• Authors:
    • Liu, Y.
    • Ma, L.
    • Li, X.
  • Source: Acta Phytophylacica Sinica
  • Volume: 38
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: In order to fully understand the regular pattern of the population dynamics of Lithocolletis ringoniella Matsumura in the apple production region of the Loess Plateau, the distribution pattern and the ecological niche index were determined and the clustering analysis was conducted to describe the dynamic change of L. ringoniella population. The results showed that the leaf insect spot caused by L. ringoniella was visible in June; the number of the insect increased in July, with the damage symptom severe in August; and the quantity of the population number was in surge in September and October. The relative abundance of the temporal sequence was in a strong rising trend since August. Population distribution in the crown was uniform in early July and aggregative after that. The spatial distribution among the vertical positions of the tree crown showed significant difference, population number following the order of lower > middle > upper parts, whereas distribution among horizontal directions had no significant difference. The general distribution within the crown appeared in cluster, with individuals attractive to each other. The ecological niche occupation of this pest in vertical and horizontal directions as well as in temporal sequences are 0.179, 0.371 and 0.594, respectively. The resource utilization rate in the lower part of the crown reached 53.73% and almost nothing utilized in the upper part, indicating a more horizontal expansion potential. Viewing from the four directions, the maximum utilization of resources was in the north and east, up to 27.90% and 21.66% respectively. The ecological niche overlap index of L. ringoniella with hawthorn spider mite in vertical and horizontal directions reached 92.65 and 64.95, respectively, in addition to temporal sequence to be 66.36, indicating that hawthorn spider mite is the most intense space-temporal competitor for the limited resources of apple's crown leaves. The dominance degree index of L. ringoniella in the young apple orchard in different intercropping patterns increased over time since August and largest increase happened in the middle of August. The highest dominance degree index was found in soybean-apple intercropping pattern and the lowest index with sweet potato-apple intercropping pattern. The index fluctuated in the orchard with weeds unwell-managed.
  • Authors:
    • Zeng, Y.
    • Li, W.
    • Liang, H.
    • Nong, M.
    • Yang, W.
    • Liu, Y.
  • Source: Guizhou Agricultural Sciences
  • Issue: 11
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: A non-tillage intercropping test of potato varieties of Qingshu series was conducted in mulberry garden in winter to seek a fine intercropping pattern and to screen the suitable potato varieties. The results showed that compared with potatoes of conventional non-tillage cultivation, growth traits of the five potato varieties of Qingshu series were better in different growth periods, such as plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, and the yield structure was improved. Potato weight and potato number per plant were increased by 21.14% and 16.32%, respectively. Potato production and the proportion of larger potatoes were raised by 5.92% and 11.94%, respectively. The yield of Qingshu 8 was the highest (37 070.37 kg/hm 2), 8.98% higher than CK. Therefore, mulberry intercropping potatoes was a new cultivation way to be generalized and applied in the production practice. Qingshu 8 was an ideal potato variety for non-tillage intercropping in mulberry garden.
  • Authors:
    • Zhang, F.
    • Stewart, B.
    • Miao, Y.
  • Source: Agronomy for Sustainable Development
  • Volume: 31
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: China is facing one of the largest challenges of this century to continue to increase annual cereal production to about 600 Mt by 2030 to ensure food security with shrinking cropland and limited resources, while maintaining or improving soil fertility, and protecting the environment. Rich experiences in integrated and efficient utilization of different strategies of crop rotation, intercropping, and all possible nutrient resources accumulated by Chinese farmers in traditional farming systems have been gradually abandoned and nutrient management shifted to over-reliance on synthetic fertilizers. China is now the world's largest producer, consumer and importer of chemical fertilizers. Over application of nitrogen (N) is common in intensive agricultural regions, and current N-uptake efficiency was reported to be only 28.3, 28.2 and 26.1% for rice, wheat and maize, respectively, and less than 20% in intensive agricultural regions and for fruit trees or vegetable crops. In addition to surface and groundwater pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, over-application of N fertilizers has caused significant soil acidification in major Chinese croplands, decreasing soil pH by 0.13 to 2.20. High yield as a top priority, small-scale farming, lack of temporal synchronization of nutrient supply and crop demand, lack of effective extension systems, and hand application of fertilizers by farmers are possible reasons leading to the over-application problems. There is little doubt that current nutrient management practices are not sustainable and more efficient management systems need to be developed. A review of long-term experiments conducted around the world indicated that chemical fertilizer alone is not enough to improve or maintain soil fertility at high levels and the soil acidification problem caused by overapplication of synthetic N fertilizers can be reduced if more fertilizer N is applied as NO 3- relative to ammonium- or urea-based N fertilizers. Organic fertilizers can improve soil fertility and quality, but long-term application at high rates can also lead to more nitrate leaching, and accumulation of P, if not managed well. Well-managed combination of chemical and organic fertilizers can overcome the disadvantages of applying single source of fertilizers and sustainably achieve higher crop yields, improve soil fertility, alleviate soil acidification problems, and increase nutrient-use efficiency compared with only using chemical fertilizers. Crop yield can be increased through temporal diversity using crop rotation strategies compared with continuous cropping and legume-based cropping systems can reduce carbon and nitrogen losses. Crop yield responses to N fertilization can vary significantly from year to year due to variation in weather conditions and indigenous N supply, thus the commonly adopted prescriptive approach to N management needs to be replaced by a responsive in-season management approach based on diagnosis of crop growth, N status and demand. A crop sensor-based in-season site-specific N management strategy was able to increase Nuptake efficiency by 368% over farmers' practices in the North China Plain. Combination of these well-tested nutrient management principles and practices with modern crop management technologies is needed to develop sustainable nutrient management systems in China that can precisely match field-to-field and year-to-year variability in nutrient supply and crop demand for both single crops and crop rotations to not only improve nutrient-use efficiency but also increase crop yield and protect the environment. In addition, innovative and effective extension and service-providing systems to assist farmers in adopting and applying new management systems and technologies are also crucially important for China to meet the grand challenge of food security, nutrient-use efficiency and sustainable development.
  • Authors:
    • Zhang, C.
    • Wu, H. B.
    • Luan, Z. T.
    • Wang, H. J.
    • Zhai, W. Q.
    • Li, J. H.
  • Source: Xinjiang Agricultural Sciences
  • Volume: 47
  • Issue: 12
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Objective: The research was conducted on some keys factors which affect the planting effectiveness of cotton-melon interplanting in order to provide theoretical basis for improvement of the planting technique. Method: This study was carried out to investigate the irrigation and fertilization of cotton and melon, the main diseases, yield and quality of the melon, when intercropping of cotton and melon, compared with the common planting ways of cotton and melon. Result: Intergrowth contradictory between crops is little in cotton-melon Interplanting model, the powdery mildew of melon is less than that of melon of common planting way, while the downy mildew is more serious than melon of common planting way. A unit Hectare produced 3 888 kg cotton, 29 670 kg melon fruit with over 90% commodity rate. Conclusion: The Cotton-melon interplanting model obviously increased yield and income of unit field, which indicates that cotton-melon interplanting is helpful for increasing production and output value in a limited field in Kashgar.
  • Authors:
    • Zhang, F. S.
    • Sun, J. H.
    • Li, L.
  • Source: Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
  • Volume: 57
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Intercropping two species at different growth stages is common in temperate and tropical areas. An apparent recovery of growth is observed in late-maturing species after early-maturing species have been harvested, but the mechanism remained unclear. This study tested the hypothesis that the roots of late-maturing species occupy greater below-ground space at later growth stages. The monolith method was employed to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of maize grown alone (no interspecific interactions), maize intercropped with wheat (asymmetric interspecific facilitation before wheat harvesting), and maize intercropped with faba bean (symmetric interspecific facilitation) on August 8, September 2 and September 30, after harvesting of wheat (July 15) or faba bean (August 2). The results show that maize intercropped with wheat occupied more below-ground space at late growth stages than at early growth stages when the two crops grew at the same time, thus supporting our hypothesis. Furthermore, we also found that interspecific interactions during the co-growth stage of the two species led to a longer root life span in both maize intercropped with wheat and faba bean compared to the maize grown alone. The findings may partly explain the recovery of late-maturing species found in intercropping systems between two crop species with different growth stages and the complementary effect on the relationship between plant biodiversity and productivity.
  • Authors:
    • Liu, T.
    • Yang, X. K.
    • Zhang, H. B.
    • Zhan, Y.
    • Tian, H. Y.
  • Source: Xinjiang Agricultural Sciences
  • Volume: 48
  • Issue: 11
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Objective: Xinjiang has a continental climate and irrigated oasis agriculture. Soybean sowing acreage has been expanded year by year, so its yield gradually increased. No doubt, the development of soybean production in Xinjiang is becoming more and more important. Soybean yield traits are dependant on plant height, stem section number, pod number per plant, grains per plant, grain weight and other forms. At the same time, yield is also a composite character, decided by plant height, stem section number, pod number per plant, grains per plant, kernel weight, and many other factors. This paper aims to study the correlation between the yield of the main soybean cultivars and their yield traits so as to provide a reference index for breeding or improving new varieties in Xinjiang. Method: Gray correlation analysis of eight cultivars planted in 2010 in Shihezi area, Northern Xinjiang was conducted in this paper. Conclusion: Soybean production yield traits associated with major degrees from high to low is shown as follows: kernel weight > plant grains > stem section number > number of pods per plant > plant height. The result has practical significance for setting the goals of breeding or improving soybean varieties.
  • Authors:
    • Xu, W. L.
    • Feng, Y. Z.
    • Jang, Y. L.
    • Rao, X. J.
    • Wang, Z. G.
  • Source: Xinjiang Agricultural Sciences
  • Volume: 48
  • Issue: 12
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Objective: The purpose of this project is to study the effects of different irrigation models of jujube-cotton intercropping in ecological areas on the temperature and humidity and determine the ecological result of different irrigation models to the environment in order to provide some scientific basis for optimum water-saving irrigation model for jujube-cotton intercropping. Method: Three EL-USB automatic measuring system of temperature and humidity was established in the different positions in treatment 1 - jujube garden, treatment 2 - double water pipes in one line, treatment 3 - spray, treatment 4 - ditch irrigation, treatment 5 - cotton, EL-USB automatic measuring system of temperature and humidity of different distances from tree row to be monitored for 3 days in a row. Result: Effects of east-to-west jujube row on micro-ecological areas temperature are: the south of Jujube > the north of Jujube > Jujube row, and humidity: jujube row > The north of Jujube > The south of jujube; There was a negative linear correlation between humidity and temperature. Effects of different irrigation models on micro-ecological areas temperature of Jujube-cotton intercropping are: treatment 5 > treatment 1 > treatment 4 > treatment 3 > treatment 2, and humidity: treatment 2 > treatment 3 > treatment 4 > treatment 1 > treatment 5. Conclusion: Results showed that the crown shading of a east-to-west jujube row affected micro-ecological area temperature and humidity differently with different directions from tree row. Generally, temperature is the south of Jujube > the north of jujube > jujube row. There was a negative linear correlation between humidity and temperature. The temperature of jujube-cotton intercropping is lower than that of the single cotton model, but the humidity is higher. The treatment of spray and the treatment of double water pipes influence temperature and humidity greatly, which was advantageous to increase the jujube fruit setting rate.
  • Authors:
    • Chai, Q.
    • Huang, G. B.
    • Yang, C. H.
    • Luo, Z. X.
  • Source: Field Crops Research
  • Volume: 124
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: A field experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of alternate irrigation (AI) on the yield, water use and water use efficiency (WUE) of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)/maize (Zea mays L.) intercropping system in an oasis region of northwest China in 2006-2008. Three planting patterns, i.e., sole wheat, sole maize and wheat/maize intercropping. Three irrigation levels were applied for each treatment during 3 years. Results showed that land use efficiency of wheat and maize was significantly enhanced by intercropping system; land equivalent ratio (LER) of wheat/maize intercropping system in different treatments was all greater than 1.0. Moreover, significant difference in grain yield was observed between intercropping treatment and sole cropping treatment, in which the yield of intercropped wheat was 55.37-74.88% of sole wheat, and intercropped maize was 66.63-78.87% of sole maize. Wheat/maize intercropping treatments increased water use by 1.8-16.4% than half of the total water use of sole-cropping wheat and maize. Compared to sole cropping wheat treatments, wheat/maize intercropping with alternate irrigation significantly improved water use efficiency (WUE) by 30.5-57.7%, 55.5-71.4% and 12.0-19.8%, and increased by 32.7-37.8%, 9.5-15.8% and 4.0-20.8% than sole cropping maize treatments in 2006-2008, respectively. Our results suggest that AI should be a useful water-saving irrigation method on wheat/maize intercropping in arid oasis field where intercropping planting is decreased because of limited water resource.
  • Authors:
    • Ouyang, W.
    • Wang, Y. H.
    • Wang, X.
    • Hao, F. H.
    • Zhang, X.
  • Source: Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering
  • Volume: 27
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: To assess the phosphorus loss under different crops cultivations in farmland, soil samplings were taken in four typical crop types' fields in five layers of 0-100 cm. Based on the isothermal methane-adsorbing experiments, SPSS software was applied to analyze the results statistically. The phosphorus loss potential was evaluated and the influence factors were discussed in this paper. The results revealed that the sorption characteristics of all the soil samples in the study area could be described by Langmiur and Freundich equations, and the Langmiur equation fit better. The soil in wheat field showed better sorption of phosphorus than that of other crops. The soil samples of intercropping field demonstrated poor sorption capacity. The phosphorus sorption of the top soil in the different crop fields showed few variations. Compared with the phosphorus sorption of the deeper layers, the top soil was prone to lose along with farmland drainage except in the intercropping field, where the phosphorus loss with seepage vertically into groundwater was the preferential way. Phosphorus sorption index (PSI) was another effective parameter to assess the phosphorus loss potential except for the theoretically maximum sorption capacity Qm and the equilibrium phosphorus concentration at zero sorption (EPC 0). The conclusions of this paper can provide scientific references for appropriate scheduling on efficient fertilization, irrigation, and non-point source pollution control.
  • 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.