Soil Science Commons^™

Adjusting Ley Grassland Duration In Crop Rotations To Reconcile Food Production And Soil Carbon Stocks, Abad Chabbi

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Introduction of grasslands into cropping systems represents a strategy to ensure food production while reducing soil carbon losses. Yet, mixed crop and grassland management systems need to be evaluated in terms of achieving balanced food production and soil carbon (C) sustainability. The objectives of the study are: 1) to explore the impact of grassland duration on C input and soil C changes in agricultural systems; and 2) to test the variation in C input and soil C changes between rotations using grassland fertilized at high or low Nitrogen (N) application rates and their impacts on productivity. Field data regarding C …

Production Systems To Integrate Livestock Grazing And Grain Production In Southern Brazil And Midwestern Usa, R. Mark Sulc, A. Moraes, S. J. Alves, A. Pelissari, Paulo C. De F. Carvalho, C. R. Lang

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Agriculture in the USA and Brazil has undergone similar and dramatic changes in the past 20 years. In both countries, production systems have become increasingly specialized. Large farms are characterized by single enterprises, simple crop rotations, and livestock production is segregated from grain production. The lack of diversification and high production costs expose producers to risk from economic swings of single enterprises and greater reliance on pesticides and synthetic fertilizers to maintain profitability, along with greater risk of soil erosion from continuous row crop production. Scientists in southern Brazil and Ohio are collaborating to develop no-tillage systems that integrate livestock …

Previous Grass-Lucerne Mixtures Affect Barley Yield And Quality In A Semiarid Location Of The Canadian Prairie Region, P. G. Jefferson, F. Selles, R. P. Zentner, R. Lemke

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

In the semiarid region of the Canadian prairies perennial forages are not rotated with annual crops because previous experiments reported negative impacts (Kilcher and Anderson 1963; Campbell et al. 1990). However, previous research used persistent species while short-lived species could have less adverse effect. Our objective was to compare three grass species in three lucerne mixtures terminated with tillage or herbicide for effects on barley grain, N concentration, and N uptake.

Potential Of Crop Rotation Using Forages In The Tropics, P. L. Mafongoya

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Soil fertility is a fundamental biophysical root cause of food insecurity sub-Saharan Africa. Low quality crop residues and grasses during the dry season also limit animal productivity. Forage legumes (herbaceous and tree legumes) have great potential to increase crop animal productivity. Technologies have been developed over the past 3 decades to fully integrate forage legumes into farming. Most of these technologies are still on shelves with low adoption by farmers. Rhe role of forage legumes in nutrient cycling is reviewed in this paper. The factor limiting adoption will also be discussed. Innovative dissemination pathways to increase adoption will be suggested.

Nitrogen Fertilizer Showed Little Effect On First- And Second-Year Corn Yield And Quality Following Alfalfa, Bailey Brent Shaffer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Silage corn (Zea mays L.) following alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a common crop rotation in Utah and southern Idaho. This is done, in part, to take advantage of residual nitrogen (N) fixed by bacteria that work in symbiosis with the roots of alfalfa. After alfalfa is terminated, much of the N that was fixed by the plant is released into the soil and becomes available for use by the rotational crop. This reduces the amount of N fertilizer that growers need to apply. The Utah Fertilizer Guide currently recommends an N credit to a rotational crop following …

Contribution Of Annual Legumes Pasture To The Cereal In Mediterranean Agriculture Systems, Carlos Ovalle, Soledad Espinoza, Alejandro Del Pozo, Viviana Barahona

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

The depletion of fossil fuels, the high demand of food for a constantly growing human population and, more recently, the strong expansion of biofuel crops, are causing sharp increases in the prices of fertilizers particularly nitrogen (N)(Crews and Peoples 2004; Jensen et al. 2011). Faced with this future scenario of high cost of N fertilizer, there is increasing interest in using legumes as N sources for sustainable agriculture and livestock. In the dryland (rainfed) cropping area of the Mediterranean climatic region of central Chile, bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is predominantly grown in rotation with oats (Avena …

Simulating Management Effects On Crop Production, Tile Drainage, And Water Quality Using Rzwqm–Dssat, S. A. Saseendran, Liwang Ma, Robert W. Malone, Philip Heilman, Lajpat R. Ahuja, Ramesh S. Kanwar, Douglas L. Karlen, G. Hoogenboom

Douglas L Karlen

The objective of this study was to explore if more crop-specific plant growth modules can improve simulations of crop yields, and N in tile flow under different management practices compared with a generic plant growth module. We calibrated and evaluated the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) with the Decision Support for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT v3.5) plant growth modules (RZWQM–DSSAT) for simulating tillage (NT — no till, RT — ridge till, CP — chisel plow, and MP — moldboard plow), crop rotation {CC — continuous corn, and CS — corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]}, and nitrogen (N) …

Evaluating And Predicting Agricultural Management Effects Under Tile Drainage Using Modified Apsim, Robert W. Malone, N. Huth, P. S. Carberry, Liwang Ma, Thomas C. Kaspar, Douglas L. Karlen, T. Meade, Ramesh S. Kanwar, Philip Heilman

Douglas L Karlen

An accurate and management sensitive simulation model for tile-drained Midwestern soils is needed to optimize the use of agricultural management practices (e.g., winter cover crops) to reduce nitrate leaching without adversely affecting corn yield. Our objectives were to enhance the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) for tile drainage, test the modified model for several management scenarios, and then predict nitrate leaching with and without winter wheat cover crop. Twelve years of data (1990–2001) from northeast Iowa were used for model testing. Management scenarios included continuous corn and corn–soybean rotations with single or split N applications. For 38 of 44 observations, …

Rzwqm Simulation Of Long-Term Crop Production, Water And Nitrogen Balances In Northeast Iowa, L. Ma, Robert W. Malone, Philip Heilman, Douglas L. Karlen, Ramesh S. Kanwar, Cynthia A. Cambardella, S. A. Saseendran, Lajpat R. Ahuja

Douglas L Karlen

Agricultural system models are tools to represent and understand major processes and their interactions in agricultural systems. We used the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) with 26 years of data from a study near Nashua, IA to evaluate year to year crop yield, water, and N balances. The model was calibrated using data from one 0.4 ha plot and evaluated by comparing simulated values with data from 29 of the 36 plots at the same research site (six were excluded). The dataset contains measured tile flow that varied considerably from plot to plot so we calibrated total tile flow …

Simulated N Management Effects On Corn Yield And Tile-Drainage Nitrate Loss, Robert W. Malone, Liwang Ma, Philip Heilman, Douglas L. Karlen, Ramesh S. Kanwar, Jerry L. Hatfield

Douglas L Karlen

Thoroughly tested simulation models are needed to help quantify the long-term effects of agriculture. We evaluated the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) response to different N management strategies and then used the tested model with observed weather data from 1961–2003 to quantify long-term effects on corn (Zea mays L.) yield and flow weighted nitrate-N concentration in subsurface “tile” drainage water (Nconc). Fourteen years (1990–2003) of field data from 30, 0.4 ha plots in northeast Iowa were available for model testing. Annual crop yield, nitrate-N loss to subsurface “tile” drainage water (Nloss), Nconc, and subsurface “tile” drainage amount (drain) …

Management Strategies To Improve Yield And Nitrogen Use Of Spring Wheat And Field Pea In The Semi-Arid Northern Great Plains Usa, Andrew W. Lenssen, Brett Allen, Upendra Sainju, Thecan Caesar, Robert Lartey, Robert Evans

Andrew W. Lenssen

Available water and N fertility are primary constraints to crop production in the northern Great Plains of the USA. A field trial was initiated in 2004 to compare four crop rotations in a complete factorial of two tillage and two management systems. Rotations were continuous spring wheat (SW), pea-SW, barley hay-pea-SW, and barley hay-corn-pea-SW. Tillage systems were no till and field cultivator tillage, while management systems were conventional and ecological. Conventional management included broadcast nitrogen fertilizer, standard seeding rates, and short stubble height. Ecological management practices varied by crop, and included banded nitrogen fertilizer for cereals, increased seeding rate, delayed …

Crop Updates 2000 - Lupins, Bill O'Neill, Geoff Thomas, Mark Sweetinham, Kedar Adhikari, Nick Galwey, Miles Dracup, Bob French, Debbie Thackray, Jenny Hawkes, Roger Jones, Françoise Berlandier, Yvonne Cheng, Lisa Smith, Chris Gazey, Michael O'Connell, Peter Carlton, John R. Peirce, Brad J. Rayner, Terry Piper, Peter Newman, Cameron Weeks, Mohammad Amjad, Glen Riethmuller, Paul Blackwell, Jairo A. Palta, Neil C. Turner, Robert J. French, Tim Setter

Crop Updates

This session covers nineteen papers from different authors:

1.1999 Lupin Highlights, Bill O’Neill, LUPIN PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

LUPIN ANTHRACNOSE

2. Anthracnose – 1999/2000, Geoff Thomas and Mark Sweetingham, Agriculture Western Australia

LUPIN BREEDING AND AGRONOMY

3. The genetic control of mildly restricted branching in narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus augustifolius L), Kedar Adhikari^1,3, Nick Galwey^1,3 and Miles Dracup^2,3 1Plant Sciences, University of Western Australia 2Agriculture Western Australia ³Cooperative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture, University of Western Australia

4. Genotype x time of sowing interaction in lupins – Mingenew, Bob French, …

Effect Of Crop Rotation On Corn And Soybean Yields, James H. Herbek, Lloyd W. Murdock, T. Gray

Soil Science News and Views

Yield of both corn and soybeans has been shown to increase when grown in a rotation as compared to continuous cropping of either of the two crops. These yield improvements are commonly associated with fewer disease, insect and weed problems; better soil tilth; and in the case of corn, a nitrogen contribution from the preceding soybean crop. One or a combination of these factors are believed to have an effect. In the past few decades the yield benefits of rotations were often overlooked as fertilizers and pesticides were used as a substitute for crop rotation. However, research has shown that …