Seasonal levels of available nutrients under grassed down, Cultivated and zero tilled orchard soil management practices

Soil Research ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 363 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Haynes ◽  
KM Goh

The effects of zero-tillage, clean cultivation or the maintenance of a sward on the seasonal levels of available nutrients in a silt loam were examined during the third season of an orchard soil management trial. Total nitrogen and sulfur and oxidizable carbon were highest in the surface soil of grassed plots, intermediate in untilled plots and lowest in cultivated plots. The seasonal pattern in levels of nitrate nitrogen and sulfate sulfur showed similar trends in both the surface soil down the profile. Levels of both nitrate nitrogen and sulfate sulfur in the top 5 cm of soil remained high for a longer period into autumn under zero-tillage than under cultivation. During the summer and autumn period, concentrations of nitrate nitrogen in the surface soil from non-grassed treatments were notably higher than those from grassed plots. There was an accumulation of sodium bicarbonate extractable phosphorus and total phosphorus in the surface soil of untilled plots and a phosphorus fractionation indicated the accumulation of phosphorus in the aluminium and iron phosphate fractions. To a lesser extent exchangeable phosphate also accumulated at the surface of the untilled soil. Levels of exchangeable calcium and magnesium in the surface soil under the grassed treatment were markedly higher than those from the non-grassed treatments, indicating less leaching of cations in the former treatment. The possible relevance of the results is discussed in terms of orchard nutrition and maintenance of soil fertility.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Jegede Modupe Eunice ◽  
Sennuga Samson Olayemi

The study examined the socio economic factors influencing the effectiveness of improved soil management practices among rice farmers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The study was conducted in Gwagwalada, FCT, Abuja. Two objectives guided the study. The study adopted descriptive research design. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select rice farmers, while a well-structured questionnaire was used for data collection from the 360 rice farmers used for the study. Objectives of the study were achieved using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. The results show that 58.06% of the rice farmers were male, 36.13% were between the ages of 30 and 39years, 47.74% of them were married with 40% having an average of 5 people in their households. Also 61.94% had at most a national certificate of education (NCE). Majority (44.84) of the rice farmers had a farm size of between half a hectare and two hectares. Zero tillage, with a weighted mean score of 2.95, is the most effective soil management practice in the study area, while fertilizer application with a mean score of 3.2 is the most effective fertility practice among the rice farmers in the study area. The result further revealed that with a weighted mean score of 2.5, the respondents agree with the assertion that location of the soil determines the effectiveness of management practices. The result of the logistic regression shows that sex, age, education and farm size all had significant influences on the effectiveness of soil management practices in the study area. It was recommended that manual tillage should be mostly carried out by rice farmer to improve the level of production, use of fertilizer by the farmers to improve the land fertility level should be encouraged, terracing is required to control erosion as most of the rice farm lands are areas that require water which have high tendency of erosion, soil rotation should be practiced where soil is much available to reduce the level of degradation, organic farming should be practiced to reduce the application of chemicals that will constitute hazard to the soil. Keywords: Rice farmers, improved soil management, adoption, effectiveness, zero tillage


2015 ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Forge ◽  
G. Neilsen ◽  
D. Neilsen ◽  
D. O'Gorman ◽  
E. Hogue ◽  
...  

This book, based on research carried out at the Academia Sinica over the past 30 years, explains the basic difference between the variable charge soils of tropical and subtropical regions, and the constant charge soils of temperate regions. It will focus on the chemical properties of the variable charge soils--properties which have important bearing on soil management practices, including maximizing soil productivity and combating soil pollution.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1241
Author(s):  
Stanko Vršič ◽  
Marko Breznik ◽  
Borut Pulko ◽  
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino

Earthworms are key indicators of soil quality and health in vineyards, but research that considers different soil management systems, especially in Slovenian viticultural areas is scarce. In this investigation, the impact of different soil management practices such as permanent green cover, the use of herbicides in row and inter-row areas, use of straw mulch, and shallow soil tillage compared to meadow control for earthworm abundance, were assessed. The biomass and abundance of earthworms (m2) and distribution in various soil layers were quantified for three years. Monitoring and a survey covering 22 May 2014 to 5 October 2016 in seven different sampling dates, along with a soil profile at the depth from 0 to 60 cm, were carried out. Our results showed that the lowest mean abundance and biomass of earthworms in all sampling periods were registered along the herbicide strip (within the rows). The highest abundance was found in the straw mulch and permanent green cover treatments (higher than in the control). On the plots where the herbicide was applied to the complete inter-row area, the abundance of the earthworm community decreased from the beginning to the end of the monitoring period. In contrast, shallow tillage showed a similar trend of declining earthworm abundance, which could indicate a deterioration of soil biodiversity conditions. We concluded that different soil management practices greatly affect the soil’s environmental conditions (temperature and humidity), especially in the upper soil layer (up to 15 cm deep), which affects the abundance of the earthworm community. Our results demonstrated that these practices need to be adapted to the climate and weather conditions, and also to human impacts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1991
Author(s):  
Silvia Stanchi ◽  
Odoardo Zecca ◽  
Csilla Hudek ◽  
Emanuele Pintaldi ◽  
Davide Viglietti ◽  
...  

We studied the effects of three soil management approaches (permanent grassing, chemical weeding, and buffer strips), and the additional impact of tractor passage on soil erosion in a sloping vineyard located in the inner part of Aosta Valley (N-W Italian Alps). The vineyard rows were equipped with a sediment collection system with channels and barrel tanks. A total of 12 events with sediment production were observed across 6 years, and the collected sediments were weighted and analyzed. Average erosion rates ranged from negligible (mainly in grassed rows) to 1.1 t ha−1 per event (after weeding). The most erosive event occurred in July 2015, with a total rainfall of 32.2 mm, of which 20.1 were recorded in 1 h. Despite the limited number of erosive events observed, and the low measured erosion rates, permanent grassing reduced soil erosion considerably with respect to weeding; buffering had a comparable effect to grassing. The tractor passage, independent of the soil management approaches adopted, visibly accelerated the erosion process. The collected sediments were highly enriched in organic C, total N, and fine size fractions, indicating a potential loss of fertility over time. Despite the measured erosion rates being low over the experiment’s duration, more severe events are well documented in the recent past, and the number of intense storms is likely to increase due to climate change. Thus, the potential effects of erosion in the medium and long term need to be limited to a minimum rate of soil loss. Our experiment helped to compare soil losses by erosion under different soil management practices, including permanent grassing, i.e., a nature-based erosion mitigation measure. The results of the research can provide useful indications for planners and practitioners in similar regions, for sustainable, cross-sectoral soil management, and the enhancement of soil ecosystem services.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirko Castellini ◽  
Anna Maria Stellacci ◽  
Danilo Sisto ◽  
Massimo Iovino

The multi-height (low, L = 3 cm; intermediate, M = 100 cm; high, H = 200 cm) Beerkan run methodology was applied on both a minimum tilled (MT) (i.e., up to a depth of 30 cm) and a no-tilled (NT) bare loam soil, and the soil water retention curve was estimated by the BEST-steady algorithm. Three indicators of soil physical quality (SPQ), i.e., macroporosity (Pmac), air capacity (AC) and relative field capacity (RFC) were calculated to assess the impact of water pouring height under alternative soil management practices. Results showed that, compared to the reference low run, M and H runs affected both the estimated soil water retention curves and derived SPQ indicators. Generally, M–H runs significantly reduced the mean values of Pmac and AC and increased RFC for both MT and NT soil management practices. According to the guidelines for assessment of SPQ, the M and H runs: (i) worsened Pmac classification of both MT and NT soils; (ii) did not worsen AC classification, regardless of soil management parameters; (iii) worsened RFC classification of only NT soil, as a consequence of insufficient soil aeration. For both soil management techniques, a strong negative correlation was found between the Pmac and AC values and the gravitational potential energy, Ep, of the water used for the infiltration runs. A positive correlation was detected between RFC and Ep. The relationships were plausible from a soil physics point of view. NT soil has proven to be more resilient than MT. This study contributes toward testing simple and robust methods capable of quantifying soil degradation effects, due to intense rainfall events, under different soil management practices in the Mediterranean environment.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document