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Several organic (e.g., compost, hay, straw, grass) and inorganic (e.g., plastic film) ground cover (GC) forms are used in peach orchards worldwide. Yet, there is a lack of quantitative studies on peach orchard ecosystem services comprising fruit yields and quality, soil health indicators, and biological pest control.To fill this knowledge gap, we performed a meta-analysis of 55 peer-reviewed research. Overall, inorganic GC increased peach yields by 7.7 ± 1.8%, while organic GC reduced it, though not statistically significant (p > 0.05), by 1.7 ± 3%.Both forms of GC have enhanced single fruit mass, with a greater increase in inorganic (4.2 ± 1.7%) than in organic GC (1.2 ± 1.2%), and soluble solids content by 5.9 ± 0.9% and 3.2 ± 0.7%, respectively. Inorganic GC did not significantly affect titratable acid and fruit hardness, while organic GC reduced titratable acid (13.7 ± 2.1%), and fruit hardness (89 ± 2.9%). Soil temperature has increased in orchards with inorganic GC (2.8 ± 2.9%) and reduced with organic GC (8.3 ± 2.4%).Inorganic GC marginally increased soil water storage, while organic GC increased it by 9.3 ± 2.1%. Both organic and inorganic GC increased soil water content by 13.1 ± 2.4% and 26.1 ± 3.4%, respectively. Unlike inorganic GC, organic GC increased soil organic matter, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium by 28.3 ± 3.3%, 25.1 ± 2.7%, 23.5 ± 4.6%, and 30.9 ± 3.3%, respectively. Equally significantly, organic GC increased predator abundance (47.5 ± 5.9%) and reduced pest incidence (2.4 ± 1.8%). Overall, inorganic GC systems slightly increased peach yield but are not sustainable due to their negative soil health and environmental impacts. In contrast, organic GC systems delivered an acceptable yield level while providing numerous ecosystem services, enabling sustainable long-term peach production.

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Sustainable food production to feed the growing population in Africa remains a major challenge. Africa has 64% of the global arable land but produces less than 10% of its food locally due to its inherently low soil nutrient concentrations. Poor soil fertility and a lack of fertilizer use are the major constraints to increasing crop yields in Africa. On average only about 8.8 kg NPK fertilizer is applied per hectare by African smallholder farmers. There is therefore considerable potential for increasing food production through sustainable intensification of the cropping systems. The low crop yields in Africa are also partly due to limited farmer access to modern agronomic techniques, including improved crop varieties, a lack of financial resources, and the absence of mechanisms for dissemination of information to smallholders. This study analyzed the Science and Technology Backyards (STBs) model and investigated its use for the transformation of agriculture in Africa. Some key lessons for sustainable crop intensification in Africa can be found from analysis of the STB model which is well established in China. These include (1) scientist-farmer engagement to develop adaptive and innovative technology for sustainable crop production, (2) dissemination of technology by empowering smallholders, especially leading farmers, and (3) the development of an open platform for multiple resource involvement rather than relying on a single mechanism. This review evaluates the benefits of the STB model used in China for adoption to increase agricultural productivity in Africa, with a perspective on sustainable crop intensification on the continent.

Background and aims Understanding the contributions of winter cover crops (CCs) to nitrogen (N) uptake of succeeding spring maize will help achieve more efficient soil N use. Methods A single-factor field experiment was conducted to quantify residual N effects of contrasting CC tops on spring maize N utilization and environmental benefits. 15N-labeled fertilizers were applied at the time of CC establishment in a microplot experiment to determine the contribution of aboveground residue N of winter cover crops (hairy vetch (HV), February orchid (OV), hairy vetch/ February orchid mixture (HO)) to the following spring maize. Results Compared with the winter fallow, HV, OV and HO treatments significantly increased the partial factor productivity of N fertilizer by 43%, 16%, and 23%, respectively. The spring maize N derived from the residues was 27 (HV), 6 (OV) and 22 (HO) kg ha−1 and the total contribution to the N uptake of spring maize from the aboveground residues was 2.2~10.3%. Net N surplus was defined as total N input minus N output, and the value of OV (112 kg N ha−1) was significantly lower than that of OV (182 kg N ha−1) and HO (197 kg N ha−1). The HO was the most environmental-friendly cropping system with the lowest carbon footprint, which decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30%. Conclusions The introduction of winter mixed CCs in the rotation system of three crops across two years on the North China Plain had a higher N-use efficiency, maintained yields with higher net profits, and lowered emissions.