The study aimed to evaluate the application of silage fermentation in storing vine tea residue.  Dynamic of fermentation-related product, chemical component and bacterial community of silage with or without Lactobacillus plantarum F1 inoculant were analyzed.  The results showed that F1 treatment had a significant (P<0.05) impact on the lactic acid and ammoniacal nitrogen concentrations and pH value.  Total phenols were well preserved in both treatments.  After 30 days of ensiling, L. plantarum occupied the majority of Lactobacillus genus (more than 95%) in all silage samples.  Spearman revealed a positive (P<0.01) correlation between lactic acid content and Lactobacillus.  Overall, ensiling vine tea residue with L. plantarum can effectively preserve the nutritional attributes and total phenols, which offers a new insight into utilizing vine tea residue.

Chromatin accessibility plays a vital role in gene transcriptional regulation.  However, the regulatory mechanism of chromatin accessibility, as well as its role in regulating crucial gene expression and kernel development in maize (Zea mays) are poorly understood.  In this study, we isolated a maize kernel mutant designated as defective kernel219 (dek219), which displays opaque endosperm and embryo abortion.  Dek219 encodes the DICER-LIKE1 (DCL1) protein, an essential enzyme in miRNA biogenesis.  Loss of function of Dek219 results in significant reductions in the expression levels of most miRNAs and histone genes.  Further research showed that the Heat shock transcription factor17 (Hsf17)-Zm00001d016571 module may be one of the factors affecting the expression of histone genes.  Assay results for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq) indicated that the chromatin accessibility of dek219 is altered compared with that of wild type (WT), which may regulate the expression of crucial genes in kernel development.  By analyzing differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially accessible chromatin regions (ACRs) between WT and dek219, we identified 119 candidate genes that are regulated by chromatin accessibility, including some reported to be crucial genes for kernel development.  Taken together, these results suggest that Dek219 affects chromatin accessibility and the expression of crucial genes that are required for maize kernel development

Soil biotic communities play vital roles in enhancing soil nutrient cycling and soil fertility.  Long-term excessive nitrogen (N) application is disadvantageous to the stability of soil food webs and affects arable soil health and sustainable utilization.  Proper organic substitution is essential to improve soil health and alleviate the disadvantages of excessive chemical fertilization.  However, the biological effects of various organic amendments on soil micro-food webs are poorly understood.  In order to explore the effects of various organic amendments including stover, biochar and manure on soil micro-food webs (microbial and nematode communities), a field plot experiment with maize having five treatments viz., 100% urea (100% N), 70% urea (70% N), 70% urea plus stover (Stover), 70% urea plus cattle manure (Manure) and 70% urea plus biochar (Biochar) was conducted.  Manure treatment increased the carbon (C) to N use efficiency of soil microbes, which contributed to the retention of soil C, while Biochar treatment elevated soil organic C (SOC) and soil pH.  Additionally, Biochar treatment mitigated the negative effects of soil acidification on the soil micro-food web and reduced the abundance of plant parasites.  Overall, the biological effect of organic amendments was distinguished from chemical fertilization (100% N and 70% N) through principal co-ordinates analysis.  Negative relationships among soil properties, microbial and nematode biomass in the 100% N treatment were diminished in treatments where chemical fertilizer was reduced.  The bottom-up effects on soil food webs were observed in organic substitution treatments.  In conclusion, organic amendments improved soil fertility by regulating soil microbial and nematode communities in the cropland ecosystem, alleviated the negative effects of chemical fertilizer on the micro-food webs and controlled the trophic cascades among soil biota.

Certain agricultural management practices are known to affect the soil microbial community structure; however, knowledge of the response of the fungal community structure to the long-term continuous cropping and rotation of soybean, maize and wheat in the same agroecosystem is limited.  We assessed the fungal abundance, composition and diversity among soybean rotation, maize rotation and wheat rotation systems and among long-term continuous cropping systems of soybean, maize and wheat as the effect of crop types on fungal community structure.  We compared these fungal parameters of same crop between long-term crop rotation and continuous cropping systems as the effect of cropping systems on fungal community structure.  The fungal abundance and composition were measured by quantitative real-time PCR and Illumina MiSeq sequencing.  The results revealed that long-term continuous soybean cropping increased the soil fungal abundance compared with soybean rotation, and the fungal abundance was decreased in long-term continuous maize cropping compared with maize rotation.  The long-term continuous soybean cropping also exhibited increased soil fungal diversity.  The variation in the fungal community structure among the three crops was greater than that between long-term continuous cropping and rotation cropping.  Mortierella, Guehomyces and Alternaria were the most important contributors to the dissimilarity of the fungal communities between the continuous cropping and rotation cropping of soybean, maize and wheat.  There were 11 potential pathogen and 11 potential biocontrol fungi identified, and the relative abundance of most of the potential pathogenic fungi increased during the long-term continuous cropping of all three crops.  The relative abundance of most biocontrol fungi increased in long-term continuous soybean cropping but decreased in long-term continuous maize and wheat cropping.  Our results indicate that the response of the soil fungal community structure to long-term continuous cropping varies based upon crop types.

    The sown area of winter wheat in the Huang-Huai-Hai (HHH) Plain accounts for over 65% of the total sown area of winter wheat in China. Thus, it is important to monitor the winter wheat growth condition and reveal the main factors that influence its dynamics. This study assessed the winter wheat growth condition based on remote sensing data, and investigated the correlations between different grades of winter wheat growth and major meteorological factors corresponding. First, winter wheat growth condition from sowing until maturity stage during 2011–2012 were assessed based on moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time-series dataset. Next, correlation analysis and geographical information system (GIS) spatial analysis methods were used to analyze the lag correlations between different grades of winter wheat growth in each phenophase and the meteorological factors that corresponded to the phenophases. The results showed that the winter wheat growth conditions varied over time and space in the study area. Irrespective of the grades of winter wheat growth, the correlation coefficients between the winter wheat growth condition and the cumulative precipitation were higher than zero lag (synchronous precipitation) and one lag (pre-phenophase precipitation) based on the average values of seven phenophases. This showed that the cumulative precipitation during the entire growing season had a greater effect on winter wheat growth than the synchronous precipitation and the pre-phenophase precipitation. The effects of temperature on winter wheat growth varied according to different grades of winter wheat growth based on the average values of seven phenophases. Winter wheat with a better-than-average growth condition had a stronger correlation with synchronous temperature, winter wheat with a normal growth condition had a stronger correlation with the cumulative temperature, and winter wheat with a worse-than-average growth condition had a stronger correlation with the pre-phenophase temperature. This study may facilitate a better understanding of the quantitative correlations between different grades of crop growth and meteorological factors, and the adjustment of field management measures to ensure a high crop yield.