氮肥对玉米籽粒发育的影响还未得到充分研究。microRNAs与mRNAs联合分析有助于加深我们对氮素调控玉米籽粒发育的理解。在本研究中，我们分析了不同施氮量（0 kg ha^-1、100 kg ha^-1，200 kg ha^-1和300 kg ha^-1）下玉米籽粒的形态、生理和转录组变化。结果表明，增加施氮显著增加了玉米籽粒的鲜重和干重，但施氮量超过200 kg ha^-1时，籽粒的鲜重和干重没有显著增加。总体来说，生长素、细胞分裂素和赤霉素的含量随着施氮量的增加而增加，而乙烯的含量降低。我们在激素合成和传导过程中获得了31个差异表达基因（DEGs），其中9个DEGs由14个差异表达microRNAs（DEMIs）调节，共形成26个表达对。本研究中候选的DEGs和DEMIs为不同施氮量下的玉米籽粒发育提供了有价值的见解。

全覆膜沟垄栽培技术促进降雨利用效率和玉米产量提高，已在黄土高原半干旱区大面积推广应用，然而，玉米高产出导致土壤养分和水分耗竭，从而影响该技术的可持续性，因此，有必要进一步对该技术进行优化，确保其可持续发展。本文综述了全覆膜沟垄栽培技术的发展、增产机制、负面影响、优化措施及其相互关系。我们提出以粮饲兼用玉米替代普通玉米，秋季覆膜或地膜冬留春揭，少免耕结合秸秆还田，轮作或间作冬季油菜(Brassica campestris L.)、谷子(Setaria italica)或胡麻(Linum usitatissimum L.)，氮肥减量，有机肥代替部分化肥，使用生物降解或耐候性薄膜以及机械化化生产。这些措施的整合有助于构建环境友好、优质和可持续的覆膜栽培技术体系，促进旱作农业高质量发展，为黄土高原半干旱区农业发展带来新的机遇。

休眠相关的MADS-box (DAM)基因PpDAM6在芽休眠解除过程中起关键作用，其在休眠解除过程中表达量降低。然而，其在调控桃花芽内休眠解除中的互作网络仍不够完善。在本研究中，我们使用酵母双杂交(Y2H)技术，从桃休眠相关SSHcDNA文库中鉴定到了一种丝裂原活化蛋白激酶PpMAPK6，它与PpDAM6相互作用。PpMAPK6主要位于细胞核中。进一步的Y2H和双分子荧光互补(BiFC)实验验证了PpMAPK6通过结合PpDAM6的MADS-box结构域与PpDAM6相互作用。实时荧光定量PCR (qRT-PCR)分析结果表明，在3个不同需冷量的桃品种(春捷，中油5号，青州蜜桃)中PpMAPK6的表达趋势与PpDAM6相反。此外，ABA抑制PpMAPK6在花芽中的表达，促进PpDAM6在花芽中的表达。结果表明，PpMAPK6可能通过与PpDAM6相互作用使其磷酸化，从而加速其降解。在桃花芽内休眠解除过程中随着ABA含量的降低，PpMAPK6的表达量增加，进而降低了PpDAM6的表达量，促进桃花芽内休眠解除。

为治理水污染，中国地方政府提出实施河长制。作为水污染的主要来源之一，农业面源污染的严重性日益突显。河长制是我国分权式环境监管体制下的一项制度改革，其能否有效地缓解非点源污染，对于实现绿色发展具有重要意义。基于2004-2015年308个县的面板数据，本文探究了河长制的农业面源污染防治效果。研究结果表明，实施河长制能够显著降低畜禽养殖对水质的负面影响。然而，河长制在处理因化肥施用而造成的水污染方面的效果不佳。此外，“河长”之间的合作只存在于同一个省内。地方政府应加大力度减少化肥源污染负荷，避免化肥源污染负荷进入地表水体。同时，中央政府应加强上下游省份河长之间的合作。

    Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential trace element in plant nutrition and physiology. It affects photosynthesis and photosynthate accumulation, therefore also affecting fruit quality and nutritional content. This study assessed the effects of different sodium molybdate (Na₂MoO₄) concentrations on strawberry. Five different Mo concentrations were applied in this experiment, including 0, 67.5, 135, 168.75, 202.5 g ha^–1, respectively. The mineral concentration, including nitrogen (N), Mo, iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and selenium (Se) was assessed in strawberry fruit, as well as chlorophyll content, nutrition quality, taste and aroma. Results showed that net photosynthetic rate (P_n) and chlorophyll content for the strawberry plants increased with an increase in Mo concentration; and the contents of N, Mo, Fe, Cu, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), sweetness, some sugars, organic acids, and some volatile compounds in the fruit all increased, as well. However, the Mo concentration did not significantly affect the concentrations of Se, sucrose, lactic acid, acetic acid, and some aroma compounds. Fruit sprayed with 135 g ha^–1 Mo exhibited the highest TSS and sweetness values, as well as the highest N and Fe concentrations among all the treatments. Pn value and chlorophyll content, fructose, glucose, sorbitol and total sugar contents in fruit supplied with 135 g ha^–1 Mo were also higher than that in other treatments. Fruit sprayed with a Mo concentration of 67.5 g ha^–1 exhibited significantly higher ascorbic acid (AsA) values than that of control. Ninety-seven volatile compounds were identified in fruit extracted by head-space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Fruits sprayed with 135 g ha^–1 Mo had the highest concentrations of six characteristic aroma compounds, including methyl butanoate, γ-decalactone, ethyl butanoate, methyl hexanoate, γ-dodecalactone, and ethyl caproate.

Keng stiffgrass is a grass weed that affects wheat-rice cropping systems in China.  The extensive reliance on acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase)-inhibiting herbicides has resulted in keng stiffgrass developing resistance to these herbicides.  The objective of this research was to evaluate the resistance level of the putative resistant keng stiffgrass populations to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides and to identify their molecular resistance mechanism.  Whole-plant dose-response experiments demonstrated that SD-4 (R), SD-11 (R), and JS-25 (R) populations were highly resistant to fenoxaprop, clodinafop, and fluazifop, moderately resistant to diclofop, had low resistance to sethoxydim and pinoxaden, but were sensitive to clethodim.  Partial chloroplastic ACCase sequences showed that there were two copies of ACCase gene in keng stiffgrass, and all homoeologous genes were expressed.  The results of sequence analyses of the ACCase CT domain revealed an isoleucine-to-asparagine substitution at position 2041 in SD-4 (R) and SD-11 (R) populations, and a tryptophan-to-cysteine substitution at position 2027 in the JS-25 (R) population.  To our knowledge, this is the first report of Ile-2041-Asn and Trp-2027-Cys mutations in ACCase-resistant keng stiffgrass.  In addition, three robust (derived) cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence ((d)CAPS) markers have been developed to rapidly identify these mutations in the ACCase gene of keng stiffgrass.

Laboratory aerobic incubation was conducted for 161 d to study N mineralization and the changes of organic N fractions of nine different manures (3 chicken manures, 3 pig manures and 3 cattle manures) from different farms/locations. Results indicated that significant (P<0.01 or P<0.001) difference existed in N mineralization between manures. The rapid N mineralization in manures occurred during 56 to 84 d of incubation. First order exponential model can be used to describe N mineralization from chicken manures and pig manures, while quadratic equation can predict mineralization of organic N from cattle manures. An average of 21, 19 and 13% added organic N from chicken manure, pig manure and cattle manure was mineralized during 161 d of incubation. Amino acid-N was the main source of N mineralization. The changes of amino acid-N together with ammonium N could explain significantly 97 and 96% of the variation in mineralized N from manured soils and manures. Amino acid-N and ammonium N are two main N fractions in determining N mineralization potential from manures. Amino acid-N contributed more to the mineralized N than ammonium N.

High temperature stress (HT) is efficient in breaking endo-dormancy of perennial trees. The effects of HT (50°C) on the respiration of dormant nectarine (Prunus persica var. nectariana cv. Shuguang) vegetative buds were evaluated in the research. We found that bud respiration was transiently inhibited by HT and the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and the cytochrome C pathway (CYT) were significantly affected. On the substrate level, PPP was activated in the HT-treated buds compared with the control group. However, the activation did mot occur until hours after HT treatment. The tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) in both the HT-treated buds and in the control group proceeded at a low level most of the time compared with total respiration. On the electron transfer level, CYT was transiently inhibited by HT but became significantly active in the later stage. CYT operation in the control group exhibited an attenuation process. The alternative pathway (ALT) fluctuated both in the HT-treated samples and in the control. The results suggest that the temporary CYT inhibition and the following PPP activation may be involved in HT-induced bud dormancy release and budburst mechanisms.

Shuguang (Prunus persica var. nectariana cv. Shuguang) nectarine was used to study effects of photoperiod on keyenzymeactivities of respiration during dormancy induction. The dormancy status was determined with sprouting ability.Spectrophotometry was used to investigate activities of phosphohexose isomerase (PGI), malic dehydrogenase (MDH),and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH). The results revealed that short day (SD) treatment promoted dormancyinduction while long day (LD) treatment postponed the process. During dormancy induction, PGI activities declined,MDH activities changed little, and G6PDH activities increased both in flower buds and leaf buds. PGI activities and MDHactivities in SD treatment were lower than control, and G6PDH activities were higher, which was opposite with LDtreatment. The changes of respiratory key-enzyme activities were adjusted by photoperiod and correlated with thedevelopment of dormancy induction.

Conservation agriculture has been practised for three decades and has been spread widely. There are many nomenclatures surrounding conservation agriculture and differ to each other lightly. Conservation agriculture (CA) is a system approach to soil and water conservation, high crop productivity and profitability, in one word, it is a system approach to sustainable agriculture. Yet, because conservation agriculture is a knowledge-intensive and a complex system to learn and implement, and also because of traditions of intensive cultivation, adoption rates have been low, since to date, only about seven percent of the world’s arable and permanent cropland area is farmed under conservation agriculture. The practice and wider extention of conservation agriculture thus requires a deeper understanding of its ecological underpinnings in order to manage its various elements for sustainable intensification, where the aim is to conserve soil and water and improve sustainability over the long term. This paper described terms related to conservation agriculture, presented the effects of conservation agriculture on soil and water conservation, crop productivity, progress and adoption of CA worldwide, emphasized obstacles and possible ways to increase CA adoption to accelerate sustainable development of China agriculture.

Characteristics of dormancy induction and alternative respiration pathway (also known as cyanide-resistant respiration) of nectarine flower buds in different photoperiods were studied to determine the function of photoperiod and alternative respiration pathway in dormancy induction. Oxygen-electrode system and respiratory inhibitors were used to measure total respiratory rates and rates of alternative respiration pathway. The results showed that total respiration rate (Vt) in flower buds showed to be double hump-shaped curves. Short day raised, brought the first-hump of Vt forward and delayed the second-hump, while long day delayed the whole curve. The capacity (Valt) and activity (ρValt) of SD and LD changed synchronously and both showed to be double hump-shaped curves. Short day made the first climax of Valt and ρValt existed much earlier, while long day increased their rates significantly. The length of day had little effects on the later period climax. Long day also increased the contributions of alternative respiration pathway in total respiration rate (ρValt/Vt). The changes in alternative respiration pathway were correlated with the induction of dormancy and adjusted by photoperiod. Short day promoted dormancy induction of nectarine trees, while long day delayed it.