Journal of Cleaner Production 316 (2021) 128284 Available online 11 July 2021 0959-6526/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The implementation of rice-crab co-culture system to ensure cleaner rice and farm production Muhammad Amjad Bashir a, b , Hongyuan Wang a, * , Wentao Sun c , Limei Zhai a , Xiushuang Zhang d , Na Wang c , Abdur Rehim b , Qurat-Ul-Ain Raza b , Hongbin Liu a, ** a Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, PR China b Department of Soil Science, FAS&T, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan c Institute of Plant Nutrition and Environment Resources, Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenyang, 110161, PR China d Liaoning Provincial Saline-Alkali Land Utilization and Research Institute, Panjin, 124000, PR China A R T I C L E INFO Handling editor: Cecilia Maria Villas Bˆ oas de Almeida Keywords: Rice Crab Productivity Co-culture ABSTRACT The traditional co-culture systems have attained the attention for better production, still have gaps to identify key factors infuencing the safe grain production, yield enhancement, and economic viability. Here, a feld survey and a feld experiment was conducted in Panjin city, including two production systems: rice-monoculture (RM) and RC system. The treatments of feld experiments were: rice-monoculture (RM), 3000 crabs ha 1 without feed (RC3000), 6000 crabs ha 1 with feed (RC6000), and 12000 crabs ha 1 with 2 × feed (RC12000). During feld survey, higher number of crabs reduced the number of productive tillers while, the productive traits were improved signifcantly except 1000-grain weight was insignifcant. Field experiment indicated that suitable stocking density and feed management has no negative effect on agronomic or productive trait. Grain yield was improved (19.9%) in RC3000, (22.0%) in RC6000, and (14.7%) in RC12000 as compared to RM. The reduction in shrivelled grains spike 1 , and the increase in flled grains spike 1 , seed setting percentage, and 1000-grain weight in RC system improved the rice production. Grain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents were also improved by RC6000. Farm income and beneft-cost ratio were higher in RC system, meanwhile, the maximum farm production (16231-yuan ha 1 ) and beneft-cost ratio (0.51) were in RC6000. The RC system can control drained out water nutrients concentrations, which helps in water pollution control. The results suggested that RC system improves the clean grain and farm production, resource utilization, and the economic status with managed optimum stocking density and feed. 1. Introduction Rice is major food crop, grown at 160 million hectares of land globally, with 18% of the total production in China (FAO, 2018). Con- ventional rice cultivation has induced serious ecological problems (GHG emission, eutrophication) and non-sustainable agricultural production, unlike conventional RM integrated co-culture system is considered as a sustainable agricultural production model (Khoshnevisan et al., 2021; Xu et al., 2019). Aquaculture is the fastest growing food industry in last 50 years worldwide (Bostock et al., 2010) and contributes about 50% of fsh food supply (FAO., 2017). In aquaculture ponds (fsh, snakehead, shrimp, crab, etc.), it was observed only 11.6–46.5% N is used by the fsh and remained is lost to water bodies and bottom soils of the pond (Dai et al., 2010; Tan et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2018). Combining agricultural production system with aquaculture is known as co-culture system, proven as an effective tool for improved and sustainable farming with ensured food security (Hu et al., 2016; Lansing and Kremer, 2011; Pretty, 2008). Rice co-culture system has been adopted about 2000 years ago in Asian countries (Bhatnagar et al., 2014; Saiful Islam et al., 2015) and obtained a key position as a cultural activity in China (Lu and Li, 2006). While, the RC (rice-crab) co-culture system is again attaining the at- tentions of farming community in modern decades (Bashir et al., 2021; Khoshnevisan et al., 2021). This system can optimize land use plan with * Corresponding author. ** Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: wanghongyuan@caas.cn (H. Wang), liuhongbin@caas.cn (H. Liu). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Cleaner Production journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128284 Received 20 January 2021; Received in revised form 8 May 2021; Accepted 10 July 2021