scholarly journals Responses of soil properties and crop yields to different inorganic and organic amendments in a Swiss conventional farming system

2016 ◽  
Vol 230 ◽  
pp. 116-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Blanchet ◽  
Konstantin Gavazov ◽  
Luca Bragazza ◽  
Sokrat Sinaj
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Organic Amendments ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Conventional Farming ◽  
Inorganic And Organic

Crop-yield and economic comparisons of organic, low-input, and conventional farming systems in California's Sacramento Valley

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Clark ◽  
Karen Klonsky ◽  
Peter Livingston ◽  
Steve Temple
Keyword(s):  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Conventional Farming ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Organic System ◽  
Low Input ◽  
Sacramento Valley

AbstractWe compared the crop yields and economic performance of organic, lowinput, and conventional farming systems over an eight-year period based on research from the Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems (SAFS) Project in California's Sacramento Valley. The SAFS Project consisted of four farming-system treatments that differed in material input use and crop rotation sequence. The treatments included four-year rotations under conventional (conv-4), low-input, and organic management, and a conventionally-managed, two-year rotation (conv-2). The four-year rotations included processing tomato, safflower, corn, and bean and a winter grain and/or legume doublecropped with bean. The conv-2 treatment was a tomato and wheat rotation. In the lowinput and organic systems, inorganic fertilizer and synthetic pesticide inputs were reduced or eliminated largely through crop rotation, legume cover crops, composted manure applications, and mechanical cultivation.All crops, except safflower, demonstrated significant yield differences across farming systems in at least some years of the experiment. Yields of tomato and corn, the most nitrogen (N)-demanding crops in the rotations, responded most years to the farming-system years treatments, while bean and the winter grain/legume displayed treatment differences less often and instead tended to vary more with yearly growing conditions. Nitrogen availability and/or weed competition appeared to account for lower crop yields in the organic and low-input systems in some years. The economics of all farming systems depended mainly on the costs and profits associated with tomato production. The most profitable system was the conv-2 system due to the greater frequency of tomato in that system. Among the four-year rotations, the organic system was the most profitable. However, this system's dependence on price premiums leads to some concern over its long-term economic viability. Among the low-input cropping systems, corn demonstrated clear agronomic and economic advantages over conventional production methods. Based upon these findings, we suggest that future research on organic and low-input farming systems focus on developing cost-effective fertility and weed management options based upon improved understanding of N dynamics and weed ecology.

scholarly journals Influence of Agricultural Management Practices on the Soil Properties and Mineral Composition of Potato Tubers with Different Colored Flesh

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9103
Author(s):  
Nijolė Vaitkevičienė ◽  
Elvyra Jarienė ◽  
Jurgita Kulaitienė ◽  
Honorata Danillčenko ◽  
Judita Černiauskienė ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Mineral Composition ◽  
Quality Indicators ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Conventional Farming ◽  
Potato Tubers ◽  
Soil Quality Indicators

The objective of the work was to investigate and estimate the effects of conventional, organic, and biodynamic farming systems on biological and agrochemical soil properties and mineral composition of potato tubers with different colored flesh. This study compared the same biological and agrochemical soil quality indicators on samples collected at three sampling times: before potato planting, the middle of the potato season, and before harvesting. In addition, macro- and microelement contents were determined in the tubers. The results showed that the highest soil microbial biomass contents, dehydrogenase activity, and humus contents were found before potato planting in a conventional farming system. However, from potato planting until the end of the growing season, these soil biological indicators significantly decreased in the soil of conventional farming, but significant increases were recorded in organic and biodynamic treatments. The highest contents of all tested nitrogen forms, phosphorus and potassium, were found in the middle of the potato growing season in a conventional farming system. Before harvesting, significant decreases in all studied agrochemical soil quality indicators were observed in all farming systems. The organic and biodynamic potatoes contained significantly more K, P, and Ca than conventional potatoes. In addition, organic samples had significantly higher contents of Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and B in comparison to the biodynamic and conventional ones. The cultivar effect on the content of selected minerals in the samples was also observed. Red Emmalie contained more K, N, and B. Salad Blue had the highest contents of Fe, Mn, and Zn in comparison to other studied cultivars.

scholarly journals Effects of simulated drought on biological soil quality, microbial diversity and yields under long-term conventional and organic agriculture

2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominika Kundel ◽  
Natacha Bodenhausen ◽  
Helene Bracht Jørgensen ◽  
Jaak Truu ◽  
Klaus Birkhofer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Conventional Farming ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Simulated Drought

ABSTRACT Drought and agricultural management influence soil microorganisms with unknown consequences for the functioning of agroecosystems. We simulated drought periods in organic (biodynamic) and conventional wheat fields and monitored effects on soil water content, microorganisms and crops. Above the wilting point, water content and microbial respiration were higher under biodynamic than conventional farming. Highest bacterial and fungal abundances were found in biodynamically managed soils, and distinct microbial communities characterised the farming systems. Most biological soil quality parameters and crop yields were only marginally affected by the experimental drought, except for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which increased in abundance under the experimental drought in both farming systems. AMF were further strongly promoted by biodynamic farming resulting in almost three times higher AMF abundance under experimental drought in the biodynamic compared with the conventional farming system. Our data suggest an improved water storage capacity under biodynamic farming and confirms positive effects of biodynamic farming on biological soil quality. The interactive effects of the farming system and drought may further be investigated under more substantial droughts. Given the importance of AMF for the plant's water supply, more in-depth studies on AMF may help to clarify their role for yields under conditions predicted by future climate scenarios.

ISSUES OF GREENING THE LAND USE SYSTEM IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Soil Protection ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Strict Adherence ◽  
The Creation

Soil protection in agrolandscapes is especially necessary in conditions of intensification of production and increasing anthropogenic pressure on them. This complex should fit into the landscape farming system. The more intensive the load on the land in the farm, the higher the level of soil protection against destruction. The article notes that raising soil fertility, increasing crop yields and ecological environmental improvement are possible only on the basis of agrolandscape farming system, which allows to establish the correct ratio of arable land, meadows and forests. The transition to such a system of agriculture requires: development of a project for agrolandscape land management with a set of anti-erosion measures for each farm; adjusting the structure of sown areas taking into account market conditions, that is, increasing the area of productive crops in demand (winter and spring wheat, perennial grasses), which in combination with occupied and green manure pairs determine the structure of biologized crop rotation; widespread use of legumes (peas, vetch) as factors in the biologization of agriculture. The efficiency of expanding the area of perennial grasses to 25 % of arable land in some areas of the Non-Chernozem region and the Belgorod region is shown. Here, techniques that increase the efficiency of arable land are based on strict adherence to crop rotation with legumes, the use of adaptive varieties, and the use of biologized fertilizer and plant protection systems. It is noted that the creation of a system of shelterbelts makes it possible to reduce the cost of planting and growing them in comparison with single forest belts and what is very important for farmers is to sharply increase the return on their exploitation in the form of increased increases in crop yields. The creation of forest-sized landscapes will improve the environmental conditions for the cultivation of crops.

Assessment of the Role of Different Soil Properties on Crust Strength by Linear Regression Models

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (04) ◽  
Author(s):  
MINAKSHI SERAWAT ◽  
V K PHOGAT ◽  
ANIL Abdul KAPOOR ◽  
VIJAY KANT SINGH ◽  
ASHA SERAWAT
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Modulus Of Rupture ◽  
Silty Clay ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Dispersion Ratio ◽  
Crust Strength

Soil crust strength influences seedling emergence, penetration and morphology of plant roots, and, consequently, crop yields. A study was carried out to assess the role of different soil properties on crust strength atHisar, Haryana, India. The soil samples from 0-5 and 5-15 cm depths were collected from 21 locations from farmer’s fields, having a wide range of texture.Soil propertieswere evaluated in the laboratory and theirinfluence on the modulus of rupture (MOR), which is the measure of crust strength, was evaluated.The MOR of texturally different soils was significantly correlated with saturated hydraulic conductivity at both the depths. Dispersion ratio was found to decrease with an increase in fineness of the texture of soil and the lowest value was recorded in silty clay loam soil,which decreased with depth. The modulus of rupture was significantly negatively correlative with the dispersion ratio.There was no role of calcium carbonate in influencing the values of MOR of soils. Similarly,the influence of pH, EC and SAR of soil solution on MOR was non-significant.A perusal of thevalues of the correlations between MOR and different soil properties showed that the MOR of soils of Haryana are positively correlated with silt + clay (r = 0.805) followed by water-stable aggregates (r = 0.774), organic carbon (r = 0.738), silt (r = 0.711), mean weight diameter (r = 0.608) and clay (r = 0.593) while negatively correlated with dispersion ratio (r = - 0.872), sand (r = -0.801) and hydraulic conductivity (r = -0.752) of soils.

Corrigendum to: Conservation agriculture effects on soil properties and crop productivity in a semiarid region of India

Soil Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 200 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Somasundaram ◽  
M. Salikram ◽  
N. K. Sinha ◽  
M. Mohanty ◽  
R. S. Chaudhary ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Semiarid Region ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Residue Retention

Conservation agriculture (CA) including reduced or no-tillage and crop residue retention, is known to be a self–sustainable system as well as an alternative to residue burning. The present study evaluated the effect of reduced tillage coupled with residue retention under different cropping systems on soil properties and crop yields in a Vertisol of a semiarid region of central India. Two tillage systems – conventional tillage (CT) with residue removed, and reduced tillage (RT) with residue retained – and six major cropping systems of this region were examined after 3 years of experimentation. Results demonstrated that soil moisture content, mean weight diameter, percent water stable aggregates (>0.25mm) for the 0–15cm soil layer were significantly (Pmoderately labile>less labile. At the 0–15cm depth, the contributions of moderately labile, less labile and non-labile C fractions to total organic C were 39.3%, 10.3% and 50.4% respectively in RT and corresponding values for CT were 38.9%, 11.7% and 49.4%. Significant differences in different C fractions were observed between RT and CT. Soil microbial biomass C concentration was significantly higher in RT than CT at 0–15cm depth. The maize–chickpea cropping system had significantly (P–1 followed by soybean+pigeon pea (2:1) intercropping (3.50 t ha–1) and soybean–wheat cropping systems (2.97 t ha–1). Thus, CA practices could be sustainable management practices for improving soil health and crop yields of rainfed Vertisols in these semiarid regions.

scholarly journals Effect of Organic Amendment Addition on Soil Properties, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Grape Yield in Semi-Arid Vineyard Agroecosystems

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1477
Author(s):  
Antonio Marín-Martínez ◽  
Alberto Sanz-Cobeña ◽  
Mª Angeles Bustamante ◽  
Enrique Agulló ◽  
Concepción Paredes
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Organic Amendments ◽  
Organic N ◽  
N2o Emissions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Grape Yield

In semi-arid vineyard agroecosystems, highly vulnerable in the context of climate change, the soil organic matter (OM) content is crucial to the improvement of soil fertility and grape productivity. The impact of OM, from compost and animal manure, on soil properties (e.g., pH, oxidisable organic C, organic N, NH4+-N and NO3−-N), grape yield and direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in vineyards was assessed. For this purpose, two wine grape varieties were chosen and managed differently: with a rain-fed non-trellising vineyard of Monastrell, a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard of Monastrell and a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon. The studied fertiliser treatments were without organic amendments (C), sheep/goat manure (SGM) and distillery organic waste compost (DC). The SGM and DC treatments were applied at a rate of 4600 kg ha−1 (fresh weight, FW) and 5000 kg ha−1 FW, respectively. The use of organic amendments improved soil fertility and grape yield, especially in the drip-irrigated trellising vineyards. Increased CO2 emissions were coincident with higher grape yields and manure application (maximum CO2 emissions = 1518 mg C-CO2 m−2 d−1). In contrast, N2O emissions, mainly produced through nitrification, were decreased in the plots showing higher grape production (minimum N2O emissions = −0.090 mg N2O-N m−2 d−1). In all plots, the CH4 fluxes were negative during most of the experiment (−1.073−0.403 mg CH4-C m−2 d−1), indicating that these ecosystems can represent a significant sink for atmospheric CH4. According to our results, the optimal vineyard management, considering soil properties, yield and GHG mitigation together, was the use of compost in a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard with the grape variety Monastrell.

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