Magdalena Jastrzębska

Sustainable food production depends fundamentally on agricultural systems’ ability to provide crop plants with an adequate, balanced nutrient supply while minimizing nutrient losses, environmental impacts, and production costs

Agricultural systems worldwide face increasing pressure to ensure food security while maintaining environmental quality, improving resilience to climate change, and addressing emerging socio-economic challenges

Oats are regaining interest because of their nutritional and agro-environmental benefits. Hence, research into increasing oat productivity through sustainable agronomic practices has become increasingly important, especially as new varieties are developed and weather patterns become more unpredictable. The paper presents the effects of the cropping system (six-field crop rotation, continuous cropping since 1968), variety (two per six-year period), chemical crop protection (control, herbicide, herbicide plus fungicide), and study year, on spring oat grain yields for two six-year crop rotation cycles (2011–2016, 2017–2022) of a long-term experiment in Poland. The cropping system was the most influential factor. Studies confirmed that growing oats in crop rotation ensures higher productivity than continuous cropping and sustains satisfactory yields in Polish conditions despite yearly weather variability. The cultivated varieties differed in yield levels and degree of yield reduction in response to continuous oat cropping. Only during the 2011–2016 cycle was a decreasing trend in yields observed as continuous cropping was prolonged. Oats grown in crop rotation rarely benefited from chemical protection against weeds and pathogens. In continuous cropping, herbicide and fungicide treatments typically did not mitigate oat yield losses associated with the system, exacerbating them in the 2017–2022 cycle. Among the evaluated agronomic practices, the six-field crop rotation system proved the most reliable yield-enhancing strategy, whereas chemical protection rarely improved oat performance. In individual years, contradictory reactions of the two cultivated varieties to cropping systems and crop protection levels were often noted.

Continuous cropping (CC) of cereals leads to reduced yields due to cumulative biotic and abiotic stresses. Winter rye, Secale cereale L., is considered relatively CC-tolerant, yet it may still suffer under prolonged monocropping. This six-year study (2017–2022) aimed to assess the effects of cropping systems (CC vs. crop rotation, CR), cultivar type (hybrid vs. population), and chemical plant protection (control treatment, herbicide, herbicide plus fungicide) on winter rye yield and yield components. The study was conducted as part of a long-term field experiment in northeastern Poland that started in 1967. Two cultivars, KWS Binntto (hybrid) and Dańkowskie Diament (population), were evaluated across treatments. Overall, CR led to significantly higher yields and better performance of all yield components than CC. The hybrid cultivar consistently outperformed the population cultivar. Chemical plant protection improved yield under CC, but was redundant under CR. The hybrid cultivar cultivated in CC protected by rational chemical treatments produced equal or greater yields than the population cultivar grown in CR. In CC conditions, hybrid rye exhibited greater yield stability and resilience to interannual weather variation than the population cultivar. These findings support the use of hybrid rye with rational chemical protection as a practical strategy to sustain productivity in CC systems without relying solely on crop rotation.

The sustainability of global food production relies heavily on the ability to optimize the nutrient economy in cropping systems around the world

After legumes, cereals are the most important source of protein for humans and livestock worldwide. One way to meet growing nutritional demands is to increase the grain protein content (GPC) of cereals. Breeding advances in this regard should be supported by optimized agricultural practices. The GPCs of winter rye, winter triticale, spring barley, and spring oats grown in 2018–2022 in northeast Poland were evaluated to determine the influence of the crop sequence system (continuous monocropping, crop rotation), cultivar (two for each species), plant protection level (control treatment, herbicide, herbicide, and fungicide), and interactions among these factors. The cultivar selection was a significant GPC determinant in all cereals. Growing triticale in crop rotation after a legume increased its GPC compared to continuous monocropping, but decreased the GPC of rye and had no effect on the GPCs of spring cereal that followed non-legume crops. Using herbicides and herbicides combined with fungicides promoted the GPC of rye and oats, but not of triticale and barley. The heterogeneity of the interaction effects of the studied agricultural practices on the GPCs of the individual cereals prevents the identification of a universal combination that would ensure the highest GPC levels. The inter-annual weather variability played a significant role in shaping the GPCs of cereals and in modifying the influence of the controlled factors.

The need to better exploit crop yield potential through agronomic practices is driven by the necessity to feed a growing population in a changing climate. In this regard, cereals, including barley, represent strategic crops. Barley grain yield in Poland is comparable to the European average. Under good habitat and agronomic conditions, it can exceed the average. The effects of cropping system (continuous cropping, CC; crop rotation, CR), cultivar (Radek, Skald), plant protection level (control treatment, CT; herbicide, H; herbicide and fungicide, HF), and the interactions among these factors on spring barley yield were evaluated in northeast Poland in 2017–2022. Growing spring barley in the CR system promoted higher yields compared to the CC system due to increased spike density and 1000-grain weight (TGW). Skald, with a higher TGW, yielded more than Radek. H treatment increased barley yield by improving the spike density and TGW, while fungicide inclusion (HF) contributed to further yield increase by improving the TGW. The interaction of CR and HF practices contributed to the greatest realization of the yield potential of both cultivars. The study confirmed the strong contribution of inter-annual weather variability in modifying the effects of cropping system, cultivar, and plant protection strategy on barley yield.

A properly designed crop rotation contributes to the equilibrium of the agro-ecosystem and the volume and quality of the yield. The cultivation of spelt in crop rotations enriches its biodiversity and provides grains with many different types of nutritional value. The aim of this current study was to investigate how the distribution of winter spelt in different positions and after different forecrops in four-field crop rotations would affect the technological quality of the grain, the nutrient content of the grain, and the grain yield. A 6-year field experiment, designed in a randomised block, was conducted from 2012 to 2018 in north-eastern Poland (53°35′47″ N, 19°51′20″ E). This study provides the results from a 6-year (2013–2018) field experiment. The spelt was cultivated in four crop rotations: CR1—winter rape + catch crop (blue tansy), spring barley, field pea and winter spelt; CR2,—winter rape, winter spelt + catch crop (blue tansy), field pea and winter spelt; CR3—winter rape + catch crop (blue tansy), field pea, winter spelt and winter spelt; and CR4—winter rape, winter spelt + catch crop (blue tansy), spring barley and winter spelt. This study evaluated grain yield and the following grain parameters: the total protein, wet gluten and starch contents, the Zeleny index, the falling number, the weight of 1000 grains, the N, P, K, Mg, Ca, Cu, Fe, Zn and Mn contents, and the grain yield. The results were assessed at the significance level p < 0.05. It was demonstrated that the cultivation of spelt in all four crop rotations after winter rape and after field pea was characterised by higher protein and wet gluten contents, Zeleny index value and falling number, a greater weight of 1000 grains, higher N, P, Fe and Zn contents, and greater grain yield than those harvested from the crop rotations CR3 and CR4 after spelt and after barley. It was demonstrated that the cultivation of spelt in crop rotations CR3 and CR4, in succession after spelt and after barley, caused deterioration in grain quality (lower protein and gluten contents, a lower Zeleny index value, a lower falling number, and a smaller weight of 1000 grains, and the N, P, Fe and Zn contents). In addition, a smaller grain yield was obtained from these crop rotation fields. Regardless of the type of crop rotation, the cultivation of spelt after winter rape and after pea produced a high yield and a good quality yield of this cereal. Due to the lower yield of grain and its lower quality, it is not recommended that winter spelt is grown after each other or after spring barley.

Recycling and reusing phosphorus in agriculture can reduce the consumption of natural phosphorus resources, which are continuing to shrink. Phosphorus fertilizers made from renewable raw materials (sewage sludge ash, animal bones, dried animal blood) and activated with phosphorus solubilizing microorganisms (Bacillus megaterium, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans) offer an alternative to conventional fertilizers. These products should meet consumer and environmental safety standards. In this paper, based on field experiments conducted in northeast Poland, the effects of waste-derived biofertilizers on selected parameters of wheat yield quality are discussed. The study focuses on the technological properties of the grain (hectoliter weight, hardness index, Zeleny index, starch, wet gluten, and protein content), the content of proteogenic amino acids, macro- and micronutrients, and selected toxic elements in the grain. The quality parameters of wheat grain were not affected by the tested biofertilizers applied in P doses up to 35.2 kg ha⁻¹, nor by conventional fertilizers.

Diversified crop rotation (DCR) has re-gained attention worldwide as a non-chemical practice for increasing the sustainability of cereal production systems. This study focused on comparing the effects of two weed management strategies, DCR (the six-field system: potato–oat–fiber flax–winter rye–faba bean–winter triticale) without the application of a herbicide (DCR strategy) and with the application of a herbicide (DCR + H strategy) on the yield of winter triticale and on the biomass and species, taxonomic, and functional diversities of weed communities. In addition, the responses of two triticale cultivars, Trapero and Borowik, to the weed management strategies were evaluated. Data from five growing seasons (2017–2021) of a long-term experiment (Bałcyny, northeastern Poland) are presented. The DCR strategy proved less effective in protecting the triticale yield than DCR + H but provided greater weed species, taxonomic and functional diversities. Borowik had a higher yield and responded to herbicide abandonment with a lower yield loss. When the DCR strategy was used, Borowik was more competitive against weeds than Trapero without reducing weed diversity. The triticale yield correlated negatively with weed biomass and diversity, and weed diversity and weed biomass were positively correlated. The findings show that winter triticale can be grown in DCR without the application of a herbicide if a high-yield, competitive cultivar such as Borowik is used. Growing such a cultivar under DCR conditions without the application of a herbicide promotes weed diversity; however, in years with less favorable weather conditions, it may be necessary to accept a moderately lower yield compared to the yield provided with herbicide protection. The relationship between weed diversity and weather conditions is a subject for further research.