Soil health refers to the ongoing ability of soil as a living ecosystem to maintain environmental quality, support crop productivity, and ensure human health. Evaluating and enhancing soil health is crucial for ensuring more productive and resilient agricultural systems. The aim of this work is to assess soil health using both on-farm and computational methods. The study was carried out on a slope with textural variation at Ponta Grossa–Paraná State, Brazil. The slope was divided into three segments based on altitude and clay content: upper, middle, and lower positions. In each segment, twenty points were sampled, resulting in a total of sixty points along the slope. Soil health was analysed at these points by visual evaluation of soil structure (VESS), and samples were also collected to use the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) approach in the 0–0.10 m and 0.10–0.20 m soil layers. The indicators used in this approach were soil organic carbon, macroaggregates, bulk density, water-filled pore space, pH, phosphorus, and potassium. The data were analysed using analysis of variance, mean comparison with Tukey’s test (p < 0.05). In addition, principal component analysis was performed on the soil health index (SHI) and its components (chemical, physical, and biological) with clay content and VESS scores. The study discovered that the upper position had the highest clay content, lower visual scores (2.44), and a higher SHI (up to 0.80) compared to the middle (3.7 and 0.78) and lower positions (2.9 and 0.73). This study highlights the significant influence of soil texture, particularly clay content, on soil structural quality and health as assessed by VESS and SMAF. Higher clay content improved soil aggregation and health, while lower clay content in the middle and lower slope positions resulted in poorer structure. VESS proved to be an effective field-based tool for rapid assessment of soil health, complementing the more detailed SMAF framework. The integration of both methods is essential for the development of adaptive and sustainable soil management strategies.

Light access is the primary factor affecting yields in cacao-based agroforestry systems (CAFS). While CAFS ecosystem services provision is extensively documented, research on improving light access in CAFS remains scarce. Shade canopy pruning, a developing technique in Latin America, is part of the long-term SysCom Bolivia trial. It is undertaken twice a year, at the start of the rainy and dry seasons. This paper presents the results of a 5-year study on the relationship between CAFS canopy cover, flowering levels, cocoa yields, and pruning events from this trial.

The seasonality and peak periods of flowering and pod production were independent from the cropping system, underlining both climatic- and genetically determined production patterns. Yet, flowering levels depended on canopy cover levels during the rainy season, which translated into different pod production levels in the following months. Average annual yields were 1300 kg ha-1 for full sun cacao, 780 kg ha-1 for agroforestry systems (AF), and 640 kg ha-1 for dynamic agroforestry systems (DAF), with rainy season canopy covers maintained at 25–35% for AF and 40–60% for DAF.

The relationships between canopy cover, flowering, and cocoa yield were found to be exponential, indicating that the lower the canopy cover, the greater the yield increase could be expected from pruning. The lower levels of cover obtained in AF after the ‘flowering’ pruning triggered better flowering levels in comparison to DAF. However, these did not systematically translate into significantly higher yields, underlining the probable significance of the ‘ripening pruning’ for DAF’s cocoa yield. Overall, our results show (i) the great potential of timely shade canopy pruning and (ii) the need to adapt such a technique to systems’ diversity and density to make it cost/labour-effective and support its scalability.

This study investigated the effect of conservation agriculture (CA) practices (e.g. no-tillage (NT) and maize-soybean (MS) intercrops) on the yield and profitability of maize and cotton within the first two years of a crop rotation system. A factorial design that compared two tillage practices (conventional tillage, CT and NT) and two cropping systems (sole maize, M and MS) was implemented on an experimental station in Northern Benin. All treatments were replicated thrice in 2022 and 2023. Soybean yield, maize grain yield and yield components, and seed-cotton yield and yield components were measured. Gross margin, labour productivity, and benefit:cost ratio were calculated, and a sensitivity analysis was done on the economic indicators under five scenarios (S0: gross margin calculation based on actual costs; S1: 30% higher fertiliser price; S2: 30% lower fertiliser price; S3 and S4, respectively: considering +/−1 standard deviation to the maize grain + soybean and seed-cotton yield). Tillage options and cropping systems significantly affected maize and cotton performance, but effects tended to vary between seasons. Treatment NT+MS produced the highest grain yield (4487 kg ha–1) and rain use efficiency (4.12 kg mm–1) in 2022, while CT+M produced the highest grain yield (3195 kg ha–1) and rain use efficiency (2.84 kg mm–1) in 2023. In the case of cotton, NT produced higher seed-cotton yield (1720 kg ha–1), boll number (7.38 bolls/plant), and rainfall use efficiency (1.56 kg mm–1) compared to CT in 2022. In 2023, cotton preceded by maize-soybean intercrops (NT+MS and CT+MS) produced significantly higher yield, aboveground and belowground biomass than cotton preceded by sole maize (NT+M and CT+M). For maize plus soybean, treatment NT+MS resulted in a significant increase in the gross margin, with an average of 582 US$ ha–1 with respect to CT+M under all scenarios in 2022, whereas CT+M and NT+MS attained a significantly higher maize/soybean gross margin in 2023. In the case of cotton, NT increased gross margin by 90-314% compared to CT across the sensitivity analysis scenarios in 2022. In 2023, cotton preceded by MS intercrops (NT+MS and CT+MS) showed a higher gross margin than preceded by sole crops (NT+M and CT+M) across all scenarios. To the well-documented effects of diversification on crop productivity, this study adds evidence on its positive impact on economic performance in a West African context. On-farm research and rural extension are necessary to further fine-tune these practices to fit the reality of smallholder cotton-based cropping systems of Benin.

In southeast Asia, upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) is typically grown by subsistence farmers under shifting cultivation systems in mountainous regions. In Laos, glutinous upland rice is grown in the north and along the Laos-Vietnamese border in central and southern regions. Previous research has examined requirements for upland rice in northern Laos, but not in the south, which is lower in altitude, with higher evaporation. This paper examined the adaptation of six upland rice genotypes, (preferred traditional tropical japonicas Nok and Mak Hin Sung, preferred traditional indicas Laboun and Non, and improved indica B6144F-MR-6-0-0 (B6144), which were compared with a tropical japonica Local Check (which varied from site to site), over seven sites (from new to continuous cultivation) in southern Laos. Mean grain yield of the site ranged from 1.04 to 3.71 t ha−1, with higher yields in the wetter year 2011 than in the drier 2012 (3.19 t ha−1 with 1718 mm vs 1.23 t ha−1 with 1034 mm rainfall). Nevertheless, cluster analysis identified three sites and three genotype groups, which were not simply related to annual rainfall. Three principal component axes were associated with yield potential (PCA1), cultural history (PCA2), and resource limitation as the growing season progressed (PCA3). Consequently, upland rice response was related to 4 cultural history by year groups: Nong 2011 (E1: new cultivation, wet year, high yield potential), Xepon 2012 (E2: old cultivation, dry year, low yield potential), and intermittent stress (E3) associated with either old cultivation in a wet year (Xepon 2011) or new cultivation in a dry year (Nong 2012). Among genotypes, Nok, Non, and Laboun were high-yielding over sites (2.30 t ha−1), B6144 and Local Check were low yielding over sites (1.69 t ha−1), while Mak Hin Sung was highest yielding in the Xepon 2012 sites only (1.62 t ha−1). The results suggested a stronger importance of water deficit in southern Laos, especially during grain filling. Nevertheless, genotypes which performed well in southern Laos, the early indica Laboun and the specifically adapted tropical japonica Mak Hin Sung, were adopted by upland farmers in the south, and were still being grown there seven years later. Relative to upland and aerobic rice for northern Laos, which is exposed to only mild or intermittent water deficit, upland rice for southern Laos requires greater tolerance to water deficit.

Cocoa production is highly variable and shows low yields globally, but the drivers of this variation are poorly understood. Climate has been proposed as one of the main drivers, but within-tree competition for resources and disease may also influence the number of cocoa pods produced. In addition, the relative importance of climate and within-tree competition for resources remains unknown. We evaluated the effects of climate, within-tree competition, and disease on cocoa pod dynamics in Ghana and assessed the relative importance of climate and within-tree competition. We monitored cocoa pod dynamics during three years for 1472 trees at 96 farms across Ghana. Counts of pods of different sizes were carried out every six weeks. Climate effects were evaluated based on monthly precipitation and temperature, including lag effects. Effects of within-tree resource competition on pod production were tested by assessing the effect of the number of larger-sized pods on a cocoa tree on the number of pods in smaller size classes using generalised linear mixed-effects models accounting for zero inflation. We consistently found that climate was a stronger driver of pod production than within-tree competition. Across size classes, the climatic conditions experienced at the time of fruit set had the strongest effect on the number of pods. For most pod size classes, both higher temperature and, unexpectedly, higher precipitation negatively influenced pod number. A larger number of large and mature pods negatively affected the number of cherelles (smallest pods), indicating within-tree competition among pods. This suggests that cocoa trees prioritise sustaining pods in larger sizes over producing new ones, for instance, through mechanisms like cherelle wilt. Our results suggest that higher precipitation increased the incidence of fungal diseases and indirectly reduced the number of pods produced. Thus, a combination of lagged climate effects and within-tree competition and disease drives the dynamics and development of pods on cocoa trees. Our results show that lagged climate effects should be considered for adaptation measures to climatic conditions (and climate change) and for determining the best timing for disease management interventions. These results help in understanding cocoa production dynamics and are important for yield and disease modelling.

During the post-harvesting process, coffee berries are dried and separated into green commercial beans and husks. The dynamics of dry matter (DM) accumulation in the berry components along the maturation process are important for the definition of the most adequate moment for the harvest, which is genotype-dependent. The DM accumulation dynamics in the berries, beans, and husks in six Coffea canephora genotypes were studied during the fruit maturation process, with the aim of identifying the fruit harvesting stage when the highest bean yield can be obtained. Berry samples were collected every two weeks at nine maturation stages starting from 33 weeks after flowering (green berry stage). Second-order polynomial regressions were used to analyse berry and bean DM accumulation over time, while temporal husk DM accumulation was compared using ANOVA and the Tukey test. DM accumulation was the highest in the berries and beans following the initial sampling, while the highest husk DM accumulation occurred at the final stages of maturation. In general, DM accumulation of all components increased as fruit maturation progressed, attaining the highest DM values in the final stages of red berries, but occurred earlier for early/medium and medium maturation cycle genotypes. The Beira Rio 8 genotype showed the highest DM accumulation in all components. Bamburral and P1 genotypes showed the lowest berry fresh mass (FM) to bean DM ratios. The A1 genotype showed the greatest berry FM to bean DM ratio, being a genotype with the lowest DM and bean mass performances and bean yield. Our data revealed that not only should the absolute berry and bean yield be considered for highly productive genotype selection but also the bean DM dynamics in the characterization of commercial coffee yield.

Globally, the use of biological products, including biological control agents, biofertilizers, and bioinoculants, has increased significantly as a strategy to reduce dependence on synthetic inputs and promote sustainable agriculture. However, its effects on soil health are still poorly explored. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the multifunctionality of biological products in agriculture, focusing on soil health, using a systematic review and bibliometric analysis approach. This analysis involves summarizing their mechanisms of action, categories, and impacts. Parameters such as the number of publications per year, the most cited articles, the frequency of keywords and international scientific collaboration networks between countries were analysed. The results showed an expansion in the number of publications on biological products and biological products over the years, with a significant growth in recent years, with emphasis on Brazil and Russia. The most frequent keywords include ‘biological products’, ‘biological product’, ‘soil’, ‘fungi’, ‘bacteria’, and ‘biological control’, and the most cited articles address topics such as the use of Azospirillum sp. in agriculture, the combined application of biological products to control soil diseases, and the inoculation of seeds with Bacillus subtilis. Although few studies have directly evaluated soil health, the results indicate that biological products are related to improvements in soil health, which stimulate the microbiota and promote greater productivity, thereby positively impacting the physical and chemical properties, highlighting the importance of an integrated approach for soil health.