• Authors:
    • Yano, K.
    • Araki, H.
    • Sekiya, N.
  • Source: Plant and Soil
  • Volume: 341
  • Issue: 1/2
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: When a plant encounters spatially heterogeneous soil moisture within its root system, usually drier surface and moister subsurface soils, water can move between these layers through the root system, a plant process known as hydraulic lift or redistribution. The water thus transferred is available not only for the plant itself but also for its neighbors. We examined application of this process as a possible biological irrigation tool. As 'donors', we used perennial forage plants with their shoots removed to minimize the effect of light-interception by them on the 'receiver' plants growing alongside them. In a horizontally split-root experiment, where an upper container was filled with sand and a lower one with water, superior donor species could maintain the upper sand in a fully hydrated condition for several weeks, increasing stomatal conductance in the receivers. The effects were also confirmed in a water-limited agricultural field, as significant differences were found in canopy temperature and yield in neighboring crop plants in the presence or absence of donor root systems. These results suggest that deep-rooting associate plants with their shoots removed function as an irrigation tool and improve crop production in water-scarce environments.
  • Authors:
    • Miah, M. N. A.
    • Paul, G. C.
    • Siddique, M. A. B.
    • Amanullah, A. S. M.
  • Source: Pakistan Sugar Journal
  • Volume: 26
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: An experiment was conducted at Regional Sugarcane Research Station (RSRS). Thakurgaon during 2005-06 and 2006-07 cropping seasons to asses effects of different levels of irrigation and split application of N-K fertilizers in sugarcane (var. Isd 36) intercropped with potato (var. Diamond). The intercrop, potato received recommended fertilizer as usual. Application of Urea and Potash (N-K fertilizers) in two splits (B 1) produced highest number of tiller, millable cane and also highest yield in both levels of irrigation in both years. Though the difference was not significant over B 2 and B 3. But irrigation level A 1 (Six light irrigation with 65 mm effective rainfall) had significant difference over A 2 (five comparatively deep irrigation with same effective rainfall). Highest number of tiller (215.3*10 3 ha -1), millable cane (114.7*10 3 ha -1) and cane yield (109.9 t ha -1) were produced by the treatment B 1 under A 1 level of irrigation in the crop year 2006-07. Hence split application of N-K fertilizers with two equal splits applied at plantation and at 145 days after plantation and also light irrigation, 6 to 7 number with total amount of 460-500 mm including effective rainfall may be preferred for loamy and sandy loam soils.
  • Authors:
    • Jain, K.
    • Kudrat, M.
    • Singh, N. J.
    • Pandey, K.
  • Source: International Journal of Remote Sensing
  • Volume: 32
  • Issue: 16
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: The cropping pattern (rotation) of a region depends on the soil, water availability, economic conditions and climatic factors. Remote sensing is one of the effective tools that can provide precise and up-to-date information on the performance of agricultural systems. Four seasons data from the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS)-P6 Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) were used for the generation of the cropping pattern of Uttar Pradesh by geographic information system (GIS)-aided integration of digitally classified crop and land use inventories of the kharif, rabi and zaid crop seasons. Twelve different cropping patterns were delineated and mapped in the Indo-Gangetic plain of Uttar Pradesh. The forests covered about 6.32% of the total geographical area. The net cropped area was 20 282 159.46 ha (84.18% of the total geographical area) and the non-agricultural area observed was 3 437 376.00 ha (14.26% of the total geographical area). Rice was the single most dominant crop of the state, occupying about 32.94% of the total geographical area during the kharif season. Maize/jowar was the second major cereal crop, accounting for 13.77% of the total geographical area of the state. The major crops grown during the rabi season were wheat and pulses/oilseed, covering areas of 7 979 267.71 ha (33.12%) and 5 974 742.58 ha (24.80%), respectively. Rice-wheat, sugarcane and rice-pulses were the major cropping patterns, occupying about 3 958 739.85 ha (16.43%), 3 609 939.74 ha (14.98%) and 2 511 298.24 ha (10.42%), respectively. The areas under pulses/oilseed were significantly higher in the rabi season. Sugarcane-wheat and pulses shared an almost equal area (6.49%). The maize/jowar-wheat cropping pattern occupied 6.14% of the total geographical area of the state. Single cropping patterns (i.e. rice-fallow, fallow-pulses, fallow-wheat, maize-fallow and sugarcane-fallow) were minor, occupying 6.08, 2.94, 4.06, 2.69 and 2.51%, respectively. Waste land, including gulley, salt-affected, waterlogged and rock land, accounted for 3.80% of the total geographical area. The results of this study indicate that temporal IRS-P6 (AWiFS) data are very useful for studying spatial cropping patterns. The values of the Multiple Cropping Index (MCI) and the Cultivated Land Utilization Index (CLUI) show that the study area has a high cropping intensity.
  • Authors:
    • Smith, J. P.
    • Smith, M. K.
    • Stirling, G. R.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 114
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Ginger (Zingiber officinale) production is facing increasing disease and pest pressure and declining yield with continuing intensive cultivation practices. A four year experiment was established in south-eastern Queensland on a red ferrosol that had a long (>60 years) history of ginger farming. Minimal tillage and organic amendments were compared with conventional practice that involved frequent tillage and soil fumigation using 1,3-dichloropropene (Telone (R)). Ginger crops were grown in the second and fourth year of the experiment, following an annual rotation with different cover crops including oats (Avena sativa), Brassica spp., soybean (Glycine max) and forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolour X S. sudanese). A pasture ley of Pangola grass (Digitaria eriantha subsp. pentzii) provided a treatment continuum from major to minor disruption in the soil's physical fertility and biological communities, and was therefore only planted to ginger in the fourth year of the experiment. Ginger seed-pieces (sections of the rhizome used for planting) were planted into both tilled and untilled beds using a double disc opener on a specially designed ginger planter. Rhizome yield in the final year was greatest (74.2 t/ha) and losses to pathogens (Pythium myriotylum and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. zingiberi) minimal (7.0%) in the pasture ley that had been cultivated prior to planting ginger. Furthermore, the minimum-tilled cover cropped treatment, which likewise had been cultivated prior to planting ginger, yielded well (62.0 t/ha), with few losses (5.0%) from rhizome rots. Conversely the fumigated treatment had the highest losses (35.9%) due to Pythium Soft Rot and lowest yields (20.2 t/ha). Minimum-tilled plantings of ginger, however, resulted in poor yields (30.9-43.1 t/ha) but had acceptable levels of disease. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • Hyde, J.
    • Mortensen, D. A.
    • Barbercheck, M. E.
    • Smith, R. G.
    • Hulting, A. G.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 103
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: In the mid-Atlantic region, the demand for organic dairy has provided incentives for farmers to transition their land to organic feed grain production. At the same time, interest in minimum-tillage organic production is growing. Two field experiments were conducted to assess the effects of a first year cover crop and tillage system on weed populations, cash crop yield, and net returns over the 3-yr transition period in a cover crop-soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)-corn (Zea mays L.) feed grain rotation. The cover crop treatments were rye (Secale cereale L.)-hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) (hereaft er RYE) and timothy (Phleum pratense L.)-red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) (hereaft er TIM). Tillage system treatments were moldboard plow (full tillage, FT) and chisel plow (minimum tillage, MT). Across both experiments, soybean yields ranged from 1190 to 3721 kg ha(-1). Corn grain yields were affected by tillage in the first experiment only, and were 59% higher in FT (9370 kg ha(-1)) compared to MT (5906 kg ha(-1)). Weed abundance was primarily affected by tillage, with densities in corn being 244% higher in MT compared to FT. Cumulative net returns in the first experiment were profit-generating in systems where TIM was the initial cover crop (mean = U.S. $ 317 ha(-1)). Mean cumulative net returns were positive in three of the four treatment combinations in the second experiment (U.S. $ 74-299 ha(-1)). Improved strategies for minimizing the costs associated with fertilization and management of weeds in minimal tillage will be necessary to improve the profitability and sustainability of reduced-tillage organic systems.
  • Authors:
    • Pulrolnik, K.
    • Marchão, R. L.
    • Guimarães Junior, R.
    • Motta Macedo, M. C.
    • Martha Junior, G. B.
    • Vilela, L.
    • Maciel, G. A.
  • Source: Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira
  • Volume: 46
  • Issue: 10
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: The objective of this work was to analyze the benefits and the potential prospects of integrated crop-livestock systems in the process of crop and pasture intensification in the Cerrado, and to point out the main information gaps about the system. The main benefits of crop-livestock integration are: improved chemical, physical and biological properties of the soil; reduction of diseases, pests and weed outbreaks occurrence; higher crop and animal productivity; and risk reduction due to diversification of activities. However, the adoption of the crop-livestock system is still low, probably due to the greater complexity of the system. Concentrating efforts on the factors that limit the system's adoption is strategic for new studies. The search for better soil cover for the no tillage system, through forage grasses, can boost the adoption of integrated crop-livestock in the Cerrado. It is expected that the adoption of integrated crop-livestock systems improve the socioeconomic and environmental sustainability of the farm and of its region of influence.
  • Authors:
    • Tyler, D. D.
    • Jaja, N.
    • McClure, M. A.
    • Yin, X. H.
    • Hayes, R. M.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 103
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: The relationship between corn ( Zea mays L.) yield and plant height has been poorly documented in major corn production systems. This study was conducted to assess the relationship of corn yield with plant height under four major corn production systems at Milan, TN from 2008 through 2010. Six N treatments at rates of 0, 62, 123, 185, 247, and 308 kg N ha -1 with four replications were evaluated in a randomized complete block design in the following corn production systems: nonirrigated corn after corn, nonirrigated corn after soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.], nonirrigated corn after cotton [ Gossypium hirsutum (L.)], and irrigated corn after soybean. The regression of corn yield with plant height was significant and positive at 6-leaf growth stage (V6), 10-leaf growth stage (V10), and 12-leaf growth stage (V12), and mostly became stronger as plant growth progressed from V6 to V10 and to V12 under an exponential model in the four corn production systems for all 3 yr. In general, corn yield was strongly related with plant height measurements made at V10 and V12. Factors affecting the responses of plant height measured at V6, V10, and V12 or/and yield to the N treatments may have contributed to the variations of determination coeffient ( R2) values across years. In conclusion, corn yield may be predicted with plant height measurements collected during V10 to V12. This prediction provides a physiological basis for the utilization of high resolution plant height measurements to guide variable-rate N applications within the field on corn at around V10 and to more accurately estimate yield for earlier grain marketing purposes.
  • Authors:
    • Zhang, Y. J.
    • Liu, R. T.
    • Zhu, X. Y.
  • Source: African Journal of Biotechnology
  • Volume: 10
  • Issue: 45
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: A field experiment was conducted on an infertile red soil under a hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) and corn (Zea mays L.) rotation system in a highland area of Yunnan Province, China. Effects of phosphate (P) fertilization, combined with hairy vetch returned to the soil, on crop yield and soil fertility were studied, and the balances of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in the rotation system were estimated. As P application increased from 135 to 315 kg ha(-1), the dry matter yield of hairy vetch increased by 900.6 to 1283.86 kg DM ha(-1), and also promoted P absorption by hairy vetch. When compared with CK, the corn and corn straw yield increased by 16.64 and 33.48%, respectively, from the crop rotation system, while it increased by 18.36 and 34.96% and 32.58 and 66.5%, from the integrated use of green manure and P fertilizer, respectively. Simple crop rotation proceeding could improve soil N content in the 0 to 20 cm soil layer, while the combined P application improved soil P content. After corn harvest, soil Olsen-P content under the different treatments increased by 35.31 and 122.15% and 19.70 and 63.63% in the 0 to 10 and 10 to 20 cm soil layers, respectively. The optimum P fertilizer rate for the hairy vetch-corn rotation system in Yunnan Province was 135 kg P2O5 ha(-1). At this P rate, the nutrient balance surpluses for N, P and K were 84.9, 18.9 and 26.4%, respectively.
  • Authors:
    • Negrisoli, E.
    • Crusciol, C. A. C.
    • Castro, G. S. A.
    • Perim, L.
  • Source: Planta Daninha
  • Volume: 29
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Tillage and other agricultural production systems can contribute to weed suppression. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate weed control using different grain production systems. The treatments were: I. "Harvest-fallow" System-soybean/fallow/corn/fallow/rice/fallow/soybean; II. "Harvest-green manure" System-soybean/millet/maize/pigeon pea/rice/Crotalaria/soybean; III. "Harvest-out of season" System-soy/white oats/corn/dry bean/rice/castor oil/soybean; and IV "Harvest-fodder" System-brachiaria + soy/corn + brachiaria/brachiaria + rice/soybeans. A weed survey was carried out in November 2009, after three growing seasons. A 0.3 x 0.3 m frame was randomly launched four times within each plot. The plants were identified, and the total number of weeds, dry weight, and control percentage of the species were determined according to the production system. The phytosociological analysis of the weed community was also conducted. The systems Harvest-green manure; Harvest-out of season and Harvest-fodder presented a good weed control when compared to the Harvest-fallow system. Therefore, the presence of some type of soil cover is important to maintain favorable soil characteristics and good weed control.
  • Authors:
    • Mehla, R. S.
    • Punia, M.
    • Ladha, J. K.
    • Khurana, M. L.
    • Chandna, P.
    • Gupta, R.
  • Source: Environmental Monitoring & Assessment
  • Volume: 178
  • Issue: 1-4
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Increased use of nitrogenous fertilizers in the intensively cultivated rice (Oryza sativa)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system (covers a 13.5-ha m area in South Asia) has led to the concentration of nitrates (NO(3)-N) in the groundwater (GW) in Haryana State of India. Six districts from the freshwater zone were selected to identify factors affecting NO(3)-N enrichment in GW. Water and soil samples were collected from 1,580 locations and analyzed for their chemical properties. About 3% (26,796, and 10,588 ha) of the area was estimated to be under moderately high (7.5-10 mg l (-aEuro parts per thousand 1)) and high (> 10 mg l (-aEuro parts per thousand 1)) risk categories, respectively. The results revealed that NO(3)-N was 10-50% higher during the pre-monsoon season than in the monsoon season. Nitrate-N decreased with the increase in aquifer depth (r (2) = 0.99). Spatial and proximity analyses using ArcGIS (9.2) revealed that (1) clay material in surface and sub-surface texture restricts N leaching, (2) piedmont and rolling plains act as an N sink, and (3) perennial rivers bring a dilution effect whereas seasonal rivers provide favorable conditions for NO(3) (-) enrichment. The study concludes that chemical N fertilizers applied in agro-ecosystems are not the sole factor determining the NO(3) in groundwater; rather, it is an integrated process governed by several other factors including physical and chemical properties of soils, proximity and type of river, and geomorphologic and geographical aspects. Therefore, future studies should adopt larger area (at least watershed scale) to understand the mechanistic pathways of NO(3) enrichment in groundwater and interactive role of the natural drainage system and surrounding physical features. In addition, the study also presents a conceptual framework to describe the process of nitrate formation and leaching in piedmont plains and its transportation to the mid-plain zone.