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Research Articles (Plant Production and Soil Science): Recent submissions

  • Defining brightness-shape-moisture soil parameters for southern Africa from hyperion hyperspectral imagery 
    Bonnet, Wessel; Cho, Moses Azong; Masemola, Cecilia (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2024-08)
    An effective methodology is needed to simulate soil spectra on a large scale. The brightness-shape-moisture (BSM) radiative transfer model (RTM) is used to simulate soil spectra for different semiarid and arid biomes within ...
  • Endemic darling or global change menace? A review of the woody encroacher Leucosidea sericea on the eastern Great Escarpment of southern Africa 
    Gwate, Onalenna; Dlomu, Muxe G.; Toucher, Michele Lynn; Le Roux, Peter Christiaan; Martin, Grant D.; Clark, Vincent Ralph (Elsevier, 2024-11)
    Rapid woody encroachment by native species is transforming grasslands and savannas across the world. The drivers of this encroachment are diverse, complex, and potentially interlinked, including fire exclusion, overgrazing, ...
  • Current status of community resources and priorities for weed genomics research 
    Montgomery, Jacob; Morran, Sarah; MacGregor, Dana R.; McElroy, J. Scott; Neve, Paul; Neto, Célia; Vila‑Aiub, Martin M.; Sandoval, Maria V.; Menéndez, Analia I.; Kreiner, Julia M.; Fan, Longjiang; Caicedo, Ana L.; Maughan, Peter J.; Martins, Bianca A.B.; Mika, Jagoda; Collavo, Alberto; Merotto Jr., Aldo; Subramanian, Nithya K.; Bagavathiannan, Muthukumar V.; Cutti, Luan; Islam, Md. Mazharul; Gill, Bikram S.; Cicchillo, Robert; Gast, Roger; Soni, Neeta; Wright, Terry R.; Zastrow‑Hayes, Gina; May, Gregory; Malone, Jenna M.; Sehgal, Deepmala; Kaundun, Shiv S.; Dale, Richard P.; Vorster, Barend Juan; Peters, Bodo; Lerchl, Jens; Tranel, Patrick J.; Beffa, Roland; Fournier‑Level, Alexandre; Jugulam, Mithila; Fengler, Kevin; Llaca, Victor; Patterson, Eric L.; Gaines, Todd A. (BioMed Central, 2024-05)
    Weeds are attractive models for basic and applied research due to their impacts on agricultural systems and capacity to swiftly adapt in response to anthropogenic selection pressures. Currently, a lack of genomic information ...
  • Historical perspective on 120 years of agriculture : highlights from research published in the SAJS 
    Coutinho, Teresa A.; Van der Waals, Jacqueline Elise (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2024-11)
    Agriculture, an essential pillar of South Africa’s economy, has evolved through a century of scientific advancements. This Perspective highlights the significant research contributions to the improvement of citrus and ...
  • Marijordaania (Celastraceae: Cassinoideae), a new monotypic genus from South Africa 
    Van Wyk, Abraham Erasmus (Braam); Boon, Richard G.C. (Meise Botanic Garden and Royal Botanical Society of Belgium, 2024-02)
    BACKGROUND AND AIMS : The species name Gymnosporia filiformis, validly published in a 1927 revision of South African Celastraceae, was based on syntypes representing both Maytenus cordata and a new species. Subsequent ...
  • First report of Bipolaris yamadae and Exserohilum rostratum associated with leaf spots of maize (Zea mays) in Zambia 
    Tembo, Mathias; Mahlangu, Jabulile N.N.; Berger, David Kenneth; Chimutingiza, Hildah; Chikoti, Patrick C.; Prasanna, Boddupalli M.; Suresh, L.M.; Nsibo, David Livingstone (American Phytopathological Society, 2024-09)
    In March 2023, leaf spot symptoms characterized by ovoid, oblong lesions with a pale brown center and small and narrow linear lesions were observed in seed maize production fields in Mkushi District, Zambia. The symptoms ...
  • Tissue ontogeny and chemical composition influence bacterial biodiversity in the wood and shoot tip of Populus nigra 
    Bose, Tanay; Mahomed, T.G.; Mbatha, K.C.; Joubert, J.C.; Hammerbacher, Almuth (Wiley, 2024)
    Plant–microbe interactions significantly influence plant growth dynamics and adaptability. This study explores the impact of metabolites on microbial biodiversity in shoot tips and wood of Populus nigra under greenhouse ...
  • Modelling landscape-scale occurrences of common grassland species in a topographically complex mountainous environment 
    Sieben, E.J.J.; Steenhuisen, S.; Vidal, J.D.; Martin, G.; Le Roux, Peter Christiaan (Springer, 2024-10)
    Mountainous regions typically harbour high plant diversity but are also characterised by low sampling intensity. Coarse-scale species distribution models can provide insights into the distribution of poorly sampled species, ...
  • The use of in vitro bioassays and chemical screening to assess the impact of a minimally processed vegetable facility on wastewater quality 
    Aneck-Hahn, Natalie Hildegard; Van Zijl, Magdalena Catherina; Quinn, Laura; Swiegelaar, Caitlin; Nhlapo, N.S. (Nontete Suzan); De Bruin, Willeke; Korsten, Lise (Frontiers Media, 2024-09)
    Fruit- and vegetable-processing facilities may contaminate wastewater via contaminants found in the produce and disinfecting chemicals used. These contaminants may include agrochemicals, pesticides, and disinfectants ...
  • Automated ISSR fingerprinting is a cost-effective way to assess genetic diversity and Taxonomic differentiation—a case study on the Encephalartos eugene-maraisii species complex 
    Murphy, Deanne; Barker, Nigel; Frisby, Arnold Walter (MDPI, 2024-08)
    Recent technological advancements in conservation genetics and genomics have resulted in diverse tools for aiding the conservation of species. The precision and resolution of high throughput sequencing technologies provide ...
  • Systematic review of the agro-ecological, nutritional, and medicinal properties of the neglected and underutilized plant species Tylosema fassoglense 
    Munialo, Sussy; Gasparatos, Alexandros; Ludidi, Ndiko; Ali, Ali Elnaeim Elbasheir; Keyster, Eden; Akanbi, Musa Oyebowale; Emmambux, Mohammad Naushad (MDPI, 2024-07)
    Neglected and Under-utilized plant Species (NUS) can contribute to food system transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa, but many are understudied. Here, we conducted a systematic review of 37 empirical studies to synthesize ...
  • The integration of land restoration and biodiversity conservation practices in sustainable food systems of Africa : a systematic review 
    Rapiya, Monde; Truter, Wayne Frederick; Ramoelo, Abel (MDPI, 2024-10)
    Land degradation poses a significant global challenge, adversely affecting soil quality and diminishing the productivity of arable land, which, in turn, impacts food production and ecosystem services. This degradation ...
  • Ecosystem services of irrigated and controlled drainage agricultural systems : a contemporary global perspective 
    Van der Laan, Michael; Virtanen, Seija; Matsuno, Yutaka; Castelli, Giulio; Fayrap, Aynur; Cresswell, Richard; Hsieh, M.K. (Wiley, 2024)
    Irrigated agriculture provides 40% of the world's crop-based foods but often with a negative impact on the environment. It is important to recognize that in addition to providing food and fibre, irrigation and controlled ...
  • Recent advances in the population biology and management of maize foliar fungal pathogens Exserohilum turcicum, Cercospora zeina and Bipolaris maydis in Africa 
    Nsibo, David Livingstone; Barnes, Irene; Berger, David Kenneth (Frontiers Media, 2024-08)
    Maize is the most widely cultivated and major security crop in sub-Saharan Africa. Three foliar diseases threaten maize production on the continent, namely northern leaf blight, gray leaf spot, and southern corn leaf ...
  • Skeletons in the closet? Using a bibliometric lens to visualise phytochemical and pharmacological activities linked to Sceletium, a mood enhancer 
    Reddy, Kaylan; Stafford, Gary I.; Makunga, Nokwanda P. (Frontiers Media, 2024-03)
    Plants from the Sceletium genus (Aizoaceae) have been traditionally used for millennia by the Khoe and Khoen people in southern Africa, as an appetite suppressant as well as a mood elevator. In more recent times, this ...
  • Legumes and common beans in sustainable diets : nutritional quality, environmental benefits, spread and use in food preparations 
    Lisciani, Silvia; Marconi, Stefania; Le Donne, Cinzia; Camilli, Emanuela; Aguzzi, Altero; Gabrielli, Paolo; Gambelli, Loretta; Kunert, Karl J.; Marais, D. (Diana); Vorster, Barend Juan; Alvarado-Ramos, Katherine; Reboul, Emmanuelle; Cominelli, Eleonora; Preite, Chiara; Sparvoli, Francesca; Losa, Alessia; Sala, Tea; Botha, Anna-Maria; Ferrari, Marika (Frontiers Media, 2024-05)
    In recent decades, scarcity of available resources, population growth and the widening in the consumption of processed foods and of animal origin have made the current food system unsustainable. High-income countries ...
  • Bacterial community in apparently healthy and asymptomatic Eucalyptus trees and those with symptoms of bacterial wilt 
    Coutinho, Teresa A.; Carstensen, Gabrielle Dioneé; Venter, S.N. (Stephanus Nicolaas); Chen, ShuaiFei; Tarigan, Marthin; Wingfield, Michael J. (Springer, 2024)
    Ralstonia solanacearum and R. pseudosolanacearum are well-known bacterial plant pathogens that cause significant losses to both ornamental and agricultural plants. It has been suggested that they are not the primary cause ...
  • Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails 
    Potapov, Anton M.; Guerra, Carlos A.; Van den Hoogen, Johan; Babenko, Anatoly; Bellini, Bruno C.; Berg, Matty P.; Chown, Steven L.; Deharveng, Louis; Kovac, Ľubomir; Kuznetsova, Natalia A.; Ponge, Jean-Francois; Potapov, Mikhail B.; Russell, David J.; Alexandre, Douglas; Alatalo, Juha M.; Arbea, Javier I.; Bandyopadhyaya, Ipsa; Bernava, Veronica; Bokhorst, Stef; Bolger, Thomas; Castano-Meneses, Gabriela; Chauvat, Matthieu; Chen, Ting-Wen; Chomel, Mathilde; Classen, Aimee T.; Cortet, Jerome; Cuchta, Peter; De la Pedrosa, AnaManuela; Ferreira, Susana S.D.; Fiera, Cristina; Filser, Juliane; Franken, Oscar; Fujii, Saori; Koudji, Essivi Gagnon; Gao, Meixiang; Gendreau-Berthiaume, Benoit; Gomez-Pamies, Diego F.; Greve, Michelle; Handa, I. Tanya; Heiniger, Charlene; Holmstrup, Martin; Homet, Pablo; Ivask, Mari; Janion-Scheepers, Charlene; Jochum, Malte; Joimel, Sophie; Jorge, Bruna Claudia S.; Jucevica, Edite; Ferlian, Olga; Lunes de Oliveira Filho, Luís Carlos; Klauberg-Filho, Osmar; Baretta, Dilmar; Krab, Eveline J.; Kuu, Annely; De Lima, Estevam C.A.; Lin, Dunmei; Lindo, Zoe; Liu, Amy; Lu, Jing-Zhong; Lucianez, María Jose; Marx, Michael T.; McCary, Matthew A.; Minor, Maria A.; Nakamori, Taizo; Negri, Ilaria; Ochoa-Hueso, Raul; Palacios-Vargas, Jose G.; Pollierer, MelanieM.; Querner, Pascal; Raschmanova, Natalia; Rashid, Muhammad Imtiaz; Raymond-Leonard, Laura J.; Rousseau, Laurent; Saifutdinov, Ruslan A.; Salmon, Sandrine; Sayer, Emma J.; Scheunemann, Nicole; Scholz, Cornelia; Seeber, Julia; Shveenkova, Yulia B.; Stebaeva, Sophya K.; Sterzynska, Maria; Sun, Xin; Susanti, Winda I.; Taskaeva, Anastasia A.; Thakur, Madhav P.; Tsiafouli, Maria A.; Turnbull, Matthew S.; Twala, Mthokozisi Nkosingiphile; Uvarov, Alexei V.; Venier, Lisa A.; Widenfalk, Lina A.; Winck, Bruna R.; Winkler, Daniel; Wu, Donghui; Xie, Zhijing; Yin, Rui; Zeppelini, Douglas; Crowther, Thomas W.; Eisenhauer, Nico; Scheu, Stefan (Nature Research, 2023-02-07)
    Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground ...
  • Seasonal variation in foliar mite diversity and abundance in leaf domatia of three native South African forest species 
    Situngu, Sivuyisiwe; Barker, Nigel (MDPI, 2024-03)
    Mite communities inhabiting plants are known to be affected by several environmental factors, including temperature and humidity. This pilot study aimed to assess seasonal variation in mite abundance and species richness ...
  • First report of target-site resistance to glyphosate in Amaranthus hybridus L. in the Republic of South Africa 
    Shabangu, Nhlanhla M.; Simelane, Nondunduzo Adelaide; Reinhardt, Carl Frederick (Charlie); Marais, D. (Diana); Vorster, Barend Juan (Wiley, 2024-08)
    Amaranthus hybridus L. is a major weed for summer crops. Although A. hybridus has been a known crop weed in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) for a long time, herbicide resistance has not been a problem. Nevertheless, A. ...