• Authors:
    • Simic, D.
  • Source: Poljoprivreda / Agricultur
  • Volume: 14
  • Issue: 1(Supplement)
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: This publication contain 26 abstracts of papers that cover topics on: food vs. fuel (a turning point for bioethanol); Dow Agrosciences today and new revolutionary solutions; using maize as a sugar crop; remarks to the current discussion on bioenergy (for the public and/or for the agricultural or rural areas only); the production of biofuels and its impact on agriculture in Croatia; fuels in tobacco production; the role of MATH/BTB proteins in egg cell and at the onset of wheat embryogenesis; transgenic plants resistant to insects; microsatellite diversity of M3sS maize population under recurrent selection; long-term selection experiments or transgenics for composition traits of maize grain; genetic diversity of wheat cultivars estimated by SSR markers; genomic approaches for improvement of drought adaptation in wheat; application of molecular methods in soyabean breeding programme at the Agricultural Institute Osijek (Croatia); implementation of DNA markers to improve breeding of forage legumes; biotechnology in fruit growing; changes in levels of activity of serine proteinase accompany the exposure of common bean to water deficit; tilling in the service of plant improvement; marker assisted selection for development of barley and wheat lines with requested traits; oat seed as a multifunctional subject for biotechnology; mechanism and regulation of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay as an essential quality control system of plants; biotechnology as a useful tool for nutritional improvement of cereal-based materials enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids and pigments; grapevine habituation (understanding of factors that contribute to somaclonal variation and neoplastic transformation); Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of wheat; nutritional enhancement of lucerne through genetic engineering; genes behind smoke action; cycloxydim-tolerant maize from a breeder's standpoint.
  • Authors:
    • Moorman, T.
    • Cambardella, C.
    • Singer, J.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 100
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Coupling winter small grain cover crops (CC) with liquid manure injection may increase manure nutrient capture. The objectives of this research were to quantify manure injection effects using target swine ( Sus scrofa) manure N rates of 112, 224, and 336 kg N ha -1 on CC plant density, fall and spring shoot biomass, N, P, and K uptake and subsequent corn ( Zea mays L.) yield. A winter rye ( Secale cereale L.)-oat ( Avena sativa L.) CC was established before fall manure injection. Manure injection lowered mean CC plant density 25% because of CC mortality in the injection zone. Fall CC dry matter (DM) was 26% lower in the manure treatments than the no manure CC control, although no difference was detected for N (9.4 kg ha -1) or P (1.4 kg ha -1) uptake. No difference was detected for spring DM between CC no manure and manure treatments. Shoot DM, N, P, and K uptake increased 29, 41, 31, and 25% from the CC manure 112 to CC manure 224 with no increase above CC manure 224. Cover crop N uptake was higher in CC manure vs. no manure (60.1 vs. 35.6 kg ha -1). Cover crop P and K uptake were also higher in CC manure vs. no manure (9.2 vs. 6.6 kg P ha -1 and 41.3 vs. 30.0 kg K ha -1). Corn grain yield was unaffected by CC and responded positively to manure application (11,022 with manure vs. 9,845 kg ha -1 without manure). Coupling manure injection and cover crops can increase nutrient capture without lowering corn yield.
  • Authors:
    • Castoldi, G.
    • Gobbi, F.
    • Pivetta, L.
    • Costa, L.
    • Steiner, F.
    • Costa, M.
    • Tremea, A.
  • Source: Central theme, technology for all: sharing the knowledge for development. Proceedings of the International Conference of Agricultural Engineering, XXXVII Brazilian Congress of Agricultural Engineering, International Livestock Environment Symposium - ILES V
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of two soil tillage systems (rotation and succession crops) and three fertilizations (mineral, organic and organomineral) in the wheat yield, under no-tillage system. The assay was conducted in the Experimental Station Prof. Dr. Antonio Carlos dos Santos Pessoa, located at the Nucleo of Experimental Station belonging to West Parana State University - Marechal Candido Rondon. In the winter of the 2006 was cropping the wheat in the plots in succession crops and black oat+radish+hairy vetch in the plots in rotation crops. The wheat received the mineral, organic and organomineral fertilization, while the cover crops weren't fertilized. In the summer was cropping corn in all the plots, receiving the three kind of fertilization. In the winter of the 2007 was cropping wheat in all the plots, receiving again the three kind of fertilization. The plant high and the weight of 100 grains weren't affected by the management systems and fertilizations. The succession system (wheat/corn/wheat) showed superior yield than the rotation system (green manure/corn/wheat). The organic manure showed superior hectoliter weight than mineral fertilization.
  • Authors:
    • Mamo, M.
    • Drijber, R.
    • Quincke, J.
    • Wortmann, C.
    • Franti, T.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 100
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Continuous no-till (NT) results in soil improvements, primarily in the surface 5 cm of soil. One-time tillage may improve NT systems by inverting surface soil with less improved deeper soil. Research was conducted to determine the change in abundance of soil microbial groups after a one-time tillage of NT and their recovery dynamics. Experiments were conducted under rainfed corn ( Zea mays L.) or sorghum [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] rotated with soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in eastern Nebraska with one-time moldboard plow (MP) and mini-moldboard plow (mini-MP) tillage compared with continuous NT. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles were used as biomarkers of soil microbial groups. The biomass of microbial groups within the soil profile was affected by tillage treatment, soil depth, and time after one-time tillage. Soil microbial biomass under NT was greatest at the 0- to 5-cm depth with 50% less in the 5- to 20-cm depth, and least in the 20- to 30-cm depth. Microbial group biomass was decreased by one-time MP tillage, and generally by mini-MP tillage, compared with NT. On an equivalent soil mass basis, the quantity of the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) biomarker C16:1(c11) in the second year after tillage was 22% less for tilled treatments compared with NT. In contrast, the fungal biomarker C18:2(c9,12) was 6% more in the second year after tillage for tilled compared with NT. Tillage affected biomass and recovery of microbial groups differently, with all except AM returning to the NT microbial biomass levels within 1 to 3 yr.
  • Authors:
    • Hilbert, J.
    • Huerga, I.
    • Donato, L.
  • Source: Central theme, technology for all: sharing the knowledge for development. Proceedings of the International Conference of Agricultural Engineering, XXXVII Brazilian Congress of Agricultural Engineering, International Livestock Environment Symposium - ILES V
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The present study is focus on the final energy balance of bioenergy production in Argentina using soybean, sunflower, rapeseed, corn and sorghum as feedstocks. The balance considers the difference between the energy contained per unit and the amount used for its generation in all the different steps from sowing to final destination. For direct energy consumption costomaq software was employed using local fuel consumption forecast for each field labor. Particular attention is paid to the energy consumption in the agricultural steps considering the distinctive no till system spread out in Argentina that has a very low energy input. Direct and indirect energy were considered in the different steps of bioethanol and biodiesel generation. Industrial conversion consumption was based on international literature data. Comparisons were made between tilled and no till practices and considering or not the energy contained in co products. Results indicate a balance ranging from 0.96 to 1.54 not considering the co products. If co products were introduced the balances ranged between 1.09 and 4.67.
  • Authors:
    • Jones, C. A.
    • Buschena, D. E.
    • Miller, P. R.
    • Holmes, J. A.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 100
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Transition to no-till (NT) and organic (ORG) farming systems may enhance sustainability. Our objectives were to compare transitional crop productivity and soil nutrient status among diversified NT and ORG cropping systems in Montana. Three NT systems were designed as 4-yr rotations, including a pulse (lentil [ Lens culinaris Medik.] or pea [ Pisum sativum L.]), an oilseed (canola [ Brassica napus L.] or sunflower [ Helianthus annuus L.]) and two cereal crops (corn [ Zea mays L.], proso millet [ Panicum miliaceum L.], or wheat [ Triticum aestivum L.]). No-till continuous wheat was also included. The ORG system included a green manure (pea), wheat, lentil, and barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) and received no inputs. Winter wheat in the ORG system yielded equal or greater than in the NT systems, and had superior grain quality, even though 117 kg N ha -1 was applied to the NT winter wheat. After 4 yr, soil nitrate-N and Olsen-P were 41 and 14% lower in the ORG system, whereas potentially mineralizable N was 23% higher in the ORG system. After 4 yr, total economic net returns were equal between NT and ORG systems on a per-ha basis. Studying simultaneous transition to diversified NT and ORG cropping systems was instructive for increased sustainability.
  • Authors:
    • Kay, B. D.
    • Wander, M. M.
    • Drury, C. F.
    • Yang, X. M.
  • Source: Pedosphere
  • Volume: 18
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Three long-term field trials in humid regions of Canada and the USA were used to evaluate the influence of soil depth and sample numbers on soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in no-tillage (NT) and moldboard plow (MP) corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) production systems. The first trial was conducted on a Maryhill silt loam (Typic Hapludalf) at Elora, Ontario, Canada, the second on a Brookston clay loam (Typic Argiaquoll) at Woodslee, Ontario, Canada, and the third on a Thorp silt loam (Argiaquic Argialboll) at Urbana, Illinois, USA. No-tillage led to significantly higher SOC concentrations in the top 5 cm compared to MP at all 3 sites. However, NT resulted in significantly lower SOC in sub-surface soils as compared to MP at Woodslee (10-20 cm, P = 0.01) and Urbana (20-30 cm, P < 0.10). No-tillage had significantly more SOC storage than MP at the Elora site (3.3 Mg C ha(-1)) and at the Woodslee site (6.2 Mg C ha(-1)) on an equivalent mass basis (1350 Mg ha(-1) soil equivalent mass). Similarly, NT had greater SOC storage than NIP at the Urbana site (2.7 Mg C ha(-1)) on an equivalent mass basis of 675 Mg ha-1 soil. However, these differences disappeared when the entire plow layer was evaluated for both the Woodslee and Urbana sites as a result of the higher SOC concentrations in NIP than in NT at depth. Using the minimum detectable difference technique, we observed that up to 1500 soil sample per tillage treatment comparison will have to be collected and analyzed for the Elora and Woodslee sites and over 40 soil samples per tillage treatment comparison for the Urbana to statistically separate significant differences in the SOC contents of sub-plow depth soils. Therefore, it is impracticable, and at the least prohibitively expensive, to detect tillage-induced differences in soil C beyond the plow layer in various soils.
  • Authors:
    • Price, M.
    • Burton, D. L.
    • Rochette, P.
    • Zebarth, B. J.
  • Source: Canadian Journal of Soil Science
  • Volume: 88
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: This study examined the effect of rate and time of fertilizer N application to corn on N2O emissions in 2 yr on commercial corn fields. All treatments received starter fertilizer at 45 and 59 kg N ha(-1) in 2004 and 2005, respectively, similar to grower practice. Treatments included a control, with no additional fertilizer N application, 75 or 150 kg N ha(-1) banded at sidedress or 150 kg N ha(-1) broadcast at emergence. There was no significant effect of N fertility treatment on corn grain or silage yield, indicating that all N applications were at or in excess of crop N requirement. Delay of fertilizer application to sidedress and reduced fertilizer N application were effective in reducing nitrate intensity, an index of soil nitrate availability calculated as the summation of daily soil NO3--N concentration for the 0- to 15-cm depth. However, there was no significant effect of N fertility treatment on cumulative N2O emissions, and nitrate intensity explained a small proportion of the variation in cumulative N2O emissions. This study provides evidence that improved fertilizer N management may not result in reduced N2O emissions under some conditions.
  • Authors:
    • Archer, D. W.
    • Halvorson, A. D.
    • Reule, C. A.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 100
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Conversion of irrigated cropland from conventional tillage (CT) to no-till (NT) could have several environmental benefits including reduced erosion potential, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and conservation of water. However NT must be economically viable if it is to be adopted. Costs of production and economic returns were evaluated for an irrigated, continuous corn ( Zea mays L.) system under CT and NT over 6 yr on a clay loam soil in northern Colorado. Yield responses to N fertilization were included to determine economic optimum fertilization rates under each tillage system. Corn grain yields at economic optimum N fertilizer rates were 1.1 to 1.4 Mg ha -1 lower for NT than for CT. However, net returns were $46 to 74 ha -1 higher for NT than for CT due to reductions in operating costs of $57 to 114 ha -1 and reductions in machinery ownership costs of $87 to 90 ha -1. Operating cost savings were realized largely due to fuel and labor reductions of 75% and 71 to 72%, respectively, and in spite of higher N fertilizer requirements of 16 to 55 kg ha -1 for NT compared to CT. No-till, irrigated, continuous corn appears to be an economically viable option for replacing CT production systems in the central Great Plains, especially when combined with the environmental benefits of the NT system.
  • Authors:
    • Edis, R. B.
    • Park, K.
    • Meyer, M.
    • Kirkby, C.
    • Chen, D.
    • Wang, G.
    • Turner, D. A.
  • Source: Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
  • Volume: 48
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2008