Crop Upgrading Strategies and Modelling for Rainfed Cereals in a Semi-Arid Climate—A Review

Abstract

Spatiotemporal rainfall variability and low soil fertility are the primary crop production challenges facing poor farmers in semi-arid environments. However, there are few solutions for addressing these challenges. The literature provides several crop upgrading strategies (UPS) for improving crop yields, and biophysical models are used to simulate these strategies. However, the suitability of UPS is limited by systemization of their areas of application and the need to cope with the challenges faced by poor farmers. In this study, we reviewed 187 papers from peer-reviewed journals, conferences and reports that discuss UPS suitable for cereals and biophysical models used to assist in the selection of UPS in semi-arid areas. We found that four UPS were the most suitable, namely tied ridges, microdose fertilization, varying sowing dates, and field scattering. The DSSAT, APSIM and AquaCrop models adequately simulate these UPS. This work provides a systemization of crop UPS and models in semi-arid areas that can be applied by scientists and planners.

Soil Water Conservation: Dynamics and Impact

“…The conclusion drawn by Silungwe et al [25] from the examined literature was that the most suitable models to simulate the considered UPS were the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT), the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM), and the AquaCrop model. Bell et al [17] found that farmer decisions in Malawi followed a dynamic of peer influence, with neighbors' adoption as the most effective factor.…”

“…Finally, Akramkhanov et al [28] involved local stakeholders in Uzbekistan in a transdisciplinary and participatory approach for innovation development. From a methodological point of view, the contributions involve both field [15,16,18,23,24,29] and laboratory [19] experiments, and modeling [20][21][22], survey [17,27,28] and review [25] studies. The Special Issue includes studies carried out at different spatial scales, from field-to regional-scales.…”

“…The Special Issue includes studies carried out at different spatial scales, from field-to regional-scales. A wide range of geographic regions are also covered, including Brazil [16], Mediterranean basin [15,23,24,26,29], central Europe [18], China [20][21][22], Sub-Saharan Africa [17,25,27], and central Asia [28].…”

“…Declining natural resources and climate change are the major challenges to crop production and food security in Sub-Saharan African countries [32]. Silungwe et al [25] reviewed 187 papers focused on crop upgrading strategies (UPS) for improving rainfed cereals yields in semi-arid areas. They identified four different UPS, i.e., tied ridges, microdose fertilization, varying sowing/planting dates and field scattering, as the most promising strategies to improve rainfed cereal production and reduce the risks of cereal production failure under low rainfall, high spatiotemporal variability, and poor soil fertility conditions for poor farmers.…”

“…The aim of this Special Issue is to enhance our understanding on conservation strategies for effective and sustainable soil and water management. Contributions focus on: recovery of soil hydraulic properties [14][15][16]; erosion risk [17][18][19]; novel modeling [20][21][22], monitoring [23] and experimental [24] approaches for soil hydraulic characterization; improvement of crop yields [25,26]; water availability and food security [27]; and soil salinity [28]. In the following section we resume all the contributions of this Special Issue.…”