• Authors:
    • Maniutiu, D.
    • Indrea, D.
    • Muresan, A. O.
    • Sima, R.
  • Source: Journal of Horticulture, Forestry and Biotechnology
  • Volume: 15
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: In comparative stationary field experiments performed in Apahida, Cluj County, during four years (2005-2008), cabbage, sweet corn, carrot and garden bean crops have been followed on two different tillage systems: a conventional system - 5-6 tillage works including deep ploughing (25-28 cm deep) and 2-3 weeding, and the minimum tillage system: the strip-tillage cover crop system (spring fodder=oat+vetch) that was treated with Glyphosat herbicide (2 l/ha) and remained on the ground as mulch on which 10-15 cm wide sowing strips were split open. With the minimum tillage a 3-5 day delay in plant sprouting was noticed and vegetation was prolonged for few days in sweet corn, carrot and bean. Yield decreases by the minimum tillage vary between 7.7% and 16.7% in carrot and 5.0% and 10.9% in garden bean. In cabbage and sweet corn yield decrease was stated only during the first 2 years, while during the last 2 years the crop would balance on the two tillage methods. There was some product quality decrease with the minimum tillage, especially in carrots and beans.
  • Authors:
    • Dube, R. K.
    • Dhyani, S. K.
    • Sharma, A. R.
    • Ratan, S.
  • Source: Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences
  • Volume: 81
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: A field experiment was conducted at Selakui, Dehradun during 2001-04 to study the effect of tillage (conventional and minimum) and mulching practices (no mulching and live mulching) under artificially created varying land slopes (0.5, 2.5, 4.5 and 9.5%) on soil-moisture conservation, productivity and nutrient uptake in maize ( Zea mays L.)-wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. emend Fiori & Paol.) cropping system. Sunnhemp ( Crotalaria juncea L.) intercropped with maize gave 0.87-1.09 tonnes biomass (dry weight) and accumulated 24.8-31.4 kg N/ha at 30 days of growth when it was mulched. Biomass and N accumulation generally decreased with increasing land slope and under minimum tillage. Maize performed better on moderate slopes (2.5-4.5%) than on the relatively flat (0.5%) and highly sloping land (9.5%). However, the yield of wheat decreased linearly and significantly with increasing slope due to less conservation of soil moisture on sloping lands during the previous rainy season. Conventional tillage gave significantly higher productivity of both maize and wheat than the minimum tillage. Intercropping of maize with sunnhemp and spreading the cut biomass as mulch at 30 days (live mulching) improved soil moisture conservation at maize harvest (+1.63 to 1.94%), and yield of maize (12.0%) as well as of following wheat (13.8%) compared with the no mulching.
  • Authors:
    • Goulart, R. Z.
    • Rocha, P. V. da
    • Santos, M. S. dos
    • Eltz, F. L. F.
    • Rocha, M. R. da
  • Source: REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIA DO SOLO
  • Volume: 35
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: The watermelon is cultivated mainly by small producers, in sandy soils under conventional tillage, with occurrence of high erosion taxes, since the crop doesn't form canopy capable to cover the soil entirely. Watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus L.) was evaluated under different cultivation systems on an Ultisol in the Central Depression of RS, Brazil, in an experiment in the 2008/2009 growing season. On 48 m 2 plots in a randomized block design with four repetitions, the following cultivation systems were tested: conventional tillage (CT), no-tillage (NT), NT chiseled with one chisel shank (NT1S), NT chiseled with two shanks (NT2S), NT chiseled with three shanks (NT3S), NT chiseled with four shanks (NT4S), NT chiseled with five shanks (NT5S); the distance between chisel shanks was 0.35 m. Data were analyzed by the Duncan test (p6 kg), the root surface area and root system distribution in the soil profile perpendicular to the sowing line were determined 30 and 60 d after sowing. Besides, some soil physical properties (soil density and resistance to penetration) were determined after the watermelon cycle. The yield was highest under CT (126 t ha -1), differing statistically from the other treatments. The total root area increased with intensity and area of soil mobilization, except in the NT4S treatment. In the CT treatment, no difference in depth was observed, but in the other treatments the 0-5 cm layer differed from the deeper layers. Resistance to penetration in the 0-10 cm layer was lower, which may be related to the higher root concentration in that layer.
  • Authors:
    • Navarrete, L.
    • Kozak, M.
    • Hernandez Plaza, E.
    • Gonzalez-Andujar, J. L.
  • Source: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
  • Volume: 140
  • Issue: 1-2
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: This study investigated whether the choice of a tillage system (no-tillage, minimum tillage or traditional tillage) affected weed diversity in a 23 years cereal-leguminous rotation system in Spain. Weed diversity was assessed using common diversity indices: species richness, Shannon's index and Pielouis evenness. Linear mixed-effects models were employed to compare the tillage systems. It was found that after 23 years no large differences between tillage systems have arisen related to weed diversity. Only minimum tillage appeared to support, on average, more species than the two other tillage systems. Richness, Shannon diversity index and evenness varied largely through the years in all tillage systems but this variation was not related to type of crop sown (cereal or leguminous). Our results highlight that conservation tillage practices did not represent any concern for weed diversity conservation in cereal-leguminous rotations in the conditions of central Spain.
  • Authors:
    • José-María, L.
    • Sans, F. X.
  • Source: Weed Research
  • Volume: 51
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Weed seedbanks are a reserve of weed diversity and can contribute to the prediction of future weed problems in arable fields. Managing seedbanks should therefore help in optimising biodiversity and controlling weed infestations. This study assessed the effects of management system (organic vs. conventional) and landscape complexity on seedbank size and species richness at the edges and centres of Mediterranean dryland cereal fields and examines the relationship between specific management practices and seedbanks. Field edges and organic fields had more species-rich, denser seedbanks than field centres and conventional fields, and landscape complexity had a limited effect on arable seedbanks. Accordingly, the promotion of low-intensity farming practices regardless of landscape complexity, especially at field edges, would be an effective measure for conservation purposes in Mediterranean agroecosystems. Nevertheless, the high seed density of organic seedbanks reveals the need for more effective seedbank management. The analysis of the effects of specific management practices highlights the importance of cleaning crop seeds properly to reduce seedbank size and using complex rotations, especially as this tends to conserve species richness while reducing seed abundance.
  • Authors:
    • Alvarez, C. R.
    • Costantini, A. O.
    • Bono, A.
    • Taboada, M. A.
    • Boem, F. H. G.
    • Fernandez, P. L.
    • Prystupa, P.
  • Source: Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo
  • Volume: 35
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: One of the expected benefits of no-tillage systems is a higher rate of soil C sequestration. However, higher C retention in soil is not always apparent when notillage is applied, due e.g., to substantial differences in soil type and initial C content. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of no-tillage management to increase the stock of total organic C in soils of the Pampas region in Argentina. Forty crop fields under no-tillage and conventional tillage systems and seven undisturbed soils were sampled. Total organic C, total N, their fractions and stratification ratios and the C storage capacity of the soils under different managements were assessed in samples to a depth of 30 cm, in three layers (0–5, 5– 15 and 15–30 cm). The differences between the C pools of the undisturbed and cultivated soils were significant (p < 0.05) and most pronounced in the top (0– 5 cm) soil layer, with more active C near the soil surface (undisturbed > no-tillage > conventional tillage). Based on the stratification ratio of the labile C pool(0–5/5– 15 cm), the untilled were separated from conventionally tilled areas. Much of the variation in potentially mineralizable C was explained by this active C fraction (R2 = 0.61) and by total organic C (R2 = 0.67). No-till soils did not accumulate more organic C than conventionally tilled soils in the 0–30 cm layer, but there was substantial stratification of total and active C pools at no till sites. If the C stratification ratio is really an indicator of soil quality, then the C storage potential of no-tillage would be greater than in conventional tillage, at least in the surface layers. Particulate organic C and potentially mineralizable C may be useful to evaluate variations in topsoil organic matter.
  • Authors:
    • Alletto, L.
    • Coquet, Y.
    • Justes, E.
  • Source: Agricultural Water Management
  • Volume: 102
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: Effects of two tillage treatments and two fallow period managements under continuous maize cropping on soil temperature, soil water dynamics and maize development were evaluated over a 4-year period (2005–2008). Tillage treatments were conventional tillage with mouldboard ploughing and conservation tillage with disk harrowing. The fallow period managements were bare soil or soil sown with a cover crop after maize harvest. For each year, topsoil temperature (0–20 cm-depth) was lower under conservation tillage systems at sowing, from 0.8 to 2.8 °C. This difference persisted several weeks after sowing, and disappeared afterwards. Under conservation tillage, higher soil water content was generally measured at sowing and during the growing season strong fluctuations were observed at 40 cm-depth. Under conventional tillage, soil water content varied mainly in the tilled layer (20 cm-depth). Tillage and fallow period management affected water flow rate at 40 cm-depth. During the maize growing season, the lowest drainage volumes were measured in 2006 and 2008 under conservation tillage in cover cropped plots. No effect of fallow period management on maize development and yield was observed but significantly higher yields were measured under conservation tillage in 2005 and 2007. From this 4-year experiment under continuous maize cropping, using cover crop and reducing tillage intensity enhanced water use efficiency while maintaining or increasing maize yields.
  • Authors:
    • Cockfield, G.
    • Maraseni, T. N.
  • Source: Agricultural Systems
  • Volume: 104
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2011
  • Authors:
    • Booker, J.
    • Lascano, R.
    • Acosta-Martinez, V.
    • Calderon, F.
    • Zobeck, T.
    • Upchurch, D.
  • Source: Biology and Fertility of Soils
  • Volume: 47
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: In dryland agriculture in semiarid regions, crop establishment is not always possible because precipitation may not be sufficient. Modification of soil properties can improve the soil quality and functioning including soil water capture and storage capacity for crop production in dryland conditions. ARS scientists established a study near Lubbock, Texas in 2003 to compare the soil properties under different dryland cropping systems and tillage management. After only 3 years, this study detected increases in soil microbial community size and enzyme activities important for nutrient cycling under rotations with a winter cover crop such as cotton-rye-sorghum and haygrazer-rye compared to continuous cotton or sorghum-cotton at 0-10 cm soil depth. After 5 years, higher soil total C was found under Hay-Rye compared to the other systems. In addition, microbial properties were already impacted in all alternative systems (haygrazer-rye, cotton-rye-sorghum and cotton-sorghum) studied compared to continuous cotton. Several microbial properties indicative of increased soil water availability were also higher under the alternative rotations to continuous cotton. However, continuation of this study is vitally important for the long-term evaluation and confirmation of these trends, and their implications in water management, soil quality and crop productivity in dryland.
  • Authors:
    • Abdellaoui, Z.
    • Teskrat, H.
    • Belhadj, A.
    • Zaghouane, O.
  • Source: Options Mediterranennes
  • Issue: 96
  • Year: 2011
  • Summary: The comparative study of reduced tillage, zero tillage and conventional tillage conducted during 5 years in the sub-humid zone of Algeria showed a difference of the development of durum wheat and changes of some soil characteristics. In the first year experiment, the yield was higher in the conventional tillage compared with reduced tillage and no-tillage. After the 3rd year, better yields were obtained with no-till with a 10 q/ha rise compared with conventional tillage. This confirms that the production of wheat under no till is improved year by year. However, after the 5th year of experiment, the high soil moisture at the seeding has generated lower yields. The different tillage practices have generated differences in soil characteristics. In fact a better water retention and a better content in organic matter in the three studied layers, were observed with no till. The bulk density shows a clear variation at the surface layer (0-8 cm) with the highest density in the conventional tillage.