Journal of Integrative Agriculture

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Does the adoption of direct-seeded rice affect pesticide use? Evidence from China

Journal of Integrative Agriculture. 2026, 25(1): 366-376.

In China, farmers have increasingly adopted direct-seeded rice (DSR). While various impacts of DSR have been studied, limited evidence exists regarding the effect of DSR adoption on pesticide use. This study examines the impact of DSR adoption on pesticide use utilizing data from a 2018 survey of 982 rice farmers in China’s Yangtze River Basin. The endogenous treatment-regression and switching regression models are employed to address self-selection bias. The results indicate that, after accounting for self-selection, DSR adopters spend 401.72 CNY ha–1 more on pesticides compared to non-adopters. Although DSR adoption significantly increases the use of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides, its impact is most pronounced for insecticide expenditure and least pronounced for herbicide expenditure. The findings remain robust when altering the dependent variable, truncating the research sample, and modifying the estimation method. Heterogeneous analysis reveals that DSR adoption has a stronger positive impact on pesticide expenditure among farmers below 60 years of age, with at least 6 years of education, and managing rice sown areas less than 2 ha. Based on these findings, this study recommends enhancing complementary techniques for DSR, improving the dissemination of DSR cultivation technologies, and strengthening socialized services. This research provides a comprehensive assessment of DSR’s advantages and disadvantages, particularly regarding pesticide use, offering important policy implications for pesticide reduction.
Pathways to improved food and nutrition security: The role of farm production diversity in household dietary outcomes in rural area of Pakistan

Muhammad Waseem, Erbao Cao, Ihsan Jamil, Bushra Mughal, Mi Yu

Journal of Integrative Agriculture. 2026, 25(1): 377-389.

Malnutrition remains a significant global challenge, particularly in developing countries. Policymakers have increasingly focused on improving household food security and nutrition through farm production diversity (FPD). While research indicates that FPD correlates positively with reduced malnutrition, other studies emphasize the importance of market access for improved nutritional outcomes. However, this evidence varies by region and remains inconsistent. To address this knowledge gap, this study analyzed survey data from 450 smallholder farmers in Punjab, Pakistan, using regression models to examine the relationship between FPD and dietary diversity, as well as the underlying impact pathways. The findings demonstrate that FPD significantly correlates with increased household dietary diversity score (HDDS). FPD influences dietary diversification through both own-farm production and market food consumption pathways, with the own-farm production pathway showing greater impact. The increase in food expenditure through own-farm production yielded a marginal return of 8% in household dietary diversity compared to 5.3% through marketing. Gender differences emerged as significant, with male-headed households showing relatively lower dietary diversity. These findings have substantial implications for countries with smallholder farming systems, providing valuable insights for the formation of agricultural policies, resource optimization, and rural development initiatives.
Overexpression of OsCAX2 in indica rice reduces cadmium accumulation in grains without yield loss

Journal of Integrative Agriculture. 2026, 25(1): 390-393.
Point-of-care antigen detection for porcine deltacoronavirus: Colloidal gold and fluorescent immunochromatographic test strips

Journal of Integrative Agriculture. 2026, 25(1): 394-397.

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