19832015
  • Authors:
    • Bali, S. V.
    • Singh, B.
    • Lehria, S. K.
  • Source: Short Rotation Forestry for Industrial and Rural Development
  • Year: 2006
  • Summary: A field experiment was conducted at Rakh Dhiansar during Kharif 1995 and 1996 and Rabi 1995-96 and 1996-97 under dryland conditions of Jammu (J&K). The results based on growth, yield attributes and yield revealed that application of 15 t ha -1 of subabul leaves as basal+25% N recorded maize (var. Local) yield of 45.22 q ha -1, which was significantly higher than the recommended dose of fertilizers and it was at par with 15 t ha -1 of subabul leaves as basal only, yielding 45.06 q ha -1. The residual effect of green leaf manuring on wheat (var. PBW-175) revealed that growth, reproductive and yield attributing characters were also influenced positively. By using this material, 50-75% N can be saved by the small and marginal farmers of the dryland region.
  • Authors:
    • Merrill, S. D.
    • Krupinsky, J. M.
    • Tanaka, D. L.
    • Anderson, R. L.
  • Source: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
  • Volume: 61
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2006
  • Summary: Soil coverage by residue protects soil and land resources from erosion, conserves soil water, and maintains soil quality. No-till and chemical weed control are management practices that increase soil coverage by residue. On the other hand, crop diversification in dryland agriculture in the northern Great Plains promotes the use of crops that produce significantly less soil coverage by residue than small cereal grains. Within a 10 x 10 crop sequence project under no-till in south-central North Dakota [409 mm (16.1 in) mean annual precipitation], all two-year crop sequence combinations of ten crops (barley, canola, crambe, dry bean, dry pea, flax, safflower, soybean, spring wheat, and sunflower) were evaluated at two adjacent sites. Soil coverage by residue was measured by transect and photographic techniques following spring wheat seeding. Soil coverage ranged from 98 to 89 percent following crop sequences that included spring wheat and barley. Soil coverage values were intermediate for spring wheat-alternative crop sequences, 97 to 62 percent. Crop sequences not including spring wheat with alternative crops for two years had values ranging from 86 to 35 percent. Soil coverage values after two consecutive years of sunflower or dry pea (two years of data) and two years of dry bean or safflower (single year of data) were in a lower range, 48 to 35 percent. Soil erosion hazards were evaluated with equations based on residue effects alone that were taken from the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) water erosion and Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) wind erosion models: calculated soil loss ratio values (SLR = 1 with no residue protection) for 35 percent coverage following a sunflower-sunflower sequence were 0.29 for water erosion and 0.21 for wind erosion. Even with use of no-till, especially on more fragile soils, producers should consider planting a higher residue-producing crop (e.g., wheat, flax) the year before seeding lower residue-producing crops in order to assure adequate protection of soil and land resources.
  • Authors:
    • Nielsen, D. C.
    • Vigil, M. F.
    • Benjamin, J. G.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 98
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2006
  • Summary: Forages, with greater water use efficiency (WUE) than grain and seed crops, could be used to diversify reduced and no-till dryland cropping systems from the traditional wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow system in the semiarid central Great Plains. However, farmers need a simple tool to evaluate forage productivity under widely varying precipitation conditions. The objectives of this study were to (i) quantify the relationship between crop water use and dry matter (DM) yield for corn ( Zea mays L.), foxtail millet ( Setaria italica L. Beauv.), and winter triticale ( X Triticosecale Wittmack); and (ii) determine the range and distribution of expected DM yields for these three crops in the central Great Plains based on historical precipitation records. The three crops were grown in a dryland no-till corn-millet-triticale sequence from 1998 through 2004 at Akron, CO. Dry matter production was linearly correlated with water use for all three crops, with regression slopes ranging from 24.2 (corn) to 33.0 kg ha -1 mm -1 (millet). Water use efficiency varied widely from year to year (0-32.2 kg ha -1 mm -1) for the three crops, as influenced by growing season precipitation and time of year in which the crops were grown. Millet and triticale produced similar amounts of DM for a given water use, while corn produced less. Precipitation use efficiency for the millet-triticale-corn forage system was 8.7 kg ha -1 mm -1, suggesting this as an efficient forage system for the region.
  • Authors:
    • Pala, M.
  • Source: Options Mediterraneennes. Serie A, Seminaires Mediterraneens
  • Issue: 69
  • Year: 2006
  • Summary: The past several decades have witnessed a change from traditional to more intensive agriculture in dryland farming systems of West Asia and North Africa and also in the transitional period of Central Asia and Caucasus (CAC). These two areas can be combined and called the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, which covers diverse agroecological conditions from mild lowlands (Syria) to cold continental (CAC) and cold highlands (Turkey). This region is a major area of the world where drought invariably limits crop production in approximately 1.7 million ha arable land. Agriculture is primarily based on rainfed cropping during the relatively cooler late autumn to early spring as rainfall ranged generally between 200 to 600 mm per year. Dryland crops are mainly wheat, food legumes such as lentil, chickpea, faba beans, and forage legumes such as vetch, medics and lathyrus. Increasing human and livestock population has led desertification and soil degradation in the region. This has led also ICARDA to an assessment of tillage systems for efficiency, enhanced productivity and sustainability of the various farming system changes through a series of long-term trials in the mid 1980s at ICARDA headquarter as well as in the National Agricultural Research Services in close collaboration. Results at ICARDA and the region support a preference for the conservation tillage system (minimum tillage) over deep tillage systems on the grounds of both energy-use efficiency and increased net revenue as direct benefits to livelihood of the rural population. However, whenever available and tested and adopted by farmers with their participatory evaluation as in Central Asia, no-till direct drilling would increase soil organic matter from approximately 0.9% to 1.3% at 0-10 cm top soil and sustain the systems productivity in the long-run on the basis of the initial research results throughout the CWANA region.
  • Authors:
    • Sankar, G.
    • Vittal, K.
    • Chary, G.
    • Ramakrishna, Y.
    • Girija, A.
  • Source: Indian Journal of Dryland Agricultural Research and Development
  • Volume: 21
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2006
  • Summary: The data of 48 field experiments conducted during 1999 to 2003 under on-station conditions for assessing the tillage requirements of 5 cereals (rice, wheat, maize, pearl millet and finger millet), 2 oilseeds (groundnut and soyabean) and one pulse crop (cluster bean) under different soil and climatic conditions at 13 centres of All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture are presented. Based on the data generated from field experiments with conventional tillage, low tillage + hand weeding and low tillage + herbicide application, a detailed statistical assessment of superiority of tillage practices was conducted. Results indicated that conventional tillage was superior at Bangalore, Karnataka for finger millet under semiarid Alfisols; peal millet under semiarid Vertisols of Solapur, Maharashtra and arid Inceptisols of Agra, Uttar Pradesh; rice under moist subhumid Oxisols of Phulbani, Orissa and dry subhumid Inceptisols of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh; maize under dry subhumid Inceptisols of Rakh Dhiansar, Jammu and Kashmir; wheat under moist subhumid Inceptisols of Ballowal Saunkhri, Punjab; and soyabean under semiarid Vertisols of Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Low tillage + herbicide application was found to be superior for rice under humid Oxisols of Ranchi, Jharkhand; maize under dry subhumid Inceptisols of Ballowal Saunkhri; soyabean under moist subhumid Vertisols of Rewa; and cluster bean under semiarid Aridisols of Dantiwada. LOw tillage + hand weeding was found to be superior for pearl millet under semiarid Aridisols of Hisar, Haryana and groundnut under semiarid Alfisols of Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.
  • Authors:
    • Girija,A.
    • Khan,I. A.
    • Ramakrishna,Y. S.
    • Chary,G. R.
    • Vittal,K. P. R.
    • Sankar,G. R. M.
  • Source: Indian Journal of Dryland Agricultural Research and Development
  • Volume: 21
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2006
  • Summary: Sustainability indices of agricultural practices so far are developed independent of climatic effects. Especially under dry farming, the effect of rainfall is so overwhelming on the crop performance that this factor cannot be ignored while assessing for sustainability. In view of this, any sustainability index should be made independent of rainfall effect. Hence, a statistical measure of sustainability index 'eta', which is a function of estimate of error 'sigma' derived from a regression of yield through rainfall was developed. The 'eta' is a ratio between difference of mean and standard error (detrended for rainfall) to the maximum recorded yield during the period. Thus the limits of 'eta' are -1 to +1. The proposed procedure was utilized to arrive at sustainable practices from the data of All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture (India) field experiments conducted at both research station and on-farm from varying agroclimatic regions. The practices exceeding a sustainability yield index of 0.67 were considered as suitable for recommendation. The study indicated that barley, pearl millet, mustard, green gram, moth bean and cowpea had a moderate sustainability in arid conditions. Pearl millet at Akola (Maharashtra), pigeonpea and soybean at Indore (Madhya Pradesh) under wet semiarid conditions, and maize and horse gram at Arjia under dry semiarid conditions attained a moderate sustainability. Black gram, lentil and chickpea at Rewa (Madhya Pradesh), and lentil at Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) also had moderate sustainability under dry subhumid conditions. A classification of superior genotypes of crops based on yield and sustainability and their variation under different climatic situations was made for cereals, pulses, oilseeds and vegetable and other crops. A grouping has also been made based on the variation of yield. Sustainability under different soils and climates and superior genotypes are identified. Some of the highly sustainable genotypes were Vandana of rice at Faizabad (Uttar Pradesh), RR-347-167 of rice at Ranchi, HUR-1095 of rice at Varanasi, BAU-2K-15 of linseed at Ranchi (Bihar), local variety of linseed at Rewa, AT-81 variety of sesame at Rajkot (Gujarat), HG-563 variety of cluster bean at Hisar (Haryana), S-1635 variety of mulberry at Bijapur (Karnataka) and SH-5 of sunn hemp at Hisar.
  • Authors:
    • Suryadi, M.
    • Nagai, N.
    • Siregar, M.
  • Source: CAPSA Working Paper
  • Issue: 98
  • Year: 2006
  • Summary: This report is the outcome of the second phase of the AGRIDIV project in Indonesia. The goal of this second phase study is to examine the performance of farming, marketing and processing of CGPRT crops at two dryland sites that have different cropping patterns. The two selected sites were Siswa Bangun and Restu Baru village. The results would by no means represent a national average. Hence, the description of farming, marketing and processing of those crops given here forms a source of in-depth quantitative and qualitative information that might have wider validity. Findings relate to maize and cassava commodity systems. Policy recommendations are presented.
  • Authors:
    • Hergert, G. W.
    • Tarkalson, D. D.
    • Cassman, K. G.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 98
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2006
  • Summary: Tillage systems and nutrient management influence soil chemical properties that can impact the long-term sustainability of dryland production systems. This study was conducted to compare the effects of no-till (NT) and conventional till (CT) on the soil chemical properties and grain yield of a dryland winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)-grain sorghum [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]/corn ( Zea mays L.)-fallow rotation. The effects of tillage practice over a 27-yr period (1962-1989) and the effect of the conversion of CT to NT over a 14-yr period (1989-2003) on selected soil chemical properties [pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), base saturation (BS), soil organic C (SOC), K, Ca, Mg, and Bray-P] at different soil depths was determined. The acidification rate of the NT treatment from 1962 to 2003 was also determined. The study was conducted at North Platte, NE on a Holdrege silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, mesic Typic Argiustolls). In 1989, there were differences in soil chemical properties between CT and NT at some depths after 27 yr. However, in 2003, 14 yr after converting from CT to NT, there were no differences in the soil chemical properties compared with continuous NT. In 1989 and 2003, the soil chemical properties varied with soil depth. The acidification rate from 1962 to 2003 for the NT treatment in the 0- to 15-cm depth was 1.3 kmol H + ha -1 yr -1. This rate of acidification represents 38% of the total potential acidity from N fertilizer applications over 41 yr. Acidification was attributed to nitrification of ammonium-based fertilizers and leaching of NO 3-. Long-term winter wheat (1966-1983) and grain sorghum (1964-1988) grain yields were higher for NT (2718 and 4125 kg ha -1) than CT (2421 and 3062 kg ha -1). Retention of soil moisture as a result of increased residue cover under NT likely contributed to higher NT yields. Soil chemical properties in the wheat-sorghum/corn-fallow rotation will likely continue to change as a result of current management practices. Lime additions may become necessary in the future to ensure the sustainability of crop production in this system.
  • Authors:
    • Cassman, K. G.
    • Hergert, G. W.
    • Payero, J. O.
    • Tarkalson, D. D.
  • Source: Plant and Soil
  • Volume: 283
  • Issue: 1-2
  • Year: 2006
  • Summary: Soil pH is decreasing in many soils in the semiarid Great Plains of the United States under dry land no-till (NT) cropping systems. This study was conducted to determine the rate of acidification and the causes of the acidification of a soil cropped to a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]/corn (Zea mays L.)-fallow rotation (W-S/C-F) under NT. The study was conducted from 1989 to 2003 on soil with a long-term history of either continuous NT management [NT(LT)] (1962-2003) or conventional tillage (CT) (1962-1988) then converted to NT [NT(C)] (1989-2003). Nitrogen was applied as ammonium nitrate (AN) at a rate of 23 kg N ha(-1)supercript stop in 1989 and as urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) at an average annual rate of 50 kg N ha(-1) from 1990 to 2003 for both NT treatments. Soil samples were collected at depth increments of 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, and 15-30 cm in the spring of 1989 and 2003. Acidification rates for the NT(LT) and NT(C) treatments were 1.13 and 1.48 kmol H+ ha(-1) yr(-1) in the 0-30 cm depth, respectively. The amount of CaCO3 needed to neutralize the acidification is 57 and 74 kg ha(-1) yr(-1) for the NT(LT) and NT(C) treatments, respectively. A proton budget estimated by the Helyar and Porter [1989, Soil Acidity and Plant Growth, Academic Press] method indicated that NO3- leaching from the 30 cm depth was a primary cause of long-term acidification in this soil. Nitrate leaching accounted for 59 and 66% of the H+ from the acid causing factors for NT(LT) and NT(C) treatments, respectively. The addition of crop residues to the soil neutralized 62 and 47% of the acidity produced from the leaching of NO3-, and 37 and 31% of the acid resulting from NO3- leaching and the other acid-causing constituents for the NT(LT) and NT(C) treatments, respectively. These results document that surface soils in dry land W-S/C-F rotations under NT are acidifying under current management practices. Improved management to increase nitrogen uptake efficiency from applied fertilizer would help reduce the rate of acidification. The addition of lime materials to prevent negative impacts on grain yields may be necessary in the future under current management practices.
  • Authors:
    • Wang, X.
  • Source: Conservation tillage and nutrient management in dryland farming in China
  • Year: 2006
  • Summary: This thesis contains 8 chapters focusing on the relations between rainfall and crop yields, and on the effects of various tillage and nutrient management practices on erosion, crop yields and water and nutrient use efficiencies. The bases of the study were: desk studies on conservation tillage and on dust storm erosion in China; long-term field experiments conducted in the dry semi-humid region of northern China (Shanxi and Henan); and simulation modelling. The first two chapters provide a brief introduction and background information on the trends in soil conservation and conservation tillage practices on global, national and regional scales, with emphasis on dryland farming of northern China. Chapter 3 analyses the effects of variation in rainfall on crop yields. The next chapter covers tillage and residue effects on rainfed wheat and maize production. Chapters 5 and 6 discuss nutrient dynamics in dryland maize cropping systems with emphasis on grain yield, and water and nutrient use efficiencies and on nutrient balances and soil fertility indices. Chapter 7 presents a scenario analysis of tillage, crop residue, cattle manure and fertilizer application management effects on soil organic carbon dynamics, using the Century model with input from the long-term field studies. The final chapter provides a general discussion and synthesis of the research findings. The consequences for future research and application of conservation tillage are also discussed.