，间作减量施氮与夏播玉米单作的后茬冬小麦产量无显著差异。【结论】从农艺性状、产量、经济效益以及对后茬作物影响的综合分析，间作全量施氮效果优于间作减量施氮，但统筹考虑产量、经济效益和环境效益，间作种植施氮量还可在全量施氮的基础上进一步优化。

Intercropping, a widely adopted agricultural practice worldwide, aims to increase crop yield, enhance plant nutrient uptake, and optimize the utilization of natural resources, contributing to sustainable farming practices on a global scale. However, the underlying changes in soil physio-chemical characteristics and enzymatic activities, which contribute to crop yield and nutrient uptake in the intercropping systems are largely unknown. Consequently, a two-year (2021–2022) field experiment was conducted on the maize/soybean intercropping practices with/without nitrogen (N) fertilization (i.e., N0; 0 N kg ha−1 and N1; 225 N kg ha−1 for maize and 100 N kg ha−1 for soybean ) to know whether such cropping system can improve the nutrients uptake and crop yields, soil physio-chemical characteristics, and soil enzymes, which ultimately results in enhanced crop yield. The results revealed that maize intercropping treatments (i.e., N0MI and N1MI) had higher crop yield, biomass dry matter, and 1000-grain weight of maize than mono-cropping treatments (i.e., N0MM, and N1MM). Nonetheless, these parameters were optimized in N1MI treatments in both years. For instance, N1MI produced the maximum grain yield (10,105 and 11,705 kg ha−1), biomass dry matter (13,893 and 14,093 kg ha−1), and 1000-grain weight (420 and 449 g) of maize in the year 2021 and 2022, respectively. Conversely, soybean intercropping treatments (i.e., N0SI and N1SI) reduced such yield parameters for soybean. Also, the land equivalent ratio (LER) and land equivalent ratio for N fertilization (LERN) values were always greater than 1, showing the intercropping system’s benefits in terms of yield and improved resource usage. Moreover, maize intercropping treatments (i.e., N0MI and N1MI) and soybean intercropping treatments (i.e., N0SI and N1SI) significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced the nutrient uptake (i.e., N, P, K, Ca, Fe, and Zn) of maize and soybean, however, these nutrients uptakes were more prominent in N1MI and N1SI treatments of maize and soybean, respectively in both years (2021 and 2022) compared with their mono-cropping treatments. Similarly, maize-soybean intercropping treatments (i.e., N0MSI and N1MSI) significantly (p < 0.05) improved the soil-based N, P, K, NH4, NO3, and soil organic matter, but, reduced the soil pH. Such maize-soybean intercropping treatments also improved the soil enzymatic activities such as protease (PT), sucrose (SC), acid phosphatase (AP), urease (UE), and catalase (CT) activities. This indicates that maize-soybean intercropping could potentially contribute to higher and better crop yield, enhanced plant nutrient uptake, improved soil nutrient pool, physio-chemical characteristics, and related soil enzymatic activities. Thus, preferring intercropping to mono-cropping could be a preferable choice for ecologically viable agricultural development.