The root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica, is one of the most damaging plant-parasitic nematodes, affecting chickpea and causing substantial yield losses worldwide. The damage potential and population dynamics of this nematode in chickpea in Ethiopia have yet to be investigated. In this study, six chickpea cultivars were tested using 12 ranges of initial population densities (Pi) of M. javanica second-stage juveniles (J2): 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 J2 (g dry soil)-1 in a controlled glasshouse pot experiment. The Seinhorst yield loss and population dynamics models were fitted to describe population development and the effect on different measured growth variables. The tolerance limit (TTFW) for total fresh weight ranged from 0.05 to 1.22 J2 (g dry soil)-1, with corresponding yield losses ranging from 31 to 64%. The minimum yield for seed weight (mSW) ranged from 0.29 to 0.61, with estimated yield losses of 71 and 39%. The 'Haberu' and 'Geletu' cultivars were considered good hosts, with maximum population densities (M) of 16.27 and 5.64 J2 (g dry soil)-1 and maximum multiplication rate (a) values of 6.25 and 9.23, respectively. All other cultivars are moderate hosts for M. javanica; therefore, it is crucial to initiate chickpea-breeding strategies to manage the tropical root-knot nematode M. javanica in Ethiopia.

Corn rootworms (CRW) are among the most destructive pests in corn production across the Corn Belt, causing considerable damage through larval feeding on roots. While crop rotation and Bt technologies are widely adopted management strategies, their effectiveness is increasingly compromised by the pest's evolution of resistance and behavioral adaptability. Chemical insecticides applied at planting to target larvae directly serve as an additional tool for corn rootworm control. In this study, we evaluated the performance of various insecticides, applied in-furrow, for managing corn rootworms by assessing Node Injury Scale (NIS), lodging rates, and grain yields from 2020 to 2024. We found that Mode of Action (MOA) 3A insecticides (sodium channel modulators), such as Force Evo (tefluthrin) and Capture LFR (bifenthrin), did not provide substantial efficacy in reducing NIS and lodging rates. In contrast, MOA 1B+3A insecticides (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors + sodium channel modulators), such as INDEX (chlorethoxyfos + bifenthrin) and AZTEC HC (tebupirimphos + cyfluthrin), significantly reduced CRW larval damage, particularly under high pest pressure in 2020, 2021 and 2023. Differences in insecticide concentrations did not significantly impact larval control efficacy. Additionally, seasonal rainfall during larval hatching and variation in cumulative corn growing degree days (GDD) strongly influenced the root injury and lodging outcomes. Lower GDD likely limits root regeneration, increasing lodging risk under CRW pressure. These findings demonstrate the values of in-furrow insecticides in managing corn rootworms, particularly under high pest pressure and provide valuable insights for developing integrated pest management strategies to sustain effective CRW larval control and improve crop productivity.

Recent studies have highlighted the potential benefits of allowing inelastic foundation response during strong seismic shaking. This approach, known as rocking isolation, reduces the moment at the base of the column by transferring the plastic joint beneath the foundation and into the soil bed. This mechanism acts as a fuse, preventing damage to the superstructure. However, structures with a low static safety factor against vertical loads (FSv) may experience unacceptable settlements during earthquakes. To address this, shallow soil improvement is proposed to ensure sufficient safety and mitigate risks. In this study, a small-scale physical model of a foundation and structure (SDOF model, n = 40) was placed on dense sandy soil, and seismic loading was simulated using lateral displacement applied by an actuator. A group of short-yielding piles with varying bearing capacities (QU/NU = 0.1-0.8) was installed beneath the rocking foundation. The results of the small-scale tests demonstrate that the use of short-yielding piles during seismic loading reduces the settlement of the shallow foundation by up to 50% and increases rotational damping by 59%. This is achieved through the frictional yielding of the pile wall and the yielding of the pile tip, which dissipate energy and enhance the overall seismic performance of the foundation. The findings suggest that incorporating yielding pile groups in the design of rocking foundations can significantly improve their seismic performance by reducing settlement and increasing energy dissipation, making it a viable strategy for enhancing the resilience of structures in earthquake-prone areas. The optimal bearing capacity ratio (QU/NU = 0.25-0.5) provides a straightforward guideline for designing cost-effective seismic retrofits.

Study region: Indus Basin Study focus: Meteorological droughts can result in hydrological and soil moisture droughts with severe consequences for food production. In the Indus basin there are strong upstream-downstream linkages and upstream droughts may have strong downstream impacts. This study identifies periods of meteorological, hydrological and soil moisture drought in the Indus Basin for the period 1981-2010, analyses drought propagation and evaluates the role of meltwater in mitigating drought. We used outputs from a cryosphere-hydrology model (SPHY) and a crop-hydrology model (LPJmL), analysed the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI), Soil Moisture Anomaly Index (SMAI) and crop yield, which are used as drought indicators to identify periods of drought, analyse drought propagation and its impacts. New hydrological insights for the region: Propagation of meteorological drought to hydrological drought and hydrological drought to soil moisture drought shows varied patterns and lag times. There were slightly more periods of soil moisture drought when meltwater was not available than when meltwater was available for irrigation. Our results show that identifying the link between soil moisture drought and yield anomaly remains challenging due to differences in temporal resolution of the data. Nevertheless, the results highlight the critical role of meltwater in mitigating yield variability, especially in the more downstream areas. This provides insight into the potential consequences of future cryosphere degradation for food production in the future.

This study presents a method for remediating soils contaminated by organic pollutants through the selective blocking of pores. This technique is based on the use of yield stress fluids, specifically concentrated biopolymer solutions, which, due to their distinctive rheological properties, preferentially flow through high-conductance flow paths. Following the injection of yield stress fluid, its presence redirects subsequent water flow towards the pores that are typically unswept during standard waterflooding. Laboratory experiments at the pore scale were conducted to validate this method and confirm previous findings from core-flooding experiments. Aqueous xanthan gum solutions were used as microscopic blocking agents in well-characterized micromodels exhibiting microscopic heterogeneities in pore size. The impact of polymer concentration, soil wettability and operating conditions (injection pressure and flow rate) on the residual pollutant saturation following treatment was analyzed, enabling the optimization of the remediation strategy. The use of xanthan gum as a blocking agent led to a significant improvement in pollutant removal compared to conventional waterflooding, delivering consistently better results across all cases studied. The method demonstrated strong performance in water-wet medium, with the average polymer concentration yielding the highest efficiency in pollutant removal.

Wildfires are increasingly recognized as a critical driver of ecosystem degradation, with post-fire hydrological and soil impacts posing significant threats to biodiversity, water quality, and long-term land productivity. In fire-prone regions, understanding how varying fire intensities exacerbate runoff and erosion is essential for guiding post-fire recovery and sustainable land management. The loss of vegetation and changes in soil properties following fire events can significantly increase surface runoff and soil erosion. This study investigates the effects of varying fire intensities on runoff and sediment yield in the Kheyrud Educational Forest. Controlled burns were conducted at low, moderate, and high intensities, along with an unburned plot serving as the control. For each treatment, three replicate plots of 2 m2 were established. Runoff and sediments were measured over the course of 1 year under natural rainfall. In addition, key soil physical properties, including bulk density, penetration resistance, and particle size distribution (sand, silt, and clay fractions), were assessed to better understand the underlying mechanisms driving hydrological responses. The results revealed that bulk density and penetration resistance were lowest in the control and highest for the high-intensity fire treatment. A significant correlation was observed between bulk density, penetration resistance, and both runoff and sediment production. However, no significant correlation was found between runoff and soil texture (sand, silt, and clay content). Fire intensity had a pronounced effect on runoff and sediment, with the lowest levels recorded in the control and low-intensity fire treatment, and the highest in the high-intensity fire treatment. The total annual erosion rates were 0.88, 1.10, 1.57, and 2.24 tons/ha/year for the control, low-, moderate-, and high-intensity treatments, respectively. The study demonstrates that high-intensity fires induce substantial changes in soil structure and vegetation cover, exacerbating runoff and sediment loss. To mitigate post-fire soil degradation, proactive forest management strategies are essential. Preventive measures-such as reducing fuel loads (e.g., removing uprooted trees in beech stands), minimizing soil compaction and vegetation damage during logging operations, can help reduce the ecological impact of wildfires. These findings provide a scientific basis for adaptive management in fire-prone forests, addressing urgent needs to balance ecological resilience and human activities in wildfire-vulnerable landscapes.

Soft wet grounds such as mud, sand, or forest soils, are difficult to navigate because it is hard to predict the response of the yielding ground and energy lost in deformation. In this article, we address the control of quadruped robots' static gait in deep mud. We present and compare six controller versions with increasing complexity that use a combination of a creeping gait, a foot-substrate interaction detection, a model-based center of mass positioning, and a leg speed monitoring, along with their experimental validation in a tank filled with mud, and demonstrations in natural environments. We implement and test the controllers on a Go1 quadruped robot and also compare the performance to the commercially available dynamic gait controller of Go1. While the commercially available controller was only sporadically able to traverse in 12 cm deep mud with a 0.35 water/solid matter ratio for a short time, all proposed controllers successfully traversed the test ground while using up to 4.42 times less energy. The results of this article can be used to deploy quadruped robots on soft wet grounds, so far inaccessible to legged robots.

The negative impact of climate change is potentially damaging agroecosystem services that have constrained agricultural production and caused water scarcity in Central Asian countries, particularly in Uzbekistan. This study evaluates the efficiency of full (FDI) and deficit (DDI) drip irrigation regimes for amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) cultivation in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan using the HYDRUS-1D simulation model. Field experiments were conducted over two growing seasons, accompanied by soil moisture monitoring, root zone analysis, and crop performance measurements while the accuracy of the obtained results was assessed against ground measured data. The results showed that compared to the FDI regime, amaranth under the DDI improved water productivity by 56.5% while exhibiting tolerance to water scarcity. The Pearson correlation analysis revealed a strong relationship between the simulated and observed SWC data for both irrigation regimes (R2 = 0.862 for FDI and R2 = 0.936 for DDI), indicating the model's predictive reliability. Although FDI produced higher yield (2004 kg/ha) over the two-year period, which was 25% (2 t ha-1) higher than the DDI regime (1,604 kg/ha). However, DDI demonstrated significantly greater water productivity (56.5% higher), attributed to reduced unproductive evaporation and the C4 nature of amaranth. Root system analysis revealed deeper penetration under DDI, suggesting adaptive responses to water stress. The findings of this study suggest that implementing precise irrigation technology in amaranth cultivation combined with the use of the HYDRUS-1D model in the context of inevitable climate change, can ensure the long-term sustainable management of water and land resources in arid regions.

The adoption of sustainable farming practices will improve food security around the world. The evidence that food is produced sustainably has become important for maintaining access to global markets and is influencing commodity marketing and pricing. This paper explores the current state of global sustainability reporting and examines whether yield data could improve the sustainability of farming by adding more rigour and transparency to the evidential basis of sustainability. The Australian grains and oilseeds industry is used as a case study with most of the Australian grain and oilseed crop grown for export markets. Sustainability policies in the European Union, United States of America and Australia are contrasted, with a focus on the improved management of nitrogenous fertiliser, which is viewed as the most efficient way to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. Generally, sustainability reporting is based on a suite of indicators that are easy to measure and interpret, sensitive to change, technically sound and cost-effective. These indicators serve as a mechanism to quantify and document the practices used to produce crops but some of the current measures are relatively coarse and lack transparency. The time and cost incurred to collect these measurements could be reduced by using secondary data to report on sustainability. Yield data are already collected by many grain, and oilseed growers, and provide a transparent, evidence-based way to optimise and report on fertiliser application at fine scale. Yield data can help to maintain soil health and farm profit, reduce environmental damage and generate quantitative data for reporting on agricultural sustainability, but some challenges remain before it could be implemented as a universal reporting measure.

The growing preference for 'Hass' avocado on a worldwide scale has encouraged the release of new cultivars as well as their evaluation under different soil and climatic conditions. The cultivar 'Carmen Hass', resulting from a spontaneous mutation, achieved excellent performance in Mexico and South Africa, producing fruits earlier than 'Hass' trees and allowing commercialization during periods of high market prices. The objective of this research was to compare the performance of 'Hass' and 'Carmen Hass' avocado trees under the soil and climate conditions of southeast region Brazil. The climate of region is subtropical humid with dry winter. Between the fourth and fifth year after planting, plants were evaluated for flowering (panicles branch-1, percentage of determinate and indeterminate inflorescences), fruit maturation (dry matter content), yield (kg plant-1, fruits plant-1), yield efficiency (kg m-3), morphological characteristics of fruit (weight, length, diameter, length/diameter ratio), and postharvest quality (pulp firmness, occurrence of pulp discoloration, chilling injury, vascular browning, lenticel damage, and skin color change). Fruit size, shape, and postharvest quality were also evaluated in the sixth year after planting. 'Carmen Hass' is a promising alternative for producing 'Hass'-type avocados, reaching physiological maturity sooner and allowing harvesting 15 days earlier than 'Hass'. Its higher proportion of indeterminate inflorescences contributed to greater yields, although resulting in smaller fruits, and no off-blooming was observed under the conditions of this study. Postharvest performance was comparable between cultivars, with 'Carmen Hass' maintaining firmer flesh after 21 days and showing reduced vascular browning after 28 days of storage.