scholarly journals Graze to grain—measuring and modelling the effects of grazed pasture leys on soil nitrogen and sorghum yield on a Vertosol soil in the Australian subtropics

2006 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 489 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Whitbread ◽  
R. L. Clem

Highly productive sown pasture systems can result in high growth rates of beef cattle and lead to increases in soil nitrogen and the production of subsequent crops. The nitrogen dynamics and growth of grain sorghum following grazed annual legume leys or a grass pasture were investigated in a no-till system in the South Burnett district of Queensland. Two years of the tropical legumes Macrotyloma daltonii and Vigna trilobata (both self regenerating annual legumes) and Lablab purpureus (a resown annual legume) resulted in soil nitrate N (0–0.9 m depth), at sorghum sowing, ranging from 35 to 86 kg/ha compared with 4 kg/ha after pure grass pastures. Average grain sorghum production in the 4 cropping seasons following the grazed legume leys ranged from 2651 to 4012 kg/ha. Following the grass pasture, grain sorghum production in the first and second year was <1900 kg/ha and by the third year grain yield was comparable to the legume systems. Simulation studies utilising the farming systems model APSIM indicated that the soil N and water dynamics following 2-year ley phases could be closely represented over 4 years and the prediction of sorghum growth during this time was reasonable. In simulated unfertilised sorghum crops grown from 1954 to 2004, grain yield did not exceed 1500 kg/ha in 50% of seasons following a grass pasture, while following 2-year legume leys, grain exceeded 3000 kg/ha in 80% of seasons. It was concluded that mixed farming systems that utilise short term legume-based pastures for beef production in rotation with crop production enterprises can be highly productive.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Massaoudou Hamidou ◽  
Oumarou Souleymane ◽  
Mahamadou Salifou ◽  
Malick N. Ba ◽  
Issoufou Kapran ◽  
...  

Sorghum is the second most grown cereal crop in Niger. However, sorghum production in the country is dominated by indigenous cultivars with low productivity. Productivity in grain sorghum has been achieved in developing countries around the world using hybrids. This study was conducted to evaluate heterosis in F1 sorghum hybrids for grain yield and resistance to midge. Fifty F1 sorghum hybrids were evaluated for grain yield and resistance to midge. Variation for grain yield, midge resistance, and flowering time was observed. The magnitude of better parent heterosis for grain yield and resistance to midge varied significantly among hybrids. Four hybrids combined high better parent heterosis for both grain yield and resistance to midge while eight hybrids were better than their better parent for resistance to midge. These hybrids performed well for grain yield and/or resistance to midge. Therefore, the parental lines involved in these hybrids can be advanced for commercial hybrids production or used in sorghum improvement programs.


1976 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. R. HEGDE ◽  
D. J. MAJOR ◽  
D. B. WILSON ◽  
K. K. KROGMAN

Row spacings of 18–72 cm and population densities of 75,000 to 346,000 plants/ha had no consistent effect on grain yield of two sorghum hybrids (Pride X4004 and Pride X4053) because of compensating variations within yield components. Grain yield per panicle increased as row spacing increased but this was offset by a decrease in panicles per plant and panicles per square meter. Grain yield per panicle, panicles per plant, and panicles per square meter decreased as population density increased. The choice of row spacing and population density in field production will, therefore, depend on convenience factors related to crop management. Evapotranspiration for the growing season was 179 mm in 1973 and 204 mm in 1974. Highest water use efficiencies occurred at the low population densities and narrow row spacings. There were differences between the two hybrids. Grain yield of Pride X4004 was greater than that of Pride X4053 because the former produced a greater number of seed-bearing tillers. Grain yield differences in Pride X4004 among the three experiments were due to differences in grain yield per panicle.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tongcheng Fu ◽  
Jonghan Ko ◽  
Gerard W. Wall ◽  
Paul J. Pinter ◽  
Bruce A. Kimball ◽  
...  

Abstract Potential impacts of climate change on grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) productivity were investigated using the CERES-sorghum model in the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer v4.5. The model was first calibrated for a sorghum cultivar grown in a free air CO2 enrichment experiment at the University of Arizona, Maricopa, Arizona, USA in 1998. The model was then validated with an independent dataset collected in 1999. The simulated grain yield, growth, and soil water of sorghum for the both years were in statistical agreement with the corresponding measurements, respectively. Neither simulated nor measured yields responded to elevated CO2, but both were sensitive to water supply. The validated model was then applied to simulate possible effects of climate change on sorghum grain yield and water use efficiency in western North America for the years 2080-2100. The projected CO2 fertilizer effect on grain yield was dominated by the adverse effect of projected temperature increases. Therefore, temperature appears to be a dominant driver of the global climate change influencing future sorghum productivity. These results suggest that an increase in water demand for sorghum production should be anticipated in a future high-CO2 world.


1972 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faisal M. Ali ◽  
Farouk A. Salih

SUMMARYMechanized crop production schemes continue to be the main source of grain sorghum in the Sudan, where fertilizer experiments have shown that applications of NP and NPK significantly increase the grain yield of continuous sorghum, though economic increases could be obtained by the application of nitrogen.


The farming system in West Bengal is being shifted by integration between the set of cash crops and the main food harvest process. This change in diversified farming systems, where smallholders have a production base in rice can complement production; affect technical efficiency and farm performance. The goal of this study was to investigate the status of crop diversification on smallholders in West Bengal. First, crop diversification regions were developed in West Bengal based on the Herfindahl index, which were categorized into three regions. Three sample districts were studied separately at the block level, and 915 small farmers from 41 sample villages of 9 sample blocks were interviewed through a good structure questionnaire for field studies from the sample districts. West Bengal was gradually moving towards multiple crop production. Furthermore, increasing rice production reduced the marginal use of inputs for the production of other crops. Farming and other vital factors such as HYVs area to GCA, average holding size and per capita income in some districts of West Bengal can be identified as determinants of crop diversification.


1990 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda S. Smith ◽  
Don S. Murray ◽  
J. D. Green ◽  
Wan M. Wanyahaya ◽  
David L. Weeks

Barnyardgrass, large crabgrass, and Texas panicum were evaluated in field experiments over 3 yr to measure their duration of interference and density on grain sorghum yield. When grain yield data were converted to a percentage of the weed-free control, linear regression predicted a 3.6% yield loss for each week of weed interference regardless of year or grass species. Grain sorghum grown in a narrow (61-cm) row spacing was affected little by full-season interference; however, in wide (91-cm) rows, interference increased as grass density increased. Data from the wide-row spacing were described by linear regression following conversion of grain yield to percentages and weed density to log10. A separate nonlinear model also was derived which could predict the effect of weed density on grain sorghum yield.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1295
Author(s):  
Ahossi Patrice Koua ◽  
Mirza Majid Baig ◽  
Benedict Chijioke Oyiga ◽  
Jens Léon ◽  
Agim Ballvora

Nitrogen (N) is a vital component of crop production. Wheat yield varies significantly under different soil available N. Knowing how wheat responds to or interacts with N to produce grains is essential in the selection of N use efficient cultivars. We assessed in this study variations among wheat genotypes for productivity-related traits under three cropping systems (CS), high-nitrogen with fungicide (HN-WF), high-nitrogen without fungicide (HN-NF) and low-nitrogen without fungicide (LN-NF) in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons. ANOVA results showed genotypes, CS, and their interactions significantly affected agronomic traits. Grain yield (GY) increased with higher leaf chlorophyll content, importantly under CS without N and fungicide supply. Yellow rust disease reduced the GY by 20% and 28% in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Moreover, averaged over growing seasons, GY was increased by 23.78% under CS with N supply, while it was greatly increased, by 52.84%, under CS with both N and fungicide application, indicating a synergistic effect of N and fungicide on GY. Fungicide supply greatly improved the crop ability to accumulate N during grain filling, and hence the grain protein content. Recently released cultivars outperformed the older ones in most agronomic traits including GY. Genotype performance and stability analysis for GY production showed differences in their stability levels under the three CS. The synergistic effect of nitrogen and fungicide on grain yield (GY) and the differences in yield stability levels of recently released wheat cultivars across three CS found in this study suggest that resource use efficiency can be improved via cultivar selection for targeted CS.


Author(s):  
Marianna Fenzi ◽  
Paul Rogé ◽  
Angel Cruz-Estrada ◽  
John Tuxill ◽  
Devra Jarvis

AbstractLocal seed systems remain the fundamental source of seeds for many crops in developing countries. Climate resilience for small holder farmers continues to depend largely on locally available seeds of traditional crop varieties. High rainfall events can have as significant an impact on crop production as increased temperatures and drought. This article analyzes the dynamics of maize diversity over 3 years in a farming community of Yucatán state, Mexico, where elevated levels of precipitation forced farmers in 2012 to reduce maize diversity in their plots. We study how farmers maintained their agroecosystem resilience through seed networks, examining the drivers influencing maize diversity and seed provisioning in the year preceding and following the 2012 climatic disturbance (2011–2013). We found that, under these challenging circumstances, farmers focused their efforts on their most reliable landraces, disregarding hybrids. We show that farmers were able to recover and restore the diversity usually cultivated in the community in the year following the critical climate event. The maize dynamic assessed in this study demonstrates the importance of community level conservation of crop diversity. Understanding farmer management strategies of agrobiodiversity, especially during a challenging climatic period, is necessary to promote a more tailored response to climate change in traditional farming systems.


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