Valorization of Agri-Food Waste to Promote Sustainable Strategies in Agriculture and Improve Crop Quality with Emphasis on Legume Crop Residues
Afonso Zambela, Maria Celeste Dias, Rosa Guilherme, Paula Lorenzo
Abstract
The valorization of agri-food by-products represents a promising approach to advancing sustainable agriculture while contributing to climate resilience efforts. Leguminous crops, cultivated extensively across diverse agroecological zones, play a central role in global food systems and soil fertility dynamics. Waste from leguminous crops can contribute essential nutrients to the soil, such as nitrogen, helping the growth of associated or subsequent crops, thereby reducing the need for inorganic fertilizers. Additionally, they can help improve soil biological activity, physical soil properties, and increase nutrient availability. As nitrogen-fixing crops, the waste obtained after threshing pulses probably still contains large amounts of nutrients, which can replenish part of the nutrient needs required for other crops. However, there is little information available about the amount of nutrients these residues may contain, as well as their decomposition rate and release. In this review, we explore the role of agri-food waste, particularly leguminous residues, in promoting sustainable agricultural practices, identifying main knowledge gaps in legume crop residue characterization (i.e., nutrient content and decomposition rates). We also identify potential risks in using leguminous waste and discuss mitigation strategies for using these residues safely. Additionally, we propose new strategies to promote more sustainable agricultural practices and highlight future research directions.