Agronomy
Summary
Agronomy encompasses the science and practice of crop production and soil management, integrating biological, chemical and physical principles to sustain and enhance agricultural productivity. It addresses the interactions between plants, soils, climate and management practices to optimise yields, maintain soil health and support ecosystem services. Core disciplines include soil fertility and nutrient cycling, water management through irrigation and conservation tillage, crop physiology under abiotic and biotic stresses, and mechanisation and precision technologies for seeding, fertilisation and pest control. Agronomists develop and evaluate practices that preserve soil structure and organic matter, regulate pH and nutrient availability, mitigate erosion and greenhouse-gas emissions, and adapt cropping systems to climate variability and resource constraints. The ultimate aim is to produce sufficient food, fibre and bioenergy while maintaining the natural resource base and reducing environmental impacts.
Research from Nature Portfolio
In a 30-year field study on a temperate Mollisol, perennial grassland and rotationally grazed pasture systems maintained or enhanced full-profile soil organic carbon stocks, whereas continuous row-crop and alfalfa systems lost carbon at rates up to 0.8 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Density-corrected, deep-sampling methods revealed that traditional surface-only assessments can overestimate carbon gains under annual cropping. Another study quantified greenhouse-gas emissions from maize grown on drained peat soils for biomethane production, finding soil CO₂ fluxes up to three times greater than those from natural gas combustion. These findings highlight the necessity of including soil-borne emissions and whole-profile carbon changes in assessments of cropping system sustainability and bioenergy life cycles.
Agronomy publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in agronomy across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Soil pH: A measure of hydrogen-ion activity in soil, indicating its acidity or alkalinity on a scale of 0 (strongly acidic) to 14 (strongly alkaline).
Cation exchange capacity (CEC): The total capacity of soil to hold and exchange positively charged ions (cations), reflecting its nutrient-retention and buffering abilities.
Buffering capacity: The ability of soil to resist changes in pH when acids or bases are added, determined by organic matter, clay minerals and carbonate content.
Exchangeable aluminium: Aluminium ions adsorbed on soil particle surfaces that become soluble under low pH and are toxic to plant roots.
Nitrification: Microbial oxidation of ammonium (NH₄⁺) to nitrate (NO₃⁻), releasing protons (H⁺) that contribute to soil acidification.
References
- Soil carbon maintained by perennial grasslands over 30 years but lost in field crop systems in a temperate Mollisol. Communications Earth & Environment (2024).
- Impact of long-term fertilization in no-till on the stratification of soil acidity and related parameters. Soil and Tillage Research (2023).
- Soil Nutrient Retention and pH Buffering Capacity Are Enhanced by Calciprill and Sodium Silicate. Agronomy (2022).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.