• Authors:
    • Thakare, R.
    • Gupta, V. R.
  • Source: Indian Journal of Agricultural Research
  • Volume: 41
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Effect of irrigated and rainfed cropping systems on carbon and nitrogen mineralization was studied. Maximum C and N mineralization observed under irrigated cropping systems than rainfed. Sorghum-chickpea-groundnut showed highest mineralization under irrigated condition. While monocropping and intercropping with legumes enhances the rate of mineralization under rainfed situation. Mineralization was found to be highest during grand growth period of crops. Application of integrated nutrient supply increased C and N mineralization as compared to their individual application. The FYM+wheat straw+green manuring application augmented the mineralization under soybean-wheat crop sequence.
  • Authors:
    • Schumacher, K. D.
    • Striewe, L.
  • Source: Agrarwirtschaft
  • Volume: 56
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: The international cereal production is expected to decrease by 1% in 2006/07, the second year in a row. Wheat production is expected 589 million tonnes, 5% less the previous year and the lowest harvest for the last three years. Droughts in Australia, the USA and Canada are one reason, however China, Ukraine and other Black Sea neighbouring countries reported higher production in 2006/07. In the USA 110 ethanol production units were established, most are maize (corn) based others on sorghum. A doubling of the capacity in 2007 alone is projected. The EU cereal harvest was also reduced with droughts in Spain and Portugal. Prices are predicted to rise further, the export licences established in the Ukraine have driven European prices up and Ukrainian producers suffered because of price drops within their country, due to oversupply. The global oilseed production can currently match demand, however, it is expected that demand will grow faster than supply. The global oilseed production in 2006/07 of 395 million tonnes consisted mainly of soyabeans (227), oilseed rape (47), cotton (44), peanuts (32) and sunflowers (31 million tonnes). The soyabean area in Brazil is decreasing from 23 million ha to 21 million in 2006/07, however Argentina has increased the area by 0.5 to 15.7 million ha. Globally demand is again rising faster than supply and inelastic demand caused by government subsidies for bio-fuel will lead to less cereals being available for food consumption.
  • Authors:
    • Kumar, S.
    • Bishnoi, U. R.
    • Cebert, E.
  • Source: American-Eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture
  • Volume: 1
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: In southeastern USA, winter wheat as a double crop has proved to be economically profitable and beneficial for soil management to the farmers. Winter rape ( Brassica napus) also has similar potential but its suitability as a double crop and in rotation with summer crops has not been evaluated. Therefore, performance of winter rape in rotation and as a double crop with soyabean, maize, sorghum, and cotton were evaluated for two years. Results showed that the effect of rotation on plant density during both years was significant. Rotational effects on number of pods per plant were non-significant than rape grown as fallow in 2003 but not in 2004. Rape grown after soyabean produced significantly higher seed yield in 2003 (2739 kg ha -1) and 2004 (3129 kg ha -1) than after other crops except maize (2938 kg ha -1) and fallow (2876 kg ha -1). Planting rape after fallow gave significantly the lowest economic returns during both years. Rape gave significantly higher economic returns when planted after maize ($1237) and cotton ($1169) than soyabean-rape and sorghum-rape and fallow-rape rotations in 2003. Similarly, cotton-rape ($1442) and soyabean-rape ($1393) gave significantly higher economic returns per hectare than maize-rape, sorghum-rape, and fallow-rape cropping systems.
  • Authors:
    • Yang, C. H.
    • Han, S. M.
    • Zhu, R. X.
    • Xue, S. P.
    • Yang, Q.
  • Source: Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering
  • Volume: 23
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: The objective of this study was to determine conservation tillage techniques suitable for semiarid regions in North China. Ten different mechanized patterns of no-till or reduced-tillage for two crops (winter wheat and summer maize) within one year were set up at the Experiment and Demonstration Site for Mechanized New Techniques and Machinery at Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China, and these conservation tillage patterns were compared with conventional tillage. Results showed that wheat yield increased by 53% and summer maize yield increased by 25%, average soil water storage increased from 1% to 1.2% at different depths, and average organic matter increased by 1.03 g/kg relatively for the conservation tillage system with wheat residue cover and no-till seeding of maize immediately after wheat harvest, compared with conventional bare soil ploughing. Moreover, the efficiency of yield increase and water storage for deep soil loosening was higher than that for deep ploughing. No-till seeding of maize on high stubble mulching was better than seeding on low stubble. Finally, cost-benefit analysis results showed that conservation tillage resulted in great economic returns than convention tillage due to greater yields and lower production costs resulting from reduced tillage.
  • Authors:
    • Zhang, X. M.
    • Wang, X. Y.
    • Gao, H. W.
    • Li, H. W.
    • Yao, Z, L.
  • Source: Transactions of the Chinese Society for Agricultural Machinery = Nongye Jixie Xuebao
  • Volume: 38
  • Issue: 8
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: A new no-till wheat planter, named 2BMDF-12 no-till wheat planter, was developed at the China Agricultural University to solve an extremely important problem, including zero-tillage planting of wheat in narrow row spacing (150-200 mm) between rows of very high-levels full length, standing maize stubble in one pass in double cropping area of North China. A combined anti-blocking device that is composed of a power chopping axle and a planting unit of double-disc opener was designed. Field performance test results showed that the machine could accomplish many procedures, such as stubble chopping, furrow opening, seeds and fertilizer placement, etc, in one pass, and operation costs could be decreased by ~50%. The machine worked well for planting wheat into standing maize stubble and maize stubble shattered. The power chopping axle resolved the anti-blockage problem, and the double-disc opener unit reduced the blockage between planting units. Meanwhile, the variations for seed depth reduced to 19.8 and 21.3%. Thus, this machine can be a good solution to no-till wheat planting in double cropping areas.
  • Authors:
    • Emel'yanov, A. M.
  • Source: Kormoproizvodstvo
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Increasing fodder crop productivity is a research priority due to the cattle raising type of agriculture practised in Buryatia. Productivity of oats in different crop rotation schemes in the dry steppe zone during 2001-05 is tabulated. The highest oat grain-haylage yield (11.3 t/ha) was achieved in the following scheme: naked fallow - wheat + oats - oat for grain-haylage. Usage of multispecies cropping system for increasing hay cutting yield is described. Melilotus, oil radish and spring rape are highly recommended for cultivation in single and mixed forage sowing. Fodder crops productivity and additional yield depending on sowing time and fertilization in 5-years period are summarised in 2 tables. Optimum sowing time for using June-August precipitation is the last ten-day period of June. Nutritional quality of oat and barley hay according to degree of their ripeness is discussed.
  • Authors:
    • Liebig, M. A.
    • Merrill, S. D.
    • Krupinsky, J. M.
    • Tanaka, D. L.
    • Hanson, J. D.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 99
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Producers need to know how to sequence crops to develop sustainable dynamic cropping systems that take advantage of inherent internal resources, such as crop synergism, nutrient cycling, and soil water, and capitalize on external resources, such as weather, markets, and government programs. The objective of our research was to determine influences of previous crop and crop residues (crop sequence) on relative seed and residue yield and precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) for the no-till production of buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum Moench), canola ( Brassica napus L.), chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.), corn ( Zea mays L.), dry pea ( Pisum sativum L.), grain sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L.), lentil ( Lens culinaris Medik.), proso millet ( Panicum miliaceum L.), sunflower ( Helianthus annus L.), and spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) grown in the northern Great Plains. Relative seed yield in 2003 for eight of the 10 crops resulted in synergistic effects when the previous crop was dry pea or lentil, compared with each crop grown on its own residue. Buckwheat, corn, and sunflower residues were antagonistic to chickpea relative seed yield. In 2004, highest relative seed yield for eight of the 10 crops occurred when dry pea was the previous crop. Relative residue yield followed a pattern similar to relative seed yield. The PUE overall means fluctuated for seven of the 10 crops both years, but those of dry pea, sunflower, and spring wheat remained somewhat constant, suggesting these crops may have mechanisms for consistent PUE and were not as dependent on growing season precipitation distribution as the other seven crops. Sustainable cropping systems in the northern Great Plains will approach an optimal scheme of crop sequencing by taking advantage of synergisms and avoiding antagonisms that occur among crops and previous crop residues.
  • Authors:
    • listed as anonymous
  • Source: Egyptian Journal of Plant Breeding
  • Volume: 11
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: These proceedings contain 30 papers on the various aspects of plant breeding including heterosis, combining ability and inheritance studies, characterization of cultivars, performance evaluation and genetic improvement of field crops (including wheat, cotton, soyabean, maize, rice, barley, rape, sorghum and faba bean) and horticultural crops (e.g. mango, tomato, pepper and grape).
  • Authors:
    • Anderson, R. L.
  • Source: Weed Technology
  • Volume: 21
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Weed management is evolving to include cultural tactics that reduce weed populations. This study near Brookings, SD, evaluated the effect of crop sequence and tillage on seedling emergence of common sunflower across years. In the third and fourth years of the study, seedling density was sevenfold greater after 2 yr of soyabean with tillage compared with a 2-yr sequence of canola and winter wheat with no-till. Apparently, canola and winter wheat enhanced the natural decline of common sunflower seed density in soil, leading to fewer seedlings in following years. In the first year of the study, tillage increased seedling emergence of common sunflower compared with no-till; seedlings rarely emerged in canola or winter wheat. Most seedlings of common sunflower emerged in May, with more than 90% of seedlings emerging between May 7 and June 4. Cool-season crops grown with no-till may affect weed seed survival in soil in the western Corn Belt.
  • Authors:
    • Anderson, R. L.
    • Beck, D. L.
  • Source: Weed Technology
  • Volume: 21
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2007
  • Summary: Producers in the Great Plains are exploring alternative crop rotations with the goal of reducing the use of fallow. In 1990, a study was established with no-till practices to compare 8 rotations comprising various combinations of winter wheat (W), spring wheat (SW), maize (C), chickpea (CP), dry pea (Pea), soyabean (SB), or fallow (F). After 12 years, we characterized weed communities by recording seedling emergence in each rotation. Downy brome ( Bromus tectorum), cheat ( Bromus secalinus), redroot pigweed ( Amaranthus retroflexus), and green foxtail ( Setaria viridis) were the most common weeds observed. Weed community density was highest for W-CP, being 13-fold greater than with Pea-W-C-SB. Downy brome and cheat were rarely observed in rotations where winter wheat was grown only once every 3 or 4 years; in contrast, density of the brome species was 75-fold greater in W-CP. Warm-season weeds were also affected by rotation design; density of redroot pigweed and green foxtail was 6-fold greater in W-C-CP compared with Pea-W-C-SB or W-F. One rotation design that was especially favourable for low weed density was arranging crops in a cycle of 4, with 2 cool-season crops followed by 2 warm-season crops.