19802015
  • Authors:
    • Jasso-Chaverria, C.
    • Martinez-Gamino, M.
  • Source: Proceedings of the 19th World Congress of Soil Science: Soil solutions for a changing world, Brisbane, Australia, 1-6 August 2010. Symposium 3.2.1 Highland agriculture and conservation of soil and water
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Among the main constraints to adopting conservation tillage in the semiarid zones in Mexico's north-central region are: low acceptance among farmers, need of specialized machinery, use of herbicides, and above all, the need to utilize stubble to feed animals. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of different tillage methods in an irrigated corn-oat rotation system on corn grain, stubble, and forage oat yield. Seven tillage methods were evaluated: (1) traditional plow and disk (P+D), (2) disturbing the upper 0-4 in layer (D), (3) without disturbing the upper 0-4 in layer (ND), (4) zero tillage with 0% soil cover (ZT+0%SC), (5) zero tillage with 33% soil cover (ZT+33%SC), (6) zero tillage with 66% soil cover (ZT+66%SC), and (7) zero tillage with 100% soil cover (ZT+100%SC). In each year from 1996 to 2007, corn was sowed on the spring while forage oat was grown during the fall-winter season. Corn grain yield results showed statistical differences among treatments (p≤0.05), where ZT+66%SC was the best treatment, surpassing by 90% the corn yield registered with P+D. The statistical analysis for corn stubble yield showed no differences (p≥0.05) among treatments. With ZT+66%SC, corn stubble production was increased 3.448 ton/ha compared with that of P+D, indicating that farmers can use 2.0 ton ha -1 to cover at least 33% of the soil surface. Forage oat yields within the seven treatments were not statistically different ( P≥0.05), but all ZT treatments were no-till seeded. Our conclusions are that corn and forage oat can be no-till seeded, increasing corn production and keeping stable production of forage oat. These results can be used to provide evidence to farmers of the benefits of adopting conservation tillage.
  • Authors:
    • Carbonell, R.
    • Rodriguez-Lizana, A.
    • Gonzalez, P.
    • Ordonez, R.
  • Source: NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS
  • Volume: 87
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: A common agricultural policy rule has banned the burning of wheat stubble. It might gradually increase the surface under no-till in Europe. The release dynamics of nutrients from the crop residues left on the soil surface has rarely been studied under Mediterranean climate conditions. As part of a long-term experiment started in 1982, a field study was carried out during the agricultural seasons 2001/2, 2002/3 and 2003/4, to determine the decomposition and nutrient release of above-ground residues deposited on a clayey soil in the south of Spain, in which a legume-cereal-sunflower rotation was followed. At the end of its decomposition cycle, the pea residue ( Pisum sativum L. cv. Ideal) had lost 60% of its initial mass, durum wheat ( Triticum durum L. cv. Amilcar) 35%, and sunflower ( Helianthus annus L. cv. Sanbro) 39%. The N release by the pea residue, wheat and sunflower was of 13.5, 6.7 and 8.5 kg ha -1, respectively. The P release was of 2.9 kg ha -1 (pea) and of 0.7 kg ha -1 (sunflower), and the highest content of released K was noted in the sunflower residue, 78 kg ha -1, compared to 22.5 kg ha -1 in wheat and 2.4 kg ha -1 in pea. In pea and sunflower, residue loss and N and P release in most cases followed simple linear and exponential functions, from which the specific decay rates were calculated. The decomposition rates of the different nutrients were higher than those of the residue in pea and sunflower, and the residue semi-decomposition periods, of 138 d in sunflower, and 191 d in pea, indicated a great persistence of the remains. The soil protection was acceptable in the case of wheat and sunflower, but not in pea. The application of the Douglas-Rickman model and the knowledge of the variation in the concentration of the nutrient in the crop remains permitted the estimation of the amount of N and P remaining in them over the intercropping period. In any case, in our climate and with soils rich in K, the release of nutrients from the residue, mainly N, is fairly scant and, in principle, does not seem to be of any interest in the fertilization programmes followed by the farmers in the area.
  • Authors:
    • Claupein, W.
    • Mohring, J.
    • Bühler, A.
    • Gruber, S.
  • Source: European Journal of Agronomy
  • Volume: 33
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Conventional tillage systems with high soil disturbance are being steadily replaced by tillage systems with low or no soil disturbance. An approach using three methodological steps (greenhouse, deliberate seed burial and field) revealed the long-term vertical distribution and losses of a soil seed bank as effects of different tillage operations. Seeds (oilseed rape; Brassica napus L.) and seed substitutes (plastic pellets) acted as models for a seed bank. (a) A pot experiment in the greenhouse showed that emergence rates were highest in soil depths of 1-5 cm. Germination and emergence was clearly reduced in depths of 0 and 7 cm, and emergence was completely inhibited at 12 cm. About 40-50% of seeds fell dormant in 0 and 12 cm depth, while almost no seeds fell dormant in 1-7 cm depth. (b) The high-dormancy variety Smart persisted to a high extent (60% of the initial seed number), but only 8% of seeds of the low-dormancy variety Express persisted over 4.5 years, after deliberate seed burial. Seed persistence was similar in all soil depths of 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm. (c) The field experiment lasted from 2004 to 2009 and had different tillage treatments of inversion and non-inversion tillage: stubble tillage immediately after harvest combined with primary tillage by mouldboard plough (SP), chisel plough (SC), or rototiller (SRTT); primary tillage without stubble tillage by mouldboard plough (P), chisel plough (C); or no tillage (NT). The seed bank from an artificial seed rain of 20,000 seeds m -2 was significantly higher in all treatments with immediate stubble tillage, and clearly declined over time. However, seed bank depletion was slow once a seed bank had been established. The distribution of oilseed rape seeds and plastic pellets (7000 pellets m -2 broadcast) tended to equalise over the soil layers of 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm over the course of five years. Since seed bank depletion was not attributable to a specific soil depth, shallow and low disturbance tillage did not generally result in a high seed persistence. More important than the depth was the timing of tillage. Though no-till systems provided conditions for seeds to fall dormant at the soil surface to a small extent, the effect lasted only for a limited time. Seed substitutes can be well used in methodological approaches to picture movement of seeds in the soil in order to optimize tillage strategies in agricultural practice.
  • Authors:
    • Duroueix, F.
    • Sauzet, G.
    • Lieven, J.
  • Source: 21ème Conférence du COLUMA. Journées Internationales sur la Lutte contre les Mauvaises Herbes, Dijon, France, 8-9 décembre, 2010
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: CETIOM evaluated cultural methods during the intercropping period in the Berry region. Shallow tillage before winter oilseed rape (WOSR) or before winter barley were not effective to stimulate weed germination. Before winter wheat drilling, it gave whole satisfaction. Other results indicated a back-effect of the cultivation before WOSR establishment on the autumnal infestation of Crane's-bills. Deep cultivation (10-15 cms), realized a few weeks preceding the WOSR drilling, amplified the autumnal weed emergence, probably by bringing old seeds from depth to the surface and by breaking their dormancy. In comparison, a very shallow cultivation sharply reduced the subsequent weed infestation in the WOSR. Finally, if the interest of no-till drilling to limit the weed emergence was confirmed, that of the delayed drilling was not attested.
  • Authors:
    • Franti, T. G.
    • Drijber, R. A.
    • Wortmann, C. S.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 102
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Continuous no-till (NT) can be beneficial relative to tillage with fewer field operations, reduced erosion, and surface soil improvement. Field research was conducted at two locations for 5 yr in eastern Nebraska to test the hypotheses that one-time tillage of NT can result in increased grain yield, reduced stratification of soil properties persisting for at least 5 yr, a net gain in soil organic carbon (SOC), and a restoration of the soil microbial community to NT composition. Stratification of soil test P, SOC, and bulk density was similar for all tillage treatments at 5 yr after tillage. Water stable soil aggregates (WSA) were not affected by tillage treatments except that there was more soil as macroaggregates at one location in the 5- to 10-cm depth with moldboard plow tillage (MP) compared with NT. Tillage treatments had no effect on SOC mass in the 0- to 30-cm depth. Soil microbial biomass was greater at the 0- to 5-cm compared with the 5- to 10-cm depth. Biomass of bacteria, actinomycetes, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi was greater with NT compared with one-time MP at one location but not affected by the one-time tillage at the other location. Microbial community structure differed among tillage treatments at the 0- to 5-cm depth at one location but not at the other location. Grain yield generally was not affected by tillage treatment. One-time tillage of NT can be done without measureable effects on yield or soil properties.
  • Authors:
    • Antle, J.
    • Ogle, S.
    • Paustian, K.
    • Basso, B.
    • Grace, P. R.
  • Source: Australian Journal of Soil Research
  • Volume: 48
  • Issue: 8
  • Year: 2010
  • Authors:
    • Anderson, R. L.
  • Source: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems
  • Volume: 25
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Weeds are a major obstacle to successful crop production in organic farming. Producers may be able to reduce inputs for weed management by designing rotations to disrupt population dynamics of weeds. Population-based management in conventional farming has reduced herbicide use by 50% because weed density declines in cropland across time. In this paper, we suggest a 9-year rotation comprised of perennial forages and annual crops that will disrupt weed population growth and reduce weed density in organic systems. Lower weed density will also improve effectiveness of weed control tactics used for an individual crop. The rotation includes 3-year intervals of no-till, which will improve both weed population management and soil health. Even though this rotation has not been field tested, it provides an example of designing rotations to disrupt population dynamics of weeds. Also, producers may gain additional benefits of higher crop yield and increased nitrogen supply with this rotation design.
  • Authors:
    • Ristolainen, A.
    • Sarikka, I.
    • Hurme, T.
    • Alakukku, L.
  • Source: Agricultural and Food Science
  • Volume: 19
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Surface water ponding and crop hampering due to soil wetness was monitored in order to evaluate the effects of conservation tillage practices and perennial grass cover on soil infiltrability for five years in situ in gently sloping clayey fields. Thirteen experimental areas, each having three experimental fields, were established in southern Finland. The fields belonged to: autumn mouldboard ploughing (AP), conservation tillage (CT) and perennial grass in the crop rotation (PG). In the third year, direct drilled (DD) fields were established in five areas. Excluding PG, mainly spring cereals were grown in the fields. Location and surface area of ponded water (in the spring and autumn) as well as hampered crop growth (during June-July) were determined in each field by using GPS devices and GIS programs. Surface water ponding or crop hampering occurred when the amount of rainfall was clearly greater than the long-term average. The mean of the relative area of the ponded surface water, indicating the risk of surface runoff, and hampered crop growth was larger in the CT fields than in the AP fields. The differences between means were, however, not statistically significant. Complementary soil physical measurements are required to investigate the reasons for the repeated surface water ponding.
  • Authors:
    • Stahlman,P. W.
    • Vigil,M. F.
    • Benjamin,J. G.
    • Schlegel,A. J.
    • Stone,L. R.
    • Blanco-Canqui,H.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 102
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Because of increased concerns over compaction in no-till (NT) soils, it is important to assess how continuous cropping systems influence risks of soil compaction across a range of soils and NT management systems. We quantified differences in maximum bulk density (BD max) and critical water content (CWC) by the Proctor test, field bulk density (rho b), and their relationships with soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration across three (>11 yr) cropping systems on a silty clay loam, silt loam, and loam in the central Great Plains. On the silty clay loam, BD max in sorghum [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]-fallow (SF) and winter wheat [ Triticum aestivum (L.)]-fallow (WF) was greater than in continuous wheat (WW) and continuous sorghum (SS) by 0.1 Mg m -3 in the 0- to 5-cm soil depth. On the loam, BD max in WF was greater than in W-corn ( Zea mays L.)-millet ( Panicum liliaceum L.) (WCM) by 0.24 Mg m -3 and perennial grass (GRASS) by 0.11 Mg m -3. On the silt loam, soil properties were unaffected by cropping systems. Elimination of fallowing increased the CWC by 10 to 25%. The rho b was greater in WF (1.52 Mg m -3) than in WW (1.16 Mg m -3) in the silty clay loam, while rho b under WF and WCF was greater than under WCM and GRASS in the loam for the 0- to 5-cm depth. The BD max and rho b decreased whereas CWC increased with an increase in SOC concentration in the 0- to 15-cm depth. Overall, continuous cropping systems in NT reduced near-surface maximum soil compaction primarily by increasing SOC concentration.
  • Authors:
    • Liu,C. W.
    • James,D. C.
    • Carter,M. R.
    • Cade-Menun,B. J.
  • Source: Journal of Environmental Quality
  • Volume: 39
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: In many regions, conservation tillage has replaced conventional tilling practices to reduce soil erosion, improve water conservation, and increase soil organic matter. However, tillage can have marked effects on soil properties, specifically nutrient redistribution or stratification in the soil profile. The objective of this research was to examine soil phosphorus (P) forms and concentrations in a long-term study comparing conservation tillage (direct drilling, "No Till") and conventional tillage (moldboard plowing to 20 cm depth, "Till") established on a fine sandy loam (Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzol) in Prince Edward Island, Canada. No significant differences in total carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), total P, or total organic P concentrations were detected between the tillage systems at any depth in the 0- to 60-cm depth range analyzed. However, analysis with phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed differences in P forms in the plow layer. In particular, the concentration of orthophosphate was significantly higher under No Till than Till at 5 to 10 cm, but the reverse was true at 10 to 20 cm. Mehlich 3-extractable P was also significantly higher in No Till at 5 to 10 cm and significantly higher in Till at 20 to 30 cm. This P stratification appears to be caused by a lack of mixing of applied fertilizer in No Till because the same trends were observed for pH and Mehlich 3-extractable Ca (significantly higher in the Till treatment at 20 to 30 cm), reflecting mixing of applied lime. The P saturation ratio was significantly higher under No Till at 0 to 5 cm and exceeded the recommended limits, suggesting that P stratification under No Till had increased the potential for P loss in runoff from these sites.