• Authors:
    • Starkova, D. L.
    • Platunov, A. A.
  • Source: Kormoproizvodstvo
  • Issue: 8
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The effect of soil moisture level on development of perennial leguminous grasses in conditions of the Kirov region, Russia, is considered. The results of previous field trials revealed that the soil moisture content was higher under winter rye compared with spring crops or the absence of crops. Growing of a vetch-oat mixture for green fodder resulted in the driest soil conditions compared with oat, barley and wheat. Advantages of growing birdsfoot trefoil under the cover of cereal crops are discussed as a way of weed control, also resulting in better soil water conditions. However, birdsfoot trefoil had more light and soil moisture content and showed more intensive above-ground growth in the absence of a crop cover. Field trials were conducted to study the complex relationship between the growth and yield of spring and winter crops, availability of water and light, and weed control and production of high yield of green fodder. Data are tabulated on development and green fodder yield of birdsfoot trefoil during the 1st and 2nd years of growth without plant cover compared with growth under the cover of winter rye, barley, wheat, oat and vetch + oat in 2005 and 2006. Overall results confirmed advantages of growing birdsfoot trefoil under spring crops, especially oat, a vetch-oat mixture and wheat for higher yield of green fodder.
  • Authors:
    • Pridham, J. C.
    • Entz, M. H.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 100
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The success of organic wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) production can be severely inhibited by weed and disease pressures. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of wheat intercrop mixtures in suppressing weeds and diseases and increasing grain yield and net return. Field experiments were conducted on organically managed land in 2004 and 2005 and three representative intercrop systems were tested: wheat with other cereals [oats ( Avena sativa L.), barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.), and spring rye ( Secale cereale L.)]; wheat and noncereal seed crops (flax [ Linum usitatissimum L.], field pea [ Pisum sativum L.], oriental mustard [ Brassica juncea L.]); and wheat and cover crops (red clover [ Trifolium pratense L.], hairy vetch [ Vicia villosa L.], annual ryegrass [ Lolium multiflorum Lam.]). The cereal intercrop systems provided no consistent yield benefit over wheat monocultures. Results from noncereal-wheat intercrops were variable. Wheat-flax reduced the wheat crop to unacceptable levels but was capable of reducing wheat flag leaf disease levels. Wheat-field pea resulted in the lowest disease levels, yet had inconsistent yields, and more weeds than wheat monoculture. Wheat-mustard did not reduce weeds or diseases, but it was capable of high grain yields and net returns, though usually hampered by flea beetle ( Phyllotreta cruciferae) attack. The effect of cover crops on wheat was affected by environment. Wheat-red clover and wheat-hairy vetch did demonstrate the ability to maintain high wheat grain yield in certain site-years. In conclusion, wheat intercrop mixtures provided little short-term benefit over monoculture wheat in this study.
  • Authors:
    • Scudamore, K.
  • Source: World Mycotoxin Journal
  • Volume: 1
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The cereal food chain covers events from the sowing of the seed until the point of ingestion of a food by the consumer. Mycotoxins may develop prior to harvest or through inadequate storage. Most mycotoxins are inherently stable natural chemicals but cleaning, milling and different methods of processing can change their concentrations. Legislation is necessary to protect the consumer so it is important to consider, among other things, the relationship between concentrations of mycotoxins in the raw grains and those in the product purchased by the consumer, especially where different limits are specified at successive stages in manufacture. Recent studies of the fate of fusarium mycotoxins in the cereal food chain carried out alongside industry in the UK have examined changes in the concentrations of deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin and zearalenone in wheat, maize and oats and the fumonisin mycotoxins in maize at key stages in the cereal chain. For example, fumonisin concentrations in maize grits after milling were reduced by about 75% compared with the raw maize, but remained similar to the maize in the flour and were increased (*3 to *5) in the bran and meal. Maize flour and grits were then processed into a range of food products such as breakfast cereals, cornflakes, extruded snack products and tortillas and the changes in concentrations were established. Simple extrusion of flour or grits reduced fumonisins by a further 30-70% depending on the process. Deoxynivalenol and zearalenone were found to be more stable than fumonisins during most processes.
  • Authors:
    • Jandrey, D.
    • Strieder, M.
    • Piana, A.
    • Sangoi, L.
    • Silva, P.
    • Silva, A.
    • Endrigo, P.
  • Source: PESQUISA AGROPECUARIA BRASILEIRA
  • Volume: 43
  • Issue: 8
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The objective of this work was to evaluate the productivity of irrigated maize, grown using several rates of nitrogen sidedress, in succession to different winter crops. The experiment was carried out in Eldorado do Sul, RS, Southern Brazil, during the 2003/2004, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 growing seasons. Maize was sown in succession to five winter crops: black oat, common vetch, wild radish (straw production), white oat and wheat (grain and straw production), and to a control treatment, where the spontaneous vegetation was controlled by successive desiccant application. Maize grain yield was higher than 8 Mg ha -1 and was not affected by the specie of preceding winter crop, when nitrogen sidedress was applied. Maize grain yield was higher, when it succeeded wild radish and in the treatment without N in side-dressing. White oat and wheat added more than 3 Mg ha -1 of straw and produced more than 1.5 Mg ha -1 of grain. With supplementary irrigation and side-dress nitrogen application, it is possible to obtain high grain yield, when corn is cultivated as a sequential crop, independently of winter cover species.
  • 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:
    • Singer, J.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 100
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Surveying end-users about their use of technologies and preferences provides information for researchers and educators to develop relevant research and educational programs. A mail survey was sent to Corn Belt farmers during 2006 to quantify cover crop management and preferences. Results indicated that the dominant cereal cover crops in Indiana and Illinois are winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) and cereal rye ( Secale cereale L.), cereal rye and oat ( Avena sativa L.) in Iowa, and oat in Minnesota. Legumes were used more frequently in Indiana and Illinois, and red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) was the dominant choice across the region. Farmers relied solely on herbicides 54% of the time to kill cover crops. Ninety-three percent of respondents indicated that they received no cost sharing for using cover crops and 14% indicated that they would plant cover crops on rented land. Corn Belt farmers prefer cover crops that overwinter (68%) and fix N (64%). The information provided in this survey supplements existing knowledge that can be used to develop relevant research and educational programs to address agronomic production systems that include cover crops.
  • 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:
    • 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:
    • Buck, R.
    • Hinz, C.
    • Murphy, D. V.
    • Butterbach-Bahl, K.
    • Gatter, D.
    • Kiese, R.
    • Barton, L.
  • Source: Global Change Biology
  • Volume: 14
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Understanding nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agricultural soils in semi-arid regions is required to better understand global terrestrial N2O losses. Nitrous oxide emissions were measured from a rain-fed, cropped soil in a semi-arid region of south-western Australia for one year on a sub-daily basis. The site included N-fertilized (100 kg N ha-1 yr-1) and nonfertilized plots. Emissions were measured using soil chambers connected to a fully automated system that measured N2O using gas chromatography. Daily N2O emissions were low (-1.8 to 7.3 g N2O-N ha-1 day-1) and culminated in an annual loss of 0.11 kg N2O-N ha-1 from N-fertilized soil and 0.09 kg N2O-N ha-1 from nonfertilized soil. Over half (55%) the annual N2O emission occurred from both N treatments when the soil was fallow, following a series of summer rainfall events. At this time of the year, conditions were conducive for soil microbial N2O production: elevated soil water content, available N, soil temperatures generally >25 °C and no active plant growth. The proportion of N fertilizer emitted as N2O in 1 year, after correction for the "background" emission (no N fertilizer applied), was 0.02%. The emission factor reported in this study was 60 times lower than the IPCC default value for the application of synthetic fertilizers to land (1.25%), suggesting that the default may not be suitable for cropped soils in semi-arid regions. Applying N fertilizer did not significantly increase the annual N2O emission, demonstrating that a proportion of N2O emitted from agricultural soils may not be directly derived from the application of N fertilizer. "Background" emissions, resulting from other agricultural practices, need to be accounted for if we are to fully assess the impact of agriculture in semi-arid regions on global terrestrial N2O emissions.
  • Authors:
    • Carter,D.
    • L.,Barton
    • Biswas,W. K.
  • Source: Water and Environment Journal
  • Volume: 22
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2008