• Authors:
    • Darshana
    • Pandey, A.
    • Pandey, R. P.
    • Ostrowski, M.
  • Source: Irrigation and Drainage
  • Volume: 61
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: In this study, simulation and optimization models were assembled for the optimization of irrigation systems and their operation. The simulation model CROPWAT was used for estimation of the crop water requirement, time and depth. The evolutionary algorithm (GANetXL) was used for the optimal planning of cropping pattern, maximization of net benefits and minimization of irrigation water requirements for the study area of Holeta catchment, Ethiopia. The study area encompasses three command areas, i.e. farm A, farm B and Tsedey State Farm, and five different type of crops, i.e. potato, tomato, apple, peach and winter wheat. The simulation results of the CROPWAT model illustrated that crop water requirement for apple was highest (993 mm), followed by peach (908 mm), tomato (470 mm), potato (443 mm) and wheat (294 mm). The study reveals that fruit crops have more crop water requirements than cereals. The results of the GANetXL show that when the cropped area and water allocated was varied between extreme values, 23% of water can be saved. The total benefit from the study area can be enhanced by USD 34 ha -1 and can be helpful in improving the economic conditions of the farmers.
  • Authors:
    • Ganesh-Kumar, A.
    • Pullabhotla, H.
    • Gupta, N.
    • Shreedhar, G.
    • Gulati, A.
  • Issue: 1159
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: This paper reviews the key policies with regard to agriculture inputs such as seed, fertilizer, water, agricultural equipment, research, extension, and agricultural credit. It also provides an overview of the policies and programs related to agricultural output markets that are crucial for improving cereal production in the country. A review of the past performance and policies of India's foodgrain sector reveals that the main drivers of growth have been modern inputs and technology, institutions, and markets with the changing role of the public and private sectors. The present challenge facing Indian policymakers is to efficiently balance food security concerns and higher growth objectives. This will require not only pushing the production frontier to sustainably augment supply, but also ensuring strategic management of foodgrains including procurement and distribution. The review of input policies highlights the pressure placed on foodgrain systems, in a business-as-usual scenario that extensively subsidizes input and promotes their intensive usage. Fallouts such as excessive groundwater withdrawals and distorted application of nitrogenous fertilizers have implications on the environmental sustainability of natural resources apart from being a considerable fiscal burden. The current policy of subsidizing agricultural power, irrigation, and fertilizers has outlived its relevance and is actually constraining agricultural investments in areas where the returns are higher. Although it is difficult to completely remove these subsidies, they still need to be gradually phased out and converted into investments in rural infrastructure (especially roads) and research and extension systems, which desperately need to be (re)vitalized. It is time the government started to actively partner with the private sector (in infrastructure creation and research) and civil society organizations (in extension), as they have played an increasingly important role in recent years. The review of the output management policies show that the current policy paradigm consisting of public procurement of grains at a preannounced minimum support price, public storage, and public distribution has resulted in distortions across crops, especially rice and wheat, as well periodic buildup of large stockpiles and stock rundown of these grains at a high cost to the government. Moreover, public procurement and stocking, coupled with interventionist international trade policies, is often at variance with the trends in international markets, resulting in lost opportunities for Indian exporters of rice and wheat. The regional concentration of the system of public procurement in the northern states, aided by intra-country trade and movement restrictions, has also resulted in large spatial disparity in agricultural productivity and farm income as well as uneven development of output markets across states. As a result, producer and consumer welfare is often compromised, even though the government's objective is to maintain a balance between them. Major reforms on the output side would include linking of MSPs with market prices, allowing futures markets in cereals, liberalizing international trade and bring forth greater competition in domestic trade to ensure output markets are more uniformly developed across states and that the country has a truly integrated market for foodgrains.
  • Authors:
    • Maibody, S. A. M. M.
    • Arzani, A.
    • Golabadi, M.
  • Source: Cereal Research Communications
  • Volume: 40
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Grain protein content (GPC) in durum wheat is a crucial determinant of pasta quality and as such is an important economic factor. This study was carried out to determine the microsatellite markers (SSRs) as associated with GPC in durum wheat grown under normal and moisture stress conditions. F 3 and F 4 population derived from 151 F 2 individuals developed from a cross between Oste-Gata (drought tolerant) and Massara-1 (drought susceptible) genotypes, were used. The population was evaluated under four environmental conditions (two irrigation regimes in two growing seasons). The results of single marker regression analysis (SMA) revealed that 2, 4 and 10 markers to be associated with GPC, test weight (TW) and 1000 grain weight (TGW), respectively. These markers explained between 4.4 and 21.8% of the phenotypic variation in either environmental condition. The most significant marker observed for GPC was located on 5B chromosome near Xgwm408 under normal conditions and the other marker was observed on 1A, explaining about 15% of phenotypic variance. However, it was not recognized any marker related to GPC under drought stress conditions. Xgwm408 marker was coincident with the markers identified for TW, TGW and components of grain yield under drought stress conditions. In spite of 5B, the other chromosomes such as 2B and 3B were related to quantitative traits like TW and TGW. Composite interval mapping (CIM) identified 4 and 5 putative minor and major QTL for TW and TGW, respectively. Two QTL near Xbarc101 and Xbarc124 markers on 3B and 2B chromosome, explained up to 45.2 and 6% of phenotypic variations of TGW and TW, respectively.
  • Authors:
    • Kabir, M. J.
    • Islam, M. M.
  • Source: Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Research
  • Volume: 37
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: The study area was Shanuhar village of Babugonj Upazila of Barisal district, which was selected purposively based on agronomic suitability of growing Rabi crops. Necessary data were collected through focus group discussion (FGD) with 30 farmers including small, medium, and large farm households, school teachers, village leaders all the remaining by using pre design check list and structure schedule during May 2007 considering Rabi season of 2006-2007. Usually, farmers of the village could not sow their crops within the optimum time. They transplanted Aman rice in late due to inundation of land and planting of Rabi crops in late because of land unsuitability and long duration of T. Aman rice. Boro rice was adopted about 75% of the cropped area in Rabi season and but yield was low because of inadequate irrigation facilities. In contrast wheat needs comparatively less irrigation than Boro rice. Moreover, mungbean, mustard, lentil and grass pea produce reasonability good yield in rainfed condition. About 20-25% land become suitable for seeding wheat by first week of December after harvesting NfV T. Aman which indicated good prospect of growing wheat in the study village. Wheat is a more profitable Rabi crop than other crops like grass pea, mustard, lentil. Farmers earned the highest per hectare gross return (Tk.98646) and gross margin (Tk.22870) from the Wheat - Aus rice - T. Aman rice pattern whereas Boro rice - Fallow - T. Aman pattern produced the lowest gross return (Tk.65918) and gross margin (Tk.10134). Higher benefit was achieved from the pattern Wheat - Aus rice - T. Aman rice because of less production cost and high price of wheat grain, though three cereals crops could exhaust soil nutrient so that Mungbean-Aus rice - T. Aman pattern may be alternate option to sustain soil health as well as productivity of the selected area.
  • Authors:
    • Oweis, T.
    • Karrou, M.
  • Source: Agricultural Water Management
  • Volume: 107
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Selecting appropriate crops and applying deficit irrigation can help increase water productivity in water-limited regions such as the Mediterranean. The objective of this study was to develop water production functions of major cereal and legume crops under the same environmental and management conditions. Bread and durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea, and lentil were grown under full supplemental irrigation (FSI), two deficit irrigations levels of 2/3 of FSI (2/3SI) and 1/3 of FSI (1/3SI), and under rainfed conditions (no irrigation). In average, the actual evapotranspirations (ETs) under FSI were 549, 552, 365, 451 and 297 mm, for bread wheat, durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea and lentil, respectively. For the same crops, they were 463, 458, 330, 393 and 277 mm for the treatment 2/3SI and 357, 351, 265, 318 and 244 mm for the treatment 1/3SI, respectively. In the case of the rainfed treatment, ETs for the mentioned crops were 250, 251, 227, 237 and 215 mm, respectively. The experiment was conducted at the ICARDA experimental station at Tel Hadya, near Aleppo, Syria, over three growing seasons from 2007 to 2010. Results showed that, in general, the treatment with 1/3 of FSI gave the highest rate of increase in grain yield and water productivity. The mean grain yield from rainfed, 1/3SI, 2/3SI, and FSI were 1.36, 3.82, 5.18, and 5.70 t/ha for bread wheat; 1.24, 3.80, 5.10, and 5.75 t/ha for durum wheat; 1.57, 2.35, 2.86, and 3.54 t/ha for faba bean, 1.36, 2.63, 3.36, and 3.74 t/ha for chickpea, and 0.64, 1.16, 1.42, and 1.58 t/ha for lentil respectively. Grain yield reductions due to the application of 2/3SI were around 10, 5, 15.6, and 10.2% of FSI on average for wheat, chickpea, faba bean, and lentils, respectively. Deficit irrigation at 2/3SI increased water productivity compared to rainfed treatments, by 200, 223, 126, 148 and 190% for bread wheat, durum wheat, faba bean, chickpea, and lentils, respectively. However, differences in total water productivity of crops grown under full irrigation compared to deficit irrigation were not significant. Irrigation water productivity ranged from 25 kg ha -1 mm -1 in wheat with 1/3SI to 10 kg ha -1 mm -1 for legumes under the FSI treatment. Unlike legumes, maximizing wheat grain yield caused a decline in water productivity.
  • Authors:
    • Thomashow, L. S.
    • Parejko, J. A.
    • Mavrodi, D. V.
    • Mavrodi, O. V.
    • Weller, D. M.
  • Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
  • Volume: 78
  • Issue: 9
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: This work determined the impact of irrigation on the seasonal dynamics of populations of Pseudomonas spp. producing the antibiotics phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (Phz +) and 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (Phl +) in the rhizosphere of wheat grown in the low-precipitation zone (150 to 300 mm annually) of the Columbia Plateau of the Inland Pacific Northwest. Population sizes and plant colonization frequencies of Phz + and Phl +Pseudomonas spp. were determined in winter and spring wheat collected during the growing seasons from 2008 to 2009 from selected commercial dryland and irrigated fields in central Washington State. Only Phz + bacteria were detected on dryland winter wheat, with populations ranging from 4.8 to 6.3 log CFU g -1 of root and rhizosphere colonization frequencies of 67 to 100%. The ranges of population densities of Phl + and Phz +Pseudomonas spp. recovered from wheat grown under irrigation were similar, but 58 to 100% of root systems were colonized by Phl + bacteria whereas only 8 to 50% of plants harbored Phz + bacteria. In addition, Phz +Pseudomonas spp. were abundant in the rhizosphere of native plant species growing in nonirrigated areas adjacent to the sampled dryland wheat fields. This is the first report that documents the impact of irrigation on indigenous populations of two closely related groups of antibiotic-producing pseudomonads that coinhabit the rhizosphere of an economically important cereal crop. These results demonstrate how crop management practices can influence indigenous populations of antibiotic-producing pseudomonads with the capacity to suppress soilborne diseases of wheat.
  • Authors:
    • Prasuhn, V.
  • Source: Soil & Tillage Research
  • Volume: 120
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: The positive effects of soil conserving farming methods have mostly been demonstrated using small test plots. The present study is aimed at confirming that they also occur on the catchment scale. The impact of crops and soil tillage practises on the extent of soil erosion was determined in 203 crop fields over 10 years in the Swiss Midlands. Soil erosion totalled 1969 t or 0.75 t ha(-1) yr(-1). Most erosion took place in winter wheat fields (33%), which accounted for 22% of the crop area. Second and third most erosion was observed in potato (26%) and fallow (14%) fields. By far the highest mean soil loss was found for potatoes, at 2.87 t ha(-1) yr(-1). Fallow (1.06 t ha(-1) yr(-1)) and winter wheat (1.05 t ha(-1) yr(-1)) fields were also relatively susceptible to soil erosion. In contrast, values for soil loss below mean were observed for maize (0.44 t ha(-1) yr(-1)), sugar beet (0.27 t ha(-1) yr(-1)), and rape seed (0.39 t ha(-1) yr(-1)). 88% of soil erosion took place on plough tilled land (PT), 9% on non-ploughed land with less than 30% surface residue cover (RT), 1% on mulch-tilled land with more than 30% surface residue cover (MT), and 2% in non-tilled or strip-tilled land with >30% soil cover (NT). At 0.07 and 0.12 t ha(-1) yr(-1), respectively, the mean soil loss in MT and NT fields was more than an order of magnitude lower than that under PT (1.24 t ha(-1) yr(-1)). Field mappings confirmed the positive effects of the soil conserving soil tillage practises. The risk of soil erosion was significantly influenced by crop rotation. The carry-over effects should be taken into account when studying the effects of cropping methods on soil erosion. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • Mazza, G.
    • Pronyk, C.
  • Source: Bioresource Technology
  • Volume: 106
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Five cereal (triticale, durum wheat, CPS wheat, feed barley, oats) and two oilseed (canola, mustard) straws were fractionated with pressurized low polarity water in a flow-through reactor at 165 degrees C with a flow rate of 115 mL/min and a solvent-to-solid ratio of 60 mL/g. The conversion and extraction of the major carbohydrates and lignin from the reactor system during hydrothermal treatment was largely completed within the first 20-30 min. Glucan content of all straws were enriched by the process. More. than 90% of the xylan and nearly 50% of the lignin were extracted and there was no effect on yield due to crop species. However, there were differences in solid residue and liquid extract composition. Cereal crops yielded a residue richer in glucan and lower in lignin. Oilseed crop residues contained very low levels of ash. Xylo-oligosaccharides from oilseed crops contain more acetyl and uronic acid substituents. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • Zhang, Y. M.
    • Li, X. X.
    • Oenema, O.
    • Hu, C. S.
    • Wang, Y. Y.
    • Qin, S. P.
    • Dong, W. X.
  • Source: Atmospheric Environment
  • Volume: 55
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Emissions of nitrous oxide (N 2O) from agricultural soils contribute to global warming and stratospheric ozone depletion. Applications of fertilizer nitrogen (N) increase N 2O emission, but also increase agricultural production. Here, we report on the responses of crop yield, N 2O emission and yield-scaled N 2O emission (N 2O emission per unit N uptake by grain and aboveground biomass) to different N fertilizer rates in a winter wheat-summer corn double-cropping system in the North China Plain. Soil N 2O emission measurements were carried out for two years in a long-term field experiment, under semi-arid conditions with four flood irrigations events per year. Our results indicated that N 2O emissions were linear functions and yield-scaled N 2O emissions were cubic functions of N fertilizer application rate. Yield-scaled N 2O emissions were lowest at application rates of 136 kg N ha -1 yr -1. Using a quadratic-plateau model, it was found that maximal crop yields were achieved at an application rate of 317 kg N ha -1 yr -1, which is 20% less than current practice. This level is suggested to be a compromise between achieving food security and mitigation N 2O emissions.
  • Authors:
    • Shah, S. C.
    • Chen, Z. S.
    • Adhikari, K. R.
    • Ghimire, R.
    • Dahal, K. R.
  • Source: Paddy and Water Environment
  • Volume: 10
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Despite being a major domain of global food supply, rice-wheat cropping system is questioned for its contribution to carbon flux. Enhancing the organic carbon pool in this system is therefore necessary to reduce environmental degradation and maintain agricultural productivity. A field experiment (November 2002-March 2006) evaluated the effects of soil management practices such as tillage, crop residue, and timing of nitrogen (N) application on soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in the lowland of Chitwan Valley of Nepal. Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) and wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) were grown in rotation adding 12 Mg ha -1 y -1 of field-dried residue. Mung-bean ( Vigna radiata L.) was grown as a cover crop between the wheat and the rice. Timing of N application based on leaf color chart method was compared with recommended method of N application. At the end of the experiment SOC sequestration was quantified for five depths within 50 cm of soil profile. The difference in SOC sequestration between methods of N application was not apparent. However, soils sequestered significantly higher amount of SOC in the whole profile (0-50 cm soil depth) with more pronounced effect seen at 0-15 cm soil depth under no-tillage as compared with the SOC under conventional tillage. Crop residues added to no-tillage soils outperformed other treatment interactions. It is concluded that a rice-wheat system would serve as a greater sink of organic carbon with residue application under no-tillage system than with or without residue application when compared to the conventional tillage system in this condition.