WorldWideScience

Sample records for crop residue management

  1. Crop residue management in arable cropping systems under a temperate climate. Part 2: Soil physical properties and crop production. A review

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    Hiel, MP.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Residues of previous crops provide a valuable amount of organic matter that can be used either to restore soil fertility or for external use. A better understanding of the impact of crop residue management on the soil-water-plant system is needed in order to manage agricultural land sustainably. This review focuses on soil physical aspects related to crop residue management, and specifically on the link between soil structure and hydraulic properties and its impact on crop production. Literature. Conservation practices, including crop residue retention and non-conventional tillage, can enhance soil health by improving aggregate stability. In this case, water infiltration is facilitated, resulting in an increase in plant water availability. Conservation practices, however, do not systematically lead to higher water availability for the plant. The influence of crop residue management on crop production is still unclear; in some cases, crop production is enhanced by residue retention, but in others crop residues can reduce crop yield. Conclusions. In this review we discuss the diverse and contrasting effects of crop residue management on soil physical properties and crop production under a temperate climate. The review highlights the importance of environmental factors such as soil type and local climatic conditions, highlighting the need to perform field studies on crop residue management and relate them to specific pedo-climatic contexts.

  2. Cover crop residue management for optimizing weed control

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kruidhof, H.M.; Bastiaans, L.; Kropff, M.J.

    2009-01-01

    Although residue management seems a key factor in residue-mediated weed suppression, very few studies have systematically compared the influence of different residue management strategies on the establishment of crop and weed species. We evaluated the effect of several methods of pre-treatment and

  3. Management of crop residues for sustainable crop production. Results of a co-ordinated research project 1996-2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-05-01

    Since ancient times, farmers have recognized the importance of organic matter inputs to enhance crop yields. Organic matter contributes to plant growth through beneficial effects on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil, including (i) provision of a carbon and energy source for soil microbes, (ii) improvement of soil aggregation, thus reducing the hazard of erosion, (iii) retaining of nutrients and water, (iv) provision of nutrients through decomposition, and (v) reduction of soil compaction. The amount of soil organic matter is controlled by the balance between additions of plant and animal materials and losses by decomposition. Both additions and losses are directly affected by management practices. This CRP supported national efforts in eleven Member States to identify options managing crop residues for sustainable agricultural production and environmental preservation in a wide range of soils and cropping systems. Various options for the recycling of crop residues that are sustainable and economically attractive to farmers were examined using isotopic techniques. The specific options of this CRP were: to increase the quantity of nutrients available to crops from organic sources and for more effective recycling of those nutrients; to enhance the efficiency of use of nutrients by crops, and minimize losses through improved synchrony between process-level understanding of carbon and nutrient flow through the use of isotopic techniques so that management recommendations can be extrapolated to a wide range of environments using models. A simple mathematical model, descriptive in nature, was developed to synthesize information collected from all experimental sites, allowing comparisons between treatments and sites. Most of the fertilizer N was lost during the first cropping season and only insignificant losses occurred in the following seasons. The losses of N from applied fertilizer ranged from 45 to 85% irrespective of crop-residue

  4. Impact of crop residue management on crop production and soil chemistry after seven years of crop rotation in temperate climate, loamy soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiel, Marie-Pierre; Barbieux, Sophie; Pierreux, Jérôme; Olivier, Claire; Lobet, Guillaume; Roisin, Christian; Garré, Sarah; Colinet, Gilles; Bodson, Bernard; Dumont, Benjamin

    2018-01-01

    Society is increasingly demanding a more sustainable management of agro-ecosystems in a context of climate change and an ever growing global population. The fate of crop residues is one of the important management aspects under debate, since it represents an unneglectable quantity of organic matter which can be kept in or removed from the agro-ecosystem. The topic of residue management is not new, but the need for global conclusion on the impact of crop residue management on the agro-ecosystem linked to local pedo-climatic conditions has become apparent with an increasing amount of studies showing a diversity of conclusions. This study specifically focusses on temperate climate and loamy soil using a seven-year data set. Between 2008 and 2016, we compared four contrasting residue management strategies differing in the amount of crop residues returned to the soil (incorporation vs. exportation of residues) and in the type of tillage (reduced tillage (10 cm depth) vs. conventional tillage (ploughing at 25 cm depth)) in a field experiment. We assessed the impact of the crop residue management on crop production (three crops-winter wheat, faba bean and maize-cultivated over six cropping seasons), soil organic carbon content, nitrate ([Formula: see text]), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) soil content and uptake by the crops. The main differences came primarily from the tillage practice and less from the restitution or removal of residues. All years and crops combined, conventional tillage resulted in a yield advantage of 3.4% as compared to reduced tillage, which can be partly explained by a lower germination rate observed under reduced tillage, especially during drier years. On average, only small differences were observed for total organic carbon (TOC) content of the soil, but reduced tillage resulted in a very clear stratification of TOC and also of P and K content as compared to conventional tillage. We observed no effect of residue management on the [Formula: see

  5. Impact of crop residue management on crop production and soil chemistry after seven years of crop rotation in temperate climate, loamy soils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Pierre Hiel

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Society is increasingly demanding a more sustainable management of agro-ecosystems in a context of climate change and an ever growing global population. The fate of crop residues is one of the important management aspects under debate, since it represents an unneglectable quantity of organic matter which can be kept in or removed from the agro-ecosystem. The topic of residue management is not new, but the need for global conclusion on the impact of crop residue management on the agro-ecosystem linked to local pedo-climatic conditions has become apparent with an increasing amount of studies showing a diversity of conclusions. This study specifically focusses on temperate climate and loamy soil using a seven-year data set. Between 2008 and 2016, we compared four contrasting residue management strategies differing in the amount of crop residues returned to the soil (incorporation vs. exportation of residues and in the type of tillage (reduced tillage (10 cm depth vs. conventional tillage (ploughing at 25 cm depth in a field experiment. We assessed the impact of the crop residue management on crop production (three crops—winter wheat, faba bean and maize—cultivated over six cropping seasons, soil organic carbon content, nitrate ( ${\\mathrm{NO}}_{3}^{-}$ NO 3 − , phosphorus (P and potassium (K soil content and uptake by the crops. The main differences came primarily from the tillage practice and less from the restitution or removal of residues. All years and crops combined, conventional tillage resulted in a yield advantage of 3.4% as compared to reduced tillage, which can be partly explained by a lower germination rate observed under reduced tillage, especially during drier years. On average, only small differences were observed for total organic carbon (TOC content of the soil, but reduced tillage resulted in a very clear stratification of TOC and also of P and K content as compared to conventional tillage. We observed no effect of residue

  6. Diversity in crop residue management across an intensification gradient in southern Africa

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rusinamhodzi, Leonard; Corbeels, Marc; Giller, Ken E.

    2016-01-01

    Crop residues are important for livestock feed and nutrient cycling among many other functions on smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to assess differences in resource endowment, crop productivity and crop residue management in selected sites in

  7. Weed management practice and cropping sequence impact on soil residual nitrogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inefficient N uptake by crops from N fertilization and/or N mineralized from crop residue and soil organic matter results in the accumulation of soil residual N (NH4-N and NO3-N) which increases the potential for N leaching. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of weed management ...

  8. Cover crops and crop residue management under no-till systems improve soils and environmental quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Sandeep; Wegner, Brianna; Vahyala, Ibrahim; Osborne, Shannon; Schumacher, Thomas; Lehman, Michael

    2015-04-01

    cover crop management had lower N2O fluxes than soils that did not have a cover crop. Results from this study concluded that it is important to allow crop residues to return to the soil as they help to improve soil quality indicators. The presence of cover crops also will contribute to the improvement of these indicators once established and may help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

  9. Review of Alternative Management Options of Vegetable Crop Residues to Reduce Nitrate Leaching in Intensive Vegetable Rotations

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    Laura Agneessens

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Vegetable crop residues take a particular position relative to arable crops due to often large amounts of biomass with a N content up to 200 kg N ha−1 left behind on the field. An important amount of vegetable crops are harvested during late autumn and despite decreasing soil temperatures during autumn, high rates of N mineralization and nitrification still occur. Vegetable crop residues may lead to considerable N losses through leaching during winter and pose a threat to meeting water quality objectives. However, at the same time vegetable crop residues are a vital link in closing the nutrient and organic matter cycle of soils. Appropriate and sustainable management is needed to harness the full potential of vegetable crop residues. Two fundamentally different crop residue management strategies to reduce N losses during winter in intensive vegetable rotations are reviewed, namely (i on-field management options and modifications to crop rotations and (ii removal of crop residues, followed by a useful and profitable application.

  10. EFFECT OF DIFFERENT COVER CROP RESIDUES, MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON SOIL MOISTURE CONTENT UNDER A TOMATO CROP (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM

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    George Njomo Karuku

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available SUMMARYThe soil water storage, soil water content, available water content and soil water balance under various cover crop residue management practices in a Nitisol were evaluated in a field experiment at the Kabete Field Station, University of Nairobi. The effects of surface mulching, above and below ground biomass and roots only incorporated of (mucuna pruriens, Tanzanian sunnhemp (Crotalaria ochroleuca and Vetch (Vicia benghalensis cover crops, fertilizer and non fertilized plots on soil water balance were studied. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum was used as the test crop. Since water content was close to field capacity, the drainage component at 100 cm soil depth was negligible and evapotranspiration was therefore derived from the change in soil moisture storage and precipitation. Residue management showed that above and below ground biomass incorporated optimized the partitioning of the water balance components, increasing moisture storage, leading to increased tomato yields and water use efficiency. Furthermore, vetch above and below ground biomass incorporated significantly improved the quantity and frequency of deep percolation. Soil fertilization (F and non fertilization (NF caused the most unfavourable partitioning of water balance, leading to the lowest yield and WUE. Tomato yields ranged from 4.1 in NF to 7.4 Mg ha-1 in Vetch treated plots. Vetch above and belowground biomass incorporated had significant (p ≤ 0.1 yields of 11.4 Mg ha-1 compared to all other residue management systems. Vetch residue treatment had the highest WUE (22.7 kg mm-1 ha-1 followed by mucuna treated plots (20.7 kg mm-1 ha-1 and both were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05 compared to the others irrespective of residue management practices.

  11. Effect of tillage and crop residue management on nematode densities on corn.

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    McSorley, R; Gallaher, R N

    1994-12-01

    Effects of winter cover crop management on nematode densities associated with a subsequent corn (Zea mays) crop were examined in five sites in north Florida. Two sites had received winter cover crops of lupine (Lupinus angustifolius), and one site each had rye (Secale cereale), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum). In each site, five different management regimes were compared: 1) conventional tillage after the cover crop was removed for forage; 2) conventional tillage with the cover crop retained as green manure; 3) no-till with the cover crop mowed and used as a mulch; 4) no-till with the cover crop removed as forage; and 5) fallow. Sites were sampled at corn planting and harvest for estimates of initial (Pi) and final (Pf) nematode population densities, respectively. Whether the cover crop was removed as forage or retained as green manure or mulch had no effect (P > 0.10) on population densities of any plant-parasitic nematode before or after corn at any site. Differences between conventional-till and no-till treatments were significant (P cover crop residues had little consistent effect on nematodes, and these practices should be considered based on agronomic benefits rather than for nematode management.

  12. MAIZE YIELD AND ITS STABILITY AS AFFECTED BY TILLAGE AND CROP RESIDUE MANAGEMENT IN THE EASTERN ROMANIAN DANUBE PLAIN

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    Alexandru COCIU

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Rainfed crop management systems need to be optimized to provide more resilient options in order to cope with projected climatic scenarios which are forecasting a decrease in mean precipitation and more frequent extreme drought periods in the Eastern Romanian Danube Plain. This research, carried out in the period of 2011-2014, had as main purpose the determination of influence of tillage practices and residue management on rainfall use efficiency, maize yield and its stability, in order to evaluate the advantages of conservation agriculture (CA in the time of stabilization of direct seeding effects, in comparison with traditional chisel tillage. The maize grain yields are presented for each crop management practices, as follows: (1 chisel tillage, retained crop residues being chopped and incorporated (ciz; (2 zero tillage, retained crop residue chopped and kept on the field in short flat condition (rvt; (3 zero tillage, crop residues kept on the field in short root-anchored condition (1/2rva, and (4 zero tillage, crop residues kept on the field in tall root-anchored condition (1/1rva. In 2012, a year with prolonged drought during vegetative growth, yield differences between zero tillage with short root-anchored residue retention (1/2rva and chisel tillage with residue incorporation (ciz were positive, up to 840 kg ha-1. In average over 2011-2014, conservation agriculture (CA practices had a yield advantage over traditional chisel tillage practice. Zero tillage with residue retention used rainfall more efficiently so suggesting that it is a more resilient agronomic system than traditional (conventional practices involving chisel tillage with residue incorporation.

  13. Tillage and residue management effect on soil properties, crop performance and energy relations in greengram (Vigna radiata L. under maize-based cropping systems

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    J.R. Meena

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Effect of tillage and crop residue management on soil properties, crop performance, energy relations and economics in greengram (Vigna radiata L. was evaluated under four maize-based cropping systems in an Inceptisol of Delhi, India. Soil bulk density, hydraulic conductivity and aggregation at 0–15 cm layer were significantly affected both by tillage and cropping systems, while zero tillage significantly increased the soil organic carbon content. Yields of greengram were significantly higher in maize–chickpea and maize–mustard systems, more so with residue addition. When no residue was added, conventional tillage required 20% higher energy inputs than the zero tillage, while the residue addition increased the energy output in both tillage practices. Maize–wheat–greengram cropping system involved the maximum energy requirement and the cost of production. However, the largest net return was obtained from the maize–chickpea–greengram system under the conventional tillage with residue incorporation. Although zero tillage resulted in better aggregation, C content and N availability in soil, and reduced the energy inputs, cultivation of summer greengram appeared to be profitable under conventional tillage system with residue incorporation.

  14. Impact of Corn Residue Removal on Crop and Soil Productivity

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    Johnson, J. M.; Wilhelm, W. W.; Hatfield, J. L.; Voorhees, W. B.; Linden, D.

    2003-12-01

    Over-reliance on imported fuels, increasing atmospheric levels of greenhouses and sustaining food production for a growing population are three of the most important problems facing society in the mid-term. The US Department of Energy and private enterprise are developing technology necessary to use high cellulose feedstock, such as crop residues, for ethanol production. Based on production levels, corn (Zea mays L.) residue has potential as a biofuel feedstock. Crop residues are a renewable and domestic fuel source, which can reduce the rate of fossil fuel use (both imported and domestic) and provide an additional farm commodity. Crop residues protect the soil from wind and water erosion, provide inputs to form soil organic matter (a critical component determining soil quality) and play a role in nutrient cycling. Crop residues impact radiation balance and energy fluxes and reduce evaporation. Therefore, the benefits of using crop residues as fuel, which removes crop residues from the field, must be balanced against negative environmental impacts (e.g. soil erosion), maintaining soil organic matter levels, and preserving or enhancing productivity. All ramifications of new management practices and crop uses must be explored and evaluated fully before an industry is established. There are limited numbers of long-term studies with soil and crop responses to residue removal that range from negative to negligible. The range of crop and soil responses to crop residue removal was attributed to interactions with climate, management and soil type. Within limits, corn residue can be harvested for ethanol production to provide a renewable, domestic source of energy feedstock that reduces greenhouse gases. Removal rates must vary based on regional yield, climatic conditions and cultural practices. Agronomists are challenged to develop a protocol (tool) for recommending maximum permissible removal rates that ensure sustained soil productivity.

  15. Fluorescence imaging to quantify crop residue cover

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    Daughtry, C. S. T.; Mcmurtrey, J. E., III; Chappelle, E. W.

    1994-01-01

    Crop residues, the portion of the crop left in the field after harvest, can be an important management factor in controlling soil erosion. Methods to quantify residue cover are needed that are rapid, accurate, and objective. Scenes with known amounts of crop residue were illuminated with long wave ultraviolet (UV) radiation and fluorescence images were recorded with an intensified video camera fitted with a 453 to 488 nm band pass filter. A light colored soil and a dark colored soil were used as background for the weathered soybean stems. Residue cover was determined by counting the proportion of the pixels in the image with fluorescence values greater than a threshold. Soil pixels had the lowest gray levels in the images. The values of the soybean residue pixels spanned nearly the full range of the 8-bit video data. Classification accuracies typically were within 3(absolute units) of measured cover values. Video imaging can provide an intuitive understanding of the fraction of the soil covered by residue.

  16. Influence of crop management practices on bean foliage arthropods.

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    Pereira, J L; Picanço, M C; Pereira, E J G; Silva, A A; Jakelaitis, A; Pereira, R R; Xavier, V M

    2010-12-01

    Crop management practices can affect the population of phytophagous pest species and beneficial arthropods with consequences for integrated pest management. In this study, we determined the effect of no-tillage and crop residue management on the arthropod community associated with the canopy of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Abundance and species composition of herbivorous, detritivorous, predaceous and parasitoid arthropods were recorded during the growing seasons of 2003 and 2004 in Coimbra County, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Arthropod diversity and guild composition were similar among crop management systems, but their abundance was higher under no-tillage relative to conventional cultivation and where residues from the preceding crop were maintained in the field. Thirty-four arthropod species were recorded, and those most representative of the impact of the crop management practices were Hypogastrura springtails, Empoasca kraemeri and Circulifer leafhoppers, and Solenopsis ants. The infestation levels of major insect-pests, especially leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), was on average seven-fold lower under no-tillage with retention of crop residues relative to the conventional system with removal of residues, whereas the abundance of predatory ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and springtails (Collembola: Hypogastruridae) were, respectively, about seven- and 15-fold higher in that treatment. Importantly, a significant trophic interaction among crop residues, detritivores, predators and herbivores was observed. Plots managed with no-tillage and retention of crop residues had the highest bean yield, while those with conventional cultivation and removal of the crop residues yielded significantly less beans. This research shows that cropping systems that include zero tillage and crop residue retention can reduce infestation by foliar insect-pests and increase abundance of predators and detritivores, thus having direct consequences for insect pest management.

  17. Crop residue harvest for bioenergy production and its implications on soil functioning and plant growth: A review

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    Maurício Roberto Cherubin

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The use of crop residues as a bioenergy feedstock is considered a potential strategy to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG emissions. However, indiscriminate harvesting of crop residues can induce deleterious effects on soil functioning, plant growth and other ecosystem services. Here, we have summarized the information available in the literature to identify and discuss the main trade-offs and synergisms involved in crop residue management for bioenergy production. The data consistently showed that crop residue harvest and the consequent lower input of organic matter into the soil led to C storage depletions over time, reducing cycling, supply and availability of soil nutrients, directly affecting the soil biota. Although the biota regulates key functions in the soil, crop residue can also cause proliferation of some important agricultural pests. In addition, crop residues act as physical barriers that protect the soil against raindrop impact and temperature variations. Therefore, intensive crop residue harvest can cause soil structure degradation, leading to soil compaction and increased risks of erosion. With regard to GHG emissions, there is no consensus about the potential impact of management of crop residue harvest. In general, residue harvest decreases CO2 and N2O emissions from the decomposition process, but it has no significant effect on CH4 emissions. Plant growth responses to soil and microclimate changes due to crop residue harvest are site and crop specific. Adoption of the best management practices can mitigate the adverse impacts of crop residue harvest. Longterm experiments within strategic production regions are essential to understand and monitor the impact of integrated agricultural systems and propose customized solutions for sustainable crop residue management in each region or landscape. Furthermore, private and public investments/cooperations are necessary for a better understanding of the potential environmental

  18. Plant Residual Management in different Crop Rotations System on Potato Tuber Yield Loss Affected by Wireworms

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    A. Zarea Feizabadi

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Selection a proper crop rotation based on environmental conservation rules is a key factor for increasing long term productivity. On the other hand, the major problem in reaching agricultural sustainability is lack of soil organic matter. Recently, a new viewpoint has emerged based on efficient use of inputs, environmental protection, ecological economy, food supply and security. Crop rotation cannot supply and restore plant needed nutrients, so gradually the productivity of rotation system tends to be decreased. Returning the plant residues to the soil helps to increase its organic matter and fertility in long-term period. Wireworms are multi host pests and we can see them in wheat and barley too. The logic way for their control is agronomic practices like as crop rotation. Wireworms’ population and damages are increased with using grasses and small seed gramineas in mild winters, variation in cropping pattern, reduced chemical control, and cover crops in winter. In return soil cultivation, crop rotation, planting date, fertilizing, irrigation and field health are the examples for the effective factors in reducing wireworms’ damage. Materials and Methods: In order to study the effect of crop rotations, residue management and yield damage because of wireworms’ population in soil, this experiment was conducted using four rotation systems for five years in Jolgeh- Rokh agricultural research station. Crop rotations were included, 1 Wheat monoculture for the whole period (WWWWW, 2 Wheat- wheat- wheat- canola- wheat (WWWCW, 3 Wheat- sugar beet- wheat- potato- wheat (WSWPW, 4 Wheat- maize- wheat- potato- wheat (WMWPW as main plots and three levels of returning crop residues to soil (returning 0, 50 and 100% produced crop residues to soil were allocated as sub plots. This experiment was designed as split plot based on RCBD design with three replications. After ending each rotation treatment, the field was sowed with potato cv. Agria

  19. Modeling crop residue burning experiments to evaluate smoke emissions and plume transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crop residue burning is a common land management practice that results in emissions of a variety of pollutants with negative health impacts. Modeling systems are used to estimate air quality impacts of crop residue burning to support retrospective regulatory assessments and also ...

  20. Measurement of the fluorescence of crop residues: A tool for controlling soil erosion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daughtry, C. S. T.; Mcmurtrey, J. E., III; Chappelle, E. W.; Hunter, W. J.

    1994-01-01

    Management of crop residues, the portion of a crop left in the field after harvest, is an important conservation practice for minimizing soil erosion and for improving water quality. Quantification of crop residue cover is required to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation tillage practices. Methods are needed to quantify residue cover that are rapid, accurate, and objective. The fluorescence of crop residue was found to be a broadband phenomenon with emission maxima at 420 to 495 nm for excitations of 350 to 420 nm. Soils had low intensity broadband emissions over the 400 to 690 nm region for excitations of 300 to 600 nm. The range of relative fluorescence intensities for the crop residues was much greater than the fluorescence observed of the soils. As the crop residues decompose their blue fluorescence values approach the fluorescence of the soil. Fluorescence techniques are concluded to be less ambiguous and better suited for discriminating crop residues and soils than reflectance methods. If properly implemented, fluorescence techniques can be used to quantify, not only crop residue cover, but also photosynthetic efficiency in the field.

  1. Alternatives to crop residues for soil amendment

    OpenAIRE

    Powell, J.M.; Unger, P.W.

    1997-01-01

    Metadata only record In semiarid agroecosystems, crop residues can provide important benefits of soil and water conservation, nutrient cycling, and improved subsequent crop yields. However, there are frequently multiple competing uses for residues, including animal forage, fuel, and construction material. This chapter discusses the various uses of crop residues and examines alternative soil amendments when crop residues cannot be left on the soil.

  2. Spatial Variability Mapping of Crop Residue Using Hyperion (EO-1 Hyperspectral Data

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    Abderrazak Bannari

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Soil management practices that maintain crop residue cover and reduce tillage improve soil structure, increase organic matter content in the soil, positively influence water infiltration, evaporation and soil temperature, and play an important role in fixing CO2 in the soil. Consequently, good residue management practices on agricultural land have many positive impacts on soil quality, crop production quality and decrease the rate of soil erosion. Several studies have been undertaken to develop and test methods to derive information on crop residue cover and soil tillage using empirical and semi-empirical methods in combination with remote sensing data. However, these methods are generally not sufficiently rigorous and accurate for characterizing the spatial variability of crop residue cover in agricultural fields. The goal of this research is to investigate the potential of hyperspectral Hyperion (Earth Observing-1, EO-1 data and constrained linear spectral mixture analysis (CLSMA for percent crop residue cover estimation and mapping. Hyperion data were acquired together with ground-reference measurements for validation purposes at the beginning of the agricultural season (prior to spring crop planting in Saskatchewan (Canada. At this time, only bare soil and crop residue were present with no crop cover development. In order to extract the crop residue fraction, the images were preprocessed, and then unmixed considering the entire spectral range (427 nm–2355 nm and the pure spectra (endmember. The results showed that the correlation between ground-reference measurements and extracted fractions from the Hyperion data using CLMSA showed that the model was overall a very good predictor for crop residue percent cover (index of agreement (D of 0.94, coefficient of determination (R2 of 0.73 and root mean square error (RMSE of 8.7% and soil percent cover (D of 0.91, R2 of 0.68 and RMSE of 10.3%. This performance of Hyperion is mainly due to the

  3. Crop residue decomposition in Minnesota biochar amended plots

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    Weyers, S. L.; Spokas, K. A.

    2014-02-01

    Impacts of biochar application at laboratory scales are routinely studied, but impacts of biochar application on decomposition of crop residues at field scales have not been widely addressed. The priming or hindrance of crop residue decomposition could have a cascading impact on soil processes, particularly those influencing nutrient availability. Our objectives were to evaluate biochar effects on field decomposition of crop residue, using plots that were amended with biochars made from different feedstocks and pyrolysis platforms prior to the start of this study. Litterbags containing wheat straw material were buried below the soil surface in a continuous-corn cropped field in plots that had received one of seven different biochar amendments or a non-charred wood pellet amendment 2.5 yr prior to start of this study. Litterbags were collected over the course of 14 weeks. Microbial biomass was assessed in treatment plots the previous fall. Though first-order decomposition rate constants were positively correlated to microbial biomass, neither parameter was statistically affected by biochar or wood-pellet treatments. The findings indicated only a residual of potentially positive and negative initial impacts of biochars on residue decomposition, which fit in line with established feedstock and pyrolysis influences. Though no significant impacts were observed with field-weathered biochars, effective soil management may yet have to account for repeat applications of biochar.

  4. Residue and soil carbon sequestration in relation to crop yield as affected by irrigation, tillage, cropping system and nitrogen fertilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Information on management practices is needed to increase surface residue and soil C sequestration to obtain farm C credit. The effects of irrigation, tillage, cropping system, and N fertilization were evaluated on the amount of crop biomass (stems and leaves) returned to the soil, surface residue C...

  5. Effect of crop sequence and crop residues on soil C, soil N and yield of maize

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shafi, M.; Bakht, J.; Attaullah; Khan, M.A.

    2010-01-01

    Improved management of nitrogen (N) in low N soils is critical for increased soil productivity and crop sustainability. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of residues incorporation, residues retention on soil surface as mulch, fertilizer N and legumes in crop rotation on soil fertility and yield of maize (Zea may L.). Fertilizer N was applied to maize at the rate of 160 kg ha/sup -1/, and to wheat at the rate of 120 kg ha/sup -1/ or no fertilizer N application. Crop rotation with the sequence of maize after wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), maize after lentil (Lens culinaris Medic) or wheat after mash bean (Vigna mungo L.) arranged in a split plot design was followed. Post-harvest incorporation of crop residues and residues retention on soil surface as mulch had significantly (p=0.05) affected grain and stover yield during 2004 and 2005. Two years average data revealed that grain yield was increased by 3.31 and 6.72% due to mulch and residues incorporation. Similarly, stover yield was also enhanced by 5.39 and 10.27% due to the same treatment respectively. Mulch and residues incorporation also improved stover N uptake by 2.23 and 6.58%, respectively. Total soil N and organic matter was non significantly (p=0.05) increased by 5.63 and 2.38% due to mulch and 4.13, 7.75% because of crop residues incorporation in the soil. Maize grain and stover yield responded significantly (p=0.05) to the previous legume (lentil) crop when compared with the previous cereal crop (wheat). The treatment of lentil - maize(+N), on the average, increased grain yield of maize by 15.35%, stover yield by 16.84%, total soil N by 10.31% and organic matter by 10.17%. Similarly, fertilizer N applied to the previous wheat showed carry over effect on grain yield (6.82%) and stover yield (11.37%) of the following maize crop. The present study suggested that retention of residues on soil surface as mulch, incorporation of residues in soil and legume (lentil - maize) rotation

  6. Modeling crop residue burning experiments to evaluate smoke emissions and plume transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luxi Zhou; Kirk R. Baker; Sergey L. Napelenok; George Pouliot; Robert Elleman; Susan M. O' Neill; Shawn P. Urbanski; David C. Wong

    2018-01-01

    Crop residue burning is a common land management practice that results in emissions of a variety of pollutants with negative health impacts. Modeling systems are used to estimate air quality impacts of crop residue burning to support retrospective regulatory assessments and also for forecasting purposes. Ground and airborne measurements from a recent field experiment...

  7. Residue management increases fallow water conservation and yield deficit irrigated crops grown in rotation with wheat

    Science.gov (United States)

    No-tillage (NT) residue management provides cover to increase precipitation capture compared with disk tillage (DT) or in the absence of a cover crop. Therefore, NT has the potential to reduce irrigation withdrawals from the declining Ogallala Aquifer. In a 4-year study, we quantified DT and NT effe...

  8. Biogas production from energy crops and crop residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehtomaeki, A.

    2006-07-01

    The feasibility of utilising energy crops and crop residues in methane production through anaerobic digestion in boreal conditions was evaluated in this thesis. Potential boreal energy crops and crop residues were screened for their suitability for methane production, and the effects of harvest time and storage on the methane potential of crops was evaluated. Codigestion of energy crops and crop residues with cow manure, as well as digestion of energy crops alone in batch leach bed reactors with and without a second stage upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) or methanogenic filter (MF) were evaluated. The methane potentials of crops, as determined in laboratory methane potential assays, varied from 0.17 to 0.49 m3 CH{sub 4} kg-1 VS{sub added} (volatile solids added) and from 25 to 260 m3 CH4 t-1 ww (tons of wet weight). Jerusalem artichoke, timothy-clover and reed canary grass gave the highest methane potentials of 2 900-5 400 m3 CH{sub 4} ha-1, corresponding to a gross energy potential of 28-53 MWh ha-1 and 40 000-60 000 km ha-1 in passenger car transport. The methane potentials per ww increased with most crops as the crops matured. Ensiling without additives resulted in minor losses (0-13%) in the methane potential of sugar beet tops but more substantial losses (17-39%) in the methane potential of grass, while ensiling with additives was shown to have potential in improving the methane potentials of these substrates by up to 19-22%. In semi-continuously fed laboratory continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTRs) co-digestion of manure and crops was shown feasible with feedstock VS containing up to 40% of crops. The highest specific methane yields of 0.268, 0.229 and 0.213 m3 CH{sub 4} kg-1 VS{sub added} in co-digestion of cow manure with grass, sugar beet tops and straw, respectively, were obtained with 30% of crop in the feedstock, corresponding to 85-105% of the methane potential in the substrates as determined by batch assays. Including 30% of crop in

  9. Recycling crop residues for use in recirculating hydroponic crop production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackowiak, C. L.; Garland, J. L.; Sager, J. C.

    1996-01-01

    As part of bioregenerative life support feasibility testing by NASA, crop residues are being used to resupply elemental nutrients to recirculating hydroponic crop production systems. Methods for recovering nutrients from crop residues have evolved from water soaking (leaching) to rapid aerobic bioreactor processing. Leaching residues recovered the majority of elements but it also recovered significant amounts of soluble organics. The high organic content of leachates was detrimental to plant growth. Aerobic bioreactor processing reduced the organic content ten-fold, which reduced or eliminated phytotoxic effects. Wheat and potato production studies were successful using effluents from reactors having with 8- to 1-day retention times. Aerobic bioreactor effluents supplied at least half of the crops elemental mass needs in these studies. Descriptions of leachate and effluent mineral content, biomass productivity, microbial activity, and nutrient budgets for potato and wheat are presented.

  10. Increased occurrence of pesticide residues on crops grown in protected environments compared to crops grown in open field conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Gina; Halsall, Crispin J; Ukpebor, Justina; Paul, Nigel D; Ridall, Gareth; Wargent, Jason J

    2015-01-01

    Crops grown under plastic-clad structures or in greenhouses may be prone to an increased frequency of pesticide residue detections and higher concentrations of pesticides relative to equivalent crops grown in the open field. To test this we examined pesticide data for crops selected from the quarterly reports (2004-2009) of the UK's Pesticide Residue Committee. Five comparison crop pairs were identified whereby one crop of each pair was assumed to have been grown primarily under some form of physical protection ('protected') and the other grown primarily in open field conditions ('open'). For each pair, the number of detectable pesticide residues and the proportion of crop samples containing pesticides were statistically compared (n=100 s samples for each crop). The mean concentrations of selected photolabile pesticides were also compared. For the crop pairings of cabbage ('open') vs. lettuce ('protected') and 'berries' ('open') vs. strawberries ('protected') there was a significantly higher number of pesticides and proportion of samples with multiple residues for the protected crops. Statistically higher concentrations of pesticides, including cypermethrin, cyprodinil, fenhexamid, boscalid and iprodione were also found in the protected crops compared to the open crops. The evidence here demonstrates that, in general, the protected crops possess a higher number of detectable pesticides compared to analogous crops grown in the open. This may be due to different pesticide-use regimes, but also due to slower rates of pesticide removal in protected systems. The findings of this study raise implications for pesticide management in protected-crop systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Best management practices: Managing cropping systems for soil protection and bioenergy production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Interest in renewable alternatives to fossil fuels has increased. Crop residue such as corn stover or wheat straw can be used for bioenergy including a substitution for natural gas or coal. Harvesting crop residue needs to be managed to protect the soil and future soil productivity. The amount of bi...

  12. Soil water evaporation and crop residues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crop residues have value when left in the field and also when removed from the field and sold as a commodity. Reducing soil water evaporation (E) is one of the benefits of leaving crop residues in place. E was measured beneath a corn canopy at the soil suface with nearly full coverage by corn stover...

  13. Crop residues quantification to obtain self-consumption compost in an organic garden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez de Fuentes, Pilar; Lopez Merino, María; Remedios Alvir, María; Briz de Felipe, Teresa

    2013-04-01

    This research focuses on quantifying the crop residue left after the campaign fall/winter (2011) for the organic garden crops of Agricultural ETSI, located in practice fields, to get compost for self-generated residues arising from within their own fields. This compost is produced by mixing this material with an organic residues source animal. In this way the plant organic residues provided the nitrogen required for an appropriate C/N and the animal organic residues can provide the carbon amount required to achieve an optimal scenario. The garden has a surface area of 180 m2 which was cultured with different seasonal vegetables, different families and attending practices and species associations' rotations, proper of farming techniques. The organic material of animal origin referred to, is rest from sheep renew bed, sustained management support the precepts of organic farming and cottage belongs to practice fields too. At the end of crop cycle, we proceeded to the harvest and sorting of usable crop residues, which was considered as net crop residues. In each case, these residues were subjected to a cutting treatment by the action of a mincing machine and then weighed to estimate the amounts given by each crop. For the sheep bed residue 1m2 was collected after three months having renewed. It had been made by providing 84 kg of straw bales in July and introducing about 12 Kg each. The herd consisted of three females and one playe. Each one of them was feed 300g and 600 g of straw per day. Two alternating different pens were used to simulate a regime of semi-intensive housing. A balance on how much organic residue material was obtained at the end and how much was obtained in the compost process is discussed in terms of volume and nutrients content is discussed.

  14. Ammonia volatilization from crop residues and frozen green manure crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Ruijter, F. J.; Huijsmans, J. F. M.; Rutgers, B.

    2010-09-01

    Agricultural systems can lose substantial amounts of nitrogen (N). To protect the environment, the European Union (EU) has adopted several directives that set goals to limit N losses. National Emission Ceilings (NEC) are prescribed in the NEC directive for nitrogen oxides and ammonia. Crop residues may contribute to ammonia volatilization, but sufficient information on their contribution to the national ammonia volatilization is lacking. Experiments were carried out with the aim to assess the ammonia volatilization of crop residues left on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil under the conditions met in practice in the Netherlands during late autumn and winter. Ammonia emission from residues of broccoli, leek, sugar beet, cut grass, fodder radish (fresh and frozen) and yellow mustard (frozen) was studied during two winter seasons using volatilization chambers. Residues were either placed on top of soil or mixed with soil. Mixing residues with soil gave insignificant ammonia volatilization, whereas volatilization was 5-16 percent of the N content of residues when placed on top of soil. Ammonia volatilization started after at least 4 days. Total ammonia volatilization was related to C/N-ratio and N concentration of the plant material. After 37 days, cumulative ammonia volatilization was negligible from plant material with N concentration below 2 percent, and was 10 percent of the N content of plant material with 4 percent N. These observations can be explained by decomposition of plant material by micro-organisms. After an initial built up of the microbial population, NH 4+ that is not needed for their own growth is released and can easily emit as NH 3 at the soil surface. The results of the experiments were used to estimate the contribution of crop residues to ammonia volatilization in the Netherlands. Crop residues of arable crops and residues of pasture topping may contribute more than 3 million kg NH 3-N to the national ammonia volatilization of the

  15. Cycling of fertilizer and cotton crop residue nitrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rochester, I.J.; Constable, G.A.; MacLeod, D.A.

    1993-01-01

    Mineral nitrogen (N), nitrate and ammonium contents were monitored in N-fertilized soils supporting cotton crops to provide information on the nitrification, mineralization and immobilization processes operating in the soil. The relative contributions of fertilizer N, previous cotton crop residue N and indigenous soil N to the mineral N pools and to the current crop's N uptake were calculated. After N fertilizer (urea) application, the soil's mineral N content rose rapidly and subsequently declined at a slower rate. The recovery of 15 N-labelled urea as mineral N declined exponentially with time. Biological immobilization (and possibly denitrification to some extent) were believed to be the major processes reducing post-application soil mineral N content. Progressively less N was mineralized upon incubation of soil sampled through the growing season. Little soil N (either from urea or crop residue) was mineralized at crop maturity. Cycling of N was evident between the soil mineral and organic N pools throughout the cotton growing season. Considerable quantities of fertilizer N were immobilized by the soil micro biomass; immobilized N was remineralized and subsequently taken up by the cotton crop. A large proportion of the crop N was taken up in the latter part of the season when the soil mineral N content was low. It is suggested that much of the N taken up by cotton was derived from microbial sources, rather than crop residues. The application of cotton crop residue (stubble) slightly reduced the mineral N content in the soil by encouraging biological immobilization. 15 N was mineralized very slowly from the labelled crop residue and did not contribute significantly to the supply of N to the current crop. Recovery of labelled fertilizer N and labelled crop residue N by the cotton crop was 28% and 1%, respectively. In comparison, the apparent recovery of fertilizer N was 48%. Indigenous soil N contributed 68% of the N taken up by the cotton crop. 33 refs., 1 tab

  16. Crop residue decomposition in Minnesota biochar amended plots

    OpenAIRE

    S. L. Weyers; K. A. Spokas

    2014-01-01

    Impacts of biochar application at laboratory scales are routinely studied, but impacts of biochar application on decomposition of crop residues at field scales have not been widely addressed. The priming or hindrance of crop residue decomposition could have a cascading impact on soil processes, particularly those influencing nutrient availability. Our objectives were to evaluate biochar effects on field decomposition of crop residue, using plots that were amended with ...

  17. Evaluation of Crops Sensitivity to Atrazine Soil Residual

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E Izadi

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In order to study the sensitivity of 9 crops to atrazine soil residual, two separate experiments were conducted in field and greenhouse conditions. First experiment was conducted in a field with treated soil by atrazine based on split plot and the results evaluated in greenhouse conditions. Treatments in the field experiment included two organic manure application rates (0 and 50 t/ha as main plots and 2 atrazine application rates (2 and 4 kg/ha atrazine a.i. as sob plots. After corn harvesting soil was sampled at 0-15 cm surface layer in each plots in 15 points, after mixing the samples. Wheat, barley, sugar beet, pea, lens and colza planted in pots at greenhouse. Second experiment conducted in greenhouse conditions for evaluation of atrazine soil residual in completely randomized design. Treatments included atrazine soil residual concentrations (0, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 5, 10 and 15 mg/kg soil and crops included wheat, barley, sugar beet, pea, lens, rape, bean and tomato. Results showed that atrazine residue had no effect on crops growth in field experiment treated with atrazine. It seems that atrazine residue in filed soil is lower that its damage threshold for crops or maybe for its fast removal in field than in control conditions. But in bioassay experiment (greenhouse experiment crops response to atrazine residues were different. Results showed that onion and pea were most susceptible ant tolerant crops between studied species and based of ED50 parameter the other crops tolerance to total residue ranked as: pea< bean< lentil< sugar beet< tomato< barley< wheat< rape< onion. Keywords: Atrazine residue, Pea, Bean, Lentil, Sugar beet, Barley, Wheat, Rape, Tomato

  18. Potential soil quality impact of harvesting crop residues for bio fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karlen, D.

    2011-01-01

    We are in one of the greatest technological, environmental and social transitions since the industrial revolution, as we strive to replace fossil energy with renewable biomass resources. My objectives are to (1) briefly review increased public interest in harvesting crop residues as feedstock for bio energy, (2) discuss the work soil scientists must do to address those interests, and (3) examine how soil quality assessment can be used to help quantify soil biological, chemical and physical response to this transition. Rising global energy demand, dependence on unstable imports, volatility in price, and increasing public concern regarding fossil fuel combustion effects on global climate change are among the factors leading to an increased interest in development and use of renewable biomass sources for energy production. Although controlling soil erosion by wind and water is no less important than in the past, it is not the only factor that needs to be considered when evaluating the sustain ability of land management practices including harvest of crop residues as bio energy feedstock. The concept of soil quality assessment is reviewed and the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) is used to illustrate how such assessments can be used for assessing impacts of harvesting crop residue as feedstock for bio energy production. Preliminary results of the SMAF assessment show that soil organic carbon (SOC) is one of the lower scoring indicators and therefore needs to be monitored closely. Innovative soil and crop management strategies, including a landscape vision are offered as ideas for achieving sustainable food, feed, fiber, and energy production

  19. Multi-Seasonal Nitrogen Recoveries from Crop Residue in Soil and Crop in a Temperate Agro-Ecosystem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Guoqing; Liu, Xiao; He, Hongbo; Zhang, Wei; Xie, Hongtu; Wu, Yeye; Cui, Jiehua; Sun, Ci; Zhang, Xudong

    2015-01-01

    In conservation tillage systems, at least 30% of the soil surface was covered by crop residues which generally contain significant amounts of nitrogen (N). However, little is known about the multi-seasonal recoveries of the N derived from these crop residues in soil-crop systems, notably in northeastern China. In a temperate agro-ecosystem, 15N-labeled maize residue was applied to field surfaces in the 1st year (2009). From the 2nd to 4th year (2010-2012), one treatment halted the application of maize residue, whereas the soil in the second treatment was re-applied with unlabeled maize residue. Crop and soil samples were collected after each harvest, and their 15N enrichments were determined on an isotope ratio mass spectrometer to trace the allocation of N derived from the initially applied maize residue in the soil-crop systems. On average, 8.4% of the maize residue N was recovered in the soil-crop in the 1st year, and the vast majority (61.9%-91.9%) was recovered during subsequent years. Throughout the experiment, the cumulative recovery of the residue N in the crop increased gradually (18.2%-20.9%), but most of the residue N was retained in the soil, notably in the 0-10 cm soil layer. Compared to the single application, the sequential residue application significantly increased the recovery of the residue N in the soil profile (73.8% vs. 40.9%) and remarkably decreased the total and the initially applied residue derived mineral N along the soil profile. Our results suggested that the residue N was actively involved in N cycling, and its release and recovery in crop and soil profile were controlled by the decomposition process. Sequential residue application significantly enhanced the retention and stabilization of the initially applied residue N in the soil and retarded its translocation along the soil profile.

  20. Biogas Production from Energy Crops and Agriculture Residues

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Guangtao

    and wet explosion pretreated energy crops and agriculture residues with swine manure at various volatile solids (VS) ratio between crop and manure was carried out by batch tests and continuous experiments. The efficiency of the co-digestion experiment was evaluated based on (a) the methane potential......In this thesis, the feasibility of utilizing energy crops (willow and miscanthus) and agriculture residues (wheat straw and corn stalker) in an anaerobic digestion process for biogas production was evaluated. Potential energy crops and agriculture residues were screened according...... of perennial crops was tested as a storage method and pretreatment method for enhancement of the biodegradability of the crops. The efficiency of the silage process was evaluated based on (a) the amount of biomass loss during storage and (b) the effect of the silage on methane potential. Co-digestion of raw...

  1. The potential for energy production from crop residues in Zimbabwe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jingura, R.M.; Matengaifa, R. [School of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, P. Bag 7724, Chinhoyi (Zimbabwe)

    2008-12-15

    There is increasing interest in Zimbabwe in the use of renewable energy sources as a means of meeting the country's energy requirements. Biomass provides 47% of the gross energy consumption in Zimbabwe. Energy can be derived from various forms of biomass using various available conversion technologies. Crop residues constitute a large part of the biomass available from the country's agriculture-based economy. The potential for energy production of crop residues is examined using data such as estimates of the quantities of the residues and their energy content. The major crops considered are maize, sugarcane, cotton, soyabeans, groundnuts, wheat, sorghum, fruits and forestry plantations. Quantities of residues are estimated from crop yields by using conversion coefficients for the various crops. Long-term crop yields data from 1970 to 1999 were used. Total annual residue yields for crops, fruits and forestry plantations are 7.805 Mt, 378 kt and 3.05 Mt, respectively. The crops, fruits and forestry residues have energy potential of 81.5, 4.9 and 44.3 PJ per year, respectively. This represents about 44% of the gross energy consumption in Zimbabwe. The need to balance use of crop residues for both energy purposes and other purposes such as animal feeding and soil fertility improvement is also highlighted. (author)

  2. Effectiveness of the GAEC cross-compliance standard management of stubble and crop residues in the maintenance of adequate contents of soil organic carbon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Domenico Ventrella

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Several studies carried out on the effects of stubble and crop residue incorporation have shown positive effects on chemical-physical soil characteristics. However, not all studies agree on the extent of soil organic matter increase which derives from this process, as this effect is strongly affected by other factors: the pedo-climatic features of the area in which the study is carried out, the type of crop residue incorporation and the agronomical management adopted to improve the decomposition of the incorporated fresh organic material. The burning of stubble and straw is common in the areas where cereals are traditionally grown. The adoption of this method is based on different technical and work-related factors, which become less important when taking into account the impact on the local environment and soil. A research is currently carried out at the CRA-SCA experimental farm in Foggia (Southern Italy on the effects of either residues incorporation or burning on the chemical-physical characteristics of the soil and on the wheat yield performance since 1977. This experiment allows for a comparison among the effects of burning, the simple incorporation of stubble and crop residues and incorporation carried out with some agronomical techniques (such as the distribution of increasing amounts of nitrogen on crop residue before incorporation and the simulation of rain (50 mm on the decomposition of organic material. The objective of the study was to understand the effect of the different residues management practices on soil chemical properties after 32 years of experimentation. The simple incorporation of straw and stubble showed a slight increase in organic soil matter of 0.7% with respect to burning. The best results for soil organic carbon and soil quality were obtained when residual incorporation included a treatment with additional mineral nitrogen.

  3. Pesticide residue concentration in soil following conventional and Low-Input Crop Management in a Mediterranean agro-ecosystem, in Central Greece

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karasali, Helen, E-mail: e.karassali@bpi.gr [Laboratory of Chemical Control of Pesticides, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta Street, Kifissia, 14561 Athens (Greece); Marousopoulou, Anna [Laboratory of Chemical Control of Pesticides, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta Street, Kifissia, 14561 Athens (Greece); Machera, Kyriaki, E-mail: k.machera@bpi.gr [Laboratory of Pesticides Toxicology, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta Street, Kifissia, 14561 Athens (Greece)

    2016-01-15

    The present study was focused on the comparative evaluation of pesticide residues, determined in soil samples from Kopaida region, Greece before and after the implementation of Low-Input Crop Management (LCM) protocols. LCM has been suggested as an environmental friendly plant protection approach to be applied on crops growing in vulnerable to pollution ecosystems, with special focus on the site specific problems. In the case of the specific pilot area, the vulnerability was mainly related to the pollution of water bodies from agrochemicals attributed to diffuse pollution primarily from herbicides and secondarily from insecticides. A total of sixty-six soil samples, were collected and analyzed during a three-year monitoring study and the results of the determined pesticide residues were considered for the impact evaluation of applied plant protection methodology. The LCM was developed and applied in the main crops growing in the pilot area i.e. cotton, maize and industrial tomato. Herbicides active ingredients such as ethalfluralin, trifluralin, pendimethalin, S-metolachlor and fluometuron were detected in most samples at various concentrations. Ethalfluralin, which was the active ingredient present in the majority of the samples ranged from 0.01 μg g{sup −1} to 0.26 μg g{sup −1} soil dry weight. However, the amount of herbicides measured after the implementation of LCM for two cropping periods, was reduced by more than 75% in all cases. The method of analysis was based on the simultaneous extraction of the target compounds by mechanical shaking, followed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometric and gas chromatography electron capture (LC–MS/MS and GC–ECD) analysis. - Highlights: • Effect of Low Input Crop Management (LCM) in a vulnerable to pollution ecosystem. • LCM resulted in herbicide residues reduction in the range of 75 and 100% in all cases. • Conventional practices resulted in increased herbicide residues up to 18%. • Anthropogenic

  4. Multi-Seasonal Nitrogen Recoveries from Crop Residue in Soil and Crop in a Temperate Agro-Ecosystem.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guoqing Hu

    Full Text Available In conservation tillage systems, at least 30% of the soil surface was covered by crop residues which generally contain significant amounts of nitrogen (N. However, little is known about the multi-seasonal recoveries of the N derived from these crop residues in soil-crop systems, notably in northeastern China. In a temperate agro-ecosystem, 15N-labeled maize residue was applied to field surfaces in the 1st year (2009. From the 2nd to 4th year (2010-2012, one treatment halted the application of maize residue, whereas the soil in the second treatment was re-applied with unlabeled maize residue. Crop and soil samples were collected after each harvest, and their 15N enrichments were determined on an isotope ratio mass spectrometer to trace the allocation of N derived from the initially applied maize residue in the soil-crop systems. On average, 8.4% of the maize residue N was recovered in the soil-crop in the 1st year, and the vast majority (61.9%-91.9% was recovered during subsequent years. Throughout the experiment, the cumulative recovery of the residue N in the crop increased gradually (18.2%-20.9%, but most of the residue N was retained in the soil, notably in the 0-10 cm soil layer. Compared to the single application, the sequential residue application significantly increased the recovery of the residue N in the soil profile (73.8% vs. 40.9% and remarkably decreased the total and the initially applied residue derived mineral N along the soil profile. Our results suggested that the residue N was actively involved in N cycling, and its release and recovery in crop and soil profile were controlled by the decomposition process. Sequential residue application significantly enhanced the retention and stabilization of the initially applied residue N in the soil and retarded its translocation along the soil profile.

  5. Effect of tillage and crop residues management on mungbean (vigna radiata (L.) wilczek) crop yield, nitrogen fixation and water use efficiency in rainfed areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohammad, W.; Shehzadi, S.; Shah, S.M.; Shah, Z.

    2010-01-01

    A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of crop residues and tillage practices on BNF, WUE and yield of mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) under semi arid rainfed conditions at the Livestock Research Station, Surezai, Peshawar in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. The experiment comprised of two tillage i) conventional tillage (T1) and ii) no-tillage (T0) and two residues i) wheat crop residues retained (+) and ii) wheat crop residues removed (-) treatments. Basal doses of N at the rate of 20: P at the rate of 60 kg ha-1 were applied to mungbean at sowing time in the form of urea and single super phosphate respectively. Labelled urea having 5% 15N atom excess was applied at the rate of 20 kg N ha-1 as aqueous solution in micro plots (1m2) in each treatment plot to assess BNF by mungbean. Similarly, maize and sorghum were grown as reference crops and were fertilized with 15N labelled urea as aqueous solution having 1% 15N atom excess at the rate of 90 kg N ha/sup -1/. The results obtained showed that mungbean yield (grain/straw) and WUE were improved in notillage treatment as compared to tillage treatment. Maximum mungbean grain yield (1224 kg ha/sup -1/) and WUE (6.61kg ha/sup -1 mm/sup -1/) were obtained in no-tillage (+ residues) treatment. The N concentration in mungbean straw and grain was not significantly influenced by tillage or crop residue treatments. The amount of fertilizer-N taken up by straw and grain of mungbean was higher under no-tillage with residues-retained treatment but the differences were not significant. The major proportion of N (60.03 to 76.51%) was derived by mungbean crop from atmospheric N2 fixation, the remaining (19.6 to 35.91%) was taken up from the soil and a small proportion (3.89 to 5.89%) was derived from the applied fertilizer in different treatments. The maximum amount of N fixed by mungbean (82.59 kg ha/sup -1/) was derived in no-tillage with wheat residue-retained treatment. By using sorghum as

  6. Crop residues for advanced biofuels workshop: A synposis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crop residues are being harvested for a variety of purposes including their use as livestock feed and to produce advanced biofuels. Crop residue harvesting, by definition, reduces the potential annual carbon input to the soil from aboveground biomass but does not affect input from plant roots. The m...

  7. Biomass supply from alternative cellulosic crops and crop residues: A spatially explicit bioeconomic modeling approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso; Swinton, Scott M.; Izaurralde, César R.; Manowitz, David H.; Zhang, Xuesong

    2011-01-01

    This paper introduces a spatially-explicit bioeconomic model for the study of potential cellulosic biomass supply. For biomass crops to begin to replace current crops, farmers must earn more from them than from current crops. Using weather, topographic and soil data, the terrestrial ecosystem model, EPIC, dynamically simulates multiple cropping systems that vary by crop rotation, tillage, fertilization and residue removal rate. EPIC generates predicted crop yield and environmental outcomes over multiple watersheds. These EPIC results are used to parameterize a regional profit-maximization mathematical programming model that identifies profitable cropping system choices. The bioeconomic model is calibrated to 2007–09 crop production in a 9-county region of southwest Michigan. A simulation of biomass supply in response to rising biomass prices shows that cellulosic residues from corn stover and wheat straw begin to be supplied at minimum delivered biomass:corn grain price ratios of 0.15 and 0.18, respectively. At the mean corn price of $162.6/Mg ($4.13 per bushel) at commercial moisture content during 2007–2009, these ratios correspond to stover and straw prices of $24 and $29 per dry Mg. Perennial bioenergy crops begin to be supplied at price levels 2–3 times higher. Average biomass transport costs to the biorefinery plant range from $6 to $20/Mg compared to conventional crop production practices in the area, biomass supply from annual crop residues increased greenhouse gas emissions and reduced water quality through increased nutrient loss. By contrast, perennial cellulosic biomass crop production reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved water quality. -- Highlights: ► A new bioeconomic model predicts biomass supply and its environmental impacts. ► The model captures the opportunity cost of switching to new cellulosic crops. ► Biomass from crop residues is supplied at lower biomass price than cellulosic crops. ► Biomass from cellulosic crops has

  8. The Effect of Crop Residue and Different NPK Fertilizer Rates on yield Components and Yield of Wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    fatemeh khamadi

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Integrated nutrient management involving crop residue/green manures and chemical fertilizer is potential alternative to provide a balanced supply of nutrients, enhance soil quality and thereby sustain higher productivity. The present experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effect of different crop residue management practices and NPK levels on yield components and yield of wheat. Materials and methods Field experiments were conducted during 2012-2014 at department of agronomy, Chamran University. Experiment was laid out in a randomized block designs in split plot arrangement. With three replications. Crop residues were assigned to main plot consistent CR1: wheat residue; CR2: rape residue; CR3: barley residue; CR4: barley residue + vetch; CR5: wheat straw + mungbean; CR6: vetch residue; CR7: mungbean residue; CR8: No residue incorporation as main plot and three NPK fertilizer rates: F1: (180N-120P-100K kg.ha-1; F2: (140N-90P-80K kg.ha-1; F3: (90N-60P-40K kg.ha-1 as sub plots. Twelve hills were collected at physiological maturity for measuring yield components from surrounding area of grain yield harvest area. Yield components, viz. number of spike per m2, seed per spike, 1000- grain weight, plant height were measured. Grain and straw yields were recorded from the central 5 m2 grain yield harvest area of each treatment and harvest index was calculated. Data were subjected to analysis by SAS and mean companions were performed using the Duncan multiple range test producer. Also, graphs were drawn in Excel software. Results and discussion The result of analysis variance showed significant difference between crop residues for evaluated traits. The result indicated that the highest biological and grain yield was obtained when wheat treated with CR5: wheat straw + mungbean (green manure and CR4: barley straw + vetch (green manure. Biological and grain yield increased 31 and 26% respectively by CR5 comparing with control. The highest

  9. Biogas production from energy crops and agriculture residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, G.

    2010-12-15

    In this thesis, the feasibility of utilizing energy crops (willow and miscanthus) and agriculture residues (wheat straw and corn stalker) in an anaerobic digestion process for biogas production was evaluated. Potential energy crops and agriculture residues were screened according to their suitability for biogas production. Moreover, pretreatment of these biomasses by using wet explosion method was studied and the effect of the wet explosion process was evaluated based on the increase of (a) sugar release and (b) methane potential when comparing the pretreated biomass and raw biomass. Ensiling of perennial crops was tested as a storage method and pretreatment method for enhancement of the biodegradability of the crops. The efficiency of the silage process was evaluated based on (a) the amount of biomass loss during storage and (b) the effect of the silage on methane potential. Co-digestion of raw and wet explosion pretreated energy crops and agriculture residues with swine manure at various volatile solids (VS) ratio between crop and manure was carried out by batch tests and continuous experiments. The efficiency of the co-digestion experiment was evaluated based on (a) the methane potential in term of ml CH4 produced per g of VS-added and (b) the amount of methane produced per m3 of reactor volume. (Author)

  10. Nitrogen mineralization and denitrification as influenced by crop residue particle size

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ambus, P.; Jensen, E.S.

    1997-01-01

    1: N-15-labelled ground (less than or equal to 3 mm) and cut (25 mm) barley residue, and microcrystalline cellulose+glucose were mixed into a sandy loam soil with additional inorganic N. Experiment 2: inorganic N-15 and C2H2 were added to soils with barley and pea material after 3, 26, and 109 days......Managing the crop residue particle size has the potential to affect N conservation in agricultural systems. We investigated the influence of barley (Hordeum vulgare) and pea (Pisum sativum) crop residue particle size on N mineralization and denitrification in two laboratory experiments. Experiment...... for measuring gross N mineralization and denitrification. Net N immobilization over 60 days in Experiment 1 cumulated to 63 mg N kg(-1) soil (ground barley), 42 (cut barley), and 122 (cellulose+glucose). More N was seemingly net mineralized from ground barley (3.3 mg N kg(-1) soil) than from cut barley (2.7 mg...

  11. Crop residue recycling for economic and environmental sustainability: The case of India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Devi Saroj

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available India is one of the key producers of food grain, oilseed, sugarcane and other agricultural products. Agricultural crops generate considerable amounts of leftover residues, with increases in food production crop residues also increasing. These leftover residues exhibit not only resource loss but also a missed opportunity to improve a farmer’s income. The use of crop residues in various fields are being explored by researchers across the world in areas such as textile composite non-woven making processes, power generation, biogas production, animal feed, compost and manures, etc. The increasing trend in addition of bio-energy cogeneration plants, increasing demand for animal feedstock and increasing trend for organic agriculture indicates a competitive opportunity forcrop residue in Agriculture. It is to be noted that the use of this left over residue isoften not mutually exclusive which makes measurement of its economic value more difficult.For example, straw can be used as animal bedding and thereafter as a crop fertilizer. In view of this, the main aim of this paper envisaged to know about how much crop residue is left unutilized and how best they can be utilized for alternative purposes for environmental stewardship and sustainability. In this context, an attempt has been made to estimate the total crop residue across the states and its economic value though data available from various government sources and a SWOT analysis performed for possible alternative uses of residue in India. This paper also discusses the successful case studies of India and global level of use of crop residues in economic activities. Over all 516 Mtonnes of crop residue was produced in 2014-15 in India among which cereals were the largest producer of crop residue followed by sugarcane. The energy potential from paddy rice straw crop residue was estimated as 486,955 megawatt for 2014-15 and similarly for coarse cereals it was 226,200megawatt.

  12. Crop residue decomposition in Minnesota biochar-amended plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weyers, S. L.; Spokas, K. A.

    2014-06-01

    Impacts of biochar application at laboratory scales are routinely studied, but impacts of biochar application on decomposition of crop residues at field scales have not been widely addressed. The priming or hindrance of crop residue decomposition could have a cascading impact on soil processes, particularly those influencing nutrient availability. Our objectives were to evaluate biochar effects on field decomposition of crop residue, using plots that were amended with biochars made from different plant-based feedstocks and pyrolysis platforms in the fall of 2008. Litterbags containing wheat straw material were buried in July of 2011 below the soil surface in a continuous-corn cropped field in plots that had received one of seven different biochar amendments or a uncharred wood-pellet amendment 2.5 yr prior to start of this study. Litterbags were collected over the course of 14 weeks. Microbial biomass was assessed in treatment plots the previous fall. Though first-order decomposition rate constants were positively correlated to microbial biomass, neither parameter was statistically affected by biochar or wood-pellet treatments. The findings indicated only a residual of potentially positive and negative initial impacts of biochars on residue decomposition, which fit in line with established feedstock and pyrolysis influences. Overall, these findings indicate that no significant alteration in the microbial dynamics of the soil decomposer communities occurred as a consequence of the application of plant-based biochars evaluated here.

  13. Determination of crop residues and the physical and mechanical properties of soil in different tillage systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P Ahmadi Moghaddam

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Monitoring and management of soil quality is crucial for sustaining soil function in ecosystem. Tillage is one of the management operations that drastically affect soil physical quality. Conservation tillage methods are one of the efficient solutions in agriculture to reduce the soil erosion, air pollution, energy consumption, and the costs, if there is a proper management on the crop residues. One of the serious problems in agriculture is soil erosion which is rapidly increased in the recent decades as the intensity of tillage increases. This phenomenon occurs more in sloping lands or in the fields which are lacking from crop residues and organic materials. The conservation tillage has an important role in minimizing soil erosion and developing the quality of soil. Hence, it has attracted the attention of more researchers and farmers in the recent years. Materials and Methods: In this study, the effect of different tillage methods has been investigated on the crop residues, mechanical resistance of soil, and the stability of aggregates. This research was performed on the agricultural fields of Urmia University, located in Nazloo zone in 2012. Wheat and barley were planted in these fields, consecutively. The soil texture of these fields was loamy clay and the factorial experiments were done in a completely randomized block design. In this study, effect of three tillage systems including tillage with moldboard (conventional tillage, tillage with disk plow (reduced tillage, chisel plow (minimum tillage and control treatment on some soil physical properties was investigated. Depth is second factor that was investigated in three levels including 0-60, 60-140, and 140-200 mm. Moreover, the effect of different percentages of crop residues on the rolling resistance of non-driving wheels was studied in a soil bin. The contents of crop residues have been measured by using the linear transects and image processing methods. In the linear

  14. Nitrous oxide emission from soils amended with crop residues

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Velthof, G.L.; Kuikman, P.J.; Oenema, O.

    2002-01-01

    Crop residues incorporated in soil are a potentially important source of nitrous oxide (N2O), though poorly quantified. Here, we report on the N2O emission from 10 crop residues added to a sandy and a clay soil, both with and without additional nitrate (NO3-). In the sandy soil, total nitrous oxide

  15. Mineralization of nitrogen from nitrogen-15 labeled crop residues and utilization by rice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norman, R.J.; Gilmour, J.T.; Wells, B.R.

    1990-01-01

    The availability of N from the residues of the previous crop to the subsequent rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop is largely unknown. The objectives of this study were to (1) measure the mineralization of N from 15 N-labeled rice, soybean (Glycine max L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) residues and the uptake by a subsequent rice crop; and (2) compare the 15 N tracer method with the standard fertilizer-N response method used in field studies to quantify the N contribution from the crop residue to the next crop. Nitrogen mineralization from decomposing crop residues was measured by soil sampling prior to seeding the rice crop and after seeding by plant sampling the rice at maturity. The minimum estimate of the amount of residue N mineralized from the time of residue incorporation until rice harvest was 9, 52, and 38% of the rice, soybean, and wheat residue N, respectively. The amount of residue N recovered in the rice crop was 3, 11, and 37% of the rice, soybean, and wheat residue N, respectively. The lower the C/N ratio and the higher the amount of N in the residue, the lower was the amount of residue N recovered in the soil organic fraction at harvest and the higher was the amount of residue N mineralized. The 15 N tracer method compared favorably with the fertilizer N response method when the uptake efficiency of the fertilizer N was taken into account

  16. Characterization of protein and carbohydrate mid-IR spectral features in crop residues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xin, Hangshu; Zhang, Yonggen; Wang, Mingjun; Li, Zhongyu; Wang, Zhibo; Yu, Peiqiang

    2014-08-01

    To the best of our knowledge, a few studies have been conducted on inherent structure spectral traits related to biopolymers of crop residues. The objective of this study was to characterize protein and carbohydrate structure spectral features of three field crop residues (rice straw, wheat straw and millet straw) in comparison with two crop vines (peanut vine and pea vine) by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) technique with attenuated total reflectance (ATR). Also, multivariate analyses were performed on spectral data sets within the regions mainly related to protein and carbohydrate in this study. The results showed that spectral differences existed in mid-IR peak intensities that are mainly related to protein and carbohydrate among these crop residue samples. With regard to protein spectral profile, peanut vine showed the greatest mid-IR band intensities that are related to protein amide and protein secondary structures, followed by pea vine and the rest three field crop straws. The crop vines had 48-134% higher spectral band intensity than the grain straws in spectral features associated with protein. Similar trends were also found in the bands that are mainly related to structural carbohydrates (such as cellulosic compounds). However, the field crop residues had higher peak intensity in total carbohydrates region than the crop vines. Furthermore, spectral ratios varied among the residue samples, indicating that these five crop residues had different internal structural conformation. However, multivariate spectral analyses showed that structural similarities still exhibited among crop residues in the regions associated with protein biopolymers and carbohydrate. Further study is needed to find out whether there is any relationship between spectroscopic information and nutrition supply in various kinds of crop residue when fed to animals.

  17. Phosphorus management and its utilization by berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) and residual effect on forage crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinha, M.N.; Rai, R.K.

    1990-01-01

    Placement of phosphorus even to a broadcast sown crop like berseem helped in boosting up 10 per cent higher forage production over the conventional practice of broadcast application of phosphatic fertilizer without altering the normal practice of sowing broadcast. Likewise, P from fertilizer source and its utilization by the crop increased substantially and were higher in favour of placement of P. Closer the rows of phosphorus placement, greater was the recovery of applied P. The yield of forage increased with the increase in the level of P ranging from 75 to 225 kg P 2 O 5 /ha and the optimum dose was 173 kg P 2 O 5 /ha while the utilization of P decreased with increase in levels. There was enormous response to residual P after berseem and the residual forage yield increased with increase in P levels. A fertilized cereal crop after berseem was in no way better than unfertilized crop after berseem from productivity point of view. (author). 11 refs., 5 tabs

  18. Preferency of soil macrofauna to crops residue at different light intensity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SUGIYARTO

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Every species of soil macrofauna prefer specific food and environment to be establish in it's habitat. Their diversity depend on variation of food and environmental condition. The aim of this research was to study the effect of different crop residue and light intensity on population of several soil macrofauna specieses. Mycrocosmos experiment was arranged in split-plot design with two treatments factor, i.e.: (1 crop residue (albizia, papaya, elephant grass, maize, sweet potato and without crop residue input, and (2 light intensities (0, 5, 15 and 25 Watt/day. The soil macrofauna were earthworms, millipedes, scarabids larvae and cocroachs. Results of the study showed that: (1 crop residues apllication increased soil macrofauna population, especially maize residue ( by 113%, respectively, compare to control tretment, (2 on higher light intensity, population of earthworms, scarabids larvae and cocroach decreased, but population of millipedes increased, (3 the highest macrofauna population was on maize residue and 5 Watt/day light intensity treatment.

  19. Carbon balance and crop residue management in dynamic equilibrium under a no-till system in Campos Gerais

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ademir de Oliveira Ferreira

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The adoption of no-tillage systems (NT and the maintenance of crop residues on the soil surface result in the long-term increase of carbon (C in the system, promoting C sequestration and reducing C-CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the C sequestration rate and the minimum amount of crop residues required to maintain the dynamic C equilibrium (dC/dt = 0 of two soils (Typic Hapludox with different textural classes. The experiment was arranged in a 2 x 2 x 2 randomized block factorial design. The following factors were analyzed: (a two soil types: Typic Hapludox (Oxisol with medium texture (LVTM and Oxisol with clay texture (LVTA, (b two sampling layers (0-5 and 5-20 cm, and (c two sampling periods (P1 - October 2007; P2 - September 2008. Samples were collected from fields under a long-term (20 years NT system with the following crop rotations: wheat/soybean/black oat + vetch/maize (LVTM and wheat/maize/black oat + vetch/soybean (LVTA. The annual C sequestration rates were 0.83 and 0.76 Mg ha-1 for LVTM and LVTA, respectively. The estimates of the minimum amount of crop residues required to maintain a dynamic equilibrium (dC/dt = 0 were 7.13 and 6.53 Mg ha-1 year-1 for LVTM and LVTA, respectively. The C conversion rate in both studied soils was lower than that reported in other studies in the region, resulting in a greater amount of crop residues left on the soil surface.

  20. Agricultural Residues and Biomass Energy Crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2016-06-01

    There are many opportunities to leverage agricultural resources on existing lands without interfering with production of food, feed, fiber, or forest products. In the recently developed advanced biomass feedstock commercialization vision, estimates of potentially available biomass supply from agriculture are built upon the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Long-Term Forecast, ensuring that existing product demands are met before biomass crops are planted. Dedicated biomass energy crops and agricultural crop residues are abundant, diverse, and widely distributed across the United States. These potential biomass supplies can play an important role in a national biofuels commercialization strategy.

  1. Economic factors influencing potential use of cellulosic crop residues for electricity generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maung, Thein A.; McCarl, Bruce A.

    2013-01-01

    This study examines cellulosic crop residues for biopower production in the context of (greenhouse gas) GHG emission mitigation. We employ sector modeling to simulate future market potential for biopower production from crop residues. Our findings suggest that in order for crop residues to have any role in electricity generation either the carbon or (carbon dioxide) CO 2 equivalent GHG price must rise to about 15 dollars per ton or the price of coal has to increase to about 43 dollars per ton. We find that crop residues with higher heat content have greater opportunities in biopower production than the residues with lower heat content. In addition, our evidence shows that improvements in crop yields do not have much impact on biopower production. However, the energy recovery efficiency does have significant positive impact but only if the CO 2 equivalent price rises substantially. Moreover, our analysis indicates the desirability of cofiring biomass as opposed to 100% replacement because this reduces transportation cost and increases the efficiency of heat recovery. In terms of policy implications, imposing carbon emission pricing could be an important step in inducing electric power producers to include biomass feedstocks in their fuel-mix power generation portfolios and achieve GHG emission reductions. - Highlights: • Crop residues with higher heat content have greater market opportunities. • Improvement in crop and residue yields does not have much impact on biopower production. • Advancement in biopower production technology does not encourage more use of crop residues. • The main factor that induces biopower production is an increase in future carbon prices

  2. An early-killed rye cover crop has potential for weed management in edamame

    Science.gov (United States)

    The potential role of fall-seeded cover crops for weed management in edamame is unknown. Field experiments were conducted over three edamame growing seasons to test the following objectives: 1) determine the extent to which cover crop residue management systems influence edamame emergence while sele...

  3. Determine metrics and set targets for soil quality on agriculture residue and energy crop pathways

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ian Bonner; David Muth

    2013-09-01

    There are three objectives for this project: 1) support OBP in meeting MYPP stated performance goals for the Sustainability Platform, 2) develop integrated feedstock production system designs that increase total productivity of the land, decrease delivered feedstock cost to the conversion facilities, and increase environmental performance of the production system, and 3) deliver to the bioenergy community robust datasets and flexible analysis tools for establishing sustainable and viable use of agricultural residues and dedicated energy crops. The key project outcome to date has been the development and deployment of a sustainable agricultural residue removal decision support framework. The modeling framework has been used to produce a revised national assessment of sustainable residue removal potential. The national assessment datasets are being used to update national resource assessment supply curves using POLYSIS. The residue removal modeling framework has also been enhanced to support high fidelity sub-field scale sustainable removal analyses. The framework has been deployed through a web application and a mobile application. The mobile application is being used extensively in the field with industry, research, and USDA NRCS partners to support and validate sustainable residue removal decisions. The results detailed in this report have set targets for increasing soil sustainability by focusing on primary soil quality indicators (total organic carbon and erosion) in two agricultural residue management pathways and a dedicated energy crop pathway. The two residue pathway targets were set to, 1) increase residue removal by 50% while maintaining soil quality, and 2) increase soil quality by 5% as measured by Soil Management Assessment Framework indicators. The energy crop pathway was set to increase soil quality by 10% using these same indicators. To demonstrate the feasibility and impact of each of these targets, seven case studies spanning the US are presented

  4. Lignin biochemistry and soil N determine crop residue decomposition and soil priming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cropping history can affect soil properties, including available N, but little is known about the interactive effects of residue biochemistry, temperature and cropping history on residue decomposition. A laboratory incubation examined the role of residue biochemistry and temperature on the decomposi...

  5. Crop residues as raw materials for biorefinery systems - A LCA case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cherubini, Francesco; Ulgiati, Sergio

    2010-01-01

    have higher eutrophication potential than fossil reference systems. Based on these results, a residues-based biorefinery concept is able to solve two problems at the same time, namely find a use for the abundant lignocellulosic residues and ensure a mitigation effect for most of the environmental concerns related to the utilization of non-renewable energy resources. Therefore, when agricultural residues are used as feedstocks, best management practices and harvest rates need to be carefully established. In fact, rotation, tillage, fertilization management, soil properties and climate can play an important role in the determination of the amount of crop residue that can be removed minimizing soil carbon losses.

  6. Ammonia volatilization from crop residues and frozen green manure crops

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruijter, de F.J.; Huijsmans, J.F.M.; Rutgers, B.

    2010-01-01

    Agricultural systems can lose substantial amounts of nitrogen (N). To protect the environment, the European Union (EU) has adopted several directives that set goals to limit N losses. National Emission Ceilings (NEC) are prescribed in the NEC directive for nitrogen oxides and ammonia. Crop residues

  7. Cover crop residue effects on machine-induced soil compaction

    OpenAIRE

    Ess, Daniel R.

    1994-01-01

    Crop production systems which utilize the biomass produced by rye (Secale cereale ) to suppress weed growth and conserve soil moisture have been developed at Virginia Tech. The success of alternative, reduced-input crop production systems has encouraged research into the potential for breaking the traffic-tillage cycle associated with conventional tillage crop production systems. The fragile residues encountered in agricultural crop production, whether incorporated into the ...

  8. Screening boreal energy crops and crop residues for methane biofuel production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehtomaeki, A.; Rintala, J.A. [Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyvaeskylae, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 Jyvaeskylae (Finland); Viinikainen, T.A. [Department of Chemistry, University of Jyvaeskylae, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 Jyvaeskylae (Finland)

    2008-06-15

    The purpose of the study was to screen potential boreal energy crops and crop residues for their suitability in methane production and to investigate the effect of harvest time on the methane production potential of different crops. The specific methane yields of crops, determined in 100-200 d methane potential assays, varied from 0.17 to 0.49 m{sup 3} CH{sub 4} kg{sup -1} VS{sub added} (volatile solids added) and from 25 to 260 m{sup 3} CH{sub 4} t{sub ww}{sup -1} (tonnes of wet weight). Jerusalem artichoke, timothy-clover grass and reed canary grass gave the highest potential methane yields of 2900-5400 m{sup 3} CH{sub 4} ha{sup -1}, corresponding to a gross energy yield of 28-53 MWh ha{sup -1} and ca. 40,000-60,000 km ha{sup -1} in passenger car transport. The effect of harvest time on specific methane yields per VS of crops varied a lot, whereas the specific methane yields per t{sub ww} increased with most crops as the crops matured. (author)

  9. Effects of tropical ecosystem engineers on soil quality and crop performance under different tillage and residue management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pulleman, Mirjam; Paul, Birthe; Fredrick, Ayuke; Hoogmoed, Marianne; Hurisso, Tunsisa; Ndabamenye, Telesphore; Saidou, Koala; Terano, Yusuke; Six, Johan; Vanlauwe, Bernard

    2014-05-01

    Feeding a future global population of 9 billion will require a 70-100% increase in food production, resulting in unprecedented challenges for agriculture and natural resources, especially in Sub-saharan Africa (SSA). Agricultural practices that contribute to sustainable intensification build on beneficial biological interactions and ecosystem services. Termites are the dominant soil ecosystem engineers in arid to sub-humid tropical agro-ecosystems. Various studies have demonstrated the potential benefits of termites for rehabilitation of degraded and crusted soils and plant growth in semi-arid and arid natural ecosystems. However, the contribution of termites to agricultural productivity has hardly been experimentally investigated, and their role in Conservation Agriculture (CA) systems remains especially unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the effects of termites and ants on soil physical quality and crop productivity under different tillage and residue management systems in the medium term. A randomized block trial was set up in sub-humid Western Kenya in 2003. Treatments included a factorial combination of residue retention and removal (+R/-R) and conventional and reduced tillage (+T/-T) under a maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glyxine max. L.) rotation. A macrofauna exclusion experiment was superimposed in 2005 as a split-plot factor (exclusion +ins; inclusion -ins) by regular applications of pesticides (Dursban and Endosulfan) in half of the plots. Macrofauna abundance and diversity, soil aggregate fractions, soil carbon contents and crop yields were measured between 2005 and 2012 at 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm soil depths. Termites were the most important macrofauna species, constituting between 48-63% of all soil biota, while ants were 13-34%, whereas earthworms were present in very low numbers. Insecticide application was effective in reducing termites (85-56% exclusion efficacy) and earthworms (87%), and less so ants (49-81%) at 0-15 cm soil depth

  10. Impact of crop residues on seed germination of native desert plants ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Crop residues produce allelochemicals that may inhibit seed germination of many weeds. In this study, I assessed the effect of aqueous extracts of three crop residues (radish, rocket and rhodes) on final germination percentage and germination rate of four desert plants recorded as weeds in the United Arab Emirates farms ...

  11. Nitrous oxide emissions and controls as influenced by tillage and crop residue management strategy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mutegi, James; Munkholm, Lars Juhl; Petersen, Bjørn Molt

    2010-01-01

    (RT) or conventional tillage (CT). Each of these tillage treatments further varied in respect to whether the resulting plot crop residues were retained (+Res) or removed (-Res). Sampling took place from autumn 2007 to the end of spring 2008. Overall N2O emissions were 27 and 26% lower in DD and RT...

  12. Long-term C-CO2 emissions and carbon crop residue mineralization in an oxisol under different tillage and crop rotation systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben-Hur Costa de Campos

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Soil C-CO2 emissions are sensitive indicators of management system impacts on soil organic matter (SOM. The main soil C-CO2 sources at the soil-plant interface are the decomposition of crop residues, SOM turnover, and respiration of roots and soil biota. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impacts of tillage and cropping systems on long-term soil C-CO2 emissions and their relationship with carbon (C mineralization of crop residues. A long-term experiment was conducted in a Red Oxisol in Cruz Alta, RS, Brazil, with subtropical climate Cfa (Köppen classification, mean annual precipitation of 1,774 mm and mean annual temperature of 19.2 ºC. Treatments consisted of two tillage systems: (a conventional tillage (CT and (b no tillage (NT in combination with three cropping systems: (a R0- monoculture system (soybean/wheat, (b R1- winter crop rotation (soybean/wheat/soybean/black oat, and (c R2- intensive crop rotation (soybean/ black oat/soybean/black oat + common vetch/maize/oilseed radish/wheat. The soil C-CO2 efflux was measured every 14 days for two years (48 measurements, by trapping the CO2 in an alkaline solution. The soil gravimetric moisture in the 0-0.05 m layer was determined concomitantly with the C-CO2 efflux measurements. The crop residue C mineralization was evaluated with the mesh-bag method, with sampling 14, 28, 56, 84, 112, and 140 days after the beginning of the evaluation period for C measurements. Four C conservation indexes were used to assess the relation between C-CO2 efflux and soil C stock and its compartments. The crop residue C mineralization fit an exponential model in time. For black oat, wheat and maize residues, C mineralization was higher in CT than NT, while for soybean it was similar. Soil moisture was higher in NT than CT, mainly in the second year of evaluation. There was no difference in tillage systems for annual average C-CO2 emissions, but in some individual evaluations, differences between

  13. Global warming impact assessment of a crop residue gasification project—A dynamic LCA perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Jin; Chen, Bin

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A dynamic LCA is proposed considering time-varying factors. • Dynamic LCA is used to highlight GHG emission hotspots of gasification projects. • Indicators are proposed to reflect GHG emission performance. • Dynamic LCA alters the static LCA results. • Crop residue gasification project has high GHG abatement potential. - Abstract: Bioenergy from crop residues is one of the prevailing sustainable energy sources owing to the abundant reserves worldwide. Amongst a wide variety of energy conversion technologies, crop residue gasification has been regarded as promising owing to its higher energy efficiency than that of direct combustion. However, prior to large-scale application of crop residue gasification, the lifetime environmental performance should be investigated to shed light on sustainable strategies. As traditional static life cycle assessment (LCA) does not include temporal information for dynamic processes, we proposed a dynamic life cycle assessment approach, which improves the static LCA approach by considering time-varying factors, e.g., greenhouse gas characterization factors and energy intensity. As the gasification project can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) discharge compared with traditional direct fuel combustion, trade-offs between the benefits of global warming mitigation and the impact on global warming of crop residue gasification should be considered. Therefore, indicators of net global warming mitigation benefit and global warming impact mitigation period are put forward to justify the feasibility of the crop residue gasification project. The proposed dynamic LCA and indicators were then applied to estimate the life cycle global warming impact of a crop residue gasification system in China. Results show that the crop residue gasification project has high net global warming mitigation benefit and a short global warming impact mitigation period, indicating its prominent potential in alleviating global warming impact. During

  14. Utilization of residual nitrogen (15N) from cover crop and urea by corn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Edson Cabral da; Muraoka, Takashi; Trivelin, Paulo Cesar Ocheuze; Buzetti, Salatier; Veloso, Marcos Emanuel da Costa

    2006-01-01

    The majority of N from mineral fertilizers and cover crops is usually not used by the very next corn crop, but can be absorbed by follow-up crops. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of residual nitrogen from urea, sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea) and millet (Pennisetum americanum) labeled with 15 N, applied to no-tillage corn in the previous growing season, in a Red Latosol of the Cerrado. The study was conducted in an experimental farm of the Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), Ilha Solteira, in Selviria county (MS), Brazil, in different areas. The experiment had a randomized complete block design, with 15 treatments and four replications. Treatments were applied to corn crop in the 2001/02 and 2003/04 growing seasons. They were distributed in a 3 x 5 factorial layout, representing the combination of three cover crops: sunnhemp, millet and spontaneous vegetation (fallow) and five N rates (as urea): 0, 30, 80, 130, and 180 kg ha-1 of N. After corn harvest, the two areas were followed in the dry season and were followed by corn crop in the 2002/03 (experiment 1) and 2003/04 (experiment 2) growing seasons, using the same fertilizer rate on all plots to distinguish the residual effect of N sources. The average use of residual N from the millet and sunnhemp residues (above-ground part) by corn crop was less than 3.5 and 3 %, respectively, of the initial amount. The corn uptake of residual N from urea increased in a quadratic manner in experiment 1 and linearly in experiment Two as a response to the applied N rates, and the recover was below 3 %. The cover crop type did not affect the use of residual N of urea by corn, and vice-versa. (author)

  15. Nitrogen acquisition by pea and barley and the effect of their crop residues on available nitrogen for subsequent crops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, E.S.

    1996-01-01

    Nitrogen acquisition by field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grown on a sandy loam soil and availability of N in three subsequent sequences of a cropping system were studied in an outdoor pot experiment. The effect of crop residues on the N availability was evaluated....... The dry matter production and total N uptake of a spring barley crop following pea or barley, with a period of unplanted soil in the autumn/winter, were significantly higher after pea than after barley. The barley crop following pea and barley recovered 11% of the pea and 8% of the barley residue N...

  16. Ecological weed management by cover cropping : effects on weed growth in autumn and weed establishment in spring

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kruidhof, H.M.; Bastiaans, L.; Kropff, M.J.

    2008-01-01

    Cover crops grown in the period between two main crops have potential as an important component of a system-oriented ecological weed management strategy. In late summer and autumn, the cover crop can suppress growth and seed production of weeds, whereas the incorporation of cover crop residues in

  17. Crop residue decomposition, residual soil organic matter and nitrogen mineralization in arable soils with contrasting textures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Matus, F.J.

    1994-01-01

    To evaluate the significance of cropping, soil texture and soil structure for the decomposition of 14C- and 15N-labelled crop residues, a study was conducted in a sand and a

  18. Nitrogen mineralization from selected 15N-labelled crop residues and humus as affected by inorganic nitrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, J.A.

    1987-01-01

    The use of cover crops or crop residues as a source of N to succeeding crops has become a matter of increasing importance for economic and environmental reason. Greenhouse and field studies were conducted to determine the N contribution of four 15 N labelled crop residues, rye (Secale cereale L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), crimson clover (Trifolium encarnatum L.), and hairy vetch (Vicia sativa L.), to successive crops and to evaluate the effect of different organic (ON) and inorganic N (IN) combinations on mineralization of the above residues. Total 15 N recovery from the residues ranged from 51% to 85% and 4% to 74% for the greenhouse and field studies, respectively

  19. Distribution, utilization structure and potential of biomass resources in rural China: With special references of crop residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, H [Laboratory of Quantitative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093 (China); Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Jiang, G M [Laboratory of Quantitative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093 (China); Agronomy Department, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai' an 271018, Shandong Province (China); Zhuang, H Y [National Bio-Energy CO., LTD, No. 26B, Financial Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100032 (China); Shandong Academy of Sciences, No. 19, Keyuan Road, Ji' nan 250014, Shandong Province (China); Wang, K J [Agronomy Department, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai' an 271018, Shandong Province (China)

    2008-06-15

    As the largest developing country in the world, China is urgently in short of energy and natural resources. However, biological resources such as crop residues are burnt in the field, which cause serious environmental pollution. Still it is not clear how much storage and potential of these huge crop residues are in China. This paper firstly reported the distribution, utilization structure and potential of crop biomass and provided the tangible information of crop residues in rural China through careful collecting and recalculating data. From 1995 to 2005, China produces some 630 million tons of crop residues per year, 50% of which comes from east and central south of China. The amount of crop residues is 1.3 times of the total yield of crops, 2 times of the total fodder of grassland, which covers 41% of China's territory. Crop residues of corn, wheat and rice amounted to 239, 137 and 116 million tons, respectively, accounting for nearly 80% of the total crop residues. Unfortunately, the utilizing structure is seriously improper for such abundant biomass resources. Although 23% of the crop residues are used for forage, 4% for industry materials and 0.5% for biogas, the large parts are used with lower efficiency or wasted, with 37% being directly combusted by farmers, 15% lost during collection and the rest 20.5% discarded or directly burnt in the field. Reasonable adjustment of the utilizing pattern and popularization of the recycling agriculture are essential out-ways for residues, with the development of the forage industry being the breakthrough point. We suggested that utilizing the abandoned 20.5% of the total residues for forage and combining agriculture and stock raising can greatly improve the farm system and cut down fertilizer pollution. Through the development of forage industries, the use efficiency of crop residues could be largely enhanced. Commercializing and popularizing technologies of biomass gasification and liquefaction might be substitute

  20. Barriers and drivers towards the incorporation of crop residue in the soil. Analysis of Italian farmers’ opinion with the theory of planned behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luca Bechini

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Despite the benefits arising from incorporating crop residue in the soil, some farmers decide to burn or sell it. The objective of the work described in this paper was to quantify the adoption of crop residue incorporation by Italian farmers, and to identify the barriers and drivers that they perceive towards this agricultural management practice. We applied a behavioural approach, based on the theory of planned behaviour. In agriculture, this theory can be used to study individual farmer beliefs to understand the intention to adopt agricultural management practices. Based on preliminary semi-structured interviews with 24 farmers, we have prepared and disseminated a structured questionnaire in dairy farms in the plain of northern Italy, in arable farms in the plain of northern, central, and southern Italy, and in arable farms in the hill of central and southern Italy. The questionnaire contained questions to reveal subjective beliefs of the farmers on the outcomes of incorporating crop residue, and on the referents and control factors that might influence adoption. We have received 315 filled questionnaires from 16 regions and 54 provinces. The survey has identified major drivers and barriers towards the incorporation of crop residue in the soil. The main drivers were the expected improvement of soil quality (higher soil organic matter, improved structure and fertility, the expected increase of grain protein concentration in the following wheat crop, the availability of adequate machinery, the prohibition of burning crop residue, and the knowledge that incorporation is important (which emphasizes the importance of an effective advisory service. The main barriers were the costs of incorporation, the need to increase the use of nitrogen fertiliser when straw is incorporated, and the problems to sow the following crop in the presence of residue. While on the basis of the preliminary interviews we expected that the possibility to sell the straw and

  1. Quantification and characterization of cotton crop biomass residue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton crop residual biomass remaining in the field after mechanical seed cotton harvest is not typically harvested and utilized off-site thereby generating additional revenue for producers. Recently, interest has increased in utilizing biomass materials as feedstock for the production of fuel and ...

  2. Nitrogen Transfer from Cover Crop Residues to Onion Grown under Minimum Tillage in Southern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leoncio de Paula Koucher

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Nitrogen derived from cover crop residues may contribute to the nutrition of onion grown under minimum tillage (MT and cultivated in rotation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the N transferred from different cover crop residues to the onion crop cultivated under MT in southern Brazil. In June 2014, oilseed radish, black oat, and oilseed radish + black oat residues labeled with 15N were deposited on the soil surface before transplanting onions. During the growth season and at harvest, young expanded onion leaves, complete plants, and samples from different soil layers were collected and analyzed for recovery of 15N-labeled residue. Oilseed radish decomposed faster than other residues and 4 % of residue N was recovered in leaves and bulbs at harvest, but in general, N in plant organs was derived from sources other than the cover crop residues. In addition, leaf N was in the proper range for all treatments and was adequately mobilized to the bases for bulbing. The N derived from decomposing residues contributed little to onion development and the use of these plants should be chosen based on their advantages for physical and biological soil quality.

  3. Effect of intercropping period management on runoff and erosion in a maize cropping system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laloy, Eric; Bielders, C L

    2010-01-01

    The management of winter cover crops is likely to influence their performance in reducing runoff and erosion during the intercropping period that precedes spring crops but also during the subsequent spring crop. This study investigated the impact of two dates of destruction and burial of a rye (Secale cereale L.) and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) cover crop on runoff and erosion, focusing on a continuous silage maize (Zea mays L.) cropping system. Thirty erosion plots with various intercrop management options were monitored for 3 yr at two sites. During the intercropping period, cover crops reduced runoff and erosion by more than 94% compared with untilled, post-maize harvest plots. Rough tillage after maize harvest proved equally effective as a late sown cover crop. There was no effect of cover crop destruction and burial dates on runoff and erosion during the intercropping period, probably because rough tillage for cover crop burial compensates for the lack of soil cover. During two of the monitored maize seasons, it was observed that plots that had been covered during the previous intercropping period lost 40 to 90% less soil compared with maize plots that had been left bare during the intercropping period. The burial of an aboveground cover crop biomass in excess of 1.5 t ha(-1) was a necessary, yet not always sufficient, condition to induce a residual effect. Because of the possible beneficial residual effect of cover crop burial on erosion reduction, the sowing of a cover crop should be preferred over rough tillage after maize harvest.

  4. Cropping management using color and color infrared aerial photographs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, K. M.; Morris-Jones, D. R.; Lee, G. B.; Kiefer, R. W.

    1979-01-01

    The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is a widely accepted tool for erosion prediction and conservation planning. Solving this equation yields the long-term average annual soil loss that can be expected from rill and inter-rill erosion. In this study, manual interpretation of color and color infrared 70 mm photography at the scale of 1:60,000 is used to determine the cropping management factor in the USLE. Accurate information was collected about plowing practices and crop residue cover (unharvested vegetation) for the winter season on agricultural land in Pheasant Branch Creek watershed in Dane County, Wisconsin.

  5. Variations in thematic mapper spectra of soil related to tillage and crop residue management - Initial evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seeley, M. W.; Ruschy, D. L.; Linden, D. R.

    1983-01-01

    A cooperative research project was initiated in 1982 to study differences in thematic mapper spectral characteristics caused by variable tillage and crop residue practices. Initial evaluations of radiometric data suggest that spectral separability of variably tilled soils can be confounded by moisture and weathering effects. Separability of bare tilled soils from those with significant amounts of corn residue is enhanced by wet conditions, but still possible under dry conditions when recent tillage operations have occurred. In addition, thematic mapper data may provide an alternative method to study the radiant energy balance at the soil surface in conjunction with variable tillage systems.

  6. Release of Phosphorus Forms from Cover Crop Residues in Agroecological No-Till Onion Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodolfo Assis de Oliveira

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Cover crops grown alone or in association can take up different amounts of phosphorus (P from the soil and accumulate it in different P-forms in plant tissue. Cover crop residues with a higher content of readily decomposed forms may release P more quickly for the next onion crop. The aim of this study was to evaluate the release of P forms from residues of single and mixed cover crops in agroecological no-till onion (Allium cepa L. production. The experiment was conducted in Ituporanga, Santa Catarina (SC, Brazil, in an Inceptisol, with the following treatments: weeds, black oat (Avena sativa L., rye (Secale cereale L., oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus L., oilseed radish + black oat, and oilseed radish + rye. Cover crops were sown in April 2013. In July 2013, plant shoots were cut close to the soil surface and part of the material was placed in litterbags. The bags were placed on the soil surface and residues were collected at 0, 15, and 45 days after deposition (DAD. Residues were dried and ground and P in the plant tissue was determined through chemical fractionation. The release of P contained in the tissue of cover crops depends not only on total P content in the tissue, but also on the accumulation of P forms and the quality of the residue in decomposition. The highest accumulation of P in cover crops occurred in the soluble inorganic P fraction, which is the fraction of fastest release in plants. Black oat had the highest initial release rate of soluble inorganic P, which became equal to the release rate of other cover crop residues at 45 DAD. Weeds released only half the amount of soluble inorganic P in the same period, despite accumulating a considerable amount of P in their biomass. The mixtures of oilseed radish + rye and oilseed radish + black oat showed higher release of P associated with RNA at 45 DAD in comparison to the single treatments.

  7. Woody legume fallow productivity, biological N2-fixation and residual benefits to two successive maize crops in Zimbabwe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chikowo, R.; Mapfumo, P.; Nyamugafata, P.; Giller, K.E.

    2004-01-01

    Three woody legumes were planted as two-year 'improved fallows' to evaluate their residual nitrogen (N) effects on two subsequent maize crops under minimum and conventional tillage management. Maize monoculture and cowpea-maize-maize sequence treatments were included as controls. N-2-fixation was

  8. The Effect of Crop Residue Application to Soil Fauna Community and Mungbean Growth (Vigna radata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SUGIYARTO

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available Litterbag experiment was carried out to determine the effect of crop residue application to soil fauna community and mungbean growth. The experiment arranged in randomized complete design with triplicate. The four treatment application of crotalarian, rice straw and banana’s aerial stem residues as well as without residue application as control. Soil fauna community and mungbean growth measured at 8 weeks after mungbean sown. Soil fauna extracted by modified Barless-Tullgren extractor apparatus. Height and dry weight of mungbean measured as crop growth parameters. The results indicated that the soil fauna densities and diversities as well as the growth of mungbean tended to increase by the application of crop residues. The effect of the treatment decreasing in the following order: banana’s aerial stem residue > crotalarian residue > rice straw > without residue application. There were high correlation between mungbean growth and soil fauna diversities.© 2001 Jurusan Biologi FMIPA UNS SurakartaKey words:

  9. Turnover of grain legume N rhizodeposits and effect of rhizodeposition on the turnover of crop residues

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mayer, J.; Buegger, F.; Jensen, E.S.

    2004-01-01

    The turnover of N derived from rhizodeposition of faba bean (Vicia faba L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.) and white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) and the effects of the rhizodeposition on the subsequent C and N turnover of its crop residues were investigated in an incubation experiment (168 days, 15 degrees....... In the experiment the turnover of C and N was compared in soils with and without previous growth of three legumes and with and without incorporation of crop residues. After 168 days, 21% (lupin), 26% (faba bean) and 27% (pea) of rhizodeposition N was mineralised in the treatments without crop residues. A smaller...... amount of 15-17% was present as microbial biomass and between 30 and 55% of mineralised rhizodeposition N was present as microbial residue pool, which consists of microbial exoenzymes, mucous substances and dead microbial biomass. The effect of rhizodeposition on the C and N turnover of crop residues...

  10. Assessing the Effect of Prometryn Soil Residue on Soil Microbial Biomass and Different Crops using Bioassay Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mohamad taghi alebrahim

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Herbicides are the most widely used of chemical pesticides for agricultural production and landscape management. The environmental risk of herbicides should be evaluated near sites of application, even though basic ecotoxicological tests have been conducted before they can be registered for marketing. For example, triazine herbicides, which are photosynthetic PSII herbicide that considered only slightly or moderately toxic to many susceptible plants, soil microorganisms, mammals and humans, however, concerns have arisen because this herbicide are members of a class claimed to be carcinogenic, or may affect the development as reproductive toxins. For this reason, most reliable evidence is needed to test these claims and investigate their ecological effects. Prometryn is a herbicide belongs to triazine family that may leave residual activity in the soil for extended periods, causing injury and yield reduction of susceptible soil microorganisms and crops in rotation. Compared with other methods, the rapidity of response, sensitivity, high level of precision, simple process and easy operation are the advantages of bioassay methods for the routine monitoring of biologically available photosynthesis-inhibiting herbicides present in agricultural soils. Materials and Methods: A pot experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions in order to study the sensitivity of 4 different crops to prometryn soil residue at the College of Agricultural Sciences, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran in 2014. Experimental type was completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement with three replications. Treatments included 4 different crops (lettuce, barley, rapeseed and beet and prometryn simulated concentrations residues in soil (0.0033, 0.0166, 0.033, 0.066, 0.1 and 0.166 mg. kg-1soil. 15 cm diameter pots were filled with a modified soil and 10 of seeds of crops were planted in 5 regular positions. The plants were thinned to five plants per pot

  11. Short-term contributions of cover crop surface residue return to soil carbon and nitrogen contents in temperate Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xiaoqi; Wu, Hanwen; Li, Guangdi; Chen, Chengrong

    2016-11-01

    Cover crop species are usually grown to control weeds. After cover crop harvest, crop residue is applied on the ground to improve soil fertility and crop productivity. Little information is available about quantifying the contributions of cover crop application to soil total carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents in temperate Australia. Here, we selected eight cover crop treatments, including two legume crops (vetch and field pea), four non-legume crops (rye, wheat, Saia oat, and Indian mustard), a mixture of rye and vetch, and a nil-crop control in temperate Australia to calculate the contributions of cover crops (crop growth + residue decomposition) to soil C and N contents. Cover crops were sown in May 2009 (autumn). After harvest, the crop residue was placed on the soil surface in October 2009. Soil and crop samples were collected in October 2009 after harvest and in May 2010 after 8 months of residue decomposition. We examined cover crop residue biomass, soil and crop total C and N contents, and soil microbial biomass C and N contents. The results showed that cover crop application increased the mean soil total C by 187-253 kg ha -1 and the mean soil total N by 16.3-19.1 kg ha -1 relative to the nil-crop treatment, except for the mixture treatment, which had similar total C and N contents to the nil-crop control. Cover crop application increased the mean soil microbial biomass C by 15.5-20.9 kg ha -1 and the mean soil microbial biomass N by 4.5-10.2 kg ha -1 . We calculated the apparent percentage of soil total C derived from cover crop residue C losses and found that legume crops accounted for 10.6-13.9 %, whereas non-legume crops accounted for 16.4-18.4 % except for the mixture treatment (0.2 %). Overall, short-term cover crop application increased soil total C and N contents and microbial biomass C and N contents, which might help reduce N fertilizer use and improve sustainable agricultural development.

  12. Nitrous Oxide Emission and Denitrifier Abundance in Two Agricultural Soils Amended with Crop Residues and Urea in the North China Plain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianmin Gao

    Full Text Available The application of crop residues combined with Nitrogen (N fertilizer has been broadly adopted in China. Crop residue amendments can provide readily available C and N, as well as other nutrients to agricultural soils, but also intensify the N fixation, further affecting N2O emissions. N2O pulses are obviously driven by rainfall, irrigation and fertilization. Fertilization before rainfall or followed by flooding irrigation is a general management practice for a wheat-maize rotation in the North China Plain. Yet, little is known on the impacts of crop residues combined with N fertilizer application on N2O emission under high soil moisture content. A laboratory incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of two crop residue amendments (maize and wheat, individually or in combination with N fertilizer, on N2O emissions and denitrifier abundance in two main agricultural soils (one is an alluvial soil, pH 8.55, belongs to Ochri-Aquic Cambosols, OAC, the other is a lime concretion black soil, pH 6.61, belongs to Hapli-Aquic Vertosols, HAV under 80% WFPS (the water filled pore space in the North China Plain. Each type soil contains seven treatments: a control with no N fertilizer application (CK, N0, 200 kg N ha-1 (N200, 250 kg N ha-1 (N250, maize residue plus N200 (MN200, maize residue plus N250 (MN250, wheat residue plus N200 (WN200 and wheat residue plus N250 (WN250. Results showed that, in the HAV soil, MN250 and WN250 increased the cumulative N2O emissions by 60% and 30% compared with N250 treatment, respectively, but MN200 and WN200 decreased the cumulative N2O emissions by 20% and 50% compared with N200. In the OAC soil, compared with N200 or N250, WN200 and WN250 increased the cumulative N2O emission by 40%-50%, but MN200 and MN250 decreased the cumulative N2O emission by 10%-20%. Compared with CK, addition of crop residue or N fertilizer resulted in significant increases in N2O emissions in both soils. The cumulative N2O

  13. Effect of water content and organic carbon on remote sensing of crop residue cover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serbin, G.; Hunt, E. R., Jr.; Daughtry, C. S. T.; McCarty, G. W.; Brown, D. J.; Doraiswamy, P. C.

    2009-04-01

    Crop residue cover is an important indicator of tillage method. Remote sensing of crop residue cover is an attractive and efficient method when compared with traditional ground-based methods, e.g., the line-point transect or windshield survey. A number of spectral indices have been devised for residue cover estimation. Of these, the most effective are those in the shortwave infrared portion of the spectrum, situated between 1950 and 2500 nm. These indices include the hyperspectral Cellulose Absorption Index (CAI), and advanced multispectral indices, i.e., the Lignin-Cellulose Absorption (LCA) index and the Shortwave Infrared Normalized Difference Residue Index (SINDRI), which were devised for the NASA Terra Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensor. Spectra of numerous soils from U.S. Corn Belt (Indiana and Iowa) were acquired under wetness conditions varying from saturation to oven-dry conditions. The behavior of soil reflectance with water content was also dependent on the soil organic carbon content (SOC) of the soils, and the location of the spectral bands relative to significant water absorptions. High-SOC soils showed the least change in spectral index values with increase in soil water content. Low-SOC soils, on the other hand, showed measurable difference. For CAI, low-SOC soils show an initial decrease in index value followed by an increase, due to the way that water content affects CAI spectral bands. Crop residue CAI values decrease with water content. For LCA, water content increases decrease crop residue index values and increase them for soils, resulting in decreased contrast. SINDRI is also affected by SOC and water content. As such, spatial information on the distribution of surface soil water content and SOC, when used in a geographic information system (GIS), will improve the accuracy of remotely-sensed crop residue cover estimates.

  14. Soil and Crop management: Lessons from the laboratory biosphere 2002-2004

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silverstone, S.; Nelson, M.; Alling, A.; Allen, J.

    During the years 2002 and 2003, three closed system experiments were carried out in the "Laboratory Biosphere" facility located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The program involved experimentation with "Hoyt" Soy Beans, USU Apogee Wheat and TU-82-155 sweet potato using a 5.37 m2 soil planting bed which was 30 cm deep. The soil texture, 40% clay, 31% sand and 28% silt (a clay loam), was collected from an organic farm in New Mexico to avoid chemical residues. Soil management practices involved minimal tillage, mulching and returning crop residues to the soil after each experiment. Between experiment #2 and #3, the top 15 cm of the soil was amended using a mix of peat moss, green sand, humates and pumice to improve soil texture, lower soil pH and increase nutrient availability. Soil analyses for all three experiments are presented to show how the soils have changed with time and how the changes relate to crop selection and rotation, soil selection and management, water management and pest control. The experience and information gained from these experiments are being applied to the future design of the Mars On Earth facility.

  15. Miscanthus establishment and overwintering in the Midwest USA: a regional modeling study of crop residue management on critical minimum soil temperatures.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher J Kucharik

    Full Text Available Miscanthus is an intriguing cellulosic bioenergy feedstock because its aboveground productivity is high for low amounts of agrochemical inputs, but soil temperatures below -3.5 °C could threaten successful cultivation in temperate regions. We used a combination of observed soil temperatures and the Agro-IBIS model to investigate how strategic residue management could reduce the risk of rhizome threatening soil temperatures. This objective was addressed using a historical (1978-2007 reconstruction of extreme minimum 10 cm soil temperatures experienced across the Midwest US and model sensitivity studies that quantified the impact of crop residue on soil temperatures. At observation sites and for simulations that had bare soil, two critical soil temperature thresholds (50% rhizome winterkill at -3.5 °C and -6.0 °C for different Miscanthus genotypes were reached at rhizome planting depth (10 cm over large geographic areas. The coldest average annual extreme 10 cm soil temperatures were between -8 °C to -11 °C across North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Large portions of the region experienced 10 cm soil temperatures below -3.5 °C in 75% or greater for all years, and portions of North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin experienced soil temperatures below -6.0 °C in 50-60% of all years. For simulated management options that established varied thicknesses (1-5 cm of miscanthus straw following harvest, extreme minimum soil temperatures increased by 2.5 °C to 6 °C compared to bare soil, with the greatest warming associated with thicker residue layers. While the likelihood of 10 cm soil temperatures reaching -3.5 °C was greatly reduced with 2-5 cm of surface residue, portions of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Wisconsin still experienced temperatures colder than -3.5 °C in 50-80% of all years. Nonetheless, strategic residue management could help increase the likelihood of overwintering of miscanthus rhizomes in the first few

  16. Hydroponic Crop Production using Recycled Nutrients from Inedible Crop Residues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garland, Jay L.; Mackowiak, Cheryl L.; Sager, John C.

    1993-01-01

    The coupling of plant growth and waste recycling systems is an important step toward the development of bioregenerative life support systems. This research examined the effectiveness of two alternative methods for recycling nutrients from the inedible fraction (residue) of candidate crops in a bioregenerative system as follows: (1) extraction in water, or leaching, and (2) combustion at 550 C, with subsequent reconstitution of the ash in acid. The effectiveness of the different methods was evaluated by (1) comparing the percent recovery of nutrients, and (2) measuring short- and long-term plant growth in hydroponic solutions, based on recycled nutrients.

  17. Relative availability of crop residue-N in rice cultivation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sirwando, H; Abdullah, N.

    1988-01-01

    The use of plant residues for soil amendment will reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. The experiment to study the uptake of N from various plant residues by rice crop. Three kinds of plant residue of soybean labelled with 15-N. Four levels of urea (0, 15, 30, 40 kg N/ha) were applied to aluvial soil from Pusakanegara. The factorial experiment was conducted in fully randomize design, with plant residues as the main treatment, and rate of urea as substreatment. The results obtained from this experiment showed that plant dry weight, N content of grain, straw, and the whole plant of Atomita I rice treated with soybean strow seens to be higher than those treated with the straw of rice or corn. (author). 6 refs.; 7 tabs

  18. Suitability of peanut residue as a nitrogen source for a rye cover crop

    OpenAIRE

    Balkcom,Kipling Shane; Wood,Charles Wesley; Adams,James Fredrick; Meso,Bernard

    2007-01-01

    Leguminous winter cover crops have been utilized in conservation systems to partially meet nitrogen (N) requirements of succeeding summer cash crops, but the potential of summer legumes to reduce N requirements of a winter annual grass, used as a cover crop, has not been extensively examined. This study assessed the N contribution of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) residues to a subsequent rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop grown in a conservation system on a Dothan sandy loam (fine-loamy, kaoli...

  19. Long Term Sugarcane Crop Residue Retention Offers Limited Potential to Reduce Nitrogen Fertilizer Rates in Australian Wet Tropical Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Elizabeth A; Thorburn, Peter J

    2016-01-01

    The warming of world climate systems is driving interest in the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the agricultural sector, practices that mitigate GHG emissions include those that (1) reduce emissions [e.g., those that reduce nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by avoiding excess nitrogen (N) fertilizer application], and (2) increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks (e.g., by retaining instead of burning crop residues). Sugarcane is a globally important crop that can have substantial inputs of N fertilizer and which produces large amounts of crop residues ('trash'). Management of N fertilizer and trash affects soil carbon and nitrogen cycling, and hence GHG emissions. Trash has historically been burned at harvest, but increasingly is being retained on the soil surface as a 'trash blanket' in many countries. The potential for trash retention to alter N fertilizer requirements and sequester SOC was investigated in this study. The APSIM model was calibrated with data from field and laboratory studies of trash decomposition in the wet tropics of northern Australia. APSIM was then validated against four independent data sets, before simulating location × soil × fertilizer × trash management scenarios. Soil carbon increased in trash blanketed soils relative to SOC in soils with burnt trash. However, further increases in SOC for the study region may be limited because the SOC in trash blanketed soils could be approaching equilibrium; future GHG mitigation efforts in this region should therefore focus on N fertilizer management. Simulated N fertilizer rates were able to be reduced from conventional rates regardless of trash management, because of low yield potential in the wet tropics. For crops subjected to continuous trash blanketing, there was substantial immobilization of N in decomposing trash so conventional N fertilizer rates were required for up to 24 years after trash blanketing commenced. After this period, there was potential to reduce N fertilizer

  20. Long term sugarcane crop residue retention offers limited potential to reduce nitrogen fertilizer rates in Australian wet tropical environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Anne Meier

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The warming of world climate systems is driving interest in the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions. In the agricultural sector, practices that mitigate GHG emissions include those that (1 reduce emissions (e.g. those that reduce nitrous oxide (N2O emissions by avoiding excess nitrogen (N fertilizer application, and (2 increase soil organic carbon (SOC stocks (e.g. by retaining instead of burning crop residues. Sugarcane is a globally important crop that can have substantial inputs of N fertilizer and which produces large amounts of crop residues (‘trash’. Management of N fertilizer and trash affects soil carbon and nitrogen cycling, and hence GHG emissions. Trash has historically been burned at harvest, but increasingly is being retained on the soil surface as a ‘trash blanket’ in many countries. The potential for trash retention to alter N fertilizer requirements and sequester SOC was investigated in this study. The APSIM model was calibrated with data from field and laboratory studies of trash decomposition in the wet tropics of northern Australia. APSIM was then validated against four independent data sets, before simulating location  soil  fertilizer  trash management scenarios. Soil carbon increased in trash blanketed soils relative to SOC in soils with burnt trash. However, further increases in SOC for the study region may be limited because the SOC in trash blanketed soils could be approaching equilibrium; future GHG mitigation efforts in this region should therefore focus on N fertilizer management. Simulated N fertilizer rates were able to be reduced from conventional rates regardless of trash management, because of low yield potential in the wet tropics. For crops subjected to continuous trash blanketing, there was substantial immobilization of N in decomposing trash so conventional N fertilizer rates were required for up to 24 yr after trash blanketing commenced. After this period, there was potential to

  1. Impact of agriculture crop residue burning on atmospheric aerosol loading – a study over Punjab State, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darshan Singh

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study deals with the impact of agriculture crop residue burning on aerosol properties during October 2006 and 2007 over Punjab State, India using ground based measurements and multi-satellite data. Spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD and Ångström exponent (α values exhibited larger day to day variation during crop residue burning period. The monthly mean Ångström exponent "α" and turbidity parameter "β" values during October 2007 were 1.31±0.31 and 0.36±0.21, respectively. The higher values of "α" and "β" suggest turbid atmospheric conditions with increase in fine mode aerosols over the region during crop residue burning period. AURA-OMI derived Aerosol Index (AI and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2 showed higher values over the study region during October 2007 compared to October 2006 suggesting enhanced atmospheric pollution associated with agriculture crop residue burning.

  2. Dryland maize yields and water use efficiency in response to tillage/crop stubble and nutrient management practices in China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, X.B.; Dai, K.; Zhang, D.; Zhang, X.; Wang, Y.; Zhao, Q.; Cai, D.X.; Hoogmoed, W.B.; Oenema, O.

    2011-01-01

    Rainfed crop production in northern China is constrained by low and variable rainfall. This study explored the effects of tillage/crop residue and nutrient management practices on maize (Zea mays L.) yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and N agronomic use efficiency (NAE) at Shouyang Dryland Farming

  3. Investigation of Sensitivity of Some Pulses and Agronomic Crops to Soil Residue of Idosulfuron-mesosulfurun Herbicide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Izadi-Darbandi

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available To study the sensitivity of chick pea, bean, lentil, rapeseed, sugarbeet and tomato to soil residual concentration of Idosulfuron-mesosulfurun herbicide, an experiment was carried out under controlled conditions at the College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, in 2010. The studied factors were the 6 mentioned crops, and 7 levels of soil residual concentration of Idosulfuron-mesosulfurun herbicide (0, 0.0015, 0.0037, 0.0079, 0.015, 0.031 and 0.047 mg per kg of soil. The factorial experiment was carried out as a completely randomized design with three replications. Crops' emergence percentage was determined one week after their emergence. Plants' survival percentage and shoot and root biomass production were measured 30 days after their emergence. Results showed that all mentioned characteristics decreased significantly (P<0.01 in the presence of soil residue of the herbicide. Increasing Idosulfuron-mesosulfurun residual concentration in soil decreased emergence and shoot and root biomass production. Bean had the lowest shoot (44% and root (66.78% biomass loss and tomato had the highest shoot (96.38% and root (89.64% biomass loss. Based on ED50 index, pea (0.0079 mg/kg soil was the most tolerant and tomato (0.0003 mg/kg soil was the most susceptible crop to soil residues of Idosulfuron-mesosulfurun, and other crops ranked in between as: tomato< sugarbeet< rapeseed< lentil< bean< pea. In general, these results showed that soil residue of Idosulfuron-mesosulfurun can injure rotation crops and it is important to consider their sensitivity in rotation programming.

  4. Studies on the effects of application of different foliar fertilizer materials, crop residue and inter cropping on Banana plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hassan, Yusuf Munim [Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Khartoum (Sudan)

    1997-12-31

    Five separate experiments were conducted at university of Khartoum demonstration farm during 1993 to 1995 under both orchard and nursery conditions to evaluate the effect of foliar application of different fertilizers, use of crop residue and intercropping on banana (dwarf cavendish). In the first experiment, the effects of foliar application of different concentrations of potassium solution (38%) were studied. The results indicated that application of all concentrations resulted in greater increases in overall growth parameters, higher leaf-N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu contents, higher values of yield and yield components , finger length of both plant crop and the first ratoon crop and reduction of time from planting to flowering and from flowering to harvesting of both plant crop and the first crop compared to the control. In the second experiment, the effects of three different foliar fertilizers, namely, compound cryst, fetrilon comb-2 and x-garden were investigated. The results revealed that all fertilizers gave greater values of all growth parameters, higher leaf-N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu contents, higher values of yield and yield components , finger length of both plant crop and the first ratoon crop and reduction of time from planting to flowering and from flowering to harvesting of both plant crop and the first crop compared to the control. In the third experiment, the effect of four different fertilizer materials containing different combinations of NPK on growth parameters and nutrient elements contents of leaves of banana suckers grown under nursery conditions was evaluated. The results revealed that all fertilizer materials gave greater increases of growth parameters over the control as well as higher leaf-N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu contents. In the fourth experiment, the effect of different concentrations of N{sub 19}, P{sub 19}, K{sub 19} fertilizers on growth characteristics and nutrient elements contents of leaves of banana

  5. Studies on the effects of application of different foliar fertilizer materials, crop residue and inter cropping on Banana plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hassan, Yusuf Munim

    1996-01-01

    Five separate experiments were conducted at university of Khartoum demonstration farm during 1993 to 1995 under both orchard and nursery conditions to evaluate the effect of foliar application of different fertilizers, use of crop residue and intercropping on banana (dwarf cavendish). In the first experiment, the effects of foliar application of different concentrations of potassium solution (38%) were studied. The results indicated that application of all concentrations resulted in greater increases in overall growth parameters, higher leaf-N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu contents, higher values of yield and yield components , finger length of both plant crop and the first ratoon crop and reduction of time from planting to flowering and from flowering to harvesting of both plant crop and the first crop compared to the control. In the second experiment, the effects of three different foliar fertilizers, namely, compound cryst, fetrilon comb-2 and x-garden were investigated. The results revealed that all fertilizers gave greater values of all growth parameters, higher leaf-N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu contents, higher values of yield and yield components , finger length of both plant crop and the first ratoon crop and reduction of time from planting to flowering and from flowering to harvesting of both plant crop and the first crop compared to the control. In the third experiment, the effect of four different fertilizer materials containing different combinations of NPK on growth parameters and nutrient elements contents of leaves of banana suckers grown under nursery conditions was evaluated. The results revealed that all fertilizer materials gave greater increases of growth parameters over the control as well as higher leaf-N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu contents. In the fourth experiment, the effect of different concentrations of N 19 , P 19 , K 19 fertilizers on growth characteristics and nutrient elements contents of leaves of banana suckers was

  6. Nitrogen-to-Protein Conversion Factors for Crop Residues and Animal Manure Common in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xueli; Zhao, Guanglu; Zhang, Yang; Han, Lujia; Xiao, Weihua

    2017-10-25

    Accurately determining protein content is essential in exploiting biomass as feed and fuel. A survey of biomass samples in China indicated protein contents from 2.65 to 3.98% for crop residues and from 6.07 to 10.24% for animal manure of dry basis. Conversion factors based on amino acid nitrogen (k A ) ranged from 5.42 to 6.00 for the former and from 4.78 to 5.36 for the latter, indicating that the traditional factor of 6.25 is not suitable for biomass samples. On the other hand, conversion factors from Kjeldahl nitrogen (k P ) ranged from 3.97 to 4.57 and from 2.76 to 4.31 for crop residues and animal manure, respectively. Of note, conversion factors were strongly affected by amino acid composition and levels of nonprotein nitrogen. Thus, k P values of 4.23 for crop residues, 4.11 for livestock manure, and 3.11 for poultry manure are recommended to better estimate protein content from total nitrogen.

  7. Biological treatment of crop residues for ruminant feeding: A review

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dell

    2013-07-03

    Jul 3, 2013 ... Further, recent studies have indicated low methane emission from feedstuffs subjected to solid state fermentation (SSF) with ... many tropical countries subsist mainly on crop residue based diets. The increasing ... partial breakdown of the lignin-carbohydrate complex. (Keller et al., 2003) thus improving their ...

  8. The allelopathic effects of three crop residues on the germination ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... maize inflorescences showed significant differences when compared to the control. No growth was recorded in the radicle until 96 hrs of the experiment in all the extract – treated seeds from the three crop residues while the control germinated at 72 hours. Keywords: Allelopathy, allelochemical, biomolecules, Sphenostylis ...

  9. Air Toxics Emissions from Open Burning of Crop Residues in Southeast Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    KIM Oanh, N. T.; Permadi, D. A.; Hopke, P. K.; Smith, K. R.; Nguyet, D. A.

    2016-12-01

    Agricultural crops production in Southeast Asia (SEA) increases annually to meet domestic consumption of growing population and also for export. Crop residue open burning (CROB) is commonly practiced by farmers to quickly dispose of huge amounts of the agricultural waste, such as rice straw, generated after each crop cycle. This CROB activity emits various toxic air pollutants as well as short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon particles. Our study focused on quantifying the 2015 annual emissions of semi-volatile organic compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins/furans (PCDD/PCDF), organochlorine pesticides (OCP), along with other conventional trace gases, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases from CROB in 10 major agricultural crop producing SEA countries. Crop production statistics and current field OB practices were gathered from our primary surveys and relevant secondary data sources. Emission factors for rice straw and maize residue burning were taken mainly from our measurements in Thailand while for other crops relevant published data were used. The best emission estimates of air toxics from CROB in SEA were 112 g-TEQ/yr of PCDD/PCDF, 33 t/yr of OCP, and 25 Gg/yr of total PAH of which the well-known carcinogenic benzo[a]pyrene was 0.3 Gg/yr. The CROB of rice production had the highest shares of emissions (33-95%) among considered 8 crop types. Indonesia was the top contributor to the total SEA emissions (30-45%) followed by Vietnam (16-26%), Thailand (6-22%) and Myanmar (5-18%). The spatial distributions of emissions, 0.1º x 0.1º, for each specie were prepared using MODIS land cover data. Temporally, higher emissions were observed in the harvesting months of the main rice crops. This emissions database can be used in regional air quality modeling studies to assess the impacts of CROB activity and to promote non-open burning alternatives.

  10. Postharvest residues from grass seed crops for bioenergy

    OpenAIRE

    Simić, Aleksandar; Čolić, Vladislava; Vučković, Savo; Dželetović, Željko; Bijelić, Zorica; Mandić, Violeta

    2016-01-01

    During grass seed production, a large amount of low forage quality biomass has been produced. Tall growing perennial grasses such as tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea L.) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) can be used as an alternative source for bioenergy production as they can be grown in less cultivated areas, their residues in seed production could be valuable energy source and can be potentially used as a dual purpose crop (bioenergy and forage). In this research, potentials o...

  11. Identification and discrimination of herbicide residues using a conducting polymer electronic nose

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alphus Dan Wilson

    2016-01-01

    The identification of herbicide residues on crop foliage is necessary to make crop-management decisions for weed pest control and to monitor pesticide residue levels on food crops. Electronic-nose (e-nose) methods were tested as a cheaper, alternative means of discriminating between herbicide residue types (compared with conventional chromatography methods), by...

  12. Residue management practices and planter attachments for corn production in a conservation agriculture system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Nejadi

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Seed placement and failure to establish a uniform plant stand are critical problems associated with production of corn (Zea mays following wheat (Triticum aestivum in a conservation agriculture system in Iran. Our objectives were to evaluate the performance of a corn row- crop planter equipped with two planter attachments (smooth/toothed coulters at six wheat residue management systems (three tillage systems and two levels of surface residue at two forward speeds of 5 and 7 km h-1. Residue retained after planting, seeding depth, emergence rate index (ERI and seed spacing indices were determined. The baled residue plots tilled by chisel plow followed by disc harrow (BRCD resulted in minimum residue after planting as compared to other residue treatments. Furthermore, the maximum values of the ERI and uniformity of plant spacing pertained to this treatment. Other results showed that the ERI increased up to 18% for the toothed coulter as compared to the smooth coulter. The toothed coulter also established a deeper seed placement as compared to the smooth coulter. Planting at forward speed of 5 km h-1 resulted in deeper seeding depth as compared to a forward speed of 7 km h-1. However, lower values of miss and precision indices were obtained at forward speed of 7 km h-1, indicating a more uniformity of plant spacing. Results of this study showed that equipping the conventional planter with toothed coulter and planting in soil prepared under the BRCD residue management system can result in a satisfactory conservation crop production system.

  13. Residual soil nitrate content and profitability of five cropping systems in northwest Iowa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Haan, Robert L; Schuiteman, Matthew A; Vos, Ronald J

    2017-01-01

    Many communities in the Midwestern United States obtain their drinking water from shallow alluvial wells that are vulnerable to contamination by NO3-N from the surrounding agricultural landscape. The objective of this research was to assess cropping systems with the potential to produce a reasonable return for farmers while simultaneously reducing the risk of NO3-N movement into these shallow aquifers. From 2009 to 2013 we conducted a field experiment in northwest Iowa in which we evaluated five cropping systems for residual (late fall) soil NO3-N content and profitability. Soil samples were taken annually from the top 30 cm of the soil profile in June and August, and from the top 180 cm in November (late fall). The November samples were divided into 30 cm increments for analysis. Average residual NO3-N content in the top 180 cm of the soil profile following the 2010 to 2013 cropping years was 134 kg ha-1 for continuous maize (Zea mays L.) with a cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop, 18 kg ha-1 for perennial grass, 60 kg ha-1 for a three year oat (Avena sativa L.)-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)-maize rotation, 85 kg ha-1 for a two year oat/red clover (Trifolium pratense L.)-maize rotation, and 90 kg ha-1 for a three year soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)-winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize rotation. However, residual NO3-N in the 90 to 180 cm increment of the soil profile was not significantly higher in the oat-alfalfa-maize cropping system than the perennial grass system. For 2010 to 2013, average profit ($ ha-1 yr-1) was 531 for continuous corn, 347 for soybean-winter wheat-maize, 264 for oat-alfalfa-maize, 140 for oat/red clover-maize, and -384 (loss) for perennial grass. Considering both residual soil NO3-N and profitability data, the oat-alfalfa-maize rotation performed the best in this setting. However, given current economic pressures widespread adoption is likely to require changes in public policy.

  14. Effect of pre-treatments on methane production potential of energy crops and crop residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehtomaki, A.; Ronkainen; Rintala, J.A. [Jyvaskla Univ. (Finland). Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences; Viinikainen, T.A. [Jyvaskla Univ. (Finland). Dept. of Chemistry

    2004-07-01

    Energy crops, that is, crops grown specifically for energy purposes are an alternative to food production in areas with sufficient agricultural land. Crop residues are also a potential source of energy. The anaerobic digestion of solid materials is limited by hydrolysis of complex polymeric substances such as lignocellulose. The methane producing potential of ligno cellulosic material is to pretreat the substrate in order to break up the polymer chains to more easily accessible soluble compounds. In this study, three different substrates were used: sugar beet tops, grass hay, and straw of oats. Biological pretreatments were the following: enzyme treatment, composting, white-rot fungi treatment. Also, pretreatment in water was tried. Chemical pretreatments included peracetic acid treatment, and treatment with two different alkalis. Alkaline pretreatments of hay and sugar beet tops have the potential to improve the methane yield. For instance, the yield of grass hay was increased 15 per cent by one particular alkaline treatment. Straw did not respond to any of the treatments tried. 18 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

  15. Utilization of tropical crop residues and agroindustrial by-products in animal nutrition. Constraints and perspectives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Preston, T.R.; Parra, R.

    1983-01-01

    The importance of by-products and crop residues as animal feeds is increasing steadily. This is a consequence of the increasing demand for cereal grains as both human and animal (chiefly poultry) food, and the increasing demand for energy coupled with decreasing availability of fossil fuels. The effects of these two trends are that primary use of land for livestock production (usually grazing systems) will steadily diminish; at the same time, sources of biomass will increase in importance as renewable energy sources, and greater emphasis will be placed on draught animal power. Most by-products and crop residues are fibrous and therefore of only low to moderate nutritive value, or have special physical and chemical characteristics making them difficult to incorporate in conventional ''balanced'' rations. Such feed raw materials may need special processing and/or special forms of supplementation if they are to be used efficiently. It is hypothesized that industrial by-products and crop residues will be more efficiently utilized if they are incorporated in diversified and integrated production systems, i.e. (a) livestock production is integrated with production of cash crops both for food and fuel; (b) different livestock species are utilized in the same enterprise in a complementary way; (c) livestock feeding is based on crop residues (energy) supplemented with protein-rich forages and aquatic plants; and (d) animal wastes are recycled and used for food, fertilizer and fuel. This strategy is particularly suitable for the conditions in (i) tropical countries, whose climate favours high crop/biomass yields per unit area and ease of fermentation of organic wastes, and (ii) family farms, for which diversification means greater opportunity for self-sufficiency and increased possibilities for use of family resources. (author)

  16. Long-term stabilization of crop residues and soil organic carbon affected by residue quality and initial soil pH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaojuan; Butterly, Clayton R; Baldock, Jeff A; Tang, Caixian

    2017-06-01

    Residues differing in quality and carbon (C) chemistry are presumed to contribute differently to soil pH change and long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) pools. This study examined the liming effect of different crop residues (canola, chickpea and wheat) down the soil profile (0-30cm) in two sandy soils differing in initial pH as well as the long-term stability of SOC at the amended layer (0-10cm) using mid-infrared (MIR) and solid-state 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. A field column experiment was conducted for 48months. Chickpea- and canola-residue amendments increased soil pH at 0-10cm in the Podzol by up to 0.47 and 0.36units, and in the Cambisol by 0.31 and 0.18units, respectively, at 48months when compared with the non-residue-amended control. The decomposition of crop residues was greatly retarded in the Podzol with lower initial soil pH during the first 9months. The MIR-predicted particulate organic C (POC) acted as the major C sink for residue-derived C in the Podzol. In contrast, depletion of POC and recovery of residue C in MIR-predicted humic organic C (HOC) were detected in the Cambisol within 3months. Residue types showed little impact on total SOC and its chemical composition in the Cambisol at 48months, in contrast to the Podzol. The final HOC and resistant organic C (ROC) pools in the Podzol amended with canola and chickpea residues were about 25% lower than the control. This apparent priming effect might be related to the greater liming effect of these two residues in the Podzol. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Impact of management strategies on the global warming potential at the cropping system level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goglio, Pietro; Grant, Brian B; Smith, Ward N; Desjardins, Raymond L; Worth, Devon E; Zentner, Robert; Malhi, Sukhdev S

    2014-08-15

    Estimating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural systems is important in order to assess the impact of agriculture on climate change. In this study experimental data supplemented with results from a biophysical model (DNDC) were combined with life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the impact of management strategies on global warming potential of long-term cropping systems at two locations (Breton and Ellerslie) in Alberta, Canada. The aim was to estimate the difference in global warming potential (GWP) of cropping systems due to N fertilizer reduction and residue removal. Reducing the nitrogen fertilizer rate from 75 to 50 kg N ha(-1) decreased on average the emissions of N2O by 39%, NO by 59% and ammonia volatilisation by 57%. No clear trend for soil CO2 emissions was determined among cropping systems. When evaluated on a per hectare basis, cropping systems with residue removal required 6% more energy and had a little change in GWP. Conversely, when evaluated on the basis of gigajoules of harvestable biomass, residue removal resulted in 28% less energy requirement and 33% lower GWP. Reducing nitrogen fertilizer rate resulted in 18% less GWP on average for both functional units at Breton and 39% less GWP at Ellerslie. Nitrous oxide emissions contributed on average 67% to the overall GWP per ha. This study demonstrated that small changes in N fertilizer have a minimal impact on the productivity of the cropping systems but can still have a substantial environmental impact. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Feeding potential of summer grain crop residues for woolled sheep ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    of 80:20 for the first collection on maize residues. Schoonraad (1985) did not pick up the cobs, so much more grain was available. Crude protein content. Changes in percentage crude protein in oesophageal samples are shown in Figure 2. With all crops, CP content of oesophageal samples was initially high but decreased ...

  19. Erratum to: Estimating the crop response to fertilizer nitrogen residues in long-continued field experiments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Jens; Thomsen, Ingrid Kaag; Mattson, L

    2012-01-01

    Knowledge of the cumulated effect of long-continued nitrogen (N) inputs is important for both agronomic and environmental reasons. However, only little attention has been paid to estimate the crop response to mineral fertilizer N residues. Before interpreting estimates for the crop response...

  20. Analyzing key constraints to biogas production from crop residues and manure in the EU—A spatially explicit model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persson, U. Martin

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a spatially explicit method for making regional estimates of the potential for biogas production from crop residues and manure, accounting for key technical, biochemical, environmental and economic constraints. Methods for making such estimates are important as biofuels from agricultural residues are receiving increasing policy support from the EU and major biogas producers, such as Germany and Italy, in response to concerns over unintended negative environmental and social impacts of conventional biofuels. This analysis comprises a spatially explicit estimate of crop residue and manure production for the EU at 250 m resolution, and a biogas production model accounting for local constraints such as the sustainable removal of residues, transportation of substrates, and the substrates’ biochemical suitability for anaerobic digestion. In our base scenario, the EU biogas production potential from crop residues and manure is about 0.7 EJ/year, nearly double the current EU production of biogas from agricultural substrates, most of which does not come from residues or manure. An extensive sensitivity analysis of the model shows that the potential could easily be 50% higher or lower, depending on the stringency of economic, technical and biochemical constraints. We find that the potential is particularly sensitive to constraints on the substrate mixtures’ carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and dry matter concentration. Hence, the potential to produce biogas from crop residues and manure in the EU depends to large extent on the possibility to overcome the challenges associated with these substrates, either by complementing them with suitable co-substrates (e.g. household waste and energy crops), or through further development of biogas technology (e.g. pretreatment of substrates and recirculation of effluent). PMID:28141827

  1. Analyzing key constraints to biogas production from crop residues and manure in the EU-A spatially explicit model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Einarsson, Rasmus; Persson, U Martin

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a spatially explicit method for making regional estimates of the potential for biogas production from crop residues and manure, accounting for key technical, biochemical, environmental and economic constraints. Methods for making such estimates are important as biofuels from agricultural residues are receiving increasing policy support from the EU and major biogas producers, such as Germany and Italy, in response to concerns over unintended negative environmental and social impacts of conventional biofuels. This analysis comprises a spatially explicit estimate of crop residue and manure production for the EU at 250 m resolution, and a biogas production model accounting for local constraints such as the sustainable removal of residues, transportation of substrates, and the substrates' biochemical suitability for anaerobic digestion. In our base scenario, the EU biogas production potential from crop residues and manure is about 0.7 EJ/year, nearly double the current EU production of biogas from agricultural substrates, most of which does not come from residues or manure. An extensive sensitivity analysis of the model shows that the potential could easily be 50% higher or lower, depending on the stringency of economic, technical and biochemical constraints. We find that the potential is particularly sensitive to constraints on the substrate mixtures' carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and dry matter concentration. Hence, the potential to produce biogas from crop residues and manure in the EU depends to large extent on the possibility to overcome the challenges associated with these substrates, either by complementing them with suitable co-substrates (e.g. household waste and energy crops), or through further development of biogas technology (e.g. pretreatment of substrates and recirculation of effluent).

  2. Analyzing key constraints to biogas production from crop residues and manure in the EU-A spatially explicit model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rasmus Einarsson

    Full Text Available This paper presents a spatially explicit method for making regional estimates of the potential for biogas production from crop residues and manure, accounting for key technical, biochemical, environmental and economic constraints. Methods for making such estimates are important as biofuels from agricultural residues are receiving increasing policy support from the EU and major biogas producers, such as Germany and Italy, in response to concerns over unintended negative environmental and social impacts of conventional biofuels. This analysis comprises a spatially explicit estimate of crop residue and manure production for the EU at 250 m resolution, and a biogas production model accounting for local constraints such as the sustainable removal of residues, transportation of substrates, and the substrates' biochemical suitability for anaerobic digestion. In our base scenario, the EU biogas production potential from crop residues and manure is about 0.7 EJ/year, nearly double the current EU production of biogas from agricultural substrates, most of which does not come from residues or manure. An extensive sensitivity analysis of the model shows that the potential could easily be 50% higher or lower, depending on the stringency of economic, technical and biochemical constraints. We find that the potential is particularly sensitive to constraints on the substrate mixtures' carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and dry matter concentration. Hence, the potential to produce biogas from crop residues and manure in the EU depends to large extent on the possibility to overcome the challenges associated with these substrates, either by complementing them with suitable co-substrates (e.g. household waste and energy crops, or through further development of biogas technology (e.g. pretreatment of substrates and recirculation of effluent.

  3. Evaluation of certain crop residues for carbohydrate and protein fractions by cornell net carbohydrate and protein system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Venkateswarulu Swarna

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Four locally available crop residues viz., jowar stover (JS, maize stover (MS, red gram straw (RGS and black gram straw (BGS were evaluated for carbohydrate and protein fractions using Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein (CNCP system. Lignin (% NDF was higher in legume straws as compared to cereal stovers while Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC (% DM followed the reverse trend. The carbohydrate fractions A and B1 were higher in BGS while B2 was higher in MS as compared to other crop residues. The unavailable cell wall fraction (C was higher in legume straws when compared to cereal stovers. Among protein fractions, B1 was higher in legume straws when compared to cereal stovers while B2 was higher in cereal stovers as compared to legume straws. Fraction B3 largely, bypass protein was highest in MS as compared to other crop residues. Acid detergent insoluble crude protein (ADICP (% CP or unavailable protein fraction C was lowest in MS and highest in BGS. It is concluded that MS is superior in nutritional value for feeding ruminants as compared to other crop residues.

  4. Weed management strategies for castor bean crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Augusto Guerreiro Fontoura Costa

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Castor bean crops are agriculturally relevant due to the quality and versatility of their oil, both for the chemical industry and for biodiesel production. Proper weed management is important for both the cultivation and the yield of castor bean crops; therefore, the intention of the present work is to review pertinent information regarding weed management, including the studies regarding weed interference periods, chemical controls for use in different crop production systems and herbicide selectivity, for castor bean crops. Weed science research for castor bean crops is scarce. One of the main weed management challenges for castor bean crops is the absence of herbicides registered with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MALFS. Research for viable herbicides for weed control in castor bean crops should be directed by research and/or rural extension institutions, associations and farmers cooperatives, as well as by manufactures, for the registration of these selective herbicides, which would be primarily used to control eudicotyledons in castor bean crops. New studies involving the integration of weed control methods in castor bean also may increase the efficiency of weed management, for both small farmers using traditional crop methods in the Brazilian Northeast region, as well as for areas with the potential for large scale production, using conservation tillage systems, such as the no-tillage crop production system.

  5. Effects of Residue Management on Decomposition in Irrigated Rice Fields Are Not Related to Changes in the Decomposer Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Anja; John, Katharina; Arida, Gertrudo; Auge, Harald; Brandl, Roland; Horgan, Finbarr G; Hotes, Stefan; Marquez, Leonardo; Radermacher, Nico; Settele, Josef; Wolters, Volkmar; Schädler, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Decomposers provide an essential ecosystem service that contributes to sustainable production in rice ecosystems by driving the release of nutrients from organic crop residues. During a single rice crop cycle we examined the effects of four different crop residue management practices (rice straw or ash of burned straw scattered on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil) on rice straw decomposition and on the abundance of aquatic and soil-dwelling invertebrates. Mass loss of rice straw in litterbags of two different mesh sizes that either prevented or allowed access of meso- and macro-invertebrates was used as a proxy for decomposition rates. Invertebrates significantly increased total loss of litter mass by up to 30%. Initially, the contribution of invertebrates to decomposition was significantly smaller in plots with rice straw scattered on the soil surface; however, this effect disappeared later in the season. We found no significant responses in microbial decomposition rates to management practices. The abundance of aquatic fauna was higher in fields with rice straw amendment, whereas the abundance of soil fauna fluctuated considerably. There was a clear separation between the overall invertebrate community structure in response to the ash and straw treatments. However, we found no correlation between litter mass loss and abundances of various lineages of invertebrates. Our results indicate that invertebrates can contribute to soil fertility in irrigated paddy fields by decomposing rice straw, and that their abundance as well as efficiency in decomposition may be promoted by crop residue management practices.

  6. Residues and accumulation of molinate in rice crops and aquatic weeds in the MUDA rice agroecosystem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nashriyah Mat; Sabri Junoh; Nuriati Nurdin; Ramli Ishak

    2002-01-01

    Plant and soil residue levels and its accumulation in rice crops and rice aquatic weed plants were studied. Molinate residue levels in rice, weeds and soil were not significantly different between the recycled and the non-recycled area, even though they were higher in the non-recycled area. In the rice plant, the residue level at 10 DAT (days after treatment) was significantly higher than 30 DAT in the recycled area. In rice aquatic weed plants, the residue level was significantly higher at 10 DAT as compared to 30 DAT in the non-recycled area. Molinate residue levels in soil at 10 DAT and 30 DAT were similar. Molinate accumulated (ratio of molinate concentration in plant over soil) more in the rice crop as compared to rice aquatic weeds at 10 DAT, in both the recycled and the non-recycled areas. (Author)

  7. Soil fertility and soil loss constraints on crop residue removal for energy production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flaim, S.

    1979-07-01

    A summary of the methodologies used to estimate the soil fertility and soil loss constraints on crop residue removal for energy production is presented. Estimates of excess residue are developed for wheat in north-central Oklahoma and for corn and soybeans in central Iowa. These sample farming situations are analyzed in other research in the Analysis Division of the Solar Energy Research Institute.

  8. Decomposition of sugar cane crop residues under different nitrogen rates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Douglas Costa Potrich

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The deposition of organic residues through mechanical harvesting of cane sugar is a growing practice in sugarcane production system. The maintenance of these residues on the soil surface depends mainly on environmental conditions. Nitrogen fertilization on dry residues tend to retard decomposition of these, providing benefits such as increased SOM. Thus, the object of this research was to evaluate the effect of different doses of nitrogen on sugar cane crop residues, as its decomposition and contribution to carbon sequestration in soil. The experiment was conducted in Dourados-MS and consisted of a randomized complete block design. Dried residues were placed in litter bags and the treatments were arranged in a split plot, being the four nitrogen rates (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg ha-1 N the plots, and the seven sampling times (0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 the spit plots. Decomposition rates of residues, total organic carbon and labile carbon on soil were analysed. The application of increasing N doses resulted in an increase in their decomposition rates. Despite this, note also the mineral N application as a strategy to get higher levels of labile carbon in soil.

  9. Crop residue is key for sustaining maximum food production and for conservation of our biosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crop residue is key in our efforts to move towards agricultural sustainability. This paper provides a quick overview of some selected references and looks at some of the newest advances related to cover crops. Several authors have described in detail the benefits derived from improving soil quality ...

  10. Residual soil nitrate content and profitability of five cropping systems in northwest Iowa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert L De Haan

    Full Text Available Many communities in the Midwestern United States obtain their drinking water from shallow alluvial wells that are vulnerable to contamination by NO3-N from the surrounding agricultural landscape. The objective of this research was to assess cropping systems with the potential to produce a reasonable return for farmers while simultaneously reducing the risk of NO3-N movement into these shallow aquifers. From 2009 to 2013 we conducted a field experiment in northwest Iowa in which we evaluated five cropping systems for residual (late fall soil NO3-N content and profitability. Soil samples were taken annually from the top 30 cm of the soil profile in June and August, and from the top 180 cm in November (late fall. The November samples were divided into 30 cm increments for analysis. Average residual NO3-N content in the top 180 cm of the soil profile following the 2010 to 2013 cropping years was 134 kg ha-1 for continuous maize (Zea mays L. with a cereal rye (Secale cereale L. cover crop, 18 kg ha-1 for perennial grass, 60 kg ha-1 for a three year oat (Avena sativa L.-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.-maize rotation, 85 kg ha-1 for a two year oat/red clover (Trifolium pratense L.-maize rotation, and 90 kg ha-1 for a three year soybean (Glycine max (L. Merr.-winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.-maize rotation. However, residual NO3-N in the 90 to 180 cm increment of the soil profile was not significantly higher in the oat-alfalfa-maize cropping system than the perennial grass system. For 2010 to 2013, average profit ($ ha-1 yr-1 was 531 for continuous corn, 347 for soybean-winter wheat-maize, 264 for oat-alfalfa-maize, 140 for oat/red clover-maize, and -384 (loss for perennial grass. Considering both residual soil NO3-N and profitability data, the oat-alfalfa-maize rotation performed the best in this setting. However, given current economic pressures widespread adoption is likely to require changes in public policy.

  11. Interception of residual nitrate from a calcareous alluvial soil profile on the North China Plain by deep-rooted crops: A 15N tracer study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ju, X.T.; Gao, Q.; Christie, P.; Zhang, F.S.

    2007-01-01

    15 N-labeled nitrate was injected into different depths of an alluvial calcareous soil profile on the North China Plain. Subsequent movement of NO 3 - N and its recovery by deep-rooted maize (Zea mays L.) and shallow-rooted eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) were studied. Under conventional water and nutrient management the mean recoveries of 15 N-labeled nitrate from K 15 NO 3 injected at depths 15, 45, and 75 cm were 22.4, 13.8, and 7.8% by maize and 7.9, 4.9, and 2.7% by eggplant. The recovery rate by maize at each soil depth was significantly higher than by eggplant. The deeper the injection of nitrate the smaller the distance of its downward movement and this corresponded with the movement of soil water during crop growth. Deeper rooting crops with high root length density and high water consumption may therefore be grown to utilize high concentrations of residual nitrate in the subsoil from previous intensive cropping and to protect the environment. - Deep-rooted crops have a greater capacity than shallow-rooted crops to intercept residual nitrate from the subsoil and restrict its movement down to the shallow groundwater

  12. Fertilizer nitrogen recovery efficiencies in crop production systems of China with and without consideration of the residual effect of nitrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, Xiaoyuan; Ti, Chaopu; Zhu, Zhaoliang; Vitousek, Peter; Chen, Deli; Leip, Adrian; Cai, Zucong

    2014-01-01

    China is the world’s largest consumer of synthetic nitrogen (N), where very low rates of fertilizer N recovery in crops have been reported, raising discussion around whether fertilizer N use can be significantly reduced without yield penalties. However, using recovery rates as indicator ignores a possible residual effect of fertilizer N—a factor often unknown at large scales. Such residual effect might store N in the soil increasing N availability for subsequent crops. The objectives of the present study were therefore to quantify the residual effect of fertilizer N in China and to obtain more realistic rates of the accumulative fertilizer N recovery efficiency (RE) in crop production systems of China. Long-term spatially-extensive data on crop production, fertilizer N and other N inputs to croplands in China were used to analyze the relationship between crop N uptake and fertilizer N input (or total N input), and to estimate the amount of residual fertilizer N. Measurement results of cropland soil N content in two time periods were obtained to compare the change in the soil N pool. At the provincial scale, it was found that there is a linear relationship between crop N uptake and fertilizer N input or total N input. With the increase in fertilizer N input, annual direct fertilizer N RE decreased and was indeed low (below 30% in recent years), while its residual effect increased continuously, to the point that 40–68% of applied fertilizer was used for crop production sooner or later. The residual effect was evidenced by a buildup of soil N and a large difference between nitrogen use efficiencies of long-term and short-term experiments. (paper)

  13. Responses of Pea (Pisum sativum Growth and Yield to Residual Effects of Organic and Urea Fertilizers from Previous Crop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Fallah

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Application of organic manure in organic farming and long-term mineralization may lead to residual effects on the succeeding crop. So, residual effects of combined cattle manure and urea fertilizer of previous crop (black cumin on growth and yield of pea were examined in a randomized complete block design. Treatments included of  cattle manure (CM, urea (U, three ratios of CM+U full dose application (2:1; 1:1; 1:2 and three ratios of CM+U split application (2:1; 1:1; 1:2, and unfertilized control to previous crop (black cumin in 2012. Pea planted without any fertilizer in 2013. There was no significant difference between control and residual of urea treatment for some parameters including dry matter in flowering stage, plant nitrogen and phosphorus concentration, plant height, yield components, grain yield and biological yield of pea. Biological and grain yields were greater under both residual of cattle manure treatment and integrated treatments compared to residual of urea treatment. The highest grain yield (4000 kg ha-1 was observed in residual of CM:U full dosed application treatment, to the extent that grain yield in this treatment indicated a 1.5-fold increase in comparison with residual of urea treatment. The highest biological yield (8325 kg ha-1 was obtained in residual of CM treatment, though it was not significant different from that of residual of CM:U (1:2 treatments. In general, although residual of urea fertilizer did not leave a notable effect on pea production, but production of this crop relying on residual of cattle manure deems effective to lowering of fertilization cost and ameliorating environmental contaminations.

  14. A Review on Recycling of Sunflower Residue for Sustaining Soil Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Subhash Babu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Modern agriculture is now at the crossroads ecologically, economically, technologically, and socially due to soil degradation. Critical analysis of available information shows that problems of degradation of soil health are caused due to imbalanced, inadequate and promacronutrient fertilizer use, inadequate use or no use of organic manures and crop residues, and less use of good quality biofertilizers. Although sizeable amount of crop residues and manure is produced in farms, it is becoming increasingly complex to recycle nutrients, even within agricultural systems. Therefore, there is a need to use all available sources of nutrients to maintain the productivity and fertility at a required level. Among the available organic sources of plant nutrients, crop residue is one of the most important sources for supplying nutrients to the crop and for improving soil health. Sunflower is a nontraditional oil seed crop produced in huge amount of crop residue. This much amount of crop residues is neither used as feed for livestock nor suitable for fuel due to low energy value per unit mass. However, its residue contains major plant nutrients in the range from 0.45 to 0.60% N, 0.15 to 0.22% P, and 1.80 to 1.94% K along with secondary and micronutrients, so recycling of its residue in the soil may be one of the best alternative practices for replenishing the depleted soil fertility and improving the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil in the present era of production. However, some researchers have reported allelopathic effects of sunflower residue on different crops. So, selection of suitable crops and management practices may play an important role to manage the sunflower residue at field level.

  15. Characterization of Proteins in Filtrate from Biodegradation of Crop Residue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horton, Wileatha; Trotman, A. A.

    1997-01-01

    Biodegradation of plant biomass is a feasible path for transformation of crop residue and recycling of nutrients for crop growth. The need to model the effects of factors associated with recycling of plant biomass resulting from hydroponic sweet potato production has led to investigation of natural soil isolates with the capacity for starch hydrolysis. This study sought to use nondenaturing gel electrophoresis to characterize the proteins present in filtered effluent from bioreactors seeded with starch hydrolyzing bacterial culture used in the biodegradation of senesced sweet potato biomass. The study determined the relative molecular weight of proteins in sampled effluent and the protein banding pattern was characterized. The protein profiles of effluent were similar for samples taken from independent runs under similar conditions of starch hydrolysis. The method can be used as a quality control tool for confirmation of starch hydrolysis of crop biomass. In addition, this method will allow monitoring for presence of contaminants within the system-protein profiles indicative of new enzymes in the bioreactors.

  16. Improved crop residue cover estimates by coupling spectral indices for residue and moisture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remote sensing assessment of soil residue cover (fR) and tillage intensity will improve our predictions of the impact of agricultural practices and promote sustainable management. Spectral indices for estimating fR are sensitive to soil and residue water content, therefore, the uncertainty of estima...

  17. The 2014 National Emission Inventory for Rangeland Fires and Crop Residue Burning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biomass burning has been identified as an important contributor to the degradation of air quality because of its impact on ozone and particulate matter. One component of the biomass burning inventory, crop residue burning, has been poorly characterized in the National Emissions I...

  18. Impact of management strategies on the global warming potential at the cropping system level

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goglio, Pietro; Grant, Brian B.; Smith, Ward N.; Desjardins, Raymond L.; Worth, Devon E.; Zentner, Robert; Malhi, Sukhdev S.

    2014-01-01

    Estimating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural systems is important in order to assess the impact of agriculture on climate change. In this study experimental data supplemented with results from a biophysical model (DNDC) were combined with life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the impact of management strategies on global warming potential of long-term cropping systems at two locations (Breton and Ellerslie) in Alberta, Canada. The aim was to estimate the difference in global warming potential (GWP) of cropping systems due to N fertilizer reduction and residue removal. Reducing the nitrogen fertilizer rate from 75 to 50 kg N ha −1 decreased on average the emissions of N 2 O by 39%, NO by 59% and ammonia volatilisation by 57%. No clear trend for soil CO 2 emissions was determined among cropping systems. When evaluated on a per hectare basis, cropping systems with residue removal required 6% more energy and had a little change in GWP. Conversely, when evaluated on the basis of gigajoules of harvestable biomass, residue removal resulted in 28% less energy requirement and 33% lower GWP. Reducing nitrogen fertilizer rate resulted in 18% less GWP on average for both functional units at Breton and 39% less GWP at Ellerslie. Nitrous oxide emissions contributed on average 67% to the overall GWP per ha. This study demonstrated that small changes in N fertilizer have a minimal impact on the productivity of the cropping systems but can still have a substantial environmental impact. - Highlights: • LCA was combined with DNDC model to estimate the GWP of a cropping system. • N 2 O, NO and NH 3 flux increased by 39% under the higher fertilizer rate. • A change from 75 to 50 kg N ha −1 reduced the GWP per ha and GJ basis by 18%. • N 2 O emissions contributed 67% to the overall GWP of the cropping system. • Small changes in N fertilizer can have a substantial environmental impact

  19. Impact of management strategies on the global warming potential at the cropping system level

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goglio, Pietro; Grant, Brian B.; Smith, Ward N. [Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, K.W. Neatby Building, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6 (Canada); Desjardins, Raymond L., E-mail: ray.desjardins@agr.gc.ca [Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, K.W. Neatby Building, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6 (Canada); Worth, Devon E. [Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, K.W. Neatby Building, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6 (Canada); Zentner, Robert [Swift Current Research Station, Swift Current, Saskatchewan S0E 1A0 (Canada); Malhi, Sukhdev S. [Melfort Research Farm, PO Box 1240, Melfort, Saskatchewan S0E 1A0 (Canada)

    2014-08-15

    Estimating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural systems is important in order to assess the impact of agriculture on climate change. In this study experimental data supplemented with results from a biophysical model (DNDC) were combined with life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the impact of management strategies on global warming potential of long-term cropping systems at two locations (Breton and Ellerslie) in Alberta, Canada. The aim was to estimate the difference in global warming potential (GWP) of cropping systems due to N fertilizer reduction and residue removal. Reducing the nitrogen fertilizer rate from 75 to 50 kg N ha{sup −1} decreased on average the emissions of N{sub 2}O by 39%, NO by 59% and ammonia volatilisation by 57%. No clear trend for soil CO{sub 2} emissions was determined among cropping systems. When evaluated on a per hectare basis, cropping systems with residue removal required 6% more energy and had a little change in GWP. Conversely, when evaluated on the basis of gigajoules of harvestable biomass, residue removal resulted in 28% less energy requirement and 33% lower GWP. Reducing nitrogen fertilizer rate resulted in 18% less GWP on average for both functional units at Breton and 39% less GWP at Ellerslie. Nitrous oxide emissions contributed on average 67% to the overall GWP per ha. This study demonstrated that small changes in N fertilizer have a minimal impact on the productivity of the cropping systems but can still have a substantial environmental impact. - Highlights: • LCA was combined with DNDC model to estimate the GWP of a cropping system. • N{sub 2}O, NO and NH{sub 3} flux increased by 39% under the higher fertilizer rate. • A change from 75 to 50 kg N ha{sup −1} reduced the GWP per ha and GJ basis by 18%. • N{sub 2}O emissions contributed 67% to the overall GWP of the cropping system. • Small changes in N fertilizer can have a substantial environmental impact.

  20. Morphology, composition, and mixing state of primary particles from combustion sources ? crop residue, wood, and solid waste

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Lei; Kong, Shaofei; Zhang, Yinxiao; Wang, Yuanyuan; Xu, Liang; Yan, Qin; Lingaswamy, A. P.; Shi, Zongbo; Lv, Senlin; Niu, Hongya; Shao, Longyi; Hu, Min; Zhang, Daizhou; Chen, Jianmin; Zhang, Xiaoye

    2017-01-01

    Morphology, composition, and mixing state of individual particles emitted from crop residue, wood, and solid waste combustion in a residential stove were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our study showed that particles from crop residue and apple wood combustion were mainly organic matter (OM) in smoldering phase, whereas soot-OM internally mixed with K in flaming phase. Wild grass combustion in flaming phase released some Cl-rich-OM/soot particles and cardboard combusti...

  1. Crop modeling applications in agricultural water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kisekka, Isaya; DeJonge, Kendall C.; Ma, Liwang; Paz, Joel; Douglas-Mankin, Kyle R.

    2017-01-01

    This article introduces the fourteen articles that comprise the “Crop Modeling and Decision Support for Optimizing Use of Limited Water” collection. This collection was developed from a special session on crop modeling applications in agricultural water management held at the 2016 ASABE Annual International Meeting (AIM) in Orlando, Florida. In addition, other authors who were not able to attend the 2016 ASABE AIM were also invited to submit papers. The articles summarized in this introductory article demonstrate a wide array of applications in which crop models can be used to optimize agricultural water management. The following section titles indicate the topics covered in this collection: (1) evapotranspiration modeling (one article), (2) model development and parameterization (two articles), (3) application of crop models for irrigation scheduling (five articles), (4) coordinated water and nutrient management (one article), (5) soil water management (two articles), (6) risk assessment of water-limited irrigation management (one article), and (7) regional assessments of climate impact (two articles). Changing weather and climate, increasing population, and groundwater depletion will continue to stimulate innovations in agricultural water management, and crop models will play an important role in helping to optimize water use in agriculture.

  2. Effects of Residue Management on Decomposition in Irrigated Rice Fields Are Not Related to Changes in the Decomposer Community.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anja Schmidt

    Full Text Available Decomposers provide an essential ecosystem service that contributes to sustainable production in rice ecosystems by driving the release of nutrients from organic crop residues. During a single rice crop cycle we examined the effects of four different crop residue management practices (rice straw or ash of burned straw scattered on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil on rice straw decomposition and on the abundance of aquatic and soil-dwelling invertebrates. Mass loss of rice straw in litterbags of two different mesh sizes that either prevented or allowed access of meso- and macro-invertebrates was used as a proxy for decomposition rates. Invertebrates significantly increased total loss of litter mass by up to 30%. Initially, the contribution of invertebrates to decomposition was significantly smaller in plots with rice straw scattered on the soil surface; however, this effect disappeared later in the season. We found no significant responses in microbial decomposition rates to management practices. The abundance of aquatic fauna was higher in fields with rice straw amendment, whereas the abundance of soil fauna fluctuated considerably. There was a clear separation between the overall invertebrate community structure in response to the ash and straw treatments. However, we found no correlation between litter mass loss and abundances of various lineages of invertebrates. Our results indicate that invertebrates can contribute to soil fertility in irrigated paddy fields by decomposing rice straw, and that their abundance as well as efficiency in decomposition may be promoted by crop residue management practices.

  3. Greenhouse crop residues: Energy potential and models for the prediction of their higher heating value

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Callejon-Ferre, A.J.; Lopez-Martinez, J.A.; Manzano-Agugliaro, F. [Departamento de Ingenieria Rural, Universidad de Almeria, Ctra. Sacramento s/n, La Canada de San Urbano, 04120 Almeria (Spain); Velazquez-Marti, B. [Departamento de Ingenieria Rural y Agroalimentaria, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia (Spain)

    2011-02-15

    Almeria, in southeastern Spain, generates some 1,086,261 t year{sup -1} (fresh weight) of greenhouse crop (Cucurbita pepo L., Cucumis sativus L., Solanum melongena L., Solanum lycopersicum L., Phaseoulus vulgaris L., Capsicum annuum L., Citrillus vulgaris Schrad. and Cucumis melo L.) residues. The energy potential of this biomass is unclear. The aim of the present work was to accurately quantify this variable, differentiating between crop species while taking into consideration the area they each occupy. This, however, required the direct analysis of the higher heating value (HHV) of these residues, involving very expensive and therefore not commonly available equipment. Thus, a further aim was to develop models for predicting the HHV of these residues, taking into account variables measured by elemental and/or proximate analysis, thus providing an economically attractive alternative to direct analysis. All the analyses in this work involved the use of worldwide-recognised standards and methods. The total energy potential for these plant residues, as determined by direct analysis, was 1,003,497.49 MW h year{sup -1}. Twenty univariate and multivariate equations were developed to predict the HHV. The R{sup 2} and adjusted R{sup 2} values obtained for the univariate and multivariate models were 0.909 and 0.946 or above respectively. In all cases, the mean absolute percentage error varied between 0.344 and 2.533. These results show that any of these 20 equations could be used to accurately predict the HHV of crop residues. The residues produced by the Almeria greenhouse industry would appear to be an interesting source of renewable energy. (author)

  4. Fate of glyphosate and degradates in cover crop residues and underlying soil: A laboratory study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cassigneul, A. [Université de Toulouse — École d' ingénieurs de Purpan, UMR 1248 AGIR — 75, Voie du TOEC BP 57 611, 31 076, Toulouse cedex 3 (France); INRA, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon (France); Benoit, P.; Bergheaud, V.; Dumeny, V.; Etiévant, V. [INRA, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon (France); Goubard, Y. [AgroParisTech, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon (France); Maylin, A. [Université de Toulouse — École d' ingénieurs de Purpan, UMR 1248 AGIR — 75, Voie du TOEC BP 57 611, 31 076, Toulouse cedex 3 (France); Justes, E. [INRA, UMR 1248 AGIR Auzeville — BP 52 627, 31 326, Castanet-Tolosan cedex (France); Alletto, L. [Université de Toulouse — École d' ingénieurs de Purpan, UMR 1248 AGIR — 75, Voie du TOEC BP 57 611, 31 076, Toulouse cedex 3 (France)

    2016-03-01

    The increasing use of cover crops (CC) may lead to an increase in glyphosate application for their destruction. Sorption and degradation of {sup 14}C-glyphosate on and within 4 decaying CC-amended soils were compared to its fate in a bare soil. {sup 14}C-Glyphosate and its metabolites distribution between mineralized, water-soluble, NH{sub 4}OH-soluble and non-extractable fractions was determined at 5 dates during a 20 °C/84-d period. The presence of CC extends {sup 14}C-glyphosate degradation half-life from 7 to 28 days depending on the CC. {sup 14}C-Glyphosate dissipation occurred mainly through mineralization in soils and through mineralization and bound residue formation in decaying CC. Differences in sorption and degradation levels were attributed to differences in composition and availability to microorganisms. CC- and soil-specific dissipation patterns were established with the help of explicit relationships between extractability and microbial activity. - Highlights: • Glyphosate sorption on cover crop residues increases with their decomposition degree. • Glyphosate degradation and mineralization are lower in mulch than in soil. • Nonextractable residue formation is one of the main dissipation pathways of glyphosate in cover crop mulch.

  5. Fate of glyphosate and degradates in cover crop residues and underlying soil: A laboratory study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cassigneul, A.; Benoit, P.; Bergheaud, V.; Dumeny, V.; Etiévant, V.; Goubard, Y.; Maylin, A.; Justes, E.; Alletto, L.

    2016-01-01

    The increasing use of cover crops (CC) may lead to an increase in glyphosate application for their destruction. Sorption and degradation of "1"4C-glyphosate on and within 4 decaying CC-amended soils were compared to its fate in a bare soil. "1"4C-Glyphosate and its metabolites distribution between mineralized, water-soluble, NH_4OH-soluble and non-extractable fractions was determined at 5 dates during a 20 °C/84-d period. The presence of CC extends "1"4C-glyphosate degradation half-life from 7 to 28 days depending on the CC. "1"4C-Glyphosate dissipation occurred mainly through mineralization in soils and through mineralization and bound residue formation in decaying CC. Differences in sorption and degradation levels were attributed to differences in composition and availability to microorganisms. CC- and soil-specific dissipation patterns were established with the help of explicit relationships between extractability and microbial activity. - Highlights: • Glyphosate sorption on cover crop residues increases with their decomposition degree. • Glyphosate degradation and mineralization are lower in mulch than in soil. • Nonextractable residue formation is one of the main dissipation pathways of glyphosate in cover crop mulch.

  6. Modeling Emissions and Vertical Plume Transport of Crop Residue Burning Experiments in the Pacific Northwest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, L.; Baker, K. R.; Napelenok, S. L.; Pouliot, G.; Elleman, R. A.; ONeill, S. M.; Urbanski, S. P.; Wong, D. C.

    2017-12-01

    Crop residue burning has long been a common practice in agriculture with the smoke emissions from the burning linked to negative health impacts. A field study in eastern Washington and northern Idaho in August 2013 consisted of multiple burns of well characterized fuels with nearby surface and aerial measurements including trace species concentrations, plume rise height and boundary layer structure. The chemical transport model CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality Model) was used to assess the fire emissions and subsequent vertical plume transport. The study first compared assumptions made by the 2014 National Emission Inventory approach for crop residue burning with the fuel and emissions information obtained from the field study and then investigated the sensitivity of modeled carbon monoxide (CO) and PM2.5 concentrations to these different emission estimates and plume rise treatment with CMAQ. The study suggests that improvements to the current parameterizations are needed in order for CMAQ to reliably reproduce smoke plumes from burning. In addition, there is enough variability in the smoke emissions, stemming from variable field-specific information such as field size, that attempts to model crop residue burning should use field-specific information whenever possible.

  7. Remote Sensing of Residue Management in Farms using Landsat 8 Sensor Imagery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A Rostami

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Preserving of crop residues in the field surface after harvesting crops, making difficult farm operations. The farmers for getting rid of crop residues always choose the easiest way, i.e. burning. Burning is one of the common disposal methods for wheat and corn straw in some region of the world. Present study was aimed to investigate the accurate methods for monitoring of residue management after wheat harvesting. With this vision, the potential of Landsat 8 sensor was evaluated for monitoring of residue burning, using satellite spectral indices and Linear Spectral Unmixing Analysis. For this purpose, correlation of ground data with satellite spectral indices and LSUA data were tested by linear regression. Materials and Methods In this study we considered 12 farms where remained plants were burned, 12 green farm, 12 bare farms and 12 farms with full crop residue cover were considered. Spatial coordinates of experimental fields recorded with a GPS and fields map were drawn using ArcGissoftware, version of 10.1. In this study,t wo methods were used to separate burned fields from other farms including Satellite Spectral Indices and Linear Spectral unmixing analysis. In this study, multispectral landsat 8 image was acquired over 2015 year. Landsat 8 products are delivered to the customer as radiometric, sensor, and geometric corrections. Image pixels are unique to Landsat 8 data, and should not be directly compared to imagery from other sensors. Therefore, DN value must be converted to radiance value in order to change the radiance to the reflectance, which is useful when performing spectral analysis techniques, such as transformations, band ratios and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, etc. In this study, a number of spectral indices and Linear Spectral Unmixing Analysis data were imported/extracted from Landsat 8 image. All satellite image data were analyzed by ENVI software package. The spectral indices used in this

  8. Prioritizing Crop Management to Increase Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Australian Sugarcane Crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorburn, Peter J; Biggs, Jody S; Palmer, Jeda; Meier, Elizabeth A; Verburg, Kirsten; Skocaj, Danielle M

    2017-01-01

    Sugarcane production relies on the application of large amounts of nitrogen (N) fertilizer. However, application of N in excess of crop needs can lead to loss of N to the environment, which can negatively impact ecosystems. This is of particular concern in Australia where the majority of sugarcane is grown within catchments that drain directly into the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Multiple factors that impact crop yield and N inputs of sugarcane production systems can affect N use efficiency (NUE), yet the efficacy many of these factors have not been examined in detail. We undertook an extensive simulation analysis of NUE in Australian sugarcane production systems to investigate (1) the impacts of climate on factors determining NUE, (2) the range and drivers of NUE, and (3) regional variation in sugarcane N requirements. We found that the interactions between climate, soils, and management produced a wide range of simulated NUE, ranging from ∼0.3 Mg cane (kg N) -1 , where yields were low (i.e., 5 Mg cane (kg N) -1 in plant crops where yields were high and N inputs low. Of the management practices simulated (N fertilizer rate, timing, and splitting; fallow management; tillage intensity; and in-field traffic management), the only practice that significantly influenced NUE in ratoon crops was N fertilizer application rate. N rate also influenced NUE in plant crops together with the management of the preceding fallow. In addition, there is regional variation in N fertilizer requirement that could make N fertilizer recommendations more specific. While our results show that complex interrelationships exist between climate, crop growth, N fertilizer rates and N losses to the environment, they highlight the priority that should be placed on optimizing N application rate and fallow management to improve NUE in Australian sugarcane production systems. New initiatives in seasonal climate forecasting, decisions support systems and enhanced efficiency

  9. Prioritizing Crop Management to Increase Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Australian Sugarcane Crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter J. Thorburn

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Sugarcane production relies on the application of large amounts of nitrogen (N fertilizer. However, application of N in excess of crop needs can lead to loss of N to the environment, which can negatively impact ecosystems. This is of particular concern in Australia where the majority of sugarcane is grown within catchments that drain directly into the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Multiple factors that impact crop yield and N inputs of sugarcane production systems can affect N use efficiency (NUE, yet the efficacy many of these factors have not been examined in detail. We undertook an extensive simulation analysis of NUE in Australian sugarcane production systems to investigate (1 the impacts of climate on factors determining NUE, (2 the range and drivers of NUE, and (3 regional variation in sugarcane N requirements. We found that the interactions between climate, soils, and management produced a wide range of simulated NUE, ranging from ∼0.3 Mg cane (kg N-1, where yields were low (i.e., <50 Mg ha-1 and N inputs were high, to >5 Mg cane (kg N-1 in plant crops where yields were high and N inputs low. Of the management practices simulated (N fertilizer rate, timing, and splitting; fallow management; tillage intensity; and in-field traffic management, the only practice that significantly influenced NUE in ratoon crops was N fertilizer application rate. N rate also influenced NUE in plant crops together with the management of the preceding fallow. In addition, there is regional variation in N fertilizer requirement that could make N fertilizer recommendations more specific. While our results show that complex interrelationships exist between climate, crop growth, N fertilizer rates and N losses to the environment, they highlight the priority that should be placed on optimizing N application rate and fallow management to improve NUE in Australian sugarcane production systems. New initiatives in seasonal climate forecasting

  10. Nitrous oxide emissions from yellow brown soil as affected by incorporation of crop residues with different carbon-to-nitrogen ratios: a case study in central China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shan; Iqbal, Javed; Hu, Ronggui; Shaaban, Muhammad; Cai, Jianbo; Chen, Xi

    2013-08-01

    To investigate the influence of crop residues decomposition on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission, a field study was performed with application of crop residues with different C:N ratios in a bare yellow brown soil at the experimental station of Zhangjiachong at Zigui, China. We set up six experimental treatments: no crop residue (CK), rapeseed cake (RC), potato stalk (PS), rice straw (RS), wheat straw (WS), and corn straw (CS). The carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) ratios of these crop residues were 7.5, 32.9, 40.4, 65.7, and 90.9, respectively. Nitrous oxide fluxes were measured using a static closed chamber method. N2O emissions were significantly enhanced by incorporation of crop residues. Cumulative N2O emissions negatively correlated with C:N ratio (R (2) = 0.9821) of the crop residue, but they were positively correlated with average concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon. Nitrogen emission fraction, calculated as N2O-N emissions originated from the crop residues N, positively correlated with C:N ratio of the residues (P emissions because a significant correlation (P emissions in all treatments except the control. In contrast, a significant relationship between soil moisture and N2O emissions was found in the control only. Furthermore, N2O emission significantly correlated (P carbon and nitrogen contents can significantly alter soil N2O flux rates; and (2) soil biotic as well as abiotic variables are critical in determining soil-atmospheric N2O emissions after crop residue incorporation into soil.

  11. Interception of residual nitrate from a calcareous alluvial soil profile on the North China Plain by deep-rooted crops: A {sup 15}N tracer study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ju, X.T. [Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, College of Agricultural Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100094 (China)]. E-mail: juxt@cau.edu.cn; Gao, Q. [Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, College of Agricultural Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100094 (China); College of Agricultural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118 (China); Christie, P. [Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, College of Agricultural Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100094 (China); Agricultural and Environmental Science Department, Queen' s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 5PX (United Kingdom); Zhang, F.S. [Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, College of Agricultural Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100094 (China)

    2007-03-15

    {sup 15}N-labeled nitrate was injected into different depths of an alluvial calcareous soil profile on the North China Plain. Subsequent movement of NO{sub 3} {sup -}N and its recovery by deep-rooted maize (Zea mays L.) and shallow-rooted eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) were studied. Under conventional water and nutrient management the mean recoveries of {sup 15}N-labeled nitrate from K{sup 15}NO{sub 3} injected at depths 15, 45, and 75 cm were 22.4, 13.8, and 7.8% by maize and 7.9, 4.9, and 2.7% by eggplant. The recovery rate by maize at each soil depth was significantly higher than by eggplant. The deeper the injection of nitrate the smaller the distance of its downward movement and this corresponded with the movement of soil water during crop growth. Deeper rooting crops with high root length density and high water consumption may therefore be grown to utilize high concentrations of residual nitrate in the subsoil from previous intensive cropping and to protect the environment. - Deep-rooted crops have a greater capacity than shallow-rooted crops to intercept residual nitrate from the subsoil and restrict its movement down to the shallow groundw0010at.

  12. An investigation of radionuclide uptake into food crops grown in soils treated with bauxite mining residues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooper, M.B.; Clarke, P.C.; Robertson, W.; McPharlin, I.R.; Jeffrey, R.C.

    1994-01-01

    Sandy soils of the coastal plain area of Western Australia have poor phosphorous retention capacity which leads to pollution of surface water bodies in the region. Application of bauxite mining residues (termed 'red mud') to vegetable and crops has been proposed as a solution to increase the phosphorous and water retention and thereby reduce the leaching of nutrients. The thorium and radium-226 concentrations in the 'red mud' residues are in excess of 1 kBq/kg, and 300 Bq/kg respectively. Potentially, the use of these residues on agricultural land could result in increased levels of radionuclides in food grown in amended soils. The transfer of long-lived radionuclides of both the natural thorium and uranium series to a variety of vegetable crops grown under controlled conditions is investigated. The effects of varying the rates of application of 'red mud' and phosphate fertilizers on radionuclide uptake are studied. It has been shown previously that fallout caesium-137 is sandy soils of the region transfers readily to food and grazing crops. Some of the parameters which influence that transfer are also examined. (author). 14 refs., 1 fig., 8 tabs

  13. Socio-ecological Niches for Minimum Tillage and Crop-residue Retention in Continuous Maize Cropping Systems in Smallholder Farms of Central Kenya

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Guto, S.N.; Pypers, P.; Vanlauwe, B.; Ridder, de N.; Giller, K.E.

    2012-01-01

    Soil fertility gradients develop on smallholder farms due to preferential allocation of inputs. A multi-location on-farm trial was conducted in Meru South, Central Kenya whose overall aim was to test minimum tillage and crop-residue retention practices in socio-ecological niches across heterogeneous

  14. Integrated crop management practices for maximizing grain yield of double-season rice crop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Depeng; Huang, Jianliang; Nie, Lixiao; Wang, Fei; Ling, Xiaoxia; Cui, Kehui; Li, Yong; Peng, Shaobing

    2017-01-01

    Information on maximum grain yield and its attributes are limited for double-season rice crop grown under the subtropical environment. This study was conducted to examine key characteristics associated with high yielding double-season rice crop through a comparison between an integrated crop management (ICM) and farmers’ practice (FP). Field experiments were conducted in the early and late seasons in the subtropical environment of Wuxue County, Hubei Province, China in 2013 and 2014. On average, grain yield in ICM was 13.5% higher than that in FP. A maximum grain yield of 9.40 and 10.53 t ha-1 was achieved under ICM in the early- and late-season rice, respectively. Yield improvement of double-season rice with ICM was achieved with the combined effects of increased plant density and optimized nutrient management. Yield gain of ICM resulted from a combination of increases in sink size due to more panicle number per unit area and biomass production, further supported by the increased leaf area index, leaf area duration, radiation use efficiency, crop growth rate, and total nitrogen uptake compared with FP. Further enhancement in the yield potential of double-season rice should focus on increasing crop growth rate and biomass production through improved and integrated crop management practices.

  15. Soil and crop residue CO2-C emission under tillage systems in sugarcane-producing areas of southern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luís Gustavo Teixeira

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Appropriate management of agricultural crop residues could result in increases on soil organic carbon (SOC and help to mitigate gas effect. To distinguish the contributions of SOC and sugarcane (Saccharum spp. residues to the short-term CO2-C loss, we studied the influence of several tillage systems: heavy offset disk harrow (HO, chisel plow (CP, rotary tiller (RT, and sugarcane mill tiller (SM in 2008, and CP, RT, SM, moldboard (MP, and subsoiler (SUB in 2009, with and without sugarcane residues relative to no-till (NT in the sugarcane producing region of Brazil. Soil CO2-C emissions were measured daily for two weeks after tillage using portable soil respiration systems. Daily CO2-C emissions declined after tillage regardless of tillage system. In 2008, total CO2-C from SOC and/or residue decomposition was greater for RT and lowest for CP. In 2009, emission was greatest for MP and CP with residues, and smallest for NT. SOC and residue contributed 47 % and 41 %, respectively, to total CO2-C emissions. Regarding the estimated emissions from sugarcane residue and SOC decomposition within the measurement period, CO2-C factor was similar to sugarcane residue and soil organic carbon decomposition, depending on the tillage system applied. Our approach may define new emission factors that are associated to tillage operations on bare or sugarcane-residue-covered soils to estimate the total carbon loss.

  16. Composting of cow dung and crop residues using termite mounds as bulking agent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karak, Tanmoy; Sonar, Indira; Paul, Ranjit K; Das, Sampa; Boruah, R K; Dutta, Amrit K; Das, Dilip K

    2014-10-01

    The present study reports the suitability of termite mounds as a bulking agent for composting with crop residues and cow dung in pit method. Use of 50 kg termite mound with the crop residues (stover of ground nut: 361.65 kg; soybean: 354.59 kg; potato: 357.67 kg and mustard: 373.19 kg) and cow dung (84.90 kg) formed a good quality compost within 70 days of composting having nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium as 20.19, 3.78 and 32.77 g kg(-1) respectively with a bulk density of 0.85 g cm(-3). Other physico-chemical and germination parameters of the compost were within Indian standard, which had been confirmed by the application of multivariate analysis of variance and multivariate contrast analysis. Principal component analysis was applied in order to gain insight into the characteristic variables. Four composting treatments formed two different groups when hierarchical cluster analysis was applied. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Managing for Multifunctionality in Perennial Grain Crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Matthew R; Crews, Timothy E; Culman, Steven W; DeHaan, Lee R; Hayes, Richard C; Jungers, Jacob M; Bakker, Matthew G

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Plant breeders are increasing yields and improving agronomic traits in several perennial grain crops, the first of which is now being incorporated into commercial food products. Integration strategies and management guidelines are needed to optimize production of these new crops, which differ substantially from both annual grain crops and perennial forages. To offset relatively low grain yields, perennial grain cropping systems should be multifunctional. Growing perennial grains for several years to regenerate soil health before rotating to annual crops and growing perennial grains on sloped land and ecologically sensitive areas to reduce soil erosion and nutrient losses are two strategies that can provide ecosystem services and support multifunctionality. Several perennial cereals can be used to produce both grain and forage, and these dual-purpose crops can be intercropped with legumes for additional benefits. Highly diverse perennial grain polycultures can further enhance ecosystem services, but increased management complexity might limit their adoption. PMID:29662249

  18. Beneficiary role of grapes residue, an organic waste of agro-based industry causing environmental pollution - a new concept of crop production in hydroponics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butt, S.J.; Varis, S.

    2005-01-01

    The world is facing a serious threat of environmental pollution as a result of which our soils, air and water are becoming highly contaminated with the passage of time. Many epidemics have engulfed a number of countries in various diseases causing the loss of hundreds of thousands of human lives. The wastes of agro-based industries are mostly organic in nature, and if not properly handled, usually become nuisance and also the source of food for pathogens and other harmful microorganisms thus the surrounding becomes polluted. It has been reported that grapes residue (also called grapes marc or pressed grapes) was a serious environmental problem Tekirdag city of Turkey. This waste material was thrown out of the factory (Tekil Fabrikasi) after the extraction of grape juices used for different products. With dual objective, a plan was made to remove the waste material from polluted area subsequently managed to use it a source of soilless growing medium for the production horticultural crops through hydroponics system in the unheated greenhouse. The use of grapes residue for crop production is rare and hardly documented in the literature thus the idea is innovative in its nature that may lead to open the vista of new avenues. A trial of bag culture was conducted to evaluate the possibilities of use of grapes marc as a pure growing substrate for the production of lettuce and tomato crops. Quite encouraging results of a number of parameters of both the crops appeared against the soil-mixture (control). The studied characteristics were relating to vegetative, reproductive, yield physical and chemical performances and sensory traits. It is predicted that grapes marc possesses a great potential of organic rooting medium for growth and development of commercial crops, provided the climatic, nutritional and management activities scheduled in view of the kind and nature of crop cultivar to be grown under unheated glass house conditions. (author)

  19. Derived crop management data for the LandCarbon Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Gail; Liu, Shu-Guang; Oeding, Jennifer

    2011-01-01

    The LandCarbon project is assessing potential carbon pools and greenhouse gas fluxes under various scenarios and land management regimes to provide information to support the formulation of policies governing climate change mitigation, adaptation and land management strategies. The project is unique in that spatially explicit maps of annual land cover and land-use change are created at the 250-meter pixel resolution. The project uses vast amounts of data as input to the models, including satellite, climate, land cover, soil, and land management data. Management data have been obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) that provides information regarding crop type, crop harvesting, manure, fertilizer, tillage, and cover crop (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2011a, b, c). The LandCarbon team queried the USDA databases to pull historic crop-related management data relative to the needs of the project. The data obtained was in table form with the County or State Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) and the year as the primary and secondary keys. Future projections were generated for the A1B, A2, B1, and B2 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) scenarios using the historic data values along with coefficients generated by the project. The PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) Integrated Model to Assess the Global Environment (IMAGE) modeling framework (Integrated Model to Assess the Global Environment, 2006) was used to develop coefficients for each IPCC SRES scenario, which were applied to the historic management data to produce future land management practice projections. The LandCarbon project developed algorithms for deriving gridded data, using these tabular management data products as input. The derived gridded crop type, crop harvesting, manure, fertilizer, tillage, and cover crop

  20. Using a decision support system to optimize production of agricultural crop residue Biofeedstock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoskinson, Reed L.; Rope, Ronald C.; Fink, Raymond K.

    2007-01-01

    For several years the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been developing a Decision Support System for Agriculture (DSS4Ag) which determines the economically optimum recipe of various fertilizers to apply at each site in a field to produce a crop, based on the existing soil fertility at each site, as well as historic production information and current prices of fertilizers and the forecast market price of the crop at harvest. In support of the growing interest in agricultural crop residues as a bioenergy feedstock, we have extended the capability of the DSS4Ag to develop a variable-rate fertilizer recipe for the simultaneous economically optimum production of both grain and straw. In this paper we report the results of 2 yr of field research testing and enhancing the DSS4Ag's ability to economically optimize the fertilization for the simultaneous production of both grain and its straw, where the straw is an agricultural crop residue that can be used as a biofeedstock. For both years, the DSS4Ag reduced the cost and amount of fertilizers used and increased grower profit, while reducing the biomass produced. The DSS4Ag results show that when a biorefinery infrastructure is in place and growers have a strong market for their straw it is not economically advantageous to increase fertilization in order to try to produce more straw. This suggests that other solutions, such as single-pass selective harvest, must be implemented to meet national goals for the amount of biomass that will be available for collection and use for bioenergy. (author)

  1. Effect of tillage and crop residue on soil temperature following planting for a Black soil in Northeast China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Yan; McLaughlin, Neil; Zhang, Xiaoping; Xu, Minggang; Liang, Aizhen

    2018-03-14

    Crop residue return is imperative to maintain soil health and productivity but some farmers resist adopting conservation tillage systems with residue return fearing reduced soil temperature following planting and crop yield. Soil temperatures were measured at 10 cm depth for one month following planting from 2004 to 2007 in a field experiment in Northeast China. Tillage treatments included mouldboard plough (MP), no till (NT), and ridge till (RT) with maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max Merr.) crops. Tillage had significant effects on soil temperature in 10 of 15 weekly periods. Weekly average NT soil temperature was 0-1.5 °C lower than MP, but the difference was significant (P Northeast China representative of a cool to temperate zone.

  2. Management of NORM Residues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-06-01

    The IAEA attaches great importance to the dissemination of information that can assist Member States in the development, implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of systems, programmes and activities that support the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear applications, and that address the legacy of past practices and accidents. However, radioactive residues are found not only in nuclear fuel cycle activities, but also in a range of other industrial activities, including: - Mining and milling of metalliferous and non-metallic ores; - Production of non-nuclear fuels, including coal, oil and gas; - Extraction and purification of water (e.g. in the generation of geothermal energy, as drinking and industrial process water; in paper and pulp manufacturing processes); - Production of industrial minerals, including phosphate, clay and building materials; - Use of radionuclides, such as thorium, for properties other than their radioactivity. Naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) may lead to exposures at some stage of these processes and in the use or reuse of products, residues or wastes. Several IAEA publications address NORM issues with a special focus on some of the more relevant industrial operations. This publication attempts to provide guidance on managing residues arising from different NORM type industries, and on pertinent residue management strategies and technologies, to help Member States gain perspectives on the management of NORM residues

  3. Management of Biogas spent slurry for hastening the composting of agro residues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. S. Geeta

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The demand for energy and the fertilizers are ever increasing. Organic farming has many advantages looking to the environment pollution, unproductive soil, less yields etc. By installation of a biogas plant serves both the purposes of meeting the fuel as well as obtaining manures. The organic manures need to be added in bulk to meet the nutrient demands of the crop as it is not in concentrated form like chemical fertilizers. Hence, biogas spent slurry is the best alternate for hastening the compost preparation of abundantly available crop residues as well as obtaining enriched compost as conventional method takes long time. Moreover, slurry is composed of major nutrients besides enzymes and a rich microflora. Based on the preliminary results, the present study was conducted at farmer’s field to know whether slurry could be used for degradation of agro residues. One ton of crop residues that included banana waste, sunflower and maize waste, leaf litter of horticultural crops were inoculated individually with 60 L of spent slurry along with consortia of degrading fungi and P-solubilising bacteria. After a retention period of 60 days, nutrients were analysed. The cultures along with slurry indicated 1.5 - 1.96% N with reduction in C:N ratio between 1.6 - 1.82. The micronutrients also increased. Thus, it was concluded that efficient use of spent slurry can be made besides utilising the crop residues and the product for organic cultivation.

  4. Farmers Participatory Research in the Evaluation of Maize Crop Residues for Improved Dairy Cattle Production in Eastern Kenya

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiruiro, E.M.; Kariuki, I.W.; Kang'ara, J.; Ouma, O.

    1999-01-01

    Informal and formal surveys, and participatory rural appraisal conducted within the coffee land-use system of Embu District in Eastern Kenya identified feed shortage as a major constraint to increased dairy production on small holder farms. To address this constraint, a two-year (1996-1998) on-farm research project involving 20 farms in Manyatta division, Embu District was initiated with broad objectives of developing components technologies that would use maize crop residues. This was due to the recognition of the fact that the greatest potential for improving field availability would be in the exploitation of crop residues, especially those derived from maize, the main staple crop in the region. Based on these reality appropriate technologies that would offer viable offers for the use of crop residues were identified and discussed during workshops and meetings with farmers. Component technologies considered included drying of maize leaves after defoliation and post-harvest storage methods for dry maize stover. this paper discussed the results of the participatory research in context of farmers' involvement in the technology development, testing, evaluation and promotion. The study demonstrated that involving farmers in all stages of the research process, enhanced their interest and participation in the testing and subsequent adoption of appropriate technologies

  5. Residual N effect of long-term applications of cattle slurry using winter wheat as test crop

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Suarez, Alfonso; Thomsen, Ingrid Kaag; Rasmussen, Jim

    2018-01-01

    ) as reference treatments. In the test years, the customary nutrient treatments were withheld and each plot divided into six subplots randomly allocated increasing rates of mineral fertilizer N (0–250 kg N ha−1). The winter wheat yielded more in the first test year due to crop rotational effects and more benign...... climatic conditions, substantiating that more test years are needed when estimating residual N effects. The residual value of N added previously with NPK was negligible. In the first year, grain yields at N optimum were similar for NPK and SLU, but the amount of fertilizer N needed to reach optimum yield...... in cattle slurry (50, 100 and 150 kg total-N ha−1 termed ½, 1 and 1½ SLU), we estimated the residual N value over two consecutive growth periods (2014/2015 and 2015/2016). We used winter wheat as test crop and soils with a history of mineral fertilizers only (1 PK (no N)) and 1 NPK (100 kg N ha−1...

  6. Amendment of Acid Soils with Crop Residues and Biochars

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    YUAN Jin-Hua; XU Ren-Kou; WANG Ning; LI Jiu-Yu

    2011-01-01

    The liming potential of some crop residues and their biochars on an acid Ultisol was investigated using incubation experiments. Rice hulls showed greater liming potential than rice hull biochar, while soybean and pea straws had less liming potential than their biochars. Due to their higher alkalinity, biochars from legume materials increased soil pH much compared to biochars from non-legume materials. The alkalinity of biochars was a key factor affecting their liming potential,and the greater alkalinity of biochars led to greater reductions in soil acidity. The incorporation of biochars decreased soil exchangeable acidity and increased soil exchangeable base cations and base saturation, thus improving soil fertility.

  7. Weed control through crop rotation and alternative management practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Böhm, Herwart

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Economic as well as agricultural and socio-political changes have an impact on crop management and thus also on crop rotation design and the related effects on the weed flora. Likewise other changes in cultivation such as reduced tillage practices, earlier sowing date, etc. cause an increase in weed infestation resp. an increased use of herbicides and if so contribute to herbicide resistance. The positive effects of crop rotation, but also of alternative management practices such as choice of varieties, catch crops, mixed cropping, green chop, and the share of predators, as well as methods of direct non-chemical weed control are presented and discussed for both, conventional and organic farming. If alternative management methods should be more practiced, especially trade-offs need to be broken, or incentives be offered.

  8. Evaluation of crop residues on potassium kinetics in an acid soil and potassium use efficiency in potato-garlic sequence using tracer 86Rb

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sud, K.C.

    2005-01-01

    Greenhouse and laboratory studies were conducted on an acid soil in order to evaluate the role of two crop residues i.e. paddy and wheat along with farmyard manure on potassium kinetics and its availability in the potato-garlic sequence using tracer 86 Rb. Under rapid equilibrium, application of crop residues of paddy, wheat straw and FYM were able to enhance soil pH and organic carbon content. In addition, their application helped in enhancing soil K availability indices like water soluble, available and non-exchangeable -K. This was further augmented by the Q/I studies using 86 Rb where application of organic residues helped in lowering the potassium buffering capacity of the soil. Greenhouse study supplemented the results obtained from laboratory study where application of crop residues/FYM were able to improve the potato yield significantly and maintained higher concentration of K in potato leaf at early growth stages. A significant correlation was obtained between leaf K and haulms-K with that of 86 Rb activities in potato leaf at 35 days and 86 Rb absorbed in the haulms, respectively. Residues/ FYM and PK application to potato left sufficient residual effect on succeeding garlic crop. In potato-garlic sequence, K recovery was highest with FYM while N and P recoveries were higher with wheat residues. The nutrient recoveries with PK application followed law of diminishing returns. (author)

  9. Environmental dredging residual generation and management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patmont, Clay; LaRosa, Paul; Narayanan, Raghav; Forrest, Casey

    2018-05-01

    The presence and magnitude of sediment contamination remaining in a completed dredge area can often dictate the success of an environmental dredging project. The need to better understand and manage this remaining contamination, referred to as "postdredging residuals," has increasingly been recognized by practitioners and investigators. Based on recent dredging projects with robust characterization programs, it is now understood that the residual contamination layer in the postdredging sediment comprises a mixture of contaminated sediments that originate from throughout the dredge cut. This mixture of contaminated sediments initially exhibits fluid mud properties that can contribute to sediment transport and contamination risk outside of the dredge area. This article reviews robust dredging residual evaluations recently performed in the United States and Canada, including the Hudson River, Lower Fox River, Ashtabula River, and Esquimalt Harbour, along with other projects. These data better inform the understanding of residuals generation, leading to improved models of dredging residual formation to inform remedy evaluation, selection, design, and implementation. Data from these projects confirm that the magnitude of dredging residuals is largely determined by site conditions, primarily in situ sediment fluidity or liquidity as measured by dry bulk density. While the generation of dredging residuals cannot be avoided, residuals can be successfully and efficiently managed through careful development and implementation of site-specific management plans. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:335-343. © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

  10. Soil Temperature Moderation by Crop Residue Mulch, Grevilla Robusta Tillage Mode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oteng'i, S.B.B.

    2006-01-01

    The effects of mulching with crop residues and shading by Grevillea robust trees on the soil temperatures of Mt. Kenya Volcanic soils at Matanya area, Laikipia district, were studied. Soil thermistors connected to data-loggers(type Grant squirrel)were used to record soil temperaturs. The soils were mulched and minimum tilled (depths of 0.04 till 0.05m), and unmulched and deep tilled (depths 0.20till 0.25m) in plots of pruned and unpruned trees and also to cotrol (non-agroforestry) plots. The results showed that closer tp the trees, canopy differences ionfluenced changes in soil temperatures of about ≠2.0 degrees centrigrade. The dumping depth and Stigters ratio values showed soil temperatures were modified by treatment and tree canopy differences. The modified soil temperatures resulted in better crop performance when the soil water was adequate.(author)

  11. Topography Mediates the Influence of Cover Crops on Soil Nitrate Levels in Row Crop Agricultural Systems.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moslem Ladoni

    Full Text Available Supplying adequate amounts of soil N for plant growth during the growing season and across large agricultural fields is a challenge for conservational agricultural systems with cover crops. Knowledge about cover crop effects on N comes mostly from small, flat research plots and performance of cover crops across topographically diverse agricultural land is poorly understood. Our objective was to assess effects of both leguminous (red clover and non-leguminous (winter rye cover crops on potentially mineralizable N (PMN and [Formula: see text] levels across a topographically diverse landscape. We studied conventional, low-input, and organic managements in corn-soybean-wheat rotation. The rotations of low-input and organic managements included rye and red clover cover crops. The managements were implemented in twenty large undulating fields in Southwest Michigan starting from 2006. The data collection and analysis were conducted during three growing seasons of 2011, 2012 and 2013. Observational micro-plots with and without cover crops were laid within each field on three contrasting topographical positions of depression, slope and summit. Soil samples were collected 4-5 times during each growing season and analyzed for [Formula: see text] and PMN. The results showed that all three managements were similar in their temporal and spatial distributions of NO3-N. Red clover cover crop increased [Formula: see text] by 35% on depression, 20% on slope and 32% on summit positions. Rye cover crop had a significant 15% negative effect on [Formula: see text] in topographical depressions but not in slope and summit positions. The magnitude of the cover crop effects on soil mineral nitrogen across topographically diverse fields was associated with the amount of cover crop growth and residue production. The results emphasize the potential environmental and economic benefits that can be generated by implementing site-specific topography-driven cover crop management

  12. Topography Mediates the Influence of Cover Crops on Soil Nitrate Levels in Row Crop Agricultural Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ladoni, Moslem; Kravchenko, Alexandra N; Robertson, G Phillip

    2015-01-01

    Supplying adequate amounts of soil N for plant growth during the growing season and across large agricultural fields is a challenge for conservational agricultural systems with cover crops. Knowledge about cover crop effects on N comes mostly from small, flat research plots and performance of cover crops across topographically diverse agricultural land is poorly understood. Our objective was to assess effects of both leguminous (red clover) and non-leguminous (winter rye) cover crops on potentially mineralizable N (PMN) and [Formula: see text] levels across a topographically diverse landscape. We studied conventional, low-input, and organic managements in corn-soybean-wheat rotation. The rotations of low-input and organic managements included rye and red clover cover crops. The managements were implemented in twenty large undulating fields in Southwest Michigan starting from 2006. The data collection and analysis were conducted during three growing seasons of 2011, 2012 and 2013. Observational micro-plots with and without cover crops were laid within each field on three contrasting topographical positions of depression, slope and summit. Soil samples were collected 4-5 times during each growing season and analyzed for [Formula: see text] and PMN. The results showed that all three managements were similar in their temporal and spatial distributions of NO3-N. Red clover cover crop increased [Formula: see text] by 35% on depression, 20% on slope and 32% on summit positions. Rye cover crop had a significant 15% negative effect on [Formula: see text] in topographical depressions but not in slope and summit positions. The magnitude of the cover crop effects on soil mineral nitrogen across topographically diverse fields was associated with the amount of cover crop growth and residue production. The results emphasize the potential environmental and economic benefits that can be generated by implementing site-specific topography-driven cover crop management in row-crop

  13. Team-up Crop Diversification and Weed Management: PRODIVA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gerowitt, B.; Melander, B.; Krawczyk, R.

    2015-01-01

    The research-network PRODIVA focuses on a better utilization of crop diversification for weed management in North European arable cropping systems. The goal is to maintain diverse arable weed vegetation that is manageable in the long-term and could fulfil other necessary systemfunctions including...... support of beneficial organisms. The partners in PRODIVA will synthesize knowledge from terminated and running research projects and set-up selected new experiments on cover crops and variety resp. crop mixtures. Moreover, we will interact with partners from farming practice and extension services...... in organic agriculture. Regional fields will be surveyed for weeds to safeguard the relevance of the experimental research. Current cropping practices and their influence on weed pressure and weed diversity will be identified. The project will involve relevant stakeholders from the participating countries...

  14. Methods to enhance hydrolysis during one and two-stage anaerobic digestion of energy crops and crop residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jagadabhi, P. S.

    2011-07-01

    The objective of this thesis was to evaluate methods to enhance hydrolysis (measured as specific SCOD production, g SCOD g-1 VS) during one and two-stage anaerobic digestion (AD) of energy crops and crop residues. Addition of macro (NH{sub 4}Cl), micro nutrients (Fe, Ni, Co and Mo) and leachate replacement during mono-digestion of grass silage in one-stage leach bed reactors (LBRs) enhanced hydrolysis by 18 % (0.56 g SCOD g-1 VS), 7 % (0.45 g SCOD g-1 VS) and 34 % (0.51 g SCOD g-1 VS) respectively compared to respective controls. On the other hand, creating micro-aerobic conditions (at 1 l min-1, 2.5 l of air) did not improve hydrolysis but enhanced VFA production by 4 fold (from 2.2 g l-1 to 9 g l-1). Application of rumen cultures improved hydrolysis by 10 % (0.33 g SCOD g-1 VS) more than control (0.30 g SCOD g-1 VS). Similarly, during two-stage AD in LBR-UASB reactor configuration leachate replacement enhanced hydrolysis in cucumber and grass silage (0.5 g SCOD g-1 VS) than in tomato and common reed (0.35 and 0.15 g SCOD g-1 VS respectively). During co-digestion of grass silage and cow manure at a ratio of 30:70 (VS) in CSTR, re-circulation of alkali treated solid fraction of digestate did not improve the anaerobic biodegradation rates or methane yields. Results from batch experiments showed that methane potential of grass silage varied from 0.28-0.39 m3 CH{sub 4} kg-1 VS{sub added} in all the experiments. On the other hand, methane potentials of the studied crop residues were 0.32 m3 CH{sub 4} kg-1 VS{sub added} for tomato and 0.26 m3 CH{sub 4} kg-1 VS{sub added} for cucumber and common reed. Alkali pretreatment of solids, obtained from digestate (during co-digestion of grass silage and cow manure in one-stage CSTRs), at a low concentration of 20 g NaOH kg-1 VS resulted in higher methane yield (0.34 m3 CH{sub 4} kg-1 VS{sub added}) than the other tested dosages (40 and 60 g NaOH kg-1 VS). Addition of macro nutrient (NH{sub 4}Cl) enhanced methane potential of

  15. The Use of Cover Crops as Climate-Smart Management in Midwest Cropping Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basche, A.; Miguez, F.; Archontoulis, S.; Kaspar, T.

    2014-12-01

    The observed trends in the Midwestern United States of increasing rainfall variability will likely continue into the future. Events such as individual days of heavy rain as well as seasons of floods and droughts have large impacts on agricultural productivity and the natural resource base that underpins it. Such events lead to increased soil erosion, decreased water quality and reduced corn and soybean yields. Winter cover crops offer the potential to buffer many of these impacts because they essentially double the time for a living plant to protect and improve the soil. However, at present, cover crops are infrequently utilized in the Midwest (representing 1-2% of row cropped land cover) in particular due to producer concerns over higher costs and management, limited time and winter growing conditions as well as the potential harm to corn yields. In order to expand their use, there is a need to quantify how cover crops impact Midwest cropping systems in the long term and namely to understand how to optimize the benefits of cover crops while minimizing their impacts on cash crops. We are working with APSIM, a cropping systems platform, to specifically quantify the long term future impacts of cover crop incorporation in corn-based cropping systems. In general, our regional analysis showed only minor changes to corn and soybean yields (<1% differences) when a cover crop was or was not included in the simulation. Further, a "bad spring" scenario (where every third year had an abnormally wet/cold spring and cover crop termination and planting cash crop were within one day) did not result in any major changes to cash crop yields. Through simulations we estimate an average increase of 4-9% organic matter improvement in the topsoil and an average decrease in soil erosion of 14-32% depending on cover crop planting date and growth. Our work is part of the Climate and Corn-based Cropping Systems Coordinated Agriculture Project (CSCAP), a collaboration of eleven Midwestern

  16. Cover crop-based ecological weed management: exploration and optimization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kruidhof, H.M.

    2008-01-01

    Keywords: organic farming, ecologically-based weed management, cover crops, green manure, allelopathy, Secale cereale, Brassica napus, Medicago sativa

    Cover crop-based ecological weed management: exploration and optimization. In organic farming systems, weed control is recognized as one

  17. Combining Organic and Mineral Fertilizers for Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Smallholder Farming Systems of Kenya: Explorations Using the Crop-Soil Model FIELD

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tittonell, P.A.; Corbeels, M.; Wijk, van M.T.; Vanlauwe, B.; Giller, K.E.

    2008-01-01

    Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technologies for African smallholders should consider (i) within-farm soil heterogeneity; (ii) long-term dynamics and variability; (iii) manure quality and availability; (iv) access to fertilizers; and (v) competing uses for crop residues. We used the

  18. 7 CFR 205.206 - Crop pest, weed, and disease management practice standard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Crop pest, weed, and disease management practice... Requirements § 205.206 Crop pest, weed, and disease management practice standard. (a) The producer must use management practices to prevent crop pests, weeds, and diseases including but not limited to: (1) Crop...

  19. Herbicide-resistant crops: utilities and limitations for herbicide-resistant weed management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Jerry M; Owen, Micheal D K

    2011-06-08

    Since 1996, genetically modified herbicide-resistant (HR) crops, particularly glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops, have transformed the tactics that corn, soybean, and cotton growers use to manage weeds. The use of GR crops continues to grow, but weeds are adapting to the common practice of using only glyphosate to control weeds. Growers using only a single mode of action to manage weeds need to change to a more diverse array of herbicidal, mechanical, and cultural practices to maintain the effectiveness of glyphosate. Unfortunately, the introduction of GR crops and the high initial efficacy of glyphosate often lead to a decline in the use of other herbicide options and less investment by industry to discover new herbicide active ingredients. With some exceptions, most growers can still manage their weed problems with currently available selective and HR crop-enabled herbicides. However, current crop management systems are in jeopardy given the pace at which weed populations are evolving glyphosate resistance. New HR crop technologies will expand the utility of currently available herbicides and enable new interim solutions for growers to manage HR weeds, but will not replace the long-term need to diversify weed management tactics and discover herbicides with new modes of action. This paper reviews the strengths and weaknesses of anticipated weed management options and the best management practices that growers need to implement in HR crops to maximize the long-term benefits of current technologies and reduce weed shifts to difficult-to-control and HR weeds.

  20. 40 CFR 279.59 - Management of residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Management of residues. 279.59 Section 279.59 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED... Management of residues. Owners and operators who generate residues from the storage, processing, or re...

  1. Spatio-temporal availability of field crop residues for biofuel production in Northwest and Southwest China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Han, L.; Wang, X.; Spiertz, J.H.J.; Yang, L.; Zhou, Y.; Liu, J.; Xie, G.

    2015-01-01

    Developing bioenergy from plant feedstocks is considered an opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and secure biofuel supply. This study is an assessment of the availability of field crop residues for bioenergy feedstocks in northwest China (NWC) and southwest China (SWC). The amount of

  2. GHG AND AEROSOL EMISSION FROM FIRE PIXEL DURING CROP RESIDUE BURNING UNDER RICE AND WHEAT CROPPING SYSTEMS IN NORTH-WEST INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Acharya

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Emission of smoke and aerosol from open field burning of crop residue is a long-standing subject matter of atmospheric pollution. In this study, we proposed a new approach of estimating fuel load in the fire pixels and corresponding emissions of selected GHGs and aerosols i.e. CO2, CO, NO2, SO2, and total particulate matter (TPM due to burning of crop residue under rice and wheat cropping systems in Punjab in north-west India from 2002 to 2012. In contrasts to the conventional method that uses RPR ratio to estimate the biomass, fuel load in the fire pixels was estimated as a function of enhanced vegetation index (EVI. MODIS fire products were used to detect the fire pixels during harvesting seasons of rice and wheat. Based on the field measurements, fuel load in the fire pixels were modelled as a function of average EVI using second order polynomial regression. Average EVI for rice and wheat crops that were extracted through Fourier transformation were computed from MODIS time series 16 day EVI composites. About 23 % of net shown area (NSA during rice and 11 % during wheat harvesting seasons are affected by field burning. The computed average fuel loads are 11.32 t/ha (±17.4 during rice and 10.89 t/ha (±8.7 during wheat harvesting seasons. Calculated average total emissions of CO2, CO, NO2, SO2 and TPM were 8108.41, 657.85, 8.10, 4.10, and 133.21 Gg during rice straw burning and 6896.85, 625.09, 1.42, 1.77, and 57.55 Gg during wheat burning. Comparison of estimated values shows better agreement with the previous concurrent estimations. The method, however, shows its efficiency parallel to the conventional method of estimation of fuel load and related pollutant emissions.

  3. 40 CFR 279.67 - Management of residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Management of residues. 279.67 Section 279.67 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED... for Energy Recovery § 279.67 Management of residues. Burners who generate residues from the storage or...

  4. 40 CFR 279.47 - Management of residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Management of residues. 279.47 Section 279.47 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED... Management of residues. Transporters who generate residues from the storage or transport of used oil must...

  5. On the Ground or in the Air? A Methodological Experiment on Crop Residue Cover Measurement in Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosmowski, Frédéric; Stevenson, James; Campbell, Jeff; Ambel, Alemayehu; Haile Tsegay, Asmelash

    2017-10-01

    Maintaining permanent coverage of the soil using crop residues is an important and commonly recommended practice in conservation agriculture. Measuring this practice is an essential step in improving knowledge about the adoption and impact of conservation agriculture. Different data collection methods can be implemented to capture the field level crop residue coverage for a given plot, each with its own implication on survey budget, implementation speed and respondent and interviewer burden. In this paper, six alternative methods of crop residue coverage measurement are tested among the same sample of rural households in Ethiopia. The relative accuracy of these methods are compared against a benchmark, the line-transect method. The alternative methods compared against the benchmark include: (i) interviewee (respondent) estimation; (ii) enumerator estimation visiting the field; (iii) interviewee with visual-aid without visiting the field; (iv) enumerator with visual-aid visiting the field; (v) field picture collected with a drone and analyzed with image-processing methods and (vi) satellite picture of the field analyzed with remote sensing methods. Results of the methodological experiment show that survey-based methods tend to underestimate field residue cover. When quantitative data on cover are needed, the best estimates are provided by visual-aid protocols. For categorical analysis (i.e., >30% cover or not), visual-aid protocols and remote sensing methods perform equally well. Among survey-based methods, the strongest correlates of measurement errors are total farm size, field size, distance, and slope. Results deliver a ranking of measurement options that can inform survey practitioners and researchers.

  6. On the Ground or in the Air? A Methodological Experiment on Crop Residue Cover Measurement in Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosmowski, Frédéric; Stevenson, James; Campbell, Jeff; Ambel, Alemayehu; Haile Tsegay, Asmelash

    2017-10-01

    Maintaining permanent coverage of the soil using crop residues is an important and commonly recommended practice in conservation agriculture. Measuring this practice is an essential step in improving knowledge about the adoption and impact of conservation agriculture. Different data collection methods can be implemented to capture the field level crop residue coverage for a given plot, each with its own implication on survey budget, implementation speed and respondent and interviewer burden. In this paper, six alternative methods of crop residue coverage measurement are tested among the same sample of rural households in Ethiopia. The relative accuracy of these methods are compared against a benchmark, the line-transect method. The alternative methods compared against the benchmark include: (i) interviewee (respondent) estimation; (ii) enumerator estimation visiting the field; (iii) interviewee with visual-aid without visiting the field; (iv) enumerator with visual-aid visiting the field; (v) field picture collected with a drone and analyzed with image-processing methods and (vi) satellite picture of the field analyzed with remote sensing methods. Results of the methodological experiment show that survey-based methods tend to underestimate field residue cover. When quantitative data on cover are needed, the best estimates are provided by visual-aid protocols. For categorical analysis (i.e., >30% cover or not), visual-aid protocols and remote sensing methods perform equally well. Among survey-based methods, the strongest correlates of measurement errors are total farm size, field size, distance, and slope. Results deliver a ranking of measurement options that can inform survey practitioners and researchers.

  7. Impacts on Water Management and Crop Production of Regional Cropping System Adaptation to Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, H.; Sun, L.; Tian, Z.; Liang, Z.; Fischer, G.

    2014-12-01

    China is one of the most populous and fast developing countries, also faces a great pressure on grain production and food security. Multi-cropping system is widely applied in China to fully utilize agro-climatic resources and increase land productivity. As the heat resource keep improving under climate warming, multi-cropping system will also shifting northward, and benefit crop production. But water shortage in North China Plain will constrain the adoption of new multi-cropping system. Effectiveness of multi-cropping system adaptation to climate change will greatly depend on future hydrological change and agriculture water management. So it is necessary to quantitatively express the water demand of different multi-cropping systems under climate change. In this paper, we proposed an integrated climate-cropping system-crops adaptation framework, and specifically focused on: 1) precipitation and hydrological change under future climate change in China; 2) the best multi-cropping system and correspondent crop rotation sequence, and water demand under future agro-climatic resources; 3) attainable crop production with water constraint; and 4) future water management. In order to obtain climate projection and precipitation distribution, global climate change scenario from HADCAM3 is downscaled with regional climate model (PRECIS), historical climate data (1960-1990) was interpolated from more than 700 meteorological observation stations. The regional Agro-ecological Zone (AEZ) model is applied to simulate the best multi-cropping system and crop rotation sequence under projected climate change scenario. Finally, we use the site process-based DSSAT model to estimate attainable crop production and the water deficiency. Our findings indicate that annual land productivity may increase and China can gain benefit from climate change if multi-cropping system would be adopted. This study provides a macro-scale view of agriculture adaptation, and gives suggestions to national

  8. Earthworm-induced N2O emissions in a sandy soil with surface-applied crop residues

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Giannopoulos, G.; Groenigen, van J.W.; Pulleman, M.M.

    2011-01-01

    Earlier research with endogeic and epigeic earthworm species in loamy arable soil has shown that both earthworm groups can increase nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, provided that crop residue placement matches the feeding strategy of the earthworm ecological group(s). However, it is not yet clear

  9. Magnetopriming - an alternate strategy for crop stress management of field crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anand, Anjali

    2014-01-01

    Abiotic stresses are major deterrent to sustainable crop production worldwide. Seed germination and early seedling growth are considered as the most critical stages of plant growth under stress conditions. Maximising stress tolerance of crop species by breeding is an integral part of development of strategies for improving sustainable food production under stressed environment but the unprecedented rate at which stress is increasing vis-a-vis the time taken for development of a tolerant variety, necessitates exploring alternate strategies of crop stress management. Seed priming has emerged as a promising crop stress management technique that increases the speed of germination thus ensuring synchronized field emergence of the crop. Magnetopriming (exposure of seeds to magnetic field) is a non invasive physical stimulant used for improving seedling vigour that helps in establishment of crop stand under stress. In our experiments on maize; chickpea and wheat under water deficit and salinity, respectively, improved seed water absorption characteristics resulted in faster hydration of enzymes (amylases, protease and dehydrogenase) leading to early germination and enhanced vigour of seedlings under stress. Increased levels of hydrogen peroxide in faster germinating - magnetoprimed seeds, under both the growing conditions, suggested its role in oxidative signaling during seed germination process. An 'oxidative window' for reactive oxygen species ensured that faster germination rate in magnetoprimed seeds led to vigourous seedlings. Improved root system integrated with higher photosynthetic efficiency and efficient partitioning of Na + increased yield from magnetoprimed seeds under salinity in controlled experiments. Magnetopriming can be effectively used as a pre-sowing treatment for mitigating adverse effects of water deficit and salinity at seed germination and early seedling growth. Unlike other conventional priming techniques it avoids seed hydration and

  10. Effect of Cover Crop Residues on Some Physicochemical Properties of Soil and Emergence Rate of Potato

    OpenAIRE

    M. Ghaffari; G. Ahmadvand; M.R. Ardakani; M.R. Mosaddeghi; F. Yeganehehpoor; M. Gaffari; M. Mirakhori

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study, was to evaluate the effect of winter cover crop residues on speed of seed  potato emergence and percentage of organic carbon, soil specific weight and soil temperature. An experiment was carried out at the Research Farm of Agriculture Faculty, Bu-AliSinaUniversity, in 2008-2009. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with three replications. Winter cover crops consisted of rye, barley and oilseed rape, each one with common plant density (rye and barley at...

  11. Characterizing pesticide dissipation in food crops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fantke, Peter; Juraske, R.; Jolliet, O.

    2013-01-01

    Ingestion of residues via consumption of food crops is the predominant exposure route of the general population toward pesticides. However, pesticide dissipation in crops constitutes a main source of uncertainty in estimating residues in harvested crop parts and subsequent human exposure. Neverth......Ingestion of residues via consumption of food crops is the predominant exposure route of the general population toward pesticides. However, pesticide dissipation in crops constitutes a main source of uncertainty in estimating residues in harvested crop parts and subsequent human exposure....... Nevertheless, dissipation is a key mechanism in models assessing pesticide distribution in the cropenvironment and the magnitude of residues in harvest. We provide a consistent framework for characterizing pesticide dissipation in food crops for use in modeling approaches applied in health risk and impact...... degradation is dominating. We are currently testing the regression to predict degradation half-lives in crops. By providing mean degradation half-lives at 20°C for more than 300 pesticides, we reduce uncertainty and improve assumptions in current practice of health risk and impact assessments....

  12. Strategies for Improving Enterprise Standardization Management of Tropical Crop Machinery

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2007-01-01

    @@ There are two categories of tropical crop machinery. One comprises operation machinery that is used for planting, managing and harvesting tropical crops, while the other comprises process machinery for processing tropical crops. Tropical crop machinery is distinguished from other agricultural machinery by the special crops that such machinery cultivates and processes.

  13. Effect of Cover Crop Residues on Some Physicochemical Properties of Soil and Emergence Rate of Potato

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ghaffari

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study, was to evaluate the effect of winter cover crop residues on speed of seed  potato emergence and percentage of organic carbon, soil specific weight and soil temperature. An experiment was carried out at the Research Farm of Agriculture Faculty, Bu-AliSinaUniversity, in 2008-2009. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with three replications. Winter cover crops consisted of rye, barley and oilseed rape, each one with common plant density (rye and barley at 190 kg.ha-1 and oilseed rape at 9 kg.ha-1 and triple plant densities(rye and barley 570 kg.ha-1 and oilseed rape, 27 kg.ha-1 and control (without cover crop. The results showed that rye and barley with triple plant densities produced higher biomass (1503.5 and 1392.2 g/m2, respectively than other treatments.Soil physicochemical properties were affected significantly by using cover crops. Rye, barley, and oilseed rape with triple rate and rye with common rape of plant densities produced, the highest organic carbon. Green manure of rye and barley with triple and rye with common rate plant densities, reduced soil specific weights by 17.3, 18 and 18 percent as compared with the control treatment (without cover crop planting. Rye and barley with triple plant densities increased average soil temperature by 12 and 11 percent respectively in comparison with control treatment. These treatments increased speed of seed potato emergence by 20 and 12 percent respectively as compared with that of control treatment, respectively. Other treatments showed no significant difference as compared to control. Cover crop residues increased plants speed of seed potato emergence through improving soil conditions.

  14. to Phosphorus Fertilization, Crop Sequence and Tillage Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaopeng Gao

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Field experiments were conducted at two locations in Manitoba, Canada, to determine the effect of crop rotation, phosphorus (P fertilization and tillage on grain yield and grain concentrations of Cd and Zn in durum wheat (Triticum durum L.. Compared to conventional tillage (CT, reduced tillage (RT management decreased grain Cd and increased grain yield and grain Zn in half of the site-years. The type of preceding crops of spring wheat-flax or canola-flax had little influence. Rate and timing of P application had little effect on grain Cd, but increasing P rate tended to decrease grain Zn. No interactive effect was detected among tested factors. Grain Zn was not related to grain Cd, but positively to other nutrients such as Fe, Mn, P, Ca, K, and Mg. Both grain Zn and Fe correlated positively with grain protein content, suggesting protein may represent a sink for micronutrients. The study suggested that the tillage management may have beneficial effects on both grain yield and quality. Phosphorus fertilizer can remain available for subsequent crops and high annual inputs in the crop sequence may decrease crop grain Zn. Understanding the environment is important in determining the impact of agricultural management on agronomic and nutrient traits.

  15. Nitrous oxide and N-leaching losses from agricultural soil: Influence of crop residue particle size, quality and placement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ambus, P.; Jensen, E.S.; Robertson, G.P.

    2001-01-01

    protection of the crop residue material against microbial attack. Leaching of N tended to be reduced about 40 % with barley and 20 % with pea, but the numbers were not significantly different from residue-free soil, which leached 4.7-4.9 g N m(-2). When wheat and alfalfa residues were mixed into the soil N2O...... emissions increased 6.5 and 1.6 times, respectively, compared with residue placed in a layer. Wheat residue in a layer evolved 3.4-times less N2O than alfalfa in a layer, whereas when mixed the two residue types evolved similar amounts of N2O. This difference was probably due to N-limitations in localised...

  16. Residual life management. Maintenance improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sainero Garcia, J.; Hevia Ruperez, F.

    1995-01-01

    The terms Residual Life Management, Life Cycle Management and Long-Term Management are synonymous with a concept which aims to establish efficient maintenance for the profitable and safe operation of a power plant for as long as possible. A Residual Life Management programme comprises a number of stages, of which Maintenance Evaluation focuses on how power plant maintenance practices allow the mitigation and control of component ageing. with this objective in mind, a methodology has been developed for the analysis of potential degradative phenomena acting on critical components in terms of normal power plant maintenance practices. This methodology applied to maintenance evaluation enables the setting out of a maintenance programme based on the Life Management concept, and the programme's subsequent up-dating to allow for new techniques and methods. Initial applications have shown that although, in general terms, power plant maintenance is efficient, the way in which Residual Life Management is approached requires changes in maintenance practices. These changes range from modifications to existing inspection and surveillance methods or the establishment of new ones, to the monitoring of trends or the performance of additional studies, the purpose of which is to provide an accurate evaluation of the condition of the installations and the possibility of life extension. (Author)

  17. Use of a portable time-resolved fluorometer to determine oxytetracycline residue in four fruit crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worldwide, oxytetracycline (OTC) is used in fruit and vegetable crops to prevent and treat bacteria diseases. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency approved its use in apple, pear, peach, and nectarine, and set tolerance at 350 ng/g. OTC residues in 12 varieties of these fruits are determ...

  18. Anaerobic Biodegradability and Methane Potential of Crop Residue Co-Digested with Buffalo Dung

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Razaque Sahito

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available ABD (Anaerobic Biodegradability and BMP (Biochemical Methane Potential of banana plant waste, canola straw, cotton stalks, rice straw, sugarcane trash and wheat straw co-digested with buffalo dung was evaluated through AMPTS (Automatic Methane Potential Test System. The substrates were analyzed for moisture, TS (Total Solids and VS (Volatile Solids, ultimate analysis (CHONS, pH and TA (Total Alkalinity. The BMPobserved during incubation of 30 days at the temperature of 37±0.2°C was 322 Nml CH4/g VSadd for wheat straw followed by 260, 170, 149, 142 and 138 Nml CH4/gVSadd for canola straw, rice straw, cotton stalks, banana plant waste and sugarcane trash respectively, whereas the maximum theoretical BMP was 481 Nml CH4/gVSadd for cotton stalks, followed by 473, 473, 446, 432 and 385 Nml CH4/gVSadd for wheat straw, banana plant waste, canola straw, rice straw and sugarcane trash respectively. The percentage ABD values were in the range of 68-30%. In addition to this, the effect of lignin content in the crop residue was evaluated on the ABD. The results of this study indicate that, the co-digestion of the crop residues with buffalo dung is feasible for production of renewable methane

  19. Sustainable System for Residual Hazards Management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kevin M. Kostelnik; James H. Clarke; Jerry L. Harbour

    2004-01-01

    Hazardous, radioactive and other toxic substances have routinely been generated and subsequently disposed of in the shallow subsurface throughout the world. Many of today's waste management techniques do not eliminate the problem, but rather only concentrate or contain the hazardous contaminants. Residual hazards result from the presence of hazardous and/or contaminated material that remains on-site following active operations or the completion of remedial actions. Residual hazards pose continued risk to humans and the environment and represent a significant and chronic problem that require continuous long-term management (i.e. >1000 years). To protect human health and safeguard the natural environment, a sustainable system is required for the proper management of residual hazards. A sustainable system for the management of residual hazards will require the integration of engineered, institutional and land-use controls to isolate residual contaminants and thus minimize the associated hazards. Engineered controls are physical modifications to the natural setting and ecosystem, including the site, facility, and/or the residual materials themselves, in order to reduce or eliminate the potential for exposure to contaminants of concern (COCs). Institutional controls are processes, instruments, and mechanisms designed to influence human behavior and activity. System failure can involve hazardous material escaping from the confinement because of system degradation (i.e., chronic or acute degradation) or by external intrusion of the biosphere into the contaminated material because of the loss of institutional control. An ongoing analysis of contemporary and historic sites suggests that the significance of the loss of institutional controls is a critical pathway because decisions made during the operations/remedial action phase, as well as decisions made throughout the residual hazards management period, are key to the long-term success of the prescribed system. In fact

  20. Reformulation of Crop and Management Factor in ANSWERS Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yayat Hidayat

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Crop and management factor value is significantly corelated with outputs of ANSWERS model especially on soil erosion. Using daily crop and management factors (daily C factors, the ANSWERS model performs well in predicting soil erosion which is showed by determination coeffient (R2 = 0.89, model efficiency (0.86, and average of percentage model deviations (24.1%. Whereas using USLE C factor (2 cropping systems, predicted is much higher than measured soil erosion (over estimate. Output of the model is not statisfy; it is represented by model coefficient (0.40 and average of percentage model deviations (63.6%.

  1. The crop-residue of fiber hemp cv. Futura 75: from a waste product to a source of botanical insecticides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benelli, Giovanni; Pavela, Roman; Lupidi, Giulio; Nabissi, Massimo; Petrelli, Riccardo; Ngahang Kamte, Stephane L; Cappellacci, Loredana; Fiorini, Dennis; Sut, Stefania; Dall'Acqua, Stefano; Maggi, Filippo

    2018-04-01

    In the attempt to exploit the potential of the monoecious fiber hemp cv. Futura 75 in new fields besides textile, cosmetics and food industry, its crop-residue given by leaves and inflorescences was subjected to hydrodistillation to obtain the essential oils. These are niche products representing an ideal candidate for the development of natural insecticides for the control and management of mosquito vectors, houseflies and moth pests. After GC-MS analysis highlighting a safe and legal chemical profile (THC in the range 0.004-0.012% dw), the leaf and inflorescence essential oils were investigated for the insecticidal potential against three insect targets: the larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus and Spodoptera littoralis and the adults of Musca domestica. The essential oil from inflorescences, showing (E)-caryophyllene (21.4%), myrcene (11.3%), cannabidiol (CBD, 11.1%), α-pinene (7.8%), terpinolene (7.6%), and α-humulene (7.1%) as the main components, was more effective than leaf oil against these insects, with LD 50 values of 65.8 μg/larva on S. littoralis, 122.1 μg/adult on M. domestica, and LC 50 of 124.5 μl/l on C. quinquefasciatus larvae. The hemp essential oil moderately inhibited the acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is a target enzyme in pesticide science. Overall, these results shed light on the future application of fiber hemp crop-residue for the development of effective, eco-friendly and sustainable insecticides.

  2. Effect of sugarcane cropping systems on herbicide losses in surface runoff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nachimuthu, Gunasekhar; Halpin, Neil V; Bell, Michael J

    2016-07-01

    Herbicide runoff from cropping fields has been identified as a threat to the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. A field investigation was carried out to monitor the changes in runoff water quality resulting from four different sugarcane cropping systems that included different herbicides and contrasting tillage and trash management practices. These include (i) Conventional - Tillage (beds and inter-rows) with residual herbicides used; (ii) Improved - only the beds were tilled (zonal) with reduced residual herbicides used; (iii) Aspirational - minimum tillage (one pass of a single tine ripper before planting) with trash mulch, no residual herbicides and a legume intercrop after cane establishment; and (iv) New Farming System (NFS) - minimum tillage as in Aspirational practice with a grain legume rotation and a combination of residual and knockdown herbicides. Results suggest soil and trash management had a larger effect on the herbicide losses in runoff than the physico-chemical properties of herbicides. Improved practices with 30% lower atrazine application rates than used in conventional systems produced reduced runoff volumes by 40% and atrazine loss by 62%. There were a 2-fold variation in atrazine and >10-fold variation in metribuzin loads in runoff water between reduced tillage systems differing in soil disturbance and surface residue cover from the previous rotation crops, despite the same herbicide application rates. The elevated risk of offsite losses from herbicides was illustrated by the high concentrations of diuron (14μgL(-1)) recorded in runoff that occurred >2.5months after herbicide application in a 1(st) ratoon crop. A cropping system employing less persistent non-selective herbicides and an inter-row soybean mulch resulted in no residual herbicide contamination in runoff water, but recorded 12.3% lower yield compared to Conventional practice. These findings reveal a trade-off between achieving good water quality with minimal herbicide contamination and

  3. Cacao Crop Management Zones Determination Based on Soil Properties and Crop Yield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Perla Silva Matos de Carvalho

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The use of management zones has ensured yield success for numerous agricultural crops. In spite of this potential, studies applying precision agricultural techniques to cacao plantations are scarce or almost nonexistent. The aim of the present study was to delineate management zones for cacao crop, create maps combining soil physical properties and cacao tree yield, and identify what combinations best fit within the soil chemical properties. The study was conducted in 2014 on a cacao plantation in a Nitossolo Háplico Eutrófico (Rhodic Paleudult in Bahia, Brazil. Soil samples were collected in a regular sampling grid with 120 sampling points in the 0.00-0.20 m soil layer, and pH(H2O, P, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, H+Al, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, SB, V, TOC, effective CEC, CEC at pH 7.0, coarse sand, fine sand, clay, and silt were determined. Yield was measured in all the 120 points every month and stratified into annual, harvest, and early-harvest cacao yields. Data were subjected to geostatistical analysis, followed by ordinary kriging interpolation. The management zones were defined through a Fuzzy K-Means algorithm for combinations between soil physical properties and cacao tree yield. Concordance analysis was carried out between the delineated zones and soil chemical properties using Kappa coefficients. The zones that best classified the soil chemical properties were defined from the early-harvest cacao yield map associated with the clay or sand fractions. Silt content proved to be an inadequate variable for defining management zones for cacao production. The delineated management zones described the spatial variability of the soil chemical properties, and are therefore important for site-specific management in the cacao crop.

  4. Assessment of Ex-Vitro Anaerobic Digestion Kinetics of Crop Residues Through First Order Exponential Models: Effect of LAG Phase Period and Curve Factor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Razaque Sahito

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Kinetic studies of AD (Anaerobic Digestion process are useful to predict the performance of digesters and design appropriate digesters and also helpful in understanding inhibitory mechanisms of biodegradation. The aim of this study was to assess the anaerobic kinetics of crop residues digestion with buffalo dung. Seven crop residues namely, bagasse, banana plant waste, canola straw, cotton stalks, rice straw, sugarcane trash and wheat straw were selected from the field and were analyzed on MC (Moisture Contents, TS (Total Solids and VS (Volatile Solids with standard methods. In present study, three first order exponential models namely exponential model, exponential lag phase model and exponential curve factor model were used to assess the kinetics of the AD process of crop residues and the effect of lag phase and curve factor was analyzed based on statistical hypothesis testing and on information theory. Assessment of kinetics of the AD of crop residues and buffalo dung follows the first order kinetics. Out of the three models, the simple exponential model was the poorest model, while the first order exponential curve factor model is the best fit model. In addition to statistical hypothesis testing, the exponential curve factor model has least value of AIC (Akaike's Information Criterion and can generate methane production data more accurately. Furthermore, there is an inverse linear relationship between the lag phase period and the curve factor.

  5. Assessment of ex-vitro anaerobic digestion kinetics of crop residues through first order exponential models: effect of lag phase period and curve factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahito, A.R.; Brohi, K.M.

    2013-01-01

    Kinetic studies of AD (Anaerobic Digestion) process are useful to predict the performance of digesters and design appropriate digesters and also helpful in understanding inhibitory mechanisms of biodegradation. The aim of this study was to assess the anaerobic kinetics of crop residues digestion with buffalo dung. Seven crop residues namely, bagasse, banana plant waste, canola straw, cotton stalks, rice straw, sugarcane trash and wheat straw were selected from the field and were analyzed on MC (Moisture Contents), TS (Total Solids) and VS (Volatile Solids) with standard methods. In present study, three first order exponential models namely exponential model, exponential lag phase model and exponential curve factor model were used to assess the kinetics of the AD process of crop residues and the effect of lag phase and curve factor was analyzed based on statistical hypothesis testing and on information theory. Assessment of kinetics of the AD of crop residues and buffalo dung follows the first order kinetics. Out of the three models, the simple exponential model was the poorest model, while the first order exponential curve factor model is the best fit model. In addition to statistical hypothesis testing, the exponential curve factor model has least value of AIC (Akaike's Information Criterion) and can generate methane production data more accurately. Furthermore, there is an inverse linear relationship between the lag phase period and the curve factor. (author)

  6. Anaerobic biodegradability and methane potential of crop residue co-digested with buffalo dung

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahito, A.R.; Mahar, R.B.; Brohi, K.M.

    2013-01-01

    ABD (Anaerobic Biodegradability) and BMP (Biochemical Methane Potential) of banana plant waste, canola straw, cotton stalks, rice straw, sugarcane trash and wheat straw co-digested with buffalo dung was evaluated through AMPTS (Automatic Methane Potential Test System). The substrates were analyzed for moisture, TS (Total Solids) and VS (Volatile Solids), ultimate analysis (CHONS), pH and TA (Total Alkalinity). The BMP/sub observed/ during incubation of 30 days at the temperature of 37+-0.2+-degree C was 322 Nml CH4/g VSadd for wheat straw followed by 260, 170, 149, 142 and 138 Nml CH4/gVS/sub add/ for canola straw, rice straw, cotton stalks, banana plant waste and sugarcane trash respectively, whereas the maximum theoretical BMP was 481 Nml CH/sub 4//gVS/sub add/ for cotton stalks, followed by 473, 473, 446, 432 and 385 Nml CH/sub 4//gVS/sub add/ for wheat straw, banana plant waste, canola straw, rice straw and sugarcane trash respectively. The percentage ABD values were in the range of 68-30%. In addition to this, the effect of lignin content in the crop residue was evaluated on the ABD. The results of this study indicate that, the co-digestion of the crop residues with buffalo dung is feasible for production of renewable methane. (author)

  7. Residuals Management and Water Pollution Control Planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Public Affairs.

    This pamphlet addresses the problems associated with residuals and water quality especially as it relates to the National Water Pollution Control Program. The types of residuals and appropriate management systems are discussed. Additionally, one section is devoted to the role of citizen participation in developing management programs. (CS)

  8. Cost Methodology for Biomass Feedstocks: Herbaceous Crops and Agricultural Residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turhollow Jr, Anthony F [ORNL; Webb, Erin [ORNL; Sokhansanj, Shahabaddine [ORNL

    2009-12-01

    This report describes a set of procedures and assumptions used to estimate production and logistics costs of bioenergy feedstocks from herbaceous crops and agricultural residues. The engineering-economic analysis discussed here is based on methodologies developed by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA). An engineering-economic analysis approach was chosen due to lack of historical cost data for bioenergy feedstocks. Instead, costs are calculated using assumptions for equipment performance, input prices, and yield data derived from equipment manufacturers, research literature, and/or standards. Cost estimates account for fixed and variable costs. Several examples of this costing methodology used to estimate feedstock logistics costs are included at the end of this report.

  9. Identification of insecticide residues with a conducting-polymer electronic nose

    Science.gov (United States)

    A.D. Wilson

    2014-01-01

    The identification of insecticide residues on crop foliage is needed to make periodic pest management decisions. Electronic-nose (e-nose) methods were developed and tested as a means of acquiring rapid identifications of insecticide residue types at relatively low cost by detection of headspace volatiles released from inert surfaces in vitro. Detection methods were...

  10. Cover Crop Species and Management Influence Predatory Arthropods and Predation in an Organically Managed, Reduced-Tillage Cropping System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivers, Ariel N; Mullen, Christina A; Barbercheck, Mary E

    2018-04-05

    Agricultural practices affect arthropod communities and, therefore, have the potential to influence the activities of arthropods. We evaluated the effect of cover crop species and termination timing on the activity of ground-dwelling predatory arthropods in a corn-soybean-wheat rotation in transition to organic production in Pennsylvania, United States. We compared two cover crop treatments: 1) hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) planted together with triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) after wheat harvest, and 2) cereal rye (Secale cereale Linnaeus) planted after corn harvest. We terminated the cover crops in the spring with a roller-crimper on three dates (early, middle, and late) based on cover crop phenology and standard practices for cash crop planting in our area. We characterized the ground-dwelling arthropod community using pitfall traps and assessed relative predation using sentinel assays with live greater waxworm larvae (Galleria mellonella Fabricius). The activity density of predatory arthropods was significantly higher in the hairy vetch and triticale treatments than in cereal rye treatments. Hairy vetch and triticale favored the predator groups Araneae, Opiliones, Staphylinidae, and Carabidae. Specific taxa were associated with cover crop condition (e.g., live or dead) and termination dates. Certain variables were positively or negatively associated with the relative predation on sentinel prey, depending on cover crop treatment and stage, including the presence of predatory arthropods and various habitat measurements. Our results suggest that management of a cover crop by roller-crimper at specific times in the growing season affects predator activity density and community composition. Terminating cover crops with a roller-crimper can conserve generalist predators.

  11. An assay of the utilization of the residual use of a N fertilizer [(15NH4)2SO4] made by a wheat crop, using an isotope technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bujan, A.; Quitegui, M.I.; Quitegui, M.C.; Ghelfi, L.E.P. de; Deybe, D.

    1982-01-01

    An experimental study was carried out in order to determine the residual use of a N fertilizer made by wheat during a year. Wheat was seeded in plots which had been cropped the year before with inoculated soybean (glycine max), non-inoculated soybean and sorghum (sorghum caffrorum) fertilized with (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 at two different levels: 20 and 100kg N/ha tagged with 5% excess 15 N and 1% respectively. It was concluded that:1) the % excess 15 N used in the previous crops were sufficient to determine residuality from the N fertilizer. 2)when the previous crop was non-inoculated soybean, the total nitrogen content of the wheat grains was significantly higher than when the previous crop was either inoculated soybean or sorghum. The total N content was significantly higher on the plots fertilized with 100KgN/ha than on those with 20kgN/ha.3) non-inoculated - and inoculated soybeans determined higher wheat grain yields than sorghum as previous crops. Higher wheat grain yields ocurred on the 100kgN/ha fertilized plots. Higher residual N content ocurred on the 100KgN/ha fertilized plots. Non-inoculated soybean determined higher residual N content in grain than inoculated soybean and sorghum; inoculated soybean determined higher content than sorghum. There were no significant differences in residual N content in the plants depending on the previous crop. (Author) [pt

  12. Digestibility and performance of steers fed low-quality crop residues treated with calcium oxide to partially replace corn in distillers grains finishing diets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shreck, A L; Nuttelman, B L; Harding, J L; Griffin, W A; Erickson, G E; Klopfenstein, T J; Cecava, M J

    2015-02-01

    Two studies were conducted to identify methods for treating crop residues to improve digestibility and value in finishing diets based on corn grain and corn wet distillers grain with solubles (WDGS). In Exp. 1, 336 yearling steers (initial BW 356 ± 11.5 kg) were used in a 2 × 3 + 1 factorial arrangement of treatments with 6 pens per treatment. Factors were 3 crop residues (corn cobs, wheat straw, and corn stover) and 2 treatments where crop residues were either fed (20% diet DM) in their native form (NT) or alkaline treated with 5% CaO (DM basis) and hydrated to 50% DM before anaerobic storage (AT). Intakes were not affected by diet (F test; P = 0.30). An interaction between chemical treatment and residue (P 0.10) was observed between control (46% corn; DM basis) and AT (31% corn; DM basis) for DM digestibility (70.7% vs. 73.7%) or OM digestibility (72.1% vs. 77.0%). Dry matter intakes were not different between treated and untreated diets (P = 0.38), but lower (P < 0.01) NDF intake was observed for treated diets (3.1 vs. 3.5 kg/d), suggesting that CaO treatment was effective in solubilizing some carbohydrate. These data suggest that 15% replacement of corn and 10% untreated residue with treated forage result in a nutrient supply of OM similar to that of the control. The improvements in total tract fiber digestibility that occurred when treated forages were fed may have been related to increased digestibility of recoverable NDF and not to increased ruminal pH. Feeding chemically treated crop residues and WDGS is an effective strategy for replacing a portion of corn grain and roughage in feedlot diets.

  13. Development of the crop residue and rangeland burning in the 2014 National Emissions Inventory using information from multiple sources

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This workbook contains all the activity data, emission factor data, and ancillary data used to compute crop residue burning and rangeland emissions for the 2014 NEI...

  14. Sensitivity analysis of the STICS-MACRO model to identify cropping practices reducing pesticides losses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lammoglia, Sabine-Karen; Makowski, David; Moeys, Julien; Justes, Eric; Barriuso, Enrique; Mamy, Laure

    2017-02-15

    STICS-MACRO is a process-based model simulating the fate of pesticides in the soil-plant system as a function of agricultural practices and pedoclimatic conditions. The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of crop management practices on water and pesticide flows in contrasted environmental conditions. We used the Morris screening sensitivity analysis method to identify the most influential cropping practices. Crop residues management and tillage practices were shown to have strong effects on water percolation and pesticide leaching. In particular, the amount of organic residues added to soil was found to be the most influential input. The presence of a mulch could increase soil water content so water percolation and pesticide leaching. Conventional tillage was also found to decrease pesticide leaching, compared to no-till, which is consistent with many field observations. The effects of the soil, crop and climate conditions tested in this work were less important than those of cropping practices. STICS-MACRO allows an ex ante evaluation of cropping systems and agricultural practices, and of the related pesticides environmental impacts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Tradeoffs between vigor and yield for crops grown under different management systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simic Milas, Anita; Keller Vincent, Robert; Romanko, Matthew; Feitl, Melina; Rupasinghe, Prabha

    2016-04-01

    Remote sensing can provide an effective means for rapid and non-destructive monitoring of crop status and biochemistry. Monitoring pattern of traditional vigor algorithms generated from Landsat 8 OLI satellite data represents a robust method that can be widely used to differentiate the status of crops, as well as to monitor nutrient uptake functionality of differently treated seeds grown under different managements. This study considers 24 factorial parcels of winter wheat in 2013, corn in 2014, and soybeans in 2015, grown under four different types of agricultural management. The parcels are located at the Kellogg Biological Station, Long-Term Ecological Research site in the State of Michigan USA. At maturity, the organic crops exhibit significantly higher vigor and significantly lower yield than conventionally managed crops under different treatments. While organic crops invest in their metabolism at the expense of their yield, the conventional crops manage to increase their yield at the expense of their vigor. Landsat 8 OLI is capable of 1) differentiating the biochemical status of crops under different treatments at maturity, and 2) monitoring the tradeoff between crop yield and vigor that can be controlled by the seed treatments and proper conventional applications, with the ultimate goal of increasing food yield and food availability, and 3) distinguishing between organic and conventionally treated crops. Timing, quantity and types of herbicide applications have a great impact on early and pre-harvest vigor, maturity and yield of conventionally treated crops. Satellite monitoring using Landsat 8 is an optimal tool for coordinating agricultural applications, soil practices and genetic coding of the crop to produce higher yield as well as have early crop maturity, desirable in northern climates.

  16. Forest residues management guidelines for the Pacific Northwest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    John M. Pierovich; Edward H. Clarke; Stewart G. Pickford; Franklin R. Ward

    1975-01-01

    Forest residues often require treatment to meet land management objectives. Guideline statements for managing forest residues are presented to provide direction for achieving these objectives. The latest research information and the best knowledge of experts in various land management disciplines were used to formulate these statements. A unique keying system is...

  17. Management of municipal solid waste incineration residues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabbas, T.; Polettini, A.; Pomi, R.; Astrup, T.; Hjelmar, O.; Mostbauer, P.; Cappai, G.; Magel, G.; Salhofer, S.; Speiser, C.; Heuss-Assbichler, S.; Klein, R.; Lechner, P.

    2003-01-01

    The management of residues from thermal waste treatment is an integral part of waste management systems. The primary goal of managing incineration residues is to prevent any impact on our health or environment caused by unacceptable particulate, gaseous and/or solute emissions. This paper provides insight into the most important measures for putting this requirement into practice. It also offers an overview of the factors and processes affecting these mitigating measures as well as the short- and long-term behavior of residues from thermal waste treatment under different scenarios. General conditions affecting the emission rate of salts and metals are shown as well as factors relevant to mitigating measures or sources of gaseous emissions

  18. Distribution, timing of attack, and oviposition of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus, on banana crop residues in Uganda

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Masanza, M.; Gold, C.S.; Huis, van A.

    2005-01-01

    Crop sanitation (removal and chopping of residue corms and pseudostems following plant harvest) has been recommended as a 'best bet' means of reducing banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), populations. However, it has been unclear when such practices should be

  19. Management of industrial solid residues; Gerenciamento de residuos solidos industriais

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2002-07-01

    This chapter gives an overview on the management of industrial solid wastes, approaching the following subjects: classification of industrial solid residues; directives and methodologies for the management of industrial solid residues; instruments for the management of industrial solid residues; handling, packing, storage and transportation; treatment of industrial solid residues; final disposal - landfill for industrial residues; the problem of treatment and final disposer of domestic garbage in Brazil; recycling of the lubricant oils used in brazil; legislation.

  20. Water Quality Impacts of Cover Crop/Manure Management Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Kern, James Donald

    1997-01-01

    Crop production, soil system, water quality, and economic impacts of four corn silage production systems were compared through a field study including 16 plots (4 replications of each treatment). Systems included a rye cover crop and application of liquid dairy manure in the spring and fall. The four management systems were: 1) traditional, 2) double- crop, 3) roll-down, and 4) undercut. In the fourth system, manure was applied below the soil surface during the ...

  1. Effects of water management practices on residue decomposition and degradation of Cry1Ac protein from crop-wild Bt rice hybrids and parental lines during winter fallow season.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Manqiu; Dong, Shanshan; Li, Zhaolei; Tang, Xu; Chen, Yi; Yang, Shengmao; Wu, Chunyan; Ouyang, Dongxin; Fang, Changming; Song, Zhiping

    2015-12-01

    Rice is the staple diet of over half of the world's population and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice expressing insecticidal Cry proteins is ready for deployment. An assessment of the potential impact of Bt rice on the soil ecosystem under varied field management practices is urgently required. We used litter bags to assess the residue (leaves, stems and roots) decomposition dynamics of two transgenic rice lines (Kefeng6 and Kefeng8) containing stacked genes from Bt and sck (a modified CpTI gene encoding a cowpea trypsin inhibitor) (Bt/CpTI), a non-transgenic rice near-isoline (Minghui86), wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) and crop-wild Bt rice hybrid under contrasting conditions (drainage or continuous flooding) in the field. No significant difference was detected in the remaining mass, total C and total N among cultivars under aerobic conditions, whereas significant differences in the remaining mass and total C were detected between Kefeng6 and Kefeng8 and Minghui86 under the flooded condition. A higher decomposition rate constant (km) was measured under the flooded condition compared with the aerobic condition for leaf residues, whereas the reverse was observed for root residues. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which was used to monitor the changes in the Cry1Ac protein in Bt rice residues, indicated that (1) the degradation of the Cry1Ac protein under both conditions best fit first-order kinetics, and the predicted DT50 (50% degradation time) of the Cry1Ac protein ranged from 3.6 to 32.5 days; (2) the Cry1Ac protein in the residue degraded relatively faster under aerobic conditions; and (3) by the end of the study (~154 days), the protein was present at a low concentration in the remaining residues under both conditions. The degradation rate constant was negatively correlated with the initial carbon content and positively correlated with the initial Cry1Ac protein concentration, but it was only correlated with the mass decomposition rate constants under

  2. Utilização do nitrogênio (15N residual de coberturas de solo e da uréia pela cultura do milho Utilization of residual nitrogen (15N from cover crop and urea by corn

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edson Cabral da Silva

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Geralmente, grande parte do N de fertilizantes minerais e de plantas de cobertura de solo não é aproveitada pelo milho no cultivo imediato à aplicação, o qual pode ser absorvido pelas culturas cultivadas subseqüentemente. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o aproveitamento pelo milho do N residual da uréia, da crotalária (Crotalaria juncea e do milheto (Pennisetum americanum marcados com 15N, aplicados ao milho cultivado em sistema plantio direto, no ano agrícola anterior, num Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico no Cerrado. O estudo foi desenvolvido na fazenda experimental da Faculdade de Engenharia de Ilha Solteira-UNESP, Selvíria (MS, em áreas distintas. O delineamento experimental foi de blocos ao acaso com 15 tratamentos e quatro repetições, aplicados ao milho em 2001/02 e 2002/03. Os tratamentos foram dispostos em esquema fatorial 3 x 5, compreendendo a combinação de três coberturas de solo: crotalária juncea, milheto e vegetação espontânea (pousio, e cinco doses de N-uréia: 0, 30, 80, 130 e 180 kg ha-1. Após a colheita do milho, as duas áreas permaneceram em pousio nas entressafras e, em seguida, cultivadas novamente com milho, safras 2002/03 (experimento 1 e 2003/04 (experimento 2, utilizando adubação similar em todas as parcelas, para distinguir o efeito do N residual. O aproveitamento médio do N residual da parte aérea do milheto e da crotalária pelo milho foi inferior a 3,5 e 3 %, respectivamente, da quantidade inicial. A quantidade de N residual da uréia absorvida pelo milho aumentou de forma quadrática, no experimento 1, e linear, no experimento 2, em relação à dose de N aplicada, sendo o aproveitamento desta inferior a 3 %. As coberturas de solo não influenciaram o aproveitamento pelo milho do N residual da uréia, e vice-versa.The majority of N from mineral fertilizers and cover crops is usually not used by the very next corn crop, but can be absorbed by follow-up crops. The objective of this

  3. Eviromental Economic and Technological Residues Management Demands: An Optimization Tool.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marisa Soares Borges

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Industrial residues management is a very demanding task since many different goals must be achieved. The combination of different approaches used by people from different stuff is very challenging activity that can misuse the residues potential value and applicability. An interactive WEB base tool, to integrate different sectors and overcome residues management difficulties will be presented. The system must be loaded with all data concerning the residue life cycle, and through data integration and modeling routine will give the best alternative as output. As wider and complete the system data becomes, by information loading from differen t segment, more efficient the residues management becomes. The user friendly tool will encourage the participation of industries, labs and research institutions to obtain qualified information about industrial residues inventory, raw materials recovery, characteristics, treatment and alternative uses, to achieve residues management sustainability.

  4. Biofuel as an Integrated Farm Drainage Management crop: A bioeconomic analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levers, L. R.; Schwabe, K. A.

    2017-04-01

    Irrigated agricultural lands in arid regions often suffer from soil salinization and lack of drainage, which affect environmental quality and productivity. Integrated Farm Drainage Management (IFDM) systems, where drainage water generated from higher-valued crops grown on high quality soils are used to irrigate salt-tolerant crops grown on marginal soils, is one possible strategy for managing salinity and drainage problems. If the IFDM crop were a biofuel crop, both environmental and private benefits may be generated; however, little is known about this possibility. As such, we develop a bioeconomic programming model of irrigated agricultural production to examine the role salt-tolerant biofuel crops might play within an IFDM system. Our results, generated by optimizing profits over land, water, and crop choice decisions subject to resource constraints, suggest that based on the private profits alone, biofuel crops can be a competitive alternative to the common practices of land retirement and nonbiofuel crop production under both low to high drainage water salinity. Yet IFDM biofuel crop production generates 30-35% fewer GHG emissions than the other strategies. The private market competitiveness coupled with the public good benefits may justify policy changes encouraging the growth of IFDM biofuel crops in arid agricultural areas globally.

  5. Effects of Plant Residues in Two Types of Soil Texture on Soil characteristics and corn (Zea mays L. NS640 Yield in a Reduced -Tillage cropping System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E Hesami

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction The impact of agronomy on the subsequent product in rotational cropping systems depends on factors such as plant type, duration of crop growth, soil moisture content, tillage type, irrigation method, the amount of nitrogen fertilizer, quantity and quality of returned crop residues to the soil. Prior cultivated crops improve the next crop yield by causing different conditions (nitrogen availability, organic matter and volume of available water in soil. This study was conducted due to importance of corn cultivation in Khuzestan and necessity of increasing the soil organic matter, moisture conservation and in the other hand the lack of sufficient information about the relationship between soil texture, type of preparatory crop in low-tillage condition and some soil characteristics and corn growth habits. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of residue of preparatory crops in low plowing condition in two soil types on corn yield and some soil characteristics. Materials and Methods This experiment was carried out at Shooshtar city located in Khuzestan province. An experiment was performed by combined analysis in randomized complete block design in two fields and in two consecutive years with four replications. Two kinds of soil texture including: clay loam and clay sand. Five preparatory crops including: broad bean, wheat, canola, cabbage and fallow as control assigned as sub plots. SAS Ver. 9.1 statistical software was used for analysis of variance and comparison of means. Graphs were drawn using MS Excel software. All means were compared by Duncan test at 5% probability level. Results and Discussion The soil texture and the type of preparatory crop influenced the characteristics of the soil and corn grain yield. Returning the broad bean residue into two types of soil caused the highest grain yield of corn 10128.6 and 9547.9 kgha-1, respectively. The control treatment in sandy loam texture had the lowest corn seed

  6. High quality residues from cover crops favor changes in microbial community and enhance C and N sequestration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ileana Frasier

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of a change in management on the soil microbial community and C sequestration. We conducted a 3-year field study in La Pampa (Argentina with rotation of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor in zero tillage alternating with rye (Secale cereale and vetch (Vicia villosa ssp. dasycarpa. Soil was sampled once a year at two depths. Soil organic matter fractions, dissolved organic matter, microbial biomass (MBC and community composition (DNA extraction, qPCR, and phospholipid FAME profiles were determined. Litter, aerial- and root biomass were collected and all material was analyzed for C and N. Results showed a rapid response of microbial biomass to a bacterial dominance independent of residue quality. Vetch had the highest diversity index, while the fertilized treatment had the lowest one. Vetch–sorghum rotation with high N mineralization rates and diverse microbial community sequestered more C and N in stable soil organic matter fractions than no-till sorghum alone or with rye, which had lower N turnover rates. These results reaffirm the importance of enhanced soil biodiversity for maintaining soil ecosystem functioning and services. The supply of high amounts of N-rich residues as provided by grass–legume cover crops could fulfill this objective.

  7. Modelling the carbon and nitrogen balances of direct land use changes from energy crops in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hamelin, Lorie; Jørgensen, Uffe; Petersen, Bjørn Molt

    2012-01-01

    This paper addresses the conversion of Danish agricultural land from food/feed crops to energy crops. To this end, a life cycle inventory, which relates the input and output flows from and to the environment of 528 different crop systems, is built and described. This includes seven crops (annuals...... and perennials), two soil types (sandy loam and sand), two climate types (wet and dry), three initial soil carbon level (high, average, low), two time horizons for soil carbon changes (20 and 100 years), two residues management practices (removal and incorporation into soil) as well as three soil carbon turnover...... rate reductions in response to the absence of tillage for some perennial crops (0%, 25%, 50%). For all crop systems, nutrient balances, balances between above- and below-ground residues, soil carbon changes, biogenic carbon dioxide flows, emissions of nitrogen compounds and losses of macro...

  8. Managing woodwaste: Yield from residue

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nielson, E. [LNS Services, Inc., North Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada); Rayner, S. [Pacific Waste Energy Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia (Canada)

    1993-12-31

    Historically, the majority of sawmill waste has been burned or buried for the sole purpose of disposal. In most jurisdictions, environmental legislation will prohibit, or render uneconomic, these practices. Many reports have been prepared to describe the forest industry`s residue and its environmental effect; although these help those looking for industry-wide or regional solutions, such as electricity generation, they have limited value for the mill manager, who has the on-hands responsibility for generation and disposal of the waste. If the mill manager can evaluate waste streams and break them down into their usable components, he can find niche market solutions for portions of the plant residue and redirect waste to poor/no-return, rather than disposal-cost, end uses. In the modern mill, residue is collected at the individual machine centre by waste conveyors that combine and mix sawdust, shavings, bark, etc. and send the result to the hog-fuel pile. The mill waste system should be analyzed to determine the measures that can improve the quality of residues and determine the volumes of any particular category before the mixing, mentioned above, occurs. After this analysis, the mill may find a niche market for a portion of its woodwaste.

  9. Innovation and diffusion of site-specific crop management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Søren Marcus; Pedersen, Jørgen Lindgaard

    2004-01-01

    Site-specific crop management or precision farming (PF) is a highly complex management system for site-specific input application of lime, fertilizers and pesticides in arable farming. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the backbone of the system. To conduct PF several technical systems...

  10. Smallholder integrated crop management (ICM) research planning ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mo

    More women farmers were invited because they do most of the farming. Other participants came from ... smallholders to innovate their land and crop management strategies. This would be ..... Asian Farming Systems Association, 2 (2): 67.

  11. Integrated crop management of SRC plantations to maximise crop value, wildlife benefits and other added value opportunities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sage, R; Tucker, K

    1998-07-01

    This report summaries the results of a study aiming to develop an integrated approach to pest management (IPM) for the short rotation cultivation (SRC) of willows and poplars. Details are given of crop and site characteristics, non-destructive assessment of SRC biomass, the quantification of crop shadiness, and the effects of wind exposure on crop growth. The section on invertebrates covers invertebrates colonising UK SRC plantations, invertebrates which are or can become pests, natural control agents of SRC pests, the abundance and distribution of chrysomelids between sites, preferences exhibited by chrysomelids for different varieties, overwintering and dispersal of chrysomelids into SRC, and IPM of insects. The section on vertebrate fauna addresses birds in winter, the breeding birds of SRC, gamebird use of SRC, and mammals and other vertebrates of SRC. A section on ground flora deals with changes in ground flora with time, ground flora introductions, the effects of weeds on the growth of SRC, and an overview of integrated crop management in SRC plantations.

  12. A Metagenomic Advance for the Cloning and Characterization of a Cellulase from Red Rice Crop Residues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Meneses

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Many naturally-occurring cellulolytic microorganisms are not readily cultivable, demanding a culture-independent approach in order to study their cellulolytic genes. Metagenomics involves the isolation of DNA from environmental sources and can be used to identify enzymes with biotechnological potential from uncultured microbes. In this study, a gene encoding an endoglucanase was cloned from red rice crop residues using a metagenomic strategy. The amino acid identity between this gene and its closest published counterparts is lower than 70%. The endoglucanase was named EglaRR01 and was biochemically characterized. This recombinant protein showed activity on carboxymethylcellulose, indicating that EglaRR01 is an endoactive lytic enzyme. The enzymatic activity was optimal at a pH of 6.8 and at a temperature of 30 °C. Ethanol production from this recombinant enzyme was also analyzed on EglaRR01 crop residues, and resulted in conversion of cellulose from red rice into simple sugars which were further fermented by Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce ethanol after seven days. Ethanol yield in this study was approximately 8 g/L. The gene found herein shows strong potential for use in ethanol production from cellulosic biomass (second generation ethanol.

  13. A Metagenomic Advance for the Cloning and Characterization of a Cellulase from Red Rice Crop Residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meneses, Carlos; Silva, Bruna; Medeiros, Betsy; Serrato, Rodrigo; Johnston-Monje, David

    2016-06-25

    Many naturally-occurring cellulolytic microorganisms are not readily cultivable, demanding a culture-independent approach in order to study their cellulolytic genes. Metagenomics involves the isolation of DNA from environmental sources and can be used to identify enzymes with biotechnological potential from uncultured microbes. In this study, a gene encoding an endoglucanase was cloned from red rice crop residues using a metagenomic strategy. The amino acid identity between this gene and its closest published counterparts is lower than 70%. The endoglucanase was named EglaRR01 and was biochemically characterized. This recombinant protein showed activity on carboxymethylcellulose, indicating that EglaRR01 is an endoactive lytic enzyme. The enzymatic activity was optimal at a pH of 6.8 and at a temperature of 30 °C. Ethanol production from this recombinant enzyme was also analyzed on EglaRR01 crop residues, and resulted in conversion of cellulose from red rice into simple sugars which were further fermented by Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce ethanol after seven days. Ethanol yield in this study was approximately 8 g/L. The gene found herein shows strong potential for use in ethanol production from cellulosic biomass (second generation ethanol).

  14. Evaluation of Tillage, Residue Management and Nitrogen Fertilizer Effects on CO2 Emission in Maize (Zea Mays L. Cultivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rooholla Moradi

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC states that future emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs will continue to increase and cause climatic change (16. These conditions are also true for Iran. The three greenhouse gases associated with agriculture are carbon dioxide (CO2, methane (CH4, and nitrous oxide (N2O. The three GHGs associated with agriculture CO2, CH4, and N2O differ in their effectiveness in trapping heat and in their turnover rates in the atmosphere. This environmental change will have serious impacts on different growth and development processes of crops. Increasing temperature could affect physiological processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and partitioning of photoassimilates. Farmers are not able to change or manage the climatic conditions, but some factors such as soil, water, seed and agricultural practices can be managed to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change (32. Mitigation and adaptation are two known ways for reducing the negative impacts of climate change. Mitigation strategies are associated with decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG emissions through management practices such as reducing chemical fertilizer application, mechanization, increasing carbon storage in agroecosystems, planting biofuel crops and moving towards organic farming (42, etc. Material and Methods: This study was carried out at the experimental field of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2011 and was repeated in 2012. The Research Station (36°16´N, 59°36´E is located at about 985 m a.s.l. Average temperature and precipitation rate of the research station in two years are shown in Figure. 1. The three-factor experiment was set up in a strip-split-plot arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The experimental treatments were tillage systems (conventional and reduced tillage and residual management (remaining and leaving of maize residual assigned to main plots

  15. Weed supression by smother crops and selective herbicides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Severino Francisco José

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Using a smother crop is thought to suppress weed density and to add other beneficial effects in sustainable agricultural systems. Weed suppression ought to be considered an essential component of integrated weed management. However, very little is known about the effects of green manure plants on weeds. This study evaluated the influence of three green manure species on weed suppression and selectivity of herbicides. A field experiment was designed to determine the effect of the green manure species Crotalaria juncea, Arachis pintoi and pigeon pea on the weeds Brachiaria decumbens, guineagrass and hairy beggarticks, and on the natural weed infestation in the inter rows area of an avocado orchard. The weed species were suppressed differently by each green manure species. Soil samples collected from the field experiment presented a residual effect, of at least 30 d, in suppressing weed seed bank recruitment; this residual effect was caused by the residues of the green manure present in the soil. When the green manure was incorporated into the top 5 cm of soil or left on the surface, in a greenhouse experiment, the emergence of weed seeds was significantly inhibited, depending on the species, and on the amount and depth of green manure incorporation. Greenhouse experiments indicate that pre-emergence herbicides cause lower phytotoxicity than post-emergence Arachis pintoi. Smother crops using green manure species, when well established in an area, provide additional weed control to the cropping system and are effective and valuable tools in integrated weed management.

  16. Cover Crop Biomass Harvest Influences Cotton Nitrogen Utilization and Productivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Ducamp

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available There is a potential in the southeastern US to harvest winter cover crops from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. fields for biofuels or animal feed use, but this could impact yields and nitrogen (N fertilizer response. An experiment was established to examine rye (Secale cereale L. residue management (RM and N rates on cotton productivity. Three RM treatments (no winter cover crop (NC, residue removed (REM and residue retained (RET and four N rates for cotton were studied. Cotton population, leaf and plant N concentration, cotton biomass and N uptake at first square, and cotton biomass production between first square and cutout were higher for RET, followed by REM and NC. However, leaf N concentration at early bloom and N concentration in the cotton biomass between first square and cutout were higher for NC, followed by REM and RET. Seed cotton yield response to N interacted with year and RM, but yields were greater with RET followed by REM both years. These results indicate that a rye cover crop can be beneficial for cotton, especially during hot and dry years. Long-term studies would be required to completely understand the effect of rye residue harvest on cotton production under conservation tillage.

  17. Long-term conventional and no-tillage effects on field hydrology and yields of a dryland crop rotation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semiarid dryland crop yields with no-till, NT, residue management are often greater than stubble-mulch, SM, tillage as a result of improved soil conditions and water conservation, but information on long-term tillage effects on field hydrology and sustained crop production are needed. Our objective ...

  18. Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance Standard 2.1 ‘Maintaining the level of soil organic matter through management of stubble and crop residues’ and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Domenico Ventrella

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Within the Project MO.NA.CO. the Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance Standard 2.2 ‘Maintaining the level of soil organic matter through management of stubble and crop residues’ and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers were evaluated. The monitoring was performed in eight experimental farms of the Council for agricultural research and economics (CREA, distributed throughout Italy and with different soil and climatic conditions. Yield parameters and several components of soil organic matter were evaluated in two contrasting treatments applied to one-year rotation of winter durum wheat and maize: i incorporation into the soil of crop residues (Factual treatment and ii burning or removal of crop residues (Counterfactual treatment. The application of the standard ‘crop residue management’ has showed contrasting results with differences (for yield and soil between the two treatments resulted almost always non significant. The analysis of economic competitiveness gap showed that the CR incorporation is more expensive than CR burning or removal, but the economic disadvantage can be considered rather small and thus easily compensated by Community aids. Therefore, the soil incorporation of crop residues can be considered a ‘good agricultural practice’ that does not penalize farmers in terms of production and cost and at the same time contributes to the maintenance of fertility and soil biodiversity. On the contrary, the removal and burning of residues result in a low or no-addition of organic matter into the soil. Moreover, burning can contribute to decrease the biodiversity and to increase the risk of air pollution, fires and road accidents.

  19. Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance standard 2.1 ‘Maintaining the level of soil organic matter through management of stubble and crop residues’ and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Domenico Ventrella

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Within the Project MO.NA.CO. the Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance standard 2.2 ‘Maintaining the level of soil organic matter through management of stubble and crop residues’ and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers were evaluated. The monitoring was performed in eight experimental farms of the Council for agricultural research and economics (CREA, distributed throughout Italy and with different soil and climatic conditions. Yield parameters and several components of soil organic matter were evaluated in two contrasting treatments applied to one-year rotation of winter durum wheat and maize: i incorporation into the soil of crop residues (Factual treatment and ii burning or removal of crop residues (Counterfactual treatment. The application of the standard ‘crop residue management’ has showed contrasting results with differences (for yield and soil between the two treatments resulted almost always non significant. The analysis of economic competitiveness gap showed that the CR incorporation is more expensive than CR burning or removal, but the economic disadvantage can be considered rather small and thus easily compensated by Community aids. Therefore, the soil incorporation of crop residues can be considered a ‘good agricultural practice’ that does not penalize farmers in terms of production and cost and at the same time contributes to the maintenance of fertility and soil biodiversity. On the contrary, the removal and burning of residues result in a low or no-addition of organic matter into the soil. Moreover, burning can contribute to decrease the biodiversity and to increase the risk of air pollution, fires and road accidents.

  20. Response of Sorghum bicolor L. to Residual Phosphate on Two Contrasting Soils Previously Planted to Cowpea or Maize

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tola Omolayo Olasunkanmi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Proper fertilizer nutrient management through adequate utilization of the residual value coupled with healthy crop rotation contributes significantly to sustainable crop production. This study was conducted to evaluate the direct and residual effects of two rock phosphate (RP materials on two contrasting soils previously planted with either the cereal crop or the leguminous crop. The effectiveness of the RP materials as substitute for the conventional P fertilizers was evaluated using single superphosphate as reference at the Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. The experiments were 2 × 2 × 4 factorial in completely randomized design. The test crops in the first cropping performed better on the slightly acidic loamy sand than on the strongly acidic sandy clay loam. Performance of each crop was improved by P supply in the first and second cropping. Single superphosphate proved to be more efficient than the RPs in the first cropping but not as effective as MRP in the second cropping. In the second cropping, sorghum performed better on the soil previously cropped to cowpea while Morocco RP had the highest residual effect among the P-fertilizer sources. It is evident that rock phosphates are better substitutes to the conventional phosphorus fertilizers due to their long term residual effect in soils. The positive effects of healthy rotation of crops as well as the negative effects of low soil pH are also quite obvious.

  1. Growth and yield of cowpea/sunflower crop rotation under different irrigation management strategies with saline water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antônia Leila Rocha Neves

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the effect of management strategies of irrigation with saline water on growth and yield of cowpea and sunflower in a crop rotation. The experiment was conducted in randomized blocks with thirteen treatments and five replications. The treatments consisted of: T1 (control, T2, T3 and T4 using water of 0.5 (A1, 2.2 (A2, 3.6 (A3 and 5.0 (A4 dS m-1, respectively, during the entire crop cycle; T5, T6 and T7, use of A2, A3 and A4 water, respectively, only in the flowering and fructification stage of the crop cycle; using different water in a cyclic way, six irrigations with A1 followed by six irrigations with A2 (T8, A3 (T9 and A4, (T10, respectively; T11, T12 and T13, using water A2, A3 and A4, respectively, starting at 11 days after planting (DAP and continuing until the end of the crop cycle. These treatments were employed in the first crop (cowpea, during the dry season, and the same plots were used for the cultivation of sunflower as succeeding crop during rainy season. The strategies of use of saline water in the salt tolerant growth stage (treatments T5, T6 and T7 or cyclically (treatments T8, T9 and T10 reduced the amount of good quality water used in the production of cowpea by 34 and 47%, respectively, without negative impacts on crop yield, and did not show the residual effects of salinity on sunflower as a succeeding crop. Thus, these strategies appear promising to be employed in areas with water salinity problems in the semiarid region of Brazil.

  2. Integrated Palmer Amaranth Management in Glufosinate-Resistant Cotton: I. Soil-Inversion, High-Residue Cover Crops and Herbicide Regimes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael G. Patterson

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available A three year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the role of soil-inversion, cover crops and herbicide regimes for Palmer amaranth between-row (BR and within-row (WR management in glufosinate-resistant cotton. The main plots were two soil-inversion treatments: fall inversion tillage (IT and non-inversion tillage (NIT. The subplots were three cover crop treatments: crimson clover, cereal rye and winter fallow; and sub subplots were four herbicide regimes: preemergence (PRE alone, postemergence (POST alone, PRE + POST and a no herbicide check (None. The PRE herbicide regime consisted of a single application of pendimethalin at 0.84 kg ae ha−1 plus fomesafen at 0.28 kg ai ha−1. The POST herbicide regime consisted of a single application of glufosinate at 0.60 kg ai ha−1 plus S-metolachlor at 0.54 kg ai ha−1 and the PRE + POST regime combined the prior two components. At 2 weeks after planting (WAP cotton, Palmer amaranth densities, both BR and WR, were reduced ≥90% following all cover crop treatments in the IT. In the NIT, crimson clover reduced Palmer amaranth densities >65% and 50% compared to winter fallow and cereal rye covers, respectively. At 6 WAP, the PRE and PRE + POST herbicide regimes in both IT and NIT reduced BR and WR Palmer amaranth densities >96% over the three years. Additionally, the BR density was reduced ≥59% in no-herbicide (None following either cereal rye or crimson clover when compared to no-herbicide in the winter fallow. In IT, PRE, POST and PRE + POST herbicide regimes controlled Palmer amaranth >95% 6 WAP. In NIT, Palmer amaranth was controlled ≥79% in PRE and ≥95% in PRE + POST herbicide regimes over three years. POST herbicide regime following NIT was not very consistent. Averaged across three years, Palmer amaranth controlled ≥94% in PRE and PRE + POST herbicide regimes regardless of cover crop. Herbicide regime effect on cotton yield was highly significant; the maximum cotton yield was

  3. Effect of Residue Nitrogen Concentration and Time Duration on Carbon Mineralization Rate of Alfalfa Residues in Regions with Different Climatic Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    saeid shafiei

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Various factors like climatic conditions, vegetation, soil properties, topography, time, plant residue quality and crop management strategies affect the decomposition rate of organic carbon (OC and its residence time in soil. Plant residue management concerns nutrients recycling, carbon recycling in ecosystems and the increasing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Plant residue decomposition is a fundamental process in recycling of organic matter and elements in most ecosystems. Soil management, particularly plant residue management, changes soil organic matter both qualitatively and quantitatively. Soil respiration and carbon loss are affected by soil temperature, soil moisture, air temperature, solar radiation and precipitation. In natural agro-ecosystems, residue contains different concentrations of nitrogen. It is important to understand the rate and processes involved in plant residue decomposition, as these residues continue to be added to the soil under different weather conditions, especially in arid and semi-arid climates. Material and methods Organic carbon mineralization of alfalfa residue with different nitrogen concentrations was assessed in different climatic conditions using split-plot experiments over time and the effects of climate was determined using composite analysis. The climatic conditions were classified as warm-arid (Jiroft, temperate arid (Narab and cold semi-arid (Sardouiyeh using cluster analysis and the nitrogen (N concentrations of alfalfa residue were low, medium and high. The alfalfa residue incubated for four different time periods (2, 4, 6 and 8 months. The dynamics of organic carbon in different regions measured using litter bags (20×10 cm containing 20 g alfalfa residue of 2-10 mm length which were placed on the soil surface. Results and discussion The results of this study showed that in a warm-arid (Jiroft, carbon loss and the carbon decomposition rate constant were low in a cold semi

  4. 7 CFR 2.44 - Administrator, Risk Management Agency and Manager, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Administrator, Risk Management Agency and Manager... Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services to the Administrator, Risk Management Agency, and... for the transaction of the business of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation and the Risk Management...

  5. Crop residues as a potential renewable energy source for Malawi's cement industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gondwe, Kenneth J.; Chiotha, Sosten S.; Mkandawire, Theresa

    2017-01-01

    that the projected total energy demands in 2020, 2025 and 2030 were approximately 177 810 TJ, 184 210 TJ and 194 096 TJ respectively. The highest supply potentials were found to be in the central and southern regions of Malawi, coinciding with the locations of the two clinker plants. Crop residues could meet 45......-57% of the national total energy demand. The demand from the cement industry is only 0.8% of the estimated biomass energy potential. At an annual production of 600 000 t of clinker and 20% biomass co-firing with coal, 18 562 t of coal consumption would be avoided and 46 128 t of carbon dioxide emission reduction...

  6. Greenhouse gas emissions from cultivation of energy crops may affect the sustainability of biofuels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carter, Mette Sustmann; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Heiske, Stefan

    2011-01-01

    will be lower than indicated by our data. We obtained the greatest net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by co-production of bioethanol and biogas or by biogas alone produced from either fresh grass-clover or whole crop maize. Here the net reduction corresponded to about 8 tons CO2 per hectare per year...... or incorporation of crop residues. In this study we relate measured field emissions of N2O to the reduction in fossil fuel-derived CO2, which is obtained when energy crops are used for biofuel production. The analysis includes five organically managed crops (viz. maize, rye, rye-vetch, vetch and grass......-clover) and three scenarios for conversion of biomass to biofuel. The scenarios are 1) bioethanol production, 2) biogas production and 3) co-production of bioethanol and biogas, where the energy crops are first used for bioethanol fermentation and subsequently the residues from this process are utilized for biogas...

  7. Linking Soil Microbial Ecology to Ecosystem Functioning in Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enhanced soil stability, nutrient cycling and C sequestration potential are important ecosystem functions driven by soil microbial processes and are directly influenced by agricultural management. Integrated crop-livestock agroecosystems (ICL) can enhance these functions via high-residue returning c...

  8. Residues of Avermectin B1a in rotational crops and soils following soil treatment with [14C]Avermectin B1a

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moye, H.A.; Malagodi, M.H.; Yoh, H.; Leibee, G.L.; Ku, C.C.; Wislocki, P.G.

    1987-01-01

    [ 14 C]Avermectin B 1 a was applied twelve times to muck and sandy loam soils and three times to sandy soil at 0.025-0.030 lb/acre per application. These applications simulated the intended use of avermectin B 1 a on celery, vegetables, and cotton, respectively. Following three aging periods in each soil type, sorghum, lettuce, and carrot or turnip seeds were planted and harvested at one-fourth, half, and full size. Analysis of these crops by oxidative combustion demonstrated that crops grown in muck, sandy loam, and sandy soils contained radiolabeled residues ranging from below the limit of quantitation (BLQ) to 7.4 μg/kg of avermectin B 1 a equivalents, BLQ to 11.6 μg/kg, and BLQ to 3.54 μg/kg, respectively. There was a general trend of decreasing residue concentrations with increasing preharvest intervals in crops grown in all soils. The radioactivity present in muck and sandy loam soils disappeared with half-lives ranging from 103 to 267 days and from 102 to 132 days, respectively

  9. Integrating biological treatment of crop residue into a hydroponic sweetpotato culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trotman, A. A.; David, P. P.; Bonsi, C. K.; Hill, W. A.; Mortley, D. G.; Loretan, P. A.

    1997-01-01

    Residual biomass from hydroponic culture of sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] was degraded using natural bacterial soil isolates. Sweetpotato was grown for 120 days in hydroponic culture with a nutrient solution comprised of a ratio of 80% modified half Hoagland solution to 20% filtered effluent from an aerobic starch hydrolysis bioreactor. The phytotoxicity of the effluent was assayed with `Waldmann's Green' lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and the ratio selected after a 60-day bioassay using sweetpotato plants propagated vegetatively from cuttings. Controlled environment chamber experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of filtrate from biological treatment of crop residue on growth and storage root production with plants grown in a modified half Hoagland solution. Incorporation of bioreactor effluent, reduced storage root yield of `Georgia Jet' sweetpotato but the decrease was not statistically significant when compared with yield for plants cultured in a modified half Hoagland solution without filtrate. However, yield of `TU-82-155' sweetpotato was significantly reduced when grown in a modified half Hoagland solution into which filtered effluent had been incorporated. Total biomass was significantly reduced for both sweetpotato cultivars when grown in bioreactor effluent. The leaf area and dry matter accumulation were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced for both cultivars when grown in solution culture containing 20% filtered effluent.

  10. An Image Segmentation Based on a Genetic Algorithm for Determining Soil Coverage by Crop Residues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeiro, Angela; Ranz, Juan; Burgos-Artizzu, Xavier P.; Pajares, Gonzalo; Sanchez del Arco, Maria J.; Navarrete, Luis

    2011-01-01

    Determination of the soil coverage by crop residues after ploughing is a fundamental element of Conservation Agriculture. This paper presents the application of genetic algorithms employed during the fine tuning of the segmentation process of a digital image with the aim of automatically quantifying the residue coverage. In other words, the objective is to achieve a segmentation that would permit the discrimination of the texture of the residue so that the output of the segmentation process is a binary image in which residue zones are isolated from the rest. The RGB images used come from a sample of images in which sections of terrain were photographed with a conventional camera positioned in zenith orientation atop a tripod. The images were taken outdoors under uncontrolled lighting conditions. Up to 92% similarity was achieved between the images obtained by the segmentation process proposed in this paper and the templates made by an elaborate manual tracing process. In addition to the proposed segmentation procedure and the fine tuning procedure that was developed, a global quantification of the soil coverage by residues for the sampled area was achieved that differed by only 0.85% from the quantification obtained using template images. Moreover, the proposed method does not depend on the type of residue present in the image. The study was conducted at the experimental farm “El Encín” in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, Spain). PMID:22163966

  11. Assessment of agro-ecological service crop managements combined with organic fertilisation strategies in organic melon crop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariangela Diacono

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available In organic horticultural systems, cover crops could provide several ecological services, therefore, they can be defined agroecological service crops (ASCs. The objective of this two-year research was to study the suitability on melon production of different ASC termination strategies, in combination with organic fertilisers application. In a split-block design, the main-plot was the ASC management, comparing: i green manure, in which the vetch was chopped and plowed into the soil; and ii roller-crimper (RC, in which the vetch was flattened by a roller-crimper; with iii fallow control, without vetch. The subplot consisted of offfarm organic inputs: i commercial humified fertiliser; ii anaerobic digestate fertiliser; iii composted municipal solid wastes; which were compared to iv unfertilised control (N0. At vetch termination, above soil biomass and nitrogen (N content were determined. At harvesting, crop yield performance and quality, N status and N efficiency were investigated. Also, main soil characteristics were assessed at the end of the trial. Among the ASC managements, the slightly reduced yield in the RC plots particularly in combination with N0 might have been the result of less N supplied by the vetch during the melon cycle. Anyway, no negative effects were observed for yield quality. The use of the RC showed a great potential in enhancing soil fertility. Our study suggests the suitability in organic farming of properly matching management of ASC and fertilisation strategies on melon crop.

  12. Effect of resource conserving techniques on crop productivity in rice-wheat cropping system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mann, R.A.; Munir, M.; Haqqani, A.M.

    2004-01-01

    Rice-wheat cropping system is the most important one in Pakistan. The system provides food and livelihood for more than 15 million people in the country. The productivity of the system is much lower than the potential yields of both rice and wheat crops. With the traditional methods, rice-wheat system is not a profitable one to many farmers. Hence, Cost of cultivation must be reduced and at the same time, efficiency of resources like irrigation water, fuel, and fertilizers must be improved to make the crop production system more viable and eco- friendly. Resource conserving technology (RCT) must figure highly in this equation, since they play a major role in achieving the above goals. The RCT include laser land leveling, zero-tillage, bed furrow irrigation method and crop residue management. These technologies were evaluated in irrigated areas of Punjab where rice follows wheat. The results showed that paddy yield was not affected by the new methods. Direct seeding of rice crop saved irrigation water by 13% over the conventionally planted crop. Weeds were the major problem indirect seeded crop, which could be eliminated through cultural, mechanical and chemical means. Wheat crop on beds produced the highest yield but cost of production was minimum in the zero-till wheat crop. Planting of wheat on raised beds in making headway in low- lying and poorly drained areas. Thus, resource conserving tillage technology provides a tool for making progress towards improving and sustaining wheat production system, helping with food security and poverty alleviation in Pakistan in the next few decades. (author)

  13. Enhancing water and fertilizer saving without compromising rice yield through integrated crop management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wardana, I.P.; Gani, A.; Abdulrachmann, S.; Bindraban, P.S.; Keulen, van H.

    2010-01-01

    Water and fertilizer scarcity amid the increasing need of rice production challenges today’s agriculture. Integrated crop management (ICM) is a combination of water, crop, and nutrient management that optimizes the synergistic interaction of these components aiming at improving resource use

  14. Impacts of Watershed Characteristics and Crop Rotations on Winter Cover Crop Nitrate-Nitrogen Uptake Capacity within Agricultural Watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sangchul; Yeo, In-Young; Sadeghi, Ali M; McCarty, Gregory W; Hively, W Dean; Lang, Megan W

    2016-01-01

    The adoption rate of winter cover crops (WCCs) as an effective conservation management practice to help reduce agricultural nutrient loads in the Chesapeake Bay (CB) is increasing. However, the WCC potential for water quality improvement has not been fully realized at the watershed scale. This study was conducted to evaluate the long-term impact of WCCs on hydrology and NO3-N loads in two adjacent watersheds and to identify key management factors that affect the effectiveness of WCCs using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and statistical methods. Simulation results indicated that WCCs are effective for reducing NO3-N loads and their performance varied based on planting date, species, soil characteristics, and crop rotations. Early-planted WCCs outperformed late-planted WCCs on the reduction of NO3-N loads and early-planted rye (RE) reduced NO3-N loads by ~49.3% compared to the baseline (no WCC). The WCCs were more effective in a watershed dominated by well-drained soils with increased reductions in NO3-N fluxes of ~2.5 kg N·ha-1 delivered to streams and ~10.1 kg N·ha-1 leached into groundwater compared to poorly-drained soils. Well-drained agricultural lands had higher transport of NO3-N in the soil profile and groundwater due to increased N leaching. Poorly-drained agricultural lands had lower NO3-N due to extensive drainage ditches and anaerobic soil conditions promoting denitrification. The performance of WCCs varied by crop rotations (i.e., continuous corn and corn-soybean), with increased N uptake following soybean crops due to the increased soil mineral N availability by mineralization of soybean residue compared to corn residue. The WCCs can reduce N leaching where baseline NO3-N loads are high in well-drained soils and/or when residual and mineralized N availability is high due to the cropping practices. The findings suggested that WCC implementation plans should be established in watersheds according to local edaphic and agronomic

  15. Impacts of Watershed Characteristics and Crop Rotations on Winter Cover Crop Nitrate-Nitrogen Uptake Capacity within Agricultural Watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sangchul Lee

    Full Text Available The adoption rate of winter cover crops (WCCs as an effective conservation management practice to help reduce agricultural nutrient loads in the Chesapeake Bay (CB is increasing. However, the WCC potential for water quality improvement has not been fully realized at the watershed scale. This study was conducted to evaluate the long-term impact of WCCs on hydrology and NO3-N loads in two adjacent watersheds and to identify key management factors that affect the effectiveness of WCCs using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT and statistical methods. Simulation results indicated that WCCs are effective for reducing NO3-N loads and their performance varied based on planting date, species, soil characteristics, and crop rotations. Early-planted WCCs outperformed late-planted WCCs on the reduction of NO3-N loads and early-planted rye (RE reduced NO3-N loads by ~49.3% compared to the baseline (no WCC. The WCCs were more effective in a watershed dominated by well-drained soils with increased reductions in NO3-N fluxes of ~2.5 kg N·ha-1 delivered to streams and ~10.1 kg N·ha-1 leached into groundwater compared to poorly-drained soils. Well-drained agricultural lands had higher transport of NO3-N in the soil profile and groundwater due to increased N leaching. Poorly-drained agricultural lands had lower NO3-N due to extensive drainage ditches and anaerobic soil conditions promoting denitrification. The performance of WCCs varied by crop rotations (i.e., continuous corn and corn-soybean, with increased N uptake following soybean crops due to the increased soil mineral N availability by mineralization of soybean residue compared to corn residue. The WCCs can reduce N leaching where baseline NO3-N loads are high in well-drained soils and/or when residual and mineralized N availability is high due to the cropping practices. The findings suggested that WCC implementation plans should be established in watersheds according to local edaphic and agronomic

  16. PM2.5 emissions and source profiles from open burning of crop residues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Haiyan; Tian, Jie; Wang, Xiaoliang; Wang, Qiyuan; Han, Yongming; Cao, Junji; Long, Xin; Chen, L.-W. Antony; Chow, Judith C.; Watson, John G.; Huang, Ru-Jin; Dusek, Ulrike

    2017-11-01

    Wheat straw, rice straw, and corn stalks, the major agricultural crop residues in China, were collected from six major crop producing regions, and burned in a laboratory combustion chamber to determine PM2.5 source profiles and speciated emission factors (EFs). Organic carbon (OC) and water-soluble ions (the sum of NH4+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, NO3- and SO42-) are major constituents, accounting for 43.1 ± 8.3% and 27.4 ± 14.6% of PM2.5, respectively. Chloride (Cl-) and water-soluble potassium (K+) are the dominant ionic species, with an average abundance of 14.5 ± 8.2% and 6.4 ± 4.4% in PM2.5, respectively. The average K+/Cl- ratio is ∼0.4, lower than 2.8-5.4 for wood combustion. Similarity measures (i.e., Student's t-test, coefficient of divergence, correlations, and residual to uncertainty ratios) show the crop profiles are too similar for the species measured to be resolved from one another by receptor modeling. The largest difference was found between rice straw and corn stalk emissions, with higher OC and lower Cl- and K+ abundances (50%, 8%, and 3% of PM2.5, respectively) for corn stalks; lower OC, and higher Cl- and K+ abundances (38%, 21%, and 10% of PM2.5, respectively) for rice straw. Average EFs were 4.8 ± 3.1 g kg-1 for OC, 1.3 ± 0.8 g kg-1 for Cl- and 0.59 ± 0.56 g kg-1 for K+. Flaming and smoldering combustions resulted in an average modified combustion efficiency (MCE) of 0.92 ± 0.03, and low elemental carbon (EC) EFs (0.24 ± 0.12 g kg-1). OC/EC ratios from individual source profiles ranged from 12.9 ± 4.3 for rice straw to 24.1 ± 13.5 for wheat straw. The average K+/EC ratio was 2.4 ± 1.5, an order of magnitude higher than those from residential wood combustion (0.2-0.76). Elevated emission rates were found for OC (387 Gg yr-1) and Cl- (122 Gg yr-1), accounting for 44% and 14% of 2008 PM2.5 emissions in China.

  17. Cover Crop-Based, Organic Rotational No-Till Corn and Soybean Production Systems in the Mid-Atlantic United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John M. Wallace

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Cover crop-based, organic rotational no-till (CCORNT corn and soybean production is becoming a viable strategy for reducing tillage in organic annual grain systems in the mid-Atlantic, United States. This strategy relies on mechanical termination of cover crops with a roller-crimper and no-till planting corn and soybean into cover crop mulches. Here, we report on recent research that focuses on integrated approaches for crop, nutrient and pest management in CCORNT systems that consider system and regional constraints for adoption in the mid-Atlantic. Our research suggests that no-till planting soybean into roller-crimped cereal rye can produce consistent yields. However, constraints to fertility management have produced less consistent no-till corn yields. Our research shows that grass-legume mixtures can improve N-release synchrony with corn demand and also improve weed suppression. Integration of high-residue inter-row cultivation improves weed control consistency and may reduce reliance on optimizing cover crop biomass accumulation for weed suppression. System-specific strategies are needed to address volunteer cover crops in later rotational phases, which result from incomplete cover crop termination with the roller crimper. The paucity of adequate machinery for optimizing establishment of cash crops into thick residue mulch remains a major constraint on CCORNT adoption. Similarly, breeding efforts are needed to improve cover crop germplasm and develop regionally-adapted varieties.

  18. Soil management practices for sustainable crop production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abalos, E.B.

    2005-01-01

    In a sustainable system, the soil is viewed as a fragile and living medium that must be protected and nurtured to ensure its long-term productivity and stability. However, due to high demand for food brought about by high population as well as the decline in agricultural lands, the soil is being exploited beyond its limit thus, leading to poor or sick soils. Sound soil management practices in the Philippines is being reviewed. The technologies, including the advantages and disadvantages are hereby presented. This includes proper cropping systems, fertilizer program, soil erosion control and correcting soil acidity. Sound soil management practices which conserve organic matter for long-term sustainability includes addition of compost, maintaining soil cover, increasing aggregates stability, soil tilt and diversity of soil microbial life. A healthy soil is a key component to sustainability as a health soil produce healthy crop plants and have optimum vigor or less susceptible to pests. (author)

  19. Effects of agriculture crop residue burning on aerosol properties and long-range transport over northern India: A study using satellite data and model simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vijayakumar, K.; Safai, P. D.; Devara, P. C. S.; Rao, S. Vijaya Bhaskara; Jayasankar, C. K.

    2016-09-01

    Agriculture crop residue burning in the tropics is a major source of the global atmospheric aerosols and monitoring their long-range transport is an important element in climate change studies. In this paper, we study the effects of agriculture crop residue burning on aerosol properties and long-range transport over northern India during a smoke event that occurred between 09 and 17 November 2013, with the help of satellite measurements and model simulation data. Satellite data observations on aerosol properties suggested transport of particles from agriculture crop residue burning in Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) over large regions. Additionally, ECMWF winds at 850 hPa have been used to trace the source, path and spatial extent of smoke events. Most of the smoke aerosols, during the study period, travel from a west-to-east pathway from the source-to-sink region. Furthermore, aerosol vertical profiles from CALIPSO show a layer of thick smoke extending from surface to an altitude of about 3 km. Smoke aerosols emitted from biomass burning activity from Punjab have been found to be a major contributor to the deterioration of local air quality over the NE Indian region due to their long range transport.

  20. Sources of Nitrogen for Winter Wheat in Organic Cropping Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Søren O; Schjønning, Per; Olesen, Jørgen E

    2013-01-01

    mineralizable N (PMN), microbial biomass N (MBN)] were monitored during two growth periods; at one site, biomass C/N ratios were also determined. Soil for labile N analysis was shielded from N inputs during spring application to isolate cumulated system effects. Potentially mineralizable N and MBN were...... explained 76 and 82% of the variation in grain N yields in organic cropping systems in 2007 and 2008, showing significant effects of, respectively, topsoil N, depth of A horizon, cumulated inputs of N, and N applied to winter wheat in manure. Thus, soil properties and past and current management all......In organic cropping systems, legumes, cover crops (CC), residue incorporation, and manure application are used to maintain soil fertility, but the contributions of these management practices to soil nitrogen (N) supply remain obscure. We examined potential sources of N for winter wheat (Triticum...

  1. Beyond yields: Climate change effects on specialty crop quality and agroecological management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selena Ahmed

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Climate change is impacting the sustainability of food systems through shifts in natural and human dimensions of agroecosystems that influence farmer livelihoods, consumer choices, and food security. This paper highlights the need for climate studies on specialty crops to focus not only on yields, but also on quality, as well as the ability of agroecological management to buffer climate effects on quality parameters. Crop quality refers to phytonutrient and secondary metabolite profiles and associated health and sensory properties that influence consumer buying decisions. Through two literature reviews, we provide examples of specialty crops that are vulnerable to climate effects on quality and examples of climate-resilient agroecological strategies. A range of specialty crops including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, stimulants, and herbs were identified to respond to climate variables with changes in quality. The review on climate-resilient strategies to mitigate effects on crop quality highlighted a major gap in the literature. However, agricultural diversification emerged as a promising strategy for climate resilience more broadly and highlights the need for future research to assess the potential of diversified agroecosystems to buffer climate effects on crop quality. We integrate the concepts from our literature review within a socio-ecological systems framework that takes into account feedbacks between crop quality, consumer responses, and agroecosystem management. The presented framework is especially useful for two themes in agricultural development and marketing, nutrition-sensitive agriculture and terroir, for informing the design of climate-change resilient specialty crop systems focused on management of quality and other ecosystem services towards promoting environmental and human wellbeing.

  2. AquaCrop-OS: A tool for resilient management of land and water resources in agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Timothy; Brozovic, Nicholas; Butler, Adrian P.; Neale, Christopher M. U.; Raes, Dirk; Steduto, Pasquale; Fereres, Elias; Hsiao, Theodore C.

    2017-04-01

    Water managers, researchers, and other decision makers worldwide are faced with the challenge of increasing food production under population growth, drought, and rising water scarcity. Crop simulation models are valuable tools in this effort, and, importantly, provide a means of quantifying rapidly crop yield response to water, climate, and field management practices. Here, we introduce a new open-source crop modelling tool called AquaCrop-OS (Foster et al., 2017), which extends the functionality of the globally used FAO AquaCrop model. Through case studies focused on groundwater-fed irrigation in the High Plains and Central Valley of California in the United States, we demonstrate how AquaCrop-OS can be used to understand the local biophysical, behavioural, and institutional drivers of water risks in agricultural production. Furthermore, we also illustrate how AquaCrop-OS can be combined effectively with hydrologic and economic models to support drought risk mitigation and decision-making around water resource management at a range of spatial and temporal scales, and highlight future plans for model development and training. T. Foster, et al. (2017) AquaCrop-OS: An open source version of FAO's crop water productivity model. Agricultural Water Management. 181: 18-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2016.11.015.

  3. Developing technology options for rice integrated crop management ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mo

    high farm level impact for research and development efforts that emphasize improved crop and resource management ..... in addition to having superior net revenue per hectare across .... Given this picture, scientists at the Center will explore.

  4. Biosafety Management of Genetically Modified Crops (China) | IDRC ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Biosafety Management of Genetically Modified Crops (China). Since 1990, China's ... Country(s). China, Far East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia ... Call for new OWSD Fellowships for Early Career Women Scientists now open. In partnership ...

  5. Characterisation and management of concrete grinding residuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kluge, Matt; Gupta, Nautasha; Watts, Ben; Chadik, Paul A; Ferraro, Christopher; Townsend, Timothy G

    2018-02-01

    Concrete grinding residue is the waste product resulting from the grinding, cutting, and resurfacing of concrete pavement. Potential beneficial applications for concrete grinding residue include use as a soil amendment and as a construction material, including as an additive to Portland cement concrete. Concrete grinding residue exhibits a high pH, and though not hazardous, it is sufficiently elevated that precautions need to be taken around aquatic ecosystems. Best management practices and state regulations focus on reducing the impact on such aquatic environment. Heavy metals are present in concrete grinding residue, but concentrations are of the same magnitude as typically recycled concrete residuals. The chemical composition of concrete grinding residue makes it a useful product for some soil amendment purposes at appropriate land application rates. The presence of unreacted concrete in concrete grinding residue was examined for potential use as partial replacement of cement in new concrete. Testing of Florida concrete grinding residue revealed no dramatic reactivity or improvement in mortar strength.

  6. Cover crop root, shoot, and rhizodeposit contributions to soil carbon in a no- till corn bioenergy cropping system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, E.; Grandy, S.; Wickings, K.; McDaniel, M. D.; Robertson, P.

    2016-12-01

    Crop residues are potential biofuel feedstocks, but residue removal may result in reduced soil carbon (C). The inclusion of a cover crop in a corn bioenergy system could provide additional biomass and as well as help to mitigate the negative effects of residue removal by adding belowground C to stable soil C pools. In a no-till continuous corn bioenergy system in the northern portion of the US corn belt, we used 13CO2 pulse labeling to trace C in a winter rye (secale cereale) cover crop into different soil C pools for two years following rye termination. Corn stover contributed 66 (another 163 was in harvested corn stover), corn roots 57, rye shoot 61, rye roots 59, and rye rhizodeposits 27 g C m-2 to soil C. Five months following cover crop termination, belowground cover crop inputs were three times more likely to remain in soil C pools and much of the root-derived C was in mineral- associated soil fractions. Our results underscore the importance of cover crop roots vs. shoots as a source of soil C. Belowground C inputs from winter cover crops could substantially offset short term stover removal in this system.

  7. Cover Crop (Rye) and No-Till System in Wisconsin

    OpenAIRE

    Alföldi, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    Erin Silva, University of Wisconsin, describes an organic no-till production technique using rye as cover crop to suppress weeds in the following production season. Using a roller-crimper, the overwintering rye is terminated at the time of cash crop planting, leaving a thick mat of plant residue on the soil surface. Soybeans are sown directly into the cover crop residue, allowing the cash crop to emerge through the terminated cover crop while suppressing weeds throughout the season. W...

  8. Is Corn Stover Harvest Predictable Using Farm Operation, Technology, and Management Variables?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crop residue management, provision of animal feed or bedding, and increased income potential are some reasons for harvesting corn (Zea mays L.) stover. Reasons for not doing so are that crop residue is essential for restoring soil organic matter, protecting against wind and water erosion, and cyclin...

  9. Transpiration of greenhouse crops : an aid to climate management

    OpenAIRE

    Stanghellini, C.

    1987-01-01

    In this book some physical aspects of greenhouse climate are analyzed to show the direct interrelation between microclimate and crop transpiration. The energy balance of a greenhouse crop is shown to provide a sound physical framework to quantify the impact of microclimate on transpiration and to identify the constraints set on climate management by the termodynamic behaviour of the canopy. Before the relationship among microclimate, canopy temperature and transpiration is rendered i...

  10. Toward cropping systems that enhance productivity and sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, R. James

    2006-01-01

    The defining features of any cropping system are (i) the crop rotation and (ii) the kind or intensity of tillage. The trend worldwide starting in the late 20th century has been (i) to specialize competitively in the production of two, three, a single, or closely related crops such as different market classes of wheat and barley, and (ii) to use direct seeding, also known as no-till, to cut costs and save soil, time, and fuel. The availability of glyphosate- and insect-resistant varieties of soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola has helped greatly to address weed and insect pest pressures favored by direct seeding these crops. However, little has been done through genetics and breeding to address diseases caused by residue- and soil-inhabiting pathogens that remain major obstacles to wider adoption of these potentially more productive and sustainable systems. Instead, the gains have been due largely to innovations in management, including enhancement of root defense by antibiotic-producing rhizosphere-inhabiting bacteria inhibitory to root pathogens. Historically, new varieties have facilitated wider adoption of new management, and changes in management have facilitated wider adoption of new varieties. Although actual yields may be lower in direct-seed compared with conventional cropping systems, largely due to diseases, the yield potential is higher because of more available water and increases in soil organic matter. Achieving the full production potential of these more-sustainable cropping systems must now await the development of varieties adapted to or resistant to the hazards shown to account for the yield depressions associated with direct seeding. PMID:17130454

  11. The role of short-rotation woody crops in sustainable development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shepard, J.P.; Tolbert, V.R.

    1996-01-01

    One answer to increase wood production is by increasing management intensity on existing timberland, especially in plantation forests. Another is to convert land currently in agriculture to timberland. Short-rotation woody crops can be used in both cases. But, what are the environmental consequences? Short-rotation woody crops can provide a net improvement in environmental quality at both local and global scales. Conversion of agricultural land to short-rotation woody crops can provide the most environmental quality enhancement by reducing erosion, improving soil quality, decreasing runoff, improving groundwater quality, and providing better wildlife habitat. Forest products companies can use increased production from intensively managed short-rotation woody crop systems to offset decreased yield from the portion of their timberland that is managed less intensively, e.g. streamside management zones and other ecologically sensitive or unique areas. At the global scale, use of short-rotation woody crops for bioenergy is part of the solution to reduce greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels. Incorporating short-rotation woody crops into the agricultural landscape also increases storage of carbon in the soil, thus reducing atmospheric concentrations. In addition, use of wood instead of alternatives such as steel, concrete, and plastics generally consumes less energy and produces less greenhouse gases. Cooperative research can be used to achieve energy, fiber, and environmental goals. This paper will highlight several examples of ongoing cooperative research projects that seek to enhance the environmental aspects of short-rotation woody crop systems. Government, industry, and academia are conducting research to study soil quality, use of mill residuals, nutrients in runoff and groundwater, and wildlife use of short-rotation woody crop systems in order to assure the role of short-rotation crops as a sustainable way of meeting society's needs

  12. Parameterization models for pesticide exposure via crop consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fantke, Peter; Wieland, Peter; Juraske, Ronnie; Shaddick, Gavin; Itoiz, Eva Sevigné; Friedrich, Rainer; Jolliet, Olivier

    2012-12-04

    An approach for estimating human exposure to pesticides via consumption of six important food crops is presented that can be used to extend multimedia models applied in health risk and life cycle impact assessment. We first assessed the variation of model output (pesticide residues per kg applied) as a function of model input variables (substance, crop, and environmental properties) including their possible correlations using matrix algebra. We identified five key parameters responsible for between 80% and 93% of the variation in pesticide residues, namely time between substance application and crop harvest, degradation half-lives in crops and on crop surfaces, overall residence times in soil, and substance molecular weight. Partition coefficients also play an important role for fruit trees and tomato (Kow), potato (Koc), and lettuce (Kaw, Kow). Focusing on these parameters, we develop crop-specific models by parametrizing a complex fate and exposure assessment framework. The parametric models thereby reflect the framework's physical and chemical mechanisms and predict pesticide residues in harvest using linear combinations of crop, crop surface, and soil compartments. Parametric model results correspond well with results from the complex framework for 1540 substance-crop combinations with total deviations between a factor 4 (potato) and a factor 66 (lettuce). Predicted residues also correspond well with experimental data previously used to evaluate the complex framework. Pesticide mass in harvest can finally be combined with reduction factors accounting for food processing to estimate human exposure from crop consumption. All parametric models can be easily implemented into existing assessment frameworks.

  13. Effect of torrefaction conditions on greenhouse crop residue: Optimization of conditions to upgrade solid characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iáñez-Rodríguez, Irene; Martín-Lara, María Ángeles; Blázquez, Gabriel; Pérez, Antonio; Calero, Mónica

    2017-11-01

    This work investigated the possibility of using a greenhouse crop waste as a fuel, since it is an abundant residue in the Mediterranean area of Spain. The residue is mainly composed by biomass with a little quantity of plastic. The physical and chemical characteristics of the biomass were determined by elemental analysis, proximate analysis, FT-IR, FE-SEM and thermogravimetry. Additionally, a torrefaction process was carried out as a pre-treatment to improve the energy properties of the biomass material. The optimal conditions (time and temperature) of torrefaction were found to be 263°C and 15min using the gain and loss method. Further studies were carried out with the sample prepared with the nearest conditions to the optimal in order to determine the effect of the plastic fraction in the characteristics and torrefaction process of the waste studied. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Morphology, composition, and mixing state of primary particles from combustion sources - crop residue, wood, and solid waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lei; Kong, Shaofei; Zhang, Yinxiao; Wang, Yuanyuan; Xu, Liang; Yan, Qin; Lingaswamy, A P; Shi, Zongbo; Lv, Senlin; Niu, Hongya; Shao, Longyi; Hu, Min; Zhang, Daizhou; Chen, Jianmin; Zhang, Xiaoye; Li, Weijun

    2017-07-11

    Morphology, composition, and mixing state of individual particles emitted from crop residue, wood, and solid waste combustion in a residential stove were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our study showed that particles from crop residue and apple wood combustion were mainly organic matter (OM) in smoldering phase, whereas soot-OM internally mixed with K in flaming phase. Wild grass combustion in flaming phase released some Cl-rich-OM/soot particles and cardboard combustion released OM and S-rich particles. Interestingly, particles from hardwood (pear wood and bamboo) and softwood (cypress and pine wood) combustion were mainly soot and OM in the flaming phase, respectively. The combustion of foam boxes, rubber tires, and plastic bottles/bags in the flaming phase released large amounts of soot internally mixed with a small amount of OM, whereas the combustion of printed circuit boards and copper-core cables emitted large amounts of OM with Br-rich inclusions. In addition, the printed circuit board combustion released toxic metals containing Pb, Zn, Sn, and Sb. The results are important to document properties of primary particles from combustion sources, which can be used to trace the sources of ambient particles and to know their potential impacts in human health and radiative forcing in the air.

  15. Integrated Soil, Water and Nutrient Management for Sustainable Rice–Wheat Cropping Systems in Asia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2016-08-01

    The rice-wheat system is a predominant cropping system in Asia providing food, employment and income, ensuring the livelihoods of about 1 billion of resource poor rural and urban people. However, the productivity of the current rice-wheat systems is seriously threatened by increasing land degradation and scarcity of water and labour, inefficient cropping practices and other emerging socio economic and environmental drivers. Responding to the need to develop alternate crop establishment methods and improved cropping practices, this publication summarizes the results from a joint FAO/IAEA coordinated research project on optimizing productivity and sustainability of rice-wheat cropping systems. It provides relevant information on how to modify existing water and nutrient management systems and improve soil management in both traditional and emerging crop establishment methods for sustainable intensification of cereal production in Asia

  16. Crop residue stabilization and application to agricultural and degraded soils: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medina, Jorge; Monreal, Carlos; Barea, José Miguel; Arriagada, César; Borie, Fernando; Cornejo, Pablo

    2015-08-01

    Agricultural activities produce vast amounts of organic residues including straw, unmarketable or culled fruit and vegetables, post-harvest or post-processing wastes, clippings and residuals from forestry or pruning operations, and animal manure. Improper disposal of these materials may produce undesirable environmental (e.g. odors or insect refuges) and health impacts. On the other hand, agricultural residues are of interest to various industries and sectors of the economy due to their energy content (i.e., for combustion), their potential use as feedstock to produce biofuels and/or fine chemicals, or as a soil amendments for polluted or degraded soils when composted. Our objective is review new biotechnologies that could be used to manage these residues for land application and remediation of contaminated and eroded soils. Bibliographic information is complemented through a comprehensive review of the physico-chemical fundamental mechanisms involved in the transformation and stabilization of organic matter by biotic and abiotic soil components. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Integrated weed management systems with herbicide-tolerant crops in the European Union: lessons learnt from home and abroad.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamichhane, Jay Ram; Devos, Yann; Beckie, Hugh J; Owen, Micheal D K; Tillie, Pascal; Messéan, Antoine; Kudsk, Per

    2017-06-01

    Conventionally bred (CHT) and genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops have changed weed management practices and made an important contribution to the global production of some commodity crops. However, a concern is that farm management practices associated with the cultivation of herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops further deplete farmland biodiversity and accelerate the evolution of herbicide-resistant (HR) weeds. Diversification in crop systems and weed management practices can enhance farmland biodiversity, and reduce the risk of weeds evolving herbicide resistance. Therefore, HT crops are most effective and sustainable as a component of an integrated weed management (IWM) system. IWM advocates the use of multiple effective strategies or tactics to manage weed populations in a manner that is economically and environmentally sound. In practice, however, the potential benefits of IWM with HT crops are seldom realized because a wide range of technical and socio-economic factors hamper the transition to IWM. Here, we discuss the major factors that limit the integration of HT crops and their associated farm management practices in IWM systems. Based on the experience gained in countries where CHT or GMHT crops are widely grown and the increased familiarity with their management, we propose five actions to facilitate the integration of HT crops in IWM systems within the European Union.

  18. Innovation and Diffusion of Site-specific Crop Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Søren Marcus; Pedersen, Jørgen Lindgaard

    2006-01-01

    Site-specific crop management or precision farming is a highly complex managementsystem for site-specific input application of lime, fertilizers and pesticides in arable farming. The Global Positioning System (GPS)is the backbone of the system. To conduct precision farming several technical systems...

  19. Rye cover crop effects on nitrous oxide emissions from a corn-soybean system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agricultural activities are a major source nitrous oxide emitted to the atmosphere. Development of management practices to reduce these emissions is needed. Non-leguminous cover crops are efficient scavengers of residual soil nitrate, but their effects on nitrous oxide emissions have not been well d...

  20. Phosphate fertilisers and management for sustainable crop production in tropical acid soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chien, S.H.; Friesen, D.K.

    2000-01-01

    Extensive research has been conducted over the past 25 years on the management of plant nutrients, especially N and P, for crop production on acidic infertile tropical soils. Under certain conditions, the use of indigenous phosphate rock (PR) and modified PR products, such as partially acidulated PR or compacted mixtures of PR with superphosphates, are attractive alternatives, both agronomically and economically, to the use of conventional water-soluble P fertilisers for increasing crop productivity on Oxisols and Ultisols. A combination of the effects of proper P and N management including biological N 2 fixation, judicious use of lime, and the use of acid-soil tolerant and/or P-efficient cultivars in cropping systems that enhance nutrient cycling and use efficiency, can provide an effective technology to sustainably increase crop productivity and production in tropical agro-ecosystems dominated by these acid soils. (author)

  1. Field performance of a pneumatic row crop planter equipped with active toothed coulter for direct planting of corn in wheat residue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Nejadi

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available In this research effects of active toothed coulter on planter penetration in semi-dried soils covered with previous wheat (triticum aestivum residue was studied. Therefore, effects of three levels of speed ratio (coulter peripheral speed/tractor forward speed; 1.22, 2, 3 at two previous residue levels (baled and non-baled and two modes of planter attachment (with and without row cleaner on the corn (zea mays planting depth and its uniformity, amount of surface residue, emergence rate index and seed spacings indices were investigated. Results showed that planting depth and its uniformity increased significantly with increasing speed ratio, so that desired planting depth was obtained at speed ratio of 2. The emergence rate index decreased with increase in speed ratio mainly due to increase in seeding depth at higher speed ratios. Miss and precision indices decreased in a significant manner with increase in the speed ratio. Other results showed that planting with row cleaner attachment into baled-out residue plots at speed ratio of 2 resulted in 31% decrease in miss and 30% decrease in precision indices as compared to control (inactive coulter. Quality of feed index at same conditions was 72%, the increase was up to 11% as compared to control. No significant difference was found between speed ratios of 2 and 3 for all the parameters studied. The results suggests that the row crop planter equipped with active toothed coulter and row cleaner attachment can be satisfactorily used for direct corn planting in hard soils covered with previous crop residues.

  2. Effect of Nutrient Management Planning on Crop Yield, Nitrate Leaching and Sediment Loading in Thomas Brook Watershed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amon-Armah, Frederick; Yiridoe, Emmanuel K.; Ahmad, Nafees H. M.; Hebb, Dale; Jamieson, Rob; Burton, David; Madani, Ali

    2013-11-01

    Government priorities on provincial Nutrient Management Planning (NMP) programs include improving the program effectiveness for environmental quality protection, and promoting more widespread adoption. Understanding the effect of NMP on both crop yield and key water-quality parameters in agricultural watersheds requires a comprehensive evaluation that takes into consideration important NMP attributes and location-specific farming conditions. This study applied the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to investigate the effects of crop and rotation sequence, tillage type, and nutrient N application rate on crop yield and the associated groundwater leaching and sediment loss. The SWAT model was applied to the Thomas Brook Watershed, located in the most intensively managed agricultural region of Nova Scotia, Canada. Cropping systems evaluated included seven fertilizer application rates and two tillage systems (i.e., conventional tillage and no-till). The analysis reflected cropping systems commonly managed by farmers in the Annapolis Valley region, including grain corn-based and potato-based cropping systems, and a vegetable-horticulture system. ANOVA models were developed and used to assess the effects of crop management choices on crop yield and two water-quality parameters (i.e., leaching and sediment loading). Results suggest that existing recommended N-fertilizer rate can be reduced by 10-25 %, for grain crop production, to significantly lower leaching ( P > 0.05) while optimizing the crop yield. The analysis identified the nutrient N rates in combination with specific crops and rotation systems that can be used to manage leaching while balancing impacts on crop yields within the watershed.

  3. Impact of climate variability on N and C flux within the life cycle of biofuels produced from crop residues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pourhashem, G.; Block, P. J.; Adler, P. R.; Spatari, S.

    2013-12-01

    Biofuels from agricultural feedstocks (lignocellulose) are under development to meet national policy objectives for producing domestic renewable fuels. Using crop residues such as corn stover as feedstock for biofuel production can minimize the risks associated with food market disruption; however, it demands managing residue removal to minimize soil carbon loss, erosion, and to ensure nutrient replacement. Emissions of nitrous oxide and changes to soil organic carbon (SOC) are subject to variability in time due to local climate conditions and cultivation practices. Our objective is to investigate the effect of climate inputs (precipitation and temperature) on biogeochemical greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (N2O and SOC expressed as CO2) within the life cycle of biofuels produced from agricultural residues. Specifically, we investigate the impact of local climate variability on soil carbon and nitrogen fluxes over a 20-year biorefinery lifetime where biomass residue is used for lignocellulosic ethanol production. We investigate two cases studied previously (Pourhashem et al, 2013) where the fermentable sugars in the agricultural residue are converted to ethanol (biofuel) and the lignin byproduct is used in one of two ways: 1) power co-generation; or 2) application to land as a carbon/nutrient-rich amendment to soil. In the second case SOC losses are mitigated through returning the lignin component to land while the need for fertilizer addition is also eliminated, however in both cases N2O and SOC are subject to variability due to variable climate conditions. We used the biogeochemical model DayCent to predict soil carbon and nitrogen fluxes considering soil characteristics, tillage practices and local climate (e.g. temperature and rainfall). We address the impact of climate variability on the soil carbon and nitrogen fluxes by implementing a statistical bootstrap resampling method based on a historic data set (1980 to 2000). The ensuing probabilistic outputs from the

  4. Evaluation of Aqua crop Model to Predict Crop Water Productivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohd Noor Hidayat Adenan; Faiz Ahmad; Shyful Azizi Abdul Rahman; Abdul Rahim Harun; Khairuddin Abdul Rahim

    2015-01-01

    Water and nutrient are critical inputs for crop production, especially in meeting challenges from increasing fertilizer cost and irregular water availability associated with climate change. The Land and Water Division of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed Aqua Crop, an integrated application software to simulate the interactions between plant, water and soil. Field management and irrigation management are the factors that need to be considered since it affects the interactions. Four critical components are needed in the Aqua Crop model, viz. climate, crop, field management and soil conditions. In our case study, climate data from rice field in Utan Aji, Kangar, Perlis was applied to run a simulation by using AquaCrop model. The rice crop was also assessed against deficit irrigation schedules and we found that use of water at optimum level increased rice yield. Results derived from the use of the model corresponded conventional assessment. This model can be adopted to help farmers in Malaysia in planning crop and field management to increase the crop productivity, especially in areas where the water is limited. (author)

  5. Methodological Aspects of On-Farm Monitoring of Cropping Systems Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luca Bechini

    Full Text Available To conduct agro-environmental assessments at field and farm scale, detailed management data of crop and animal production systems are needed. However, this type of data is only rarely collected by public administrations. In the period 2005-2006, we made an experience of on-farm monitoring of cropping systems management, within a larger project aimed at assessing sustainability of agricultural systems in Italian Parks. In this paper, we describe and discuss the steps taken to carry out periodic face-to-face interviews in farms in the Sud Milano Agricultural Park (northern Italy. The first step was the selection of seven farms, which we identified by applying cluster analysis at a large database describing 733 farms of the Park. After having identified the most relevant agro-environmental issues in the studied area, we established a list of simple but sound indicators to evaluate the effects of agricultural management on the environment. The criteria used to select the indicators were that they should: be calculated on easily available data, not be based on direct measurements, make a synthesis of different aspects of reality, and be easily calculated and understood. The indicators selected evaluate nutrient management, fossil energy use, pesticide toxicity, soil management, and economic performance. Subsequently, we designed a data model to store input data used to calculate the indicators (farm configuration, flows of materials and money through the farm gate, animals and their rations, history of crop cultivation, crop management. The data model that we obtained is relatively complex, but adequate to store and analyse the large amount of data acquired during the two-year project. A questionnaire was developed to fully comply with the indicators selected and the data model. The questionnaire was used to carry out approximately six interviews per farm each year, with an investment of time of 1-2 hours per interview. Appropriate double checks of

  6. Environmental performance of crop residues as an energy source for electricity production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nguyen, T Lan T; Hermansen, John Erik; Mogensen, Lisbeth

    2013-01-01

    This paper aims to address the question, “What is the environmental performance of crop residues as an alternative energy source to fossil fuels, and whether and how can it be improved?”. In order to address the issue, we compare electricity production from wheat straw to that from coal and natural...... gas. The results on the environmental performance of straw for energy utilization and the two fossil fuel references are displayed first for different midpoint categories and then aggregated into a single score. The midpoint impact assessment shows that substitution of straw either for coal...... or for natural gas reduces global warming, non-renewable energy use, human toxicity and ecotoxicity, but increases eutrophication, respiratory inorganics, acidification and photochemical ozone. The results at the aggregate level show that the use of straw biomass for conversion to energy scores better than...

  7. Effects of Carbon and Cover Crop Residues on N2O and N2 Emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burger, M.; Cooperman, Y.; Horwath, W. R.

    2016-12-01

    In Mediterranean climate, nitrous oxide emissions occurring with the first rainfall after the dry summer season can contribute up to 50% of agricultural systems' total annual emissions, but the drivers of these emissions have not been clearly identified, and there are only few measurements of atmospheric nitrogen (N2) production (denitrification) during these events. In lab incubations, we investigated N2O and N2 production, gross ammonification and nitrification, and microbial N immobilization with wet-up in soil from a vineyard that was previously fallow or where cover crop residue had been incorporated the previous spring. Before the first rainfall, we measured 120 mg dissolved organic carbon (DOC-C) kg-1 soil in the 0-5 cm layer of this vineyard, and after the rain 10 mg DOC-C kg-1, while nitrate levels before the rain were cover cropped soil. The N2O/N2 production was 2, 7, 9, and 86% in fallow, legume-grass mixture, rye, and legume cover cropped soil. The N2O/N2 ratio tended to increase with lower DOC (post-rain) levels in the soil. The results suggest that accumulated carbon in dry surface soil is the main driving factor of N2O and N2 emissions through denitrification with the first rainfall after prolonged dry periods.

  8. Environmental and Social Management System Implementation Handbook : Crop Production

    OpenAIRE

    International Finance Corporation

    2014-01-01

    This Handbook is intended to be a practical guide to help companies in the crop production industry develop and implement an environmental and social management system, which should help to improve overall operations. If a company has existing management systems for quality or health and safety, this Handbook will help to expand them to include environmental and social performance. Sectio...

  9. Soil phosphatase and urease activities impacted by cropping systems and water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soil enzymes can play an important role in nutrient availability to plants. Consequently, soil enzyme measurements can provide useful information on soil fertility for crop production. We examined the impact of cropping system and water management on phosphatase, urease, and microbial biomass C in s...

  10. Using cereal rye (catch crop) and dehydrogenase activity as indicators of the residual fertility effects of anaerobic soil disinfestation and other biological soil management practices following field tomato production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) and other biological soil management practices employing carbon-rich and/or biologically-active ingredients help contribute to overall soil suppressiveness in crop disease management. However, their roles in soil fertility tended to be overshadowed by disease cont...

  11. Corn Residue Use by Livestock in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marty R. Schmer

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Corn ( L. residue grazing or harvest provides a simple and economical practice to integrate crops and livestock, but limited information is available on how widespread corn residue utilization is practiced by US producers. In 2010, the USDA Economic Research Service surveyed producers from 19 states on corn grain and residue management practices. Total corn residue grazed or harvested was 4.87 million ha. Approximately 4.06 million ha was grazed by 11.7 million livestock (primarily cattle in 2010. The majority of grazed corn residue occurred in Nebraska (1.91 million ha, Iowa (385,000 ha, South Dakota (361,000 ha, and Kansas (344,000 ha. Average grazing days ranged from 10 to 73 d (mean = 40 d. Corn residue harvests predominantly occurred in the central and northern Corn Belt, with an estimated 2.9 Tg of corn residue harvested across the 19 states. This survey highlights the importance of corn residue for US livestock, particularly in the western Corn Belt.

  12. Effects of crop management, soil type, and climate on N2O emissions from Austrian Soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie; Sigmund, Elisabeth; Kasper, Martina; Kitzler, Barbara; Haas, Edwin; Wandl, Michael; Strauss, Peter; Poetzelsberger, Elisabeth; Dersch, Georg; Winiwarter, Wilfried; Amon, Barbara

    2015-04-01

    Within the project FarmClim ("Farming for a better climate") we assessed recent N2O emissions from two selected regions in Austria. Our aim was to deepen the understanding of Austrian N2O fluxes regarding region specific properties. Currently, N2O emissions are estimated with the IPCC default emission factor which only considers the amount of N-input as an influencing factor for N2O emissions. We evaluated the IPCC default emission factor for its validity under spatially distinct environmental conditions. For this two regions for modeling with LandscapeDNDC have been identified in this project. The benefit of using LandscapeDNDC is the detailed illustration of microbial processes in the soil. Required input data to run the model included daily climate data, vegetation properties, soil characteristics and land management. The analysis of present agricultural practices was basis for assessing the hot spots and hot moments of nitrogen emissions on a regional scale. During our work with LandscapeDNDC we were able to adapt specific model algorithms to Austrian agricultural conditions. The model revealed a strong dependency of N2O emissions on soil type. We could estimate how strongly soil texture affects N2O emissions. Based on detailed soil maps with high spatial resolution we calculated region specific contribution to N2O emissions. Accordingly we differentiated regions with deviating gas fluxes compared to the predictions by the IPCC inventory methodology. Taking region specific management practices into account (tillage, irrigation, residuals) calculation of crop rotation (fallow, catch crop, winter wheat, barley, winter barley, sugar beet, corn, potato, onion and rapeseed) resulted in N2O emissions differing by a factor of 30 depending on preceding crop and climate. A maximum of 2% of N fertilizer input was emitted as N2O. Residual N in the soil was a major factor stimulating N2O emissions. Interannual variability was affected by varying N-deposition even in case

  13. Comparative performance of annual and perennial energy cropping systems under different management regimes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boehmel, Ute Constanze

    2007-07-18

    at the study site, may better perform on marginal sites. Switchgrass is an example of the need to grow site-adapted energy crops. The annual energy crop maize required the highest input, but at the same time yielded the most. The two crop rotation systems did not differ in yield and energy input, but the system with no-till may be more environmentally benign as it has the potential to sequester carbon. The objective of Paper II was the optimization of crop cultivation through the differentiation of input parameters to enhance the quality of the energy crop triticale, without influencing the biomass yield. The intention was to minimize the content of combustion-disturbing elements (potassium and chlorine) and the ash residue of both aboveground plant parts (grain and straw). It was done through different straw and potassium fertilizer treatments. It could be shown that the removal of straw from the previously cultivated crop and no additional potassium fertilizer could reduce the amount of combustion-disturbing elements. A high influence must also be expected from site and weather conditions. Papers III to V address the supply of different high quality biomasses, with the focus on maize for anaerobic digestion. The objective of Paper III was the assessment of the requirements of biogas plants and biomass for anaerobic digestion. It introduces potential energy crops, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Alongside maize, many other biomass types, which are preserved as silage and are high in carbohydrates and low in lignocelluloses, can be anaerobically digested. The development of potential site-specific crop rotation systems for biomass production are discussed. The objective of Papers IV and V was the identification of suitable biomass and production systems for the anaerobic digestion. The focus lay on the determination of (i) suitable energy maize varieties for Central Europe, (ii) optimal growth periods of energy crops, (iii) the influence of crop

  14. The Effect of Conservation Tillage and Cover Crop Residue on Beneficial Arthropods and Weed Seed Predation in Acorn Squash.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, N F; Brainard, D C; Szendrei, Z

    2016-12-01

    Conservation tillage combined with cover crops or mulching may enhance natural enemy activity in agroecosystems by reducing soil disturbance and increasing habitat structural complexity. In particular, weed seed predation can increase with vegetation cover and reduced tillage, indicating that mulches may improve the quality of the habitat for weed seed foraging. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of tillage and mulching for conservation biological control in cucurbit fields. The effects of mulch and reduced tillage on arthropods and rates of weed seed loss from arenas were examined in field trials on sandy soils in 2014 and 2015. Experimental factors included tillage and cover crop, each with two levels: strip-tillage or full-tillage, and cover crop mulch (rye residue) or no cover crop mulch (unmulched). Arthropod abundance on the crop foliage was not affected by tillage or cover crops. Contrary to expectations, epigeal natural enemies of insects and rates of weed seed removal either did not respond to treatments or were greater in full-tilled plots and plots without mulch. Our study demonstrates the potential importance of weed seed predators in reducing weed seedbanks in vegetable agroecosystems, and suggests that early-season tillage may not be detrimental to epigeal predator assemblages. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Pesticide residues determination in Polish organic crops in 2007-2010 applying gas chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walorczyk, Stanisław; Drożdżyński, Dariusz; Kowalska, Jolanta; Remlein-Starosta, Dorota; Ziółkowski, Andrzej; Przewoźniak, Monika; Gnusowski, Bogusław

    2013-08-15

    A sensitive, accurate and reliable multiresidue method based on the application of gas chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-QqQ-MS/MS) has been established for screening, identification and quantification of a large number of pesticide residues in produce. The method was accredited in compliance with PN-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard and it was operated under flexible scope as PB-11 method. The flexible scope of accreditation allowed for minor modifications and extension of the analytical scope while using the same analytical technique. During the years 2007-2010, the method was used for the purpose of verification of organic crop production by multiresidue analysis for the presence of pesticides. A total of 528 samples of differing matrices such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, plant leaves and other green parts were analysed, of which 4.4% samples contained pesticide residues above the threshold value of 0.01 mg/kg. A total of 20 different pesticide residues were determined in the samples. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Effects of crop sanitation on banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera : Curculionidae), populations and crop damage in Uganda

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Masanza, M.; Gold, C.S.; Huis, van A.; Ragama, P.E.

    2006-01-01

    Crop sanitation, i.e. destruction of crop residues, has been hypothesized to lower banana weevil damage by removing adult refuges and breeding sites. Although it has been widely recommended to farmers, limited data are available to demonstrate the efficacy of this method. The effects of crop

  17. Sustainable irrigation and nitrogen management of fertigated vegetable crops

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thompson, R.B.; Incrocci, L.; Voogt, W.; Pardossi, A.; Magán, J.J.

    2017-01-01

    Fertigation in combination with drip irrigation is being increasingly used in vegetable crop production. From a nutrient management perspective, this combination provides the technical capacity for precise nitrogen (N) nutrition, both spatially and temporally. With these systems, N and other

  18. Cover crops do not increase C sequestration in production crops: evidence from 12 years of continuous measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buysse, Pauline; Bodson, Bernard; Debacq, Alain; De Ligne, Anne; Heinesch, Bernard; Manise, Tanguy; Moureaux, Christine; Aubinet, Marc

    2017-04-01

    The numerous reports on carbon (C) loss from cropland soils have recently raised awareness on the climate change mitigation potential of these ecosystems, and on the necessity to improve C sequestration in these soils. Among the multiple solutions that are proposed, several field measurement and modelling studies reported that growing cover crops over fall and winter time could appear as an efficient solution. However, while the large majority of these studies are based on SOC stock inventories and very few information exists from the CO2 flux dynamics perspective. In the present work, we use the results from long-term (12 years) eddy-covariance measurements performed at the Lonzée Terrestrial Observatory (LTO, candidate ICOS site, Belgium) and focus on six intercrop periods managed with (3) and without (3) cover crops after winter wheat main crops, in order to compare their response to environmental factors and to investigate the impact of cover crops on Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE). Our results showed that cumulated NEE was not significantly affected by the presence of cover crops. Indeed, while larger CO2 assimilation occurred during cover crop growth, this carbon gain was later lost by larger respiration rates due to larger crop residue amounts brought to the soil. As modelled by a Q10-like relationship, significantly larger R10 values were indeed observed during the three intercrop periods cultivated with cover crops. These CO2 flux-based results therefore tend to moderate the generally acknowledged positive impact of cover crops on net C sequestration by croplands. Our results indicate that the effect of growing cover crops on C sequestration could be less important than announced, at least at certain sites.

  19. Nitrogen fertility and abiotic stresses management in cotton crop: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Aziz; Tan, Daniel Kean Yuen; Afridi, Muhammad Zahir; Luo, Honghai; Tung, Shahbaz Atta; Ajab, Mir; Fahad, Shah

    2017-06-01

    This review outlines nitrogen (N) responses in crop production and potential management decisions to ameliorate abiotic stresses for better crop production. N is a primary constituent of the nucleotides and proteins that are essential for life. Production and application of N fertilizers consume huge amounts of energy, and excess is detrimental to the environment. Therefore, increasing plant N use efficiency (NUE) is important for the development of sustainable agriculture. NUE has a key role in crop yield and can be enhanced by controlling loss of fertilizers by application of humic acid and natural polymers (hydrogels), having high water-holding capacity which can improve plant performance under field conditions. Abiotic stresses such as waterlogging, drought, heat, and salinity are the major limitations for successful crop production. Therefore, integrated management approaches such as addition of aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), the film antitranspirant (di-1-p-menthene and pinolene) nutrients, hydrogels, and phytohormones may provide novel approaches to improve plant tolerance against abiotic stress-induced damage. Moreover, for plant breeders and molecular biologists, it is a challenge to develop cotton cultivars that can tolerate plant abiotic stresses while having high potential NUE for the future.

  20. Space Data for Crop Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-01-01

    CROPIX, Inc., formed in 1984 by Frank Lamb, president of the Eastern Oregon Farming Company, monitors primarily potato crops in a 20,000 square mile area of northern Oregon and central Washington. Potatoes are a high value specialty crop that can be more profitable to the farmer if he has advance knowledge of market conditions, knows when to harvest, and when to take it to market. By processing and collecting data collected by the NASA-developed Landsat Earth Resources survey satellites, Lamb is able to provide accurate information on crop acreage and conditions on a more timely basis than the routine estimates by the USDA. CROPIX uses Landsat data to make acreage estimates of crops, and to calculate a field-by-field vegetative index number. CROPIX then distributes to its customers a booklet containing color-coded maps, an inventory of crops, plus data and graphs on crop conditions and other valuable information.

  1. Effect of straw mulch residues of previous crop oats on the weed population in direct seeded faba bean in Organic Farming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massucati, Luiz Felipe Perrone

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Under conditions of Organic Farming, we investigated whether direct seeding of faba bean (Vicia faba L. into straw mulch from residues of precrop oats used for weed control enables at least occasional/opportunistic direct seeding in Organic Agriculture. Eight field trials were carried out at different study sites in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. Direct seeding (DS was performed into mulch layers of 0,4 and 6 t ha-1 of straw residues applied to the remaining stubble, simulating different yield levels of the precrop oats. LBS was used as a reference treatment, where straw was harvested, stubble tillage performed and seedbed prepared in fall and oil radish (Raphanus sativus grown as winter cover crop. Mouldboard ploughing combined with conventional seedbed preparation was performed in early spring to V. faba. Compared with LBS, straw mulch with subsequent direct seeding suppressed especially dicotyledonous annuals significantly. DS treatments with straw reduced the abundance of this group by 81 and 85% compared with LBS. Straw mulch resulted in effective suppression of photosensitive weeds such as Matricaria spp. and late germinating Chenopodium album. Grasses and perennial species occurred independent of the amount of straw. Compared with DS, the abundance of these weeds was reduced by 64 and 82% in LBS treatment. The shoot dry matter production of faba bean was retarded by DS compared with LBS, but significant yield losses could be avoided with straw residues of at least 4 t ha-1. Sufficient amount of straw of from the previous crop is a key criterion to facilitate organic no-till farming of faba bean in a suitable crop sequence when pressure of perennials and grasses is low.

  2. Sequential use of the STICS crop model and of the MACRO pesticide fate model to simulate pesticides leaching in cropping systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lammoglia, Sabine-Karen; Moeys, Julien; Barriuso, Enrique; Larsbo, Mats; Marín-Benito, Jesús-María; Justes, Eric; Alletto, Lionel; Ubertosi, Marjorie; Nicolardot, Bernard; Munier-Jolain, Nicolas; Mamy, Laure

    2017-03-01

    The current challenge in sustainable agriculture is to introduce new cropping systems to reduce pesticides use in order to reduce ground and surface water contamination. However, it is difficult to carry out in situ experiments to assess the environmental impacts of pesticide use for all possible combinations of climate, crop, and soils; therefore, in silico tools are necessary. The objective of this work was to assess pesticides leaching in cropping systems coupling the performances of a crop model (STICS) and of a pesticide fate model (MACRO). STICS-MACRO has the advantage of being able to simulate pesticides fate in complex cropping systems and to consider some agricultural practices such as fertilization, mulch, or crop residues management, which cannot be accounted for with MACRO. The performance of STICS-MACRO was tested, without calibration, from measurements done in two French experimental sites with contrasted soil and climate properties. The prediction of water percolation and pesticides concentrations with STICS-MACRO was satisfactory, but it varied with the pedoclimatic context. The performance of STICS-MACRO was shown to be similar or better than that of MACRO. The improvement of the simulation of crop growth allowed better estimate of crop transpiration therefore of water balance. It also allowed better estimate of pesticide interception by the crop which was found to be crucial for the prediction of pesticides concentrations in water. STICS-MACRO is a new promising tool to improve the assessment of the environmental risks of pesticides used in cropping systems.

  3. Rethinking the Risk Management Process for Genetically Engineered Crop Varieties in Small-scale, Traditionally Based Agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David A. Cleveland

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available Proponents of genetically engineered (GE crops often assume that the risk management used in the industrial world is appropriate for small-scale, traditionally based agriculture in the Third World. Opponents of GE crops often assume that risk management is inappropriate for the Third World, because it is inherently biased in favor of the industrial world. We examine both of these assumptions, by rethinking risk management for GE crops and transgenes, using the example of maize transgene flow from the U.S. to Mexico. Risk management for the Third World is a necessary first step of a broader benefit-cost analysis of GE crops, which would include comparisons with existing varieties and with alternative varieties such as transgenic farmer varieties and organic varieties. Our goal is to use existing information on GE crops and on the social and biological characteristics of Third World agriculture to identify key processes that need to be considered in risk management, and the additional research required to adequately understand them. The four main steps in risk management are hazard identification, risk analysis (exposure x harm, risk evaluation, and risk treatment. We use informal event trees to identify possible exposure to GE crops and transgenes, and resulting biological and social harm; give examples of farmers' ability to evaluate social harm; and discuss the possibilities for risk treatment. We conclude that risk management is relevant for Third World agriculture, but needs to be based on the unique biological and social characteristics of small-scale, traditionally based agriculture, including the knowledge and values of Third World farmers and consumers.

  4. Crop residue inventory estimates for Texas High Plains cotton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Interest in the use of cotton crop by-products for the production of bio-fuels and value-added products is increasing. Research documenting the availability of cotton crop by-products after machine harvest is needed. The objectives of this work were to document the total biomass production for moder...

  5. Survival of Diaporthe phaseolorum var. caulivora (causal agent of soybean stem canker) artificially inoculated in different crop residues

    OpenAIRE

    Grijalba, Pablo; Ridao, Azucena del C.

    2012-01-01

    Stem canker caused by Diaporthe phaseolorum var. caulivora is an important disease of soybean in Argentina. The objective of this study was to determine its survival ability in artificially infested straw under laboratory and field conditions. In laboratory, stem pieces of soybean, maize, sorghum, sunflower, potato and wheat were autoclaved, placed in petri dishes on Potato Dextrose Agar and Water Agar, and inoculated with a 7-day-old pathogen culture. All crop residues were colonized and pro...

  6. Swine slurry application and soil management on double-cropped oat/maize

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marlo Adriano Bison Pinto

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The swine production in southern Brazil is concentrated in small farms that use residues as a nutrient source for crops of economic interest. This study aimed to evaluate the use of swine slurry associated with tillage systems on double-cropped oat/maize. The experiment was carried out in the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 cropping seasons, in Taquaruçu do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized blocks in a factorial scheme, with four replications. Treatments consisted of the interaction of four swine slurry doses (no swine slurry, 20 m3 ha-1, 40 m3 ha-1 and 80 m3 ha-1 and mineral fertilization, in three tillage systems (no-tillage, chiseling and chiseling + disking. The swine slurry application on doublecropped oat/maize increased the dry matter and grain yield. The 80 m3 ha-1 dose provided a response statistically similar to the mineral fertilization recommended for maize. The interaction between the 80 m3 ha-1 dose and the immediate incorporation of slurry into the soil reduced N losses by ammonia volatilization, promoting a significant increase in maize grain yield, when grown on a clayish soil.

  7. Effect of cover crops on greenhouse gas emissions in an irrigated field under integrated soil fertility management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guardia, Guillermo; Abalos, Diego; García-Marco, Sonia; Quemada, Miguel; Alonso-Ayuso, María; Cárdenas, Laura M.; Dixon, Elizabeth R.; Vallejo, Antonio

    2016-09-01

    Agronomical and environmental benefits are associated with replacing winter fallow by cover crops (CCs). Yet, the effect of this practice on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions remains poorly understood. In this context, a field experiment was carried out under Mediterranean conditions to evaluate the effect of replacing the traditional winter fallow (F) by vetch (Vicia sativa L.; V) or barley (Hordeum vulgare L.; B) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the intercrop and the maize (Zea mays L.) cropping period. The maize was fertilized following integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) criteria. Maize nitrogen (N) uptake, soil mineral N concentrations, soil temperature and moisture, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and GHG fluxes were measured during the experiment. Our management (adjusted N synthetic rates due to ISFM) and pedo-climatic conditions resulted in low cumulative N2O emissions (0.57 to 0.75 kg N2O-N ha-1 yr-1), yield-scaled N2O emissions (3-6 g N2O-N kg aboveground N uptake-1) and N surplus (31 to 56 kg N ha-1) for all treatments. Although CCs increased N2O emissions during the intercrop period compared to F (1.6 and 2.6 times in B and V, respectively), the ISFM resulted in similar cumulative emissions for the CCs and F at the end of the maize cropping period. The higher C : N ratio of the B residue led to a greater proportion of N2O losses from the synthetic fertilizer in these plots when compared to V. No significant differences were observed in CH4 and CO2 fluxes at the end of the experiment. This study shows that the use of both legume and nonlegume CCs combined with ISFM could provide, in addition to the advantages reported in previous studies, an opportunity to maximize agronomic efficiency (lowering synthetic N requirements for the subsequent cash crop) without increasing cumulative or yield-scaled N2O losses.

  8. Prioritizing stream types according to their potential risk to receive crop plant material--A GIS-based procedure to assist in the risk assessment of genetically modified crops and systemic insecticide residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bundschuh, Rebecca; Kuhn, Ulrike; Bundschuh, Mirco; Naegele, Caroline; Elsaesser, David; Schlechtriemen, Ulrich; Oehen, Bernadette; Hilbeck, Angelika; Otto, Mathias; Schulz, Ralf; Hofmann, Frieder

    2016-03-15

    Crop plant residues may enter aquatic ecosystems via wind deposition or surface runoff. In the case of genetically modified crops or crops treated with systemic pesticides, these materials may contain insecticidal Bt toxins or pesticides that potentially affect aquatic life. However, the particular exposure pattern of aquatic ecosystems (i.e., via plant material) is not properly reflected in current risk assessment schemes, which primarily focus on waterborne toxicity and not on plant material as the route of uptake. To assist in risk assessment, the present study proposes a prioritization procedure of stream types based on the freshwater network and crop-specific cultivation data using maize in Germany as a model system. To identify stream types with a high probability of receiving crop materials, we developed a formalized, criteria-based and thus transparent procedure that considers the exposure-related parameters, ecological status--an estimate of the diversity and potential vulnerability of local communities towards anthropogenic stress--and availability of uncontaminated reference sections. By applying the procedure to maize, ten stream types out of 38 are expected to be the most relevant if the ecological effects from plant-incorporated pesticides need to be evaluated. This information is an important first step to identifying habitats within these stream types with a high probability of receiving crop plant material at a more local scale, including accumulation areas. Moreover, the prioritization procedure developed in the present study may support the selection of aquatic species for ecotoxicological testing based on their probability of occurrence in stream types having a higher chance of exposure. Finally, this procedure can be adapted to any geographical region or crop of interest and is, therefore, a valuable tool for a site-specific risk assessment of crop plants carrying systemic pesticides or novel proteins, such as insecticidal Bt toxins, expressed

  9. Integrated water-crop-soil-management system for evaluating the quality of irrigation water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pla-Sentis, I.

    1983-01-01

    The authors make use of an independent balance of the salts and ions present in the water available for irrigation, based on the residence times in the soil solution that are allowed by solubility limits and drainage conditions, to develop an efficient system for evaluating the quality of such water which combines the factors: water, crop, soil and management. The system is based on the principle that such quality depends not only on the concentration and composition of the salts dissolved in the water, but also on existing possibilities and limitations in using and managing it in respect of the soil and crops, with allowance for the crop's tolerance of salinity, drainage conditions and hydrological properties of the soils, climate and current or potential practices for the management of the irrigation. If this system is used to quantify approximately the time behaviour of the concentration and composition of the salts in the soil solution, it is possible not only to predict the effects on soil, crops and drainage water, but also to evaluate the various combinations of irrigation water, soil, crops and management and to select the most suitable. It is also useful for fairly accurately diagnosing current problems of salinity and for identifying alternatives and possibilities for reclamation. Examples of its use for these purposes in Venezuela are presented with particular reference to the diagnosis of the present and future development of ''salino-sodic'' and ''sodic'' soils by means of low-salt irrigation water spread over agricultural soils with very poor drainage in a sub-humid or semi-arid tropical climate. The authors also describe the use of radiation techniques for gaining an understanding of the relations between the factors making up the system and for improving the quantitative evaluations required to diagnose problems and to select the best management methods for the available irrigation water. (author)

  10. Crop Sequence Influences on Sustainable Spring Wheat Production in the Northern Great Plains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph M. Krupinsky

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Cropping systems in American agriculture are highly successful since World War II, but have become highly specialized, standardized, and simplified to meet the demands of an industrialized food system. Minimal attention has been given to the efficient exploitation of crop diversity and the synergistic and/or antagonistic relationships of crops in crop sequences. Objectives of our research were to determine if previous crop sequences have long-term benefits and/or drawbacks on spring wheat seed yield, seed N concentration, and seed precipitation-use efficiency in the semiarid northern Great Plains, USA. Research was conducted 6 km southwest of Mandan, ND using a 10 × 10 crop matrix technique as a research tool to evaluate multiple crop sequence effects on spring wheat (triticum aestivum L. production in 2004 and 2005. Spring wheat production risks can be mitigated when second year crop residue was dry pea (Pisium sativum L. averaged over all first year crop residues. When compared to spring wheat as second year crop residue in the dry year of 2004, dry pea as the second year residue crop resulted in a 30% spring wheat seed yield increase. Sustainable cropping systems need to use precipitation efficiently for crop production, especially during below average precipitation years like 2004. Precipitation use efficiency average over all treatments, during the below average precipitation year was 23% greater than the above average precipitation year of 2005. Diversifying crops in cropping systems improves production efficiencies and resilience of agricultural systems.

  11. Influence of gypsum and farmyard manure on fertilizer zinc uptake by wheat and its residual effect on succeeding rice and wheat crops in a sodic soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sachdev, P.; Deb, D.L.

    1990-01-01

    Greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of gypsum and FYM on a sodic soil on fertilizer Zn uptake by wheat and residual effect on succeeding crops of rice and wheat. Application of FYM significantly increased the yield of first wheat crop as well as the yield of subsequent rice and wheat crops, but gypsum showed significant effect only on rice. FYM application also resulted in an increase in Zn content of all the three crops. Utilisation of the fertilizer Zn by the first crop of wheat ranged between 0.30 to 0.54 per cent while succeeding crop of rice utilised 1.00 to 1.25 per cent of the applied Zn. Application of gypsum to the first crop did not influence the fertilizer Zn uptake by wheat, rice and wheat, however, it significantly reduced the soil pH and increased the available Zn content in soil. (author). 15 refs., 6 tabs

  12. Management of Lignite Fly Ash for Improving Soil Fertility and Crop Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ram, Lal C.; Srivastava, Nishant K.; Jha, Sangeet K.; Sinha, Awadhesh K.; Masto, Reginald E.; Selvi, Vetrivel A.

    2007-09-01

    Lignite fly ash (LFA), being alkaline and endowed with excellent pozzolanic properties, a silt loam texture, and plant nutrients, has the potential to improve soil quality and productivity. Long-term field trials with groundnut, maize, and sun hemp were carried out to study the effect of LFA on growth and yield. Before crop I was sown, LFA was applied at various doses with and without press mud (an organic waste from the sugar industry, used as an amendment and source of nutrients). LFA with and without press mud was also applied before crops III and V were cultivated. Chemical fertilizer, along with gypsum, humic acid, and biofertilizer, was applied in all treatments, including the control. With one-time and repeat applications of LFA (with and without press mud), yield increased significantly (7.0-89.0%) in relation to the control crop. The press mud enhanced the yield (3.0-15.0%) with different LFA applications. The highest yield LFA dose was 200 t/ha for one-time and repeat applications, the maximum yield being with crop III (combination treatment). One-time and repeat application of LFA (alone and in combination with press mud) improved soil quality and the nutrient content of the produce. The highest dose of LFA (200 t/ha) with and without press mud showed the best residual effects (eco-friendly increases in the yield of succeeding crops). Some increase in trace- and heavy-metal contents and in the level of γ-emitters in soil and crop produce, but well within permissible limits, was observed. Thus, LFA can be used on a large scale to boost soil fertility and productivity with no adverse effects on the soil or crops, which may solve the problem of bulk disposal of fly ash in an eco-friendly manner.

  13. Life-cycle phosphorus management of the crop production–consumption system in China, 1980–2012

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Huijun [School of Earth Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001 (China); Yuan, Zengwei, E-mail: yuanzw@nju.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China); Gao, Liangmin [School of Earth Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001 (China); Zhang, Ling [College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037 (China); Zhang, Yongliang [Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Beijing 100029 (China)

    2015-01-01

    Phosphorus (P) is an essential resource for agriculture and also a pollutant capable of causing eutrophication. The possibility of a future P scarcity and the requirement to improve the environment quality necessitate P management to increase the efficiency of P use. This study applied a substance flow analysis (SFA) to implement a P management procedure in a crop production–consumption (PMCPC) system model. This model determined the life-cycle P use efficiency (PUE) of the crop production–consumption system in China during 1980–2012. The system includes six subsystems: fertilizer manufacturing, crop cultivation, crop processing, livestock breeding, rural consumption, and urban consumption. Based on this model, the P flows and PUEs of the subsystems were identified and quantified using data from official statistical databases, published literature, questionnaires, and interviews. The results showed that the total PUE of the crop production–consumption system in China was low, notably from 1980 to 2005, and increased from 7.23% in 1980 to 20.13% in 2012. Except for fertilizer manufacturing, the PUEs of the six subsystems were also low. The PUEs in the urban consumption subsystem and the crop cultivation subsystem were less than 40%. The PUEs of other subsystems, such as the rural consumption subsystem and the livestock breeding subsystem, were also low and even decreased during these years. Measures aimed to improve P management practices in China have been proposed such as balancing fertilization, disposing livestock excrement, adjusting livestock feed, changing the diet of residents, and raising the waste disposal level, etc. This study also discussed several limitations related with the model and data. Conducting additional related studies on other regions and combining the analysis of risks with opportunities may be necessary to develop effective management strategies. - Highlights: • A model of P management of the crop production–consumption system

  14. Life-cycle phosphorus management of the crop production–consumption system in China, 1980–2012

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Huijun; Yuan, Zengwei; Gao, Liangmin; Zhang, Ling; Zhang, Yongliang

    2015-01-01

    Phosphorus (P) is an essential resource for agriculture and also a pollutant capable of causing eutrophication. The possibility of a future P scarcity and the requirement to improve the environment quality necessitate P management to increase the efficiency of P use. This study applied a substance flow analysis (SFA) to implement a P management procedure in a crop production–consumption (PMCPC) system model. This model determined the life-cycle P use efficiency (PUE) of the crop production–consumption system in China during 1980–2012. The system includes six subsystems: fertilizer manufacturing, crop cultivation, crop processing, livestock breeding, rural consumption, and urban consumption. Based on this model, the P flows and PUEs of the subsystems were identified and quantified using data from official statistical databases, published literature, questionnaires, and interviews. The results showed that the total PUE of the crop production–consumption system in China was low, notably from 1980 to 2005, and increased from 7.23% in 1980 to 20.13% in 2012. Except for fertilizer manufacturing, the PUEs of the six subsystems were also low. The PUEs in the urban consumption subsystem and the crop cultivation subsystem were less than 40%. The PUEs of other subsystems, such as the rural consumption subsystem and the livestock breeding subsystem, were also low and even decreased during these years. Measures aimed to improve P management practices in China have been proposed such as balancing fertilization, disposing livestock excrement, adjusting livestock feed, changing the diet of residents, and raising the waste disposal level, etc. This study also discussed several limitations related with the model and data. Conducting additional related studies on other regions and combining the analysis of risks with opportunities may be necessary to develop effective management strategies. - Highlights: • A model of P management of the crop production–consumption system

  15. Fundamental and molecular composition characteristics of biochars produced from sugarcane and rice crop residues and by-products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Chang Yoon; Dodla, Syam K; Wang, Jim J

    2016-01-01

    Biochar conversion of sugarcane and rice harvest residues provides an alternative for managing these crop residues that are traditionally burned in open field. Sugarcane leaves, bagasse, rice straw and husk were converted to biochar at four pyrolysis temperatures (PTs) of 450 °C, 550 °C, 650 °C, and 750 °C and evaluated for various elemental, molecular and surface properties. The carbon content of biochars was highest for those produced at 650-750 °C. Biochars produced at 550 °C showed the characteristics of biochar that are commonly interpreted as being stable in soil, with low H/C and O/C ratios and pyrolysis fingerprints dominated by aromatic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. At 550 °C, all biochars also exhibited maximum CEC values with sugarcane leaves biochar (SLB) > sugarcane bagasse biochar (SBB) > rice straw biochar (RSB) > rice husk biochar (RHB). The pore size distribution of biochars was dominated by pores of 20 nm and high PT increased both smaller and larger than 50 nm pores. Water holding capacity of biochars increased with PT but the magnitude of the increase was limited by feedstock types, likely related to the hydrophobicity of biochars as evident by molecular composition, besides pore volume properties of biochars. Py-GC/MS analysis revealed a clear destruction of lignin with decarboxylation and demethoxylation at 450 °C and dehydroxylation at above 550 °C. Overall, biochar molecular compositions became similar as PT increased, and the biochars produced at 550 °C demonstrated characteristics that have potential benefit as soil amendment for improving both C sequestration and nutrient dynamics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. How can we improve Mediterranean cropping systems?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Benlhabib, O.; Yazar, A.; Qadir, M.

    2014-01-01

    In the Mediterranean region, crop productivity and food security are closely linked to the adaptation of cropping systems to multiple abiotic stresses. Limited and unpredictable rainfall and low soil fertility have reduced agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability. For this reason...... the tested interventions, incorporation of crop residues coupled with supplementary irrigation showed a significantly positive effect on crop productivity, yield stability and environmental sustainability....

  17. Integrated weed management systems with herbicide-tolerant crops in the European Union: lessons learnt from home and abroad

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lamichhane, Jay Ram; Devos, Yann; Beckie, Hugh J.

    2017-01-01

    of herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops further deplete farmland biodiversity and accelerate the evolution of herbicide-resistant (HR) weeds. Diversification in crop systems and weed management practices can enhance farmland biodiversity, and reduce the risk of weeds evolving herbicide resistance. Therefore, HT crops...... are most effective and sustainable as a component of an integrated weed management (IWM) system. IWM advocates the use of multiple effective strategies or tactics to manage weed populations in a manner that is economically and environmentally sound. In practice, however, the potential benefits of IWM...... with HT crops are seldom realized because a wide range of technical and socio-economic factors hamper the transition to IWM. Here, we discuss the major factors that limit the integration of HT crops and their associated farm management practices in IWM systems. Based on the experience gained in countries...

  18. Weeds Cause Losses in Field Crops through Allelopathy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali ZOHAIB

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available A large number of weeds are known to be associated with crops and causing economic losses. Weeds interfere with crops through competition and allelopathy. They produce secondary metabolites known as allelochemicals, which belong to numerous chemical classes such as phenolics, alkaloids, fatty acids, indoles, terpens etc. However, phenolics are the predominant class of allelochemicals. The allelochemicals release from weed plants takes place through leaf leachates, decomposition of plant residues, volatilization and root exudates. Weeds leave huge quantities of their residues in field and affect the associated, as well as succeeding crops, in various cropping systems. Liberation of allelochemicals from weeds affects the germination, stand establishment, growth, yield and physiology of crop plants. They cause substantial reduction in germination and growth of the crop plants by altering various physiological processes such as enzyme activity, protein synthesis, photosynthesis, respiration, cell division and enlargement, which ultimately leads to a significant reduction in crop yield. In crux, allelopathic weeds represent a potential threat for crop plants and cause economic losses.

  19. The comparison of nitrogen use and leaching in sole cropped versus intercropped pea and barley

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauggaard-Nielsen, H.; Ambus, P.; Jensen, E.S.

    2003-01-01

    The effect of sole and intercropping of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and of crop residue management on crop yield, NO3- leaching and N balance in the cropping system was tested in a 2-year lysimeter experiment on a temperate sandy loam soil. The crop rotation...... cropping. Crops received no fertilizer in the experimental period. Natural N-15 abundance techniques were used to determine pea N-2 fixation. The pea-barley intercrop yielded 4.0 Mg grain ha(-1), which was about 0.5 Mg lower than the yields of sole cropped pea but about 1.5 Mg greater than harvested...... was pea and barley sole and intercrops followed by winter-rye and a fallow period. The Land Equivalent Ratio (LER), which is defined as the relative land area under sole crops that is required to produce the yields achieved in intercropping, was used to compare intercropping performance relative to sole...

  20. Crops nutrition management as measures for climate change adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hladkikh, Yevheniia

    2017-04-01

    The main feature of climate change in most countries worldwide is the increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as unpredictable floods, droughts and another abiotic stress for crops. It is not surprising that most countries are interested in technologies for adapting agriculture to climate change, and Ukraine is no exception. But traditional measures which exist in the world practice do not sufficiently take into account the importance of interactions between soil and plants. For example, from 138 projects of the European Climate Adaption Platform only 16 are correlated with the soil, but only one of them investigates the interaction in "soil-plant" system. In this connection, the main aim of our research was to determine the effectiveness of agrochemical techniques in plant nutrition management for crops adaptation to extreme weather fluctuations. The influence of different agrochemical measures in "soil-plant" system on the resilience of crops to different climate conditions of the growing season were investigated in a long-term field experiment that was started in 1969. The experiment was on a Chernozem at the Grakivske Experimental Station in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Soil samples were taken during the growing season from field under different crops. Soil and plant samples analyses included macro- and micronutrients content, soil moisture. Research in the field experiment has demonstrated a close correlation between the average annual rainfall and content of available forms of macronutrients in the soil (especially for nitrate nitrogen the correlation coefficient was 0.98). Studies have shown that increasing the annual rainfall by 100 mm increases the content of nitrate nitrogen in the soil at 7 mg per kg. Another correlation has shown that the decrease amount of precipitation reduces the range of the N:P and consequently the availability of these elements to crops. Thus, in drought conditions, efficiency of the use of available nutrients by crops

  1. Water erosion during a 17-year period under two crop rotations in four soil management systems on a Southbrazilian Inceptisol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertol, Ildegardis; Vidal Vázquez, Eva; Paz Ferreiro, Jorge

    2010-05-01

    vegetated treatments, CT, MT and NT showed a lower efficiency in reducing water losses than soil losses. Water losses by runoff during a number of events were of the same order of magnitude for all the management systems studied here; which was mainly true when the volume of rainfall was high and the lag between successive events was small. In general, soil losses in the autumn-winter seasons were lower than under the spring-summer seasons. Soil losses showed a positive correlation with rainfall erosivity. However, the degree of dependence between these two variables decreased as the efficiency of soil management in controlling soil erosion increased. The large soil and water losses in the BS and CT treatments suggest that there is a need to implement soil conservation measures in the study region. In this context soil conservation would take advantage from soil cover by previous crop residue as well as from terrace building. Acknowledgement: This work was partly supported by Spanish Ministry of Education (Project CGL2005-08219-C02).

  2. Residue management at Rocky Flats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olencz, J.

    1995-01-01

    Past plutonium production and manufacturing operations conducted at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS) produced a variety of plutonium-contaminated by-product materials. Residues are a category of these materials and were categorized as open-quotes materials in-processclose quotes to be recovered due to their inherent plutonium concentrations. In 1989 all RFETS plutonium production and manufacturing operations were curtailed. This report describes the management of plutonium bearing liquid and solid wastes

  3. Estimation of crop water requirements using remote sensing for operational water resources management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasiliades, Lampros; Spiliotopoulos, Marios; Tzabiras, John; Loukas, Athanasios; Mylopoulos, Nikitas

    2015-06-01

    An integrated modeling system, developed in the framework of "Hydromentor" research project, is applied to evaluate crop water requirements for operational water resources management at Lake Karla watershed, Greece. The framework includes coupled components for operation of hydrotechnical projects (reservoir operation and irrigation works) and estimation of agricultural water demands at several spatial scales using remote sensing. The study area was sub-divided into irrigation zones based on land use maps derived from Landsat 5 TM images for the year 2007. Satellite-based energy balance for mapping evapotranspiration with internalized calibration (METRIC) was used to derive actual evapotranspiration (ET) and crop coefficient (ETrF) values from Landsat TM imagery. Agricultural water needs were estimated using the FAO method for each zone and each control node of the system for a number of water resources management strategies. Two operational strategies of hydro-technical project development (present situation without operation of the reservoir and future situation with the operation of the reservoir) are coupled with three water demand strategies. In total, eight (8) water management strategies are evaluated and compared. The results show that, under the existing operational water resources management strategies, the crop water requirements are quite large. However, the operation of the proposed hydro-technical projects in Lake Karla watershed coupled with water demand management measures, like improvement of existing water distribution systems, change of irrigation methods, and changes of crop cultivation could alleviate the problem and lead to sustainable and ecological use of water resources in the study area.

  4. European Perspectives on the Adoption of Non-Chemical Weed Management in Reduced Tillage Systems for Arable Crops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Melander, B.; Munier-Jolan, N.; Schwarz, J.

    2012-01-01

    cropping systems to allow for more diversification of the crop rotations to combat these weed problems with less herbicide input. Cover crops, stubble management strategies and tactics that strengthen crop growth relative to weed growth are also seen as important components in future IPM systems...

  5. Using Winter Annual Cover Crops in a Virginia No-till Cotton Production System

    OpenAIRE

    Daniel, James B. II

    1997-01-01

    Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a low residue crop, that may not provide sufficient surface residue to reduce erosion and protect the soil. A winter annual cover crop could alleviate erosion between cotton crops. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate selected winter annual cover crops for biomass production, ground cover, and N assimilation. The cover crop treatments were monitored under no-till and conventional tillage systems for the effects on soil moisture, cotton yield and qu...

  6. Influence of Previous Crop on Durum Wheat Yield and Yield Stability in a Long-term Experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Maria Stellacci

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Long-term experiments are leading indicators of sustainability and serve as an early warning system to detect problems that may compromise future productivity. So the stability of yield is an important parameter to be considered when judging the value of a cropping system relative to others. In a long-term rotation experiment set up in 1972 the influence of different crop sequences on the yields and on yield stability of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf. was studied. The complete field experiment is a split-split plot in a randomized complete block design with two replications; the whole experiment considers three crop sequences: 1 three-year crop rotation: sugar-beet, wheat + catch crop, wheat; 2 one-year crop rotation: wheat + catch crop; 3 wheat continuous crop; the split treatments are two different crop residue managements; the split-split plot treatments are 18 different fertilization formulas. Each phase of every crop rotation occurred every year. In this paper only one crop residue management and only one fertilization treatment have been analized. Wheat crops in different rotations are coded as follows: F1: wheat after sugar-beet in three-year crop rotation; F2: wheat after wheat in three-year crop rotation; Fc+i: wheat in wheat + catch crop rotation; Fc: continuous wheat. The following two variables were analysed: grain yield and hectolitre weight. Repeated measures analyses of variance and stability analyses have been perfomed for the two variables. The stability analysis was conducted using: three variance methods, namely the coefficient of variability of Francis and Kannenberg, the ecovalence index of Wricke and the stability variance index of Shukla; the regression method of Eberhart and Russell; a method, proposed by Piepho, that computes the probability of one system outperforming another system. It has turned out that each of the stability methods used has enriched of information the simple variance analysis. The Piepho

  7. Regulatory and management approaches to NORM residues in Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Omar, M.; Teng, I.L.

    2006-01-01

    Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) processing industries in Malaysia include oil and gas production and mineral processing plants. These industries are controlled by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board of Malaysia (AELB) through the enforcement of the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304). Related regulations have been developed in order to ensure the safety of workers and members of the public. However, more regulations are necessary for the safe handling of NORM. NORM processing generates various types of NORM residues that require proper management. As for low-level NORM residues, landfill disposal can be exempted from regulatory control if the Radiological Impact Assessment (RIA) shows that the additional dose to the members of the public is below the limit set by the authority. This paper outlines the regulatory and management approaches to NORM residues in Malaysia. (author)

  8. Life-cycle phosphorus management of the crop production-consumption system in China, 1980-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Huijun; Yuan, Zengwei; Gao, Liangmin; Zhang, Ling; Zhang, Yongliang

    2015-01-01

    Phosphorus (P) is an essential resource for agriculture and also a pollutant capable of causing eutrophication. The possibility of a future P scarcity and the requirement to improve the environment quality necessitate P management to increase the efficiency of P use. This study applied a substance flow analysis (SFA) to implement a P management procedure in a crop production-consumption (PMCPC) system model. This model determined the life-cycle P use efficiency (PUE) of the crop production-consumption system in China during 1980-2012. The system includes six subsystems: fertilizer manufacturing, crop cultivation, crop processing, livestock breeding, rural consumption, and urban consumption. Based on this model, the P flows and PUEs of the subsystems were identified and quantified using data from official statistical databases, published literature, questionnaires, and interviews. The results showed that the total PUE of the crop production-consumption system in China was low, notably from 1980 to 2005, and increased from 7.23% in 1980 to 20.13% in 2012. Except for fertilizer manufacturing, the PUEs of the six subsystems were also low. The PUEs in the urban consumption subsystem and the crop cultivation subsystem were less than 40%. The PUEs of other subsystems, such as the rural consumption subsystem and the livestock breeding subsystem, were also low and even decreased during these years. Measures aimed to improve P management practices in China have been proposed such as balancing fertilization, disposing livestock excrement, adjusting livestock feed, changing the diet of residents, and raising the waste disposal level, etc. This study also discussed several limitations related with the model and data. Conducting additional related studies on other regions and combining the analysis of risks with opportunities may be necessary to develop effective management strategies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Marker assisted selection and crop management for salt tolerance: A ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    use

    2011-10-26

    Oct 26, 2011 ... Accepted 4 July, 2011. Salinity is one of the major abiotic constraints for crop management in irrigated as well as rainfed areas ... INTRODUCTION. Salt tolerance is ... arid and arid climates (Asch et al.,1997) in general, and.

  10. Adapting crop rotations to climate change in regional impact modelling assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixeira, Edmar I; de Ruiter, John; Ausseil, Anne-Gaelle; Daigneault, Adam; Johnstone, Paul; Holmes, Allister; Tait, Andrew; Ewert, Frank

    2018-03-01

    The environmental and economic sustainability of future cropping systems depends on adaptation to climate change. Adaptation studies commonly rely on agricultural systems models to integrate multiple components of production systems such as crops, weather, soil and farmers' management decisions. Previous adaptation studies have mostly focused on isolated monocultures. However, in many agricultural regions worldwide, multi-crop rotations better represent local production systems. It is unclear how adaptation interventions influence crops grown in sequences. We develop a catchment-scale assessment to investigate the effects of tactical adaptations (choice of genotype and sowing date) on yield and underlying crop-soil factors of rotations. Based on locally surveyed data, a silage-maize followed by catch-crop-wheat rotation was simulated with the APSIM model for the RCP 8.5 emission scenario, two time periods (1985-2004 and 2080-2100) and six climate models across the Kaituna catchment in New Zealand. Results showed that direction and magnitude of climate change impacts, and the response to adaptation, varied spatially and were affected by rotation carryover effects due to agronomical (e.g. timing of sowing and harvesting) and soil (e.g. residual nitrogen, N) aspects. For example, by adapting maize to early-sowing dates under a warmer climate, there was an advance in catch crop establishment which enhanced residual soil N uptake. This dynamics, however, differed with local environment and choice of short- or long-cycle maize genotypes. Adaptation was insufficient to neutralize rotation yield losses in lowlands but consistently enhanced yield gains in highlands, where other constraints limited arable cropping. The positive responses to adaptation were mainly due to increases in solar radiation interception across the entire growth season. These results provide deeper insights on the dynamics of climate change impacts for crop rotation systems. Such knowledge can be used

  11. Microbiological parameters as indicators of soil quality under various soil management and crop rotation systems in southern Brazil.

    OpenAIRE

    FRANCHINI, J. C.; CRISPINO, C. C.; SOUZA, R. A.; TORRES, E.; HUNGRIA, M.

    2006-01-01

    Metadata only record This article attempts to recognize soil parameters that can be used to monitor soil quality under different crop and soil management systems. The rates of CO2 emissions (soil respiration) were affected by variations in the sampling period, as well as in soil management and crop rotation. Considering all samples, CO2 emissions were 21% greater in conventional tillage. Soil microbial biomass was also influenced by sampling period and soil management, but not by crop rota...

  12. Integrated Modeling of Crop Growth and Water Resource Management to Project Climate Change Impacts on Crop Production and Irrigation Water Supply and Demand in African Nations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dale, A. L.; Boehlert, B.; Reisenauer, M.; Strzepek, K. M.; Solomon, S.

    2017-12-01

    Climate change poses substantial risks to African agriculture. These risks are exacerbated by concurrent risks to water resources, with water demand for irrigation comprising 80 to 90% of water withdrawals across the continent. Process-based crop growth models are able to estimate both crop demand for irrigation water and crop yields, and are therefore well-suited to analyses of climate change impacts at the food-water nexus. Unfortunately, impact assessments based on these models generally focus on either yields or water demand, rarely both. For this work, we coupled a crop model to a water resource management model in order to predict national trends in the impact of climate change on crop production, irrigation water demand, and the availability of water for irrigation across Africa. The crop model FAO AquaCrop-OS was run at 2ox2o resolution for 17 different climate futures from the CMIP5 archive, nine for Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and eight for RCP8.5. Percent changes in annual rainfed and irrigated crop production and temporal shifts in monthly irrigation water demand were estimated for the years 2030, 2050, 2070, and 2090 for maize, sorghum, rice, wheat, cotton, sugarcane, fruits & vegetables, roots & tubers, and legumes & soybeans. AquaCrop was then coupled to a water management model (WEAP) in order to project changes in the ability of seven major river basins (the Congo, Niger, Nile, Senegal, Upper Orange, Volta, and Zambezi) to meet irrigation water demand out to 2050 in both average and dry years in the face of both climate change and irrigation expansion. Spatial and temporal trends were identified and interpreted through the lens of potential risk management strategies. Uncertainty in model estimates is reported and discussed.

  13. AN APPROACH FOR TECHNOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT OF MINERAL FERTILIZATION OF CROPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ATANAS Atanasov

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available An approach for technological management of mineral fertilization in crops based on simulation was presented. The simulation of the interaction between technical means, agricultural workers, crops, soils and fi elds was based on step of the algorithm. It included the following main steps: calculation of the adequate rate of fertilizers depending on soil reserves and the crop requirements, computing the number of aggregates depending of the duration of work, calculation of the productivity of machines, determination of the optimal duration of work and the number of aggregates depending on the shift duration. The new approach presented enabled the following: optimization of time for actual use of the resources, within the boundaries of the agrothechnical terms; precisely simulation of the initial data; specifying the decision for the concrete conditions; easy accessibility and applicability for a broad range of users.

  14. SOIL MOISTURE SPACE-TIME ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT IMPROVED CROP MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno Montoani Silva

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The knowledge of the water content in the soil profile is essential for an efficient management of crop growth and development. This work aimed to use geostatistical techniques in a spatio-temporal study of soil moisture in an Oxisol in order to provide that information for improved crop management. Data were collected in a coffee crop area at São Roque de Minas, in the upper São Francisco River basin, MG state, Brazil. The soil moisture was measured with a multi-sensor capacitance (MCP probe at 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-, 60- and 100-cm depths between March and December, 2010. After adjusting the spherical semivariogram model using ordinary least squares, best model, the values were interpolated by kriging in order to have a continuous surface relating depth x time (CSDT and the soil water availability to plant (SWAP. The results allowed additional insight on the dynamics of soil water and its availability to plant, and pointed to the effects of climate on the soil water content. These results also allowed identifying when and where there was greater water consumption by the plants, and the soil layers where water was available and potentially explored by the plant root system.

  15. Addressing crop interactions within cropping systems in LCA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Goglio, Pietro; Brankatschk, Gerhard; Knudsen, Marie Trydeman

    2018-01-01

    objectives of this discussion article are as follows: (i) to discuss the characteristics of cropping systems which might affect the LCA methodology, (ii) to discuss the advantages and the disadvantages of the current available methods for the life-cycle assessment of cropping systems, and (iii) to offer...... management and emissions, and (3) functional unit issues. The LCA approaches presented are as follows: cropping system, allocation approaches, crop-by-crop approach, and combined approaches. The various approaches are described together with their advantages and disadvantages, applicability...... considers cropping system issues if they are related to multiproduct and nutrient cycling, while the crop-by-crop approach is highly affected by assumptions and considers cropping system issues only if they are related to the analyzed crop. Conclusions Each LCA approach presents advantages and disadvantages...

  16. Integrating Characterization of Smallholders’ Feeding Practices with On-Farm Feeding Trials to Improve Utilization of Crop Residues on Smallholder Farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. O. Kashongwe

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study characterized wheat straw feeding practices in smallholder farms using cross sectional survey and the results informed the design of an experiment to improve the nutritive value of wheat straw with urea and yeast culture treatment. Three diets tested in 49 days’ feeding trial were farmers’ rainy season feeding practice (FP, addition of urea to wheat straw at the time of feeding (USWS, and 14 days’ incubation of straw with urea (UTWS. Yeast culture (15 g/day was mixed with commercial dairy meal at the point of feeding. Survey data identified farmers’ strategies in utilizing crop residues of which most important were improving storage facility (77.6%, adding molasses (54.5%, and buying a shredding machine (45.1%. On-farm feeding trial showed that intake was higher for UTWS than (p<0.05 for USWS while milk yield was higher with FP than (p<0.005 with UTWS or USWS but not different (p≥0.05 between UTWS and USWS. Results imply that farmers feeding practices of crop residues may be improved for dairy cows’ feeding and therefore UTWS could be used to support maintenance and milk production during dry season. Improving farmers feed storage facilities and training on incubation of wheat straw for dairy cattle feeding were recommended.

  17. Developing an Integrated Model Framework for the Assessment of Sustainable Agricultural Residue Removal Limits for Bioenergy Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David Muth, Jr.; Jared Abodeely; Richard Nelson; Douglas McCorkle; Joshua Koch; Kenneth Bryden

    2011-08-01

    Agricultural residues have significant potential as a feedstock for bioenergy production, but removing these residues can have negative impacts on soil health. Models and datasets that can support decisions about sustainable agricultural residue removal are available; however, no tools currently exist capable of simultaneously addressing all environmental factors that can limit availability of residue. The VE-Suite model integration framework has been used to couple a set of environmental process models to support agricultural residue removal decisions. The RUSLE2, WEPS, and Soil Conditioning Index models have been integrated. A disparate set of databases providing the soils, climate, and management practice data required to run these models have also been integrated. The integrated system has been demonstrated for two example cases. First, an assessment using high spatial fidelity crop yield data has been run for a single farm. This analysis shows the significant variance in sustainably accessible residue across a single farm and crop year. A second example is an aggregate assessment of agricultural residues available in the state of Iowa. This implementation of the integrated systems model demonstrates the capability to run a vast range of scenarios required to represent a large geographic region.

  18. Root Parameters Show How Management Alters Resource Distribution and Soil Quality in Conventional and Low-Input Cropping Systems in Central Iowa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia A Lazicki

    Full Text Available Plant-soil relations may explain why low-external input (LEI diversified cropping systems are more efficient than their conventional counterparts. This work sought to identify links between management practices, soil quality changes, and root responses in a long-term cropping systems experiment in Iowa where grain yields of 3-year and 4-year LEI rotations have matched or exceeded yield achieved by a 2-year maize (Zea mays L. and soybean (Glycine max L. rotation. The 2-year system was conventionally managed and chisel-ploughed, whereas the 3-year and 4-year systems received plant residues and animal manures and were periodically moldboard ploughed. We expected changes in soil quality to be driven by organic matter inputs, and root growth to reflect spatial and temporal fluctuations in soil quality resulting from those additions. We constructed a carbon budget and measured soil quality indicators (SQIs and rooting characteristics using samples taken from two depths of all crop-phases of each rotation system on multiple dates. Stocks of particulate organic matter carbon (POM-C and potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN were greater and more evenly distributed in the LEI than conventional systems. Organic C inputs, which were 58% and 36% greater in the 3-year rotation than in the 4-year and 2-year rotations, respectively, did not account for differences in SQI abundance or distribution. Surprisingly, SQIs did not vary with crop-phase or date. All biochemical SQIs were more stratified (p<0.001 in the conventionally-managed soils. While POM-C and PMN in the top 10 cm were similar in all three systems, stocks in the 10-20 cm depth of the conventional system were less than half the size of those found in the LEI systems. This distribution was mirrored by maize root length density, which was also concentrated in the top 10 cm of the conventionally managed plots and evenly distributed between depths in the LEI systems. The plow-down of organic amendments

  19. Bioenergy from crops and biomass residues: a consequential life-cycle assessment including land-use changes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tonini, Davide; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

    Biofuels are promising means to reduce fossil fuel depletion and mitigate greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. However, recent studies questioned the environmental benefits earlier attributed to biofuels, when these involve land-use changes (direct/indirect, i.e., dLUC/iLUC) (1-5). Yet, second...... to represent the actual environmental impacts. This study quantified the GHG emissions associated with a number of scenarios involving bioenergy production (as combined-heat-and-power, heating, and transport biofuel) from energy crops, industrial/agricultural residues, algae, and the organic fraction...... of municipal solid waste. Four conversion pathways were considered: combustion, fermentation-to-ethanol, fermentation-to-biogas, and thermal gasification. A total of 80 bioenergy scenarios were assessed. Consequential life-cycle assessment (CLCA) was used to quantify the environmental impacts. CLCA aimed...

  20. Biosafety management and commercial use of genetically modified crops in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yunhe; Peng, Yufa; Hallerman, Eric M; Wu, Kongming

    2014-04-01

    As a developing country with relatively limited arable land, China is making great efforts for development and use of genetically modified (GM) crops to boost agricultural productivity. Many GM crop varieties have been developed in China in recent years; in particular, China is playing a leading role in development of insect-resistant GM rice lines. To ensure the safe use of GM crops, biosafety risk assessments are required as an important part of the regulatory oversight of such products. With over 20 years of nationwide promotion of agricultural biotechnology, a relatively well-developed regulatory system for risk assessment and management of GM plants has been developed that establishes a firm basis for safe use of GM crops. So far, a total of seven GM crops involving ten events have been approved for commercial planting, and 5 GM crops with a total of 37 events have been approved for import as processing material in China. However, currently only insect-resistant Bt cotton and disease-resistant papaya have been commercially planted on a large scale. The planting of Bt cotton and disease-resistant papaya have provided efficient protection against cotton bollworms and Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV), respectively. As a consequence, chemical application to these crops has been significantly reduced, enhancing farm income while reducing human and non-target organism exposure to toxic chemicals. This article provides useful information for the colleagues, in particular for them whose mother tongue is not Chinese, to clearly understand the biosafety regulation and commercial use of genetically modified crops in China.

  1. Impacts of crop growth dynamics on soil quality at the regional scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gobin, Anne

    2014-05-01

    Agricultural land use and in particular crop growth dynamics can greatly affect soil quality. Both the amount of soil lost from erosion by water and soil organic matter are key indicators for soil quality. The aim was to develop a modelling framework for quantifying the impacts of crop growth dynamics on soil quality at the regional scale with test case Flanders. A framework for modelling the impacts of crop growth on soil erosion and soil organic matter was developed by coupling the dynamic crop cover model REGCROP (Gobin, 2010) to the PESERA soil erosion model (Kirkby et al., 2009) and to the RothC carbon model (Coleman and Jenkinson, 1999). All three models are process-based, spatially distributed and intended as a regional diagnostic tool. A geo-database was constructed covering 10 years of crop rotation in Flanders using the IACS parcel registration (Integrated Administration and Control System). Crop allometric models were developed from variety trials to calculate crop residues for common crops in Flanders and subsequently derive stable organic matter fluxes to the soil. Results indicate that crop growth dynamics and crop rotations influence soil quality for a very large percentage. soil erosion mainly occurs in the southern part of Flanders, where silty to loamy soils and a hilly topography are responsible for soil loss rates of up to 40 t/ha. Parcels under maize, sugar beet and potatoes are most vulnerable to soil erosion. Crop residues of grain maize and winter wheat followed by catch crops contribute most to the total carbon sequestered in agricultural soils. For the same rotations carbon sequestration is highest on clay soils and lowest on sandy soils. This implies that agricultural policies that impact on agricultural land management influence soil quality for a large percentage. The coupled REGCROP-PESERA-ROTHC model allows for quantifying the impact of seasonal and year-to-year crop growth dynamics on soil quality. When coupled to a multi-annual crop

  2. [Progress in improvement of continuous monoculture cropping problem in Panax ginseng by controlling soil-borne disease management].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Rui; Dong, Lin-Lin; Xu, Jiang; Chen, Jun-Wen; Li, Xi-Wen; Chen, Shi-Lin

    2016-11-01

    The continuous monoculture cropping problem severely has hindered the land resource of Panax ginseng cultivation and threatened the sustainable development of ginseng industry. There are comprehensive factors causing the continuous monoculture cropping problem, such as deterioration of soil physical and chemical properties, accumulation of allelochemical, increase of pesticide residue and heavy metal, imbalance of rhizospheric micro-ecosystem, and increase of soil-borne diseases. Among soil-borne disease was one of the key factors. More than 40 soil-borne diseases have been reported in the ginseng cultivation, especially, the diseases were more serious in the ginseng replanting land. Here main soil-borne diseases and their prevention way have been summarized, and we try to provide the effective improvement strategy of continuous monoculture cropping problem focusing on the disease control and offer reference for overcoming the ginseng continuous monoculture cropping problem. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  3. The effect of crop residue layers on evapotranspiration, growth and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Observations of crop growth (stalk population, stalk height, canopy cover), cane yield and evapotranspiration for these treatments were compared to that of a bare soil treatment. The data were also used to derive values of crop evaporation coefficients for different development phases and these were compared to FAO56 ...

  4. Crop diversification, tillage, and management system influences on spring wheat yield and soil water use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Depleted soil quality, decreased water availability, and increased weed competition constrain spring wheat production in the northern Great Plains. Integrated crop management systems are necessary for improved crop productivity. We conducted a field experiment from 2004-2010 comparing productivity...

  5. Soil nitrate testing supports nitrogen management in irrigated annual crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia A. Lazicki

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Soil nitrate (NO3− tests are an integral part of nutrient management in annual crops. They help growers make field-specific nitrogen (N fertilization decisions, use N more efficiently and, if necessary, comply with California's Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, which requires an N management plan and an estimate of soil NO3− from most growers. As NO3− is easily leached into deeper soil layers and groundwater by rain and excess irrigation water, precipitation and irrigation schedules need to be taken into account when sampling soil and interpreting test results. We reviewed current knowledge on best practices for taking and using soil NO3− tests in California irrigated annual crops, including how sampling for soil NO3− differs from sampling for other nutrients, how tests performed at different times of the year are interpreted and some of the special challenges associated with NO3− testing in organic systems.

  6. Humic substances and its distribution in coffee crop under cover crops and weed control methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno Henrique Martins

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Humic substances (HS comprise the passive element in soil organic matter (SOM, and represent one of the soil carbon pools which may be altered by different cover crops and weed control methods. This study aimed to assess HS distribution and characteristics in an experimental coffee crop area subjected to cover crops and cultural, mechanical, and chemical weed control. The study was carried out at Londrina, in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil (23°21’30” S; 51°10’17” W. In 2008, seven weed control/cover crops were established in a randomized block design between two coffee rows as the main-plot factor per plot and soil sampling depths (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-30 cm and 30-40 cm as a split-plot. HS were extracted through alkaline and acid solutions and analyzed by chromic acid wet oxidation and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Chemical attributes presented variations in the topsoil between the field conditions analyzed. Cover crop cutting and coffee tree pruning residues left on the soil surface may have interfered in nutrient cycling and the humification process. Data showed that humic substances comprised about 50 % of SOM. Although different cover crops and weed control methods did not alter humic and fulvic acid carbon content, a possible incidence of condensed aromatic structures at depth increments in fulvic acids was observed, leading to an average decrease of 53 % in the E4/E6 ratio. Humin carbon content increased 25 % in the topsoil, particularly under crop weed-control methods, probably due to high incorporation of recalcitrant structures from coffee tree pruning residues and cover crops.

  7. Estimating effectiveness of crop management for reduction of soil erosion and runoff

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hlavcova, K.; Studvova, Z.; Kohnova, S.; Szolgay, J.

    2017-10-01

    The paper focuses on erosion processes in the Svacenický Creek catchment which is a small sub-catchment of the Myjava River basin. To simulate soil loss and sediment transport the USLE/SDR and WaTEM/SEDEM models were applied. The models were validated by comparing the simulated results with the actual bathymetry of a polder at the catchment outlet. Methods of crop management based on rotation and strip cropping were applied for the reduction of soil loss and sediment transport. The comparison shows that the greatest intensities of soil loss were achieved by the bare soil without vegetation and from the planting of maize for corn. The lowest values were achieved from the planting of winter wheat. At the end the effectiveness of row crops and strip cropping for decreasing design floods from the catchment was estimated.

  8. From the Academy: Colloquium perspective. Toward cropping systems that enhance productivity and sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, R James

    2006-12-05

    The defining features of any cropping system are (i) the crop rotation and (ii) the kind or intensity of tillage. The trend worldwide starting in the late 20th century has been (i) to specialize competitively in the production of two, three, a single, or closely related crops such as different market classes of wheat and barley, and (ii) to use direct seeding, also known as no-till, to cut costs and save soil, time, and fuel. The availability of glyphosate- and insect-resistant varieties of soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola has helped greatly to address weed and insect pest pressures favored by direct seeding these crops. However, little has been done through genetics and breeding to address diseases caused by residue- and soil-inhabiting pathogens that remain major obstacles to wider adoption of these potentially more productive and sustainable systems. Instead, the gains have been due largely to innovations in management, including enhancement of root defense by antibiotic-producing rhizosphere-inhabiting bacteria inhibitory to root pathogens. Historically, new varieties have facilitated wider adoption of new management, and changes in management have facilitated wider adoption of new varieties. Although actual yields may be lower in direct-seed compared with conventional cropping systems, largely due to diseases, the yield potential is higher because of more available water and increases in soil organic matter. Achieving the full production potential of these more-sustainable cropping systems must now await the development of varieties adapted to or resistant to the hazards shown to account for the yield depressions associated with direct seeding.

  9. Winter cover crops as a best management practice for reducing nitrogen leaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritter, W. F.; Scarborough, R. W.; Chirnside, A. E. M.

    1998-10-01

    The role of rye as a winter cover crop to reduce nitrate leaching was investigated over a three-year period on a loamy sand soil. A cover crop was planted after corn in the early fall and killed in late March or early April the following spring. No-tillage and conventional tillage systems were compared on large plots with irrigated corn. A replicated randomized block design experiment was conducted on small plots to evaluate a rye cover crop under no-tillage and conventional tillage and with commercial fertilizer, poultry manure and composted poultry manure as nitrogen fertilizer sources. Nitrogen uptake by the cover crop along with nitrate concentrations in groundwater and the soil profile (0-150 cm) were measured on the large plots. Soil nitrate concentrations and nitrogen uptake by the cover crop were measured on the small plots. There was no significant difference in nitrate concentrations in the groundwater or soil profile with and without a cover crop in either no-tillage or conventional tillage. Annual amounts of nitrate-N leached to the water-table varied from 136.0 to 190.1 kg/ha in 1989 and from 82.4 to 116.2 kg/ha in 1991. Nitrate leaching rates were somewhat lower with a cover crop in 1989, but not in 1990. There was no statistically significant difference in corn grain yields between the cover crop and non-cover crop treatments. The planting date and adequate rainfall are very important in maximizing nitrogen uptake in the fall with a rye cover crop. On the Delmarva Peninsula, the cover crop should probably be planted by October 1 to maximize nitrogen uptake rates in the fall. On loamy sand soils, rye winter cover crops cannot be counted on as a best management practice for reducing nitrate leaching in the Mid-Atlantic states.

  10. Climatic and management drivers of CO2 exchanges by a production crop: analysis over three successive 4-year cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buysse, Pauline; Moureaux, Christine; Bodson, Bernard; Aubinet, Marc

    2016-04-01

    Carbon dioxide (CO2) exchanges between crops and the atmosphere are influenced by both climatic and crop management drivers. The investigated crop, situated at the Lonzée Terrestrial Observatory (candidate ICOS site) in the Hesbaye region in Belgium and managed for more than 70 years using conventional farming practices, was monitored over three complete sugar beet/winter wheat/potato/winter wheat rotation cycles from 2004 to 2016. Eddy covariance, automatic and manual soil chambers, leaf diffusion and biomass measurements were performed continuously in order to obtain the daily and seasonal Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE), Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), total Ecosystem Respiration (TER), Net Primary Productivity (NPP), autotrophic respiration, heterotrophic respiration and Net Biome Production (NBP). Meteorological data and crop management practices were also recorded. Climatic and seasonal evolutions of the carbon balance components were studied and crop carbon budgets were computed both at the yearly and crop rotation cycle scales. On average over the 12 years, NEE was negative but NBP was positive, i.e. as far as carbon exportation by harvest are included in the budget, the site behaved as a carbon source. Impacts of both meteorological drivers and crop management operations on CO2 exchanges were analyzed and compared between crop types, years, and rotation cycles. The uncertainties associated to the carbon fluxes were also evaluated and discussed.

  11. BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM CATCH CROPS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Molinuevo-Salces, Beatriz; Larsen, Søren U.; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær

    2014-01-01

    -substrate in manure-based biogas plants and the profit obtained from the sale of biogas barely compensates for the harvest costs. A new agricultural strategy to harvest catch crops together with the residual straw of the main crop was investigated to increase the biomass and thereby the methane yield per hectare......Catch crop cultivation combined with its use for biogas production would increase renewable energy production in the form of methane, without interfering with the production of food and fodder crops. The low biomass yield of catch crops is the main limiting factor for using these crops as co...... biomass. Leaving the straw on the field until harvest of the catch crop in the autumn could benefit biogas production due to the organic matter degradation of the straw taking place on the field during the autumn months. This new agricultural strategy may be a good alternative to achieve economically...

  12. Replacing fallow by cover crops: economic sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabriel, José Luis; Garrido, Alberto; Quemada, Miguel

    2013-04-01

    Replacing fallow by cover crops in intensive fertilized systems has been demonstrated as an efficient tool for reducing nitrate leaching. However, despite the evident environmental services provided and the range of agronomic benefits documented in the literature, farmers' adoption of this new technology is still limited because they are either unwilling or unable, although adoption reluctance is frequently rooted in low economic profitability, low water se efficiency or poor knowledge. Economic analyses permit a comparison between the profit that farmers obtain from agricultural products and the cost of adopting specific agricultural techniques. The goal of this study was to evaluate the economic impact of replacing the usual winter fallow with cover crops (barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Vanessa), vetch (Vicia villosa L., cv. Vereda) and rapeseed (Brassica napus L., cv. Licapo)) in irrigated maize systems and variable Mediterranean weather conditions using stochastic Monte-Carlo simulations of key farms' financial performance indicators. The three scenarios studied for each cover crop were: i) just leaving the cover crop residue in the ground, ii) leaving the cover crop residue but reduce following maize fertilization according to the N available from the previous cover crop and iii) selling the cover crop residue for animal feeding. All the scenarios were compared with respect to a typical maize-fallow rotation. With observed data from six different years and in various field trials, looking for different weather conditions, probability distribution functions of maize yield, cover crop biomass production and N fertilizer saving was fitted. Based in statistical sources maize grain price, different forage prices and the cost of fertilizer were fitted to probability distribution functions too. As result, introducing a cover crop involved extra costs with respect to fallow as the initial investment, because new seed, herbicide or extra field operations. Additional

  13. Glyphosate Mineralization: Effect of Temperature and Soybean and Corn Crop Residues Mineralización de Glifosato: Efecto de la Temperatura y los Residuos Vegetales de Soya y Maíz

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ariel Rampoldi

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Mineralization is the main mechanism of dissipation of glyphosate herbicide (N-[phosphonomethyl] glycine in soil. However, there is scarce information about the mineralization process in strata formed by stubbles in no-tillage systems. The kinetics and rate of mineralization of herbicide in stubbles of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr. and corn (Zea mays L. were investigated. To evaluate the effect of age of crop residues, samples of soybean stubbles were collected immediately after harvest (Soja 1 and four months after harvest (Soja 2. Corn crop residues were collected three months after harvest. Glyphosate evolution and total microbial activity (TMA were monitored by release of 14C-CO2 and C-CO2 under laboratory conditions with two temperatures, 15 and 28 ºC. Crop residues size was evaluated using grinding (1 mm and cut (1 to 2 cm stubbles. Results showed that glyphosate mineralization was affected by the incubation temperature and the origin and age of crop residues. Size of crop residues did not modify glyphosate mineralization. Average glyphosate mineralization after 56 days of incubation at 15 and 28 ºC was of 3.9 and 9.9%, respectively, of the 14C-glyphosate initially applied. In maize crop residues the percentages were 2.0 and 3.0%, respectively, at 15 and 28 ºC. A similar evolution was detected for TMA. The co-metabolic nature of glyphosate mineralization was corroborated. An inverse relation between C/N ratio and glyphosate mineralization was detected. Higher glyphosate mineralization was detected in fresh soybean stubbles, suggesting that applications on aged crop residues could increase the persistence of glyphosate in no-tillage systemsLa mineralización es el principal mecanismo de disipación del herbicida glifosato (N-[fosfonometil] glicina en el suelo. Existe escasa información sobre el proceso de mineralización de glifosato en el estrato formado por rastrojos en suelos cultivados en sistema de siembra directa. Las muestras de

  14. A hybrid approach on the management of crop pests | Onuodu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This algorithm has been implemented using JAVA and MATLAB. The new method has been applied on agro-based datasets of soybean and yeast for forming clusters that could help farmers in the management of crop pests. The model developed could be beneficial to Nigerian farmers and the Agro-based industries, ...

  15. Old Dog New Tricks: Use of Point-based Crop Models in Grid-based Regional Assessment of Crop Management Technologies Impact on Future Food Security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koo, J.; Wood, S.; Cenacchi, N.; Fisher, M.; Cox, C.

    2012-12-01

    HarvestChoice (harvestchoice.org) generates knowledge products to guide strategic investments to improve the productivity and profitability of smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A keynote component of the HarvestChoice analytical framework is a grid-based overlay of SSA - a cropping simulation platform powered by process-based, crop models. Calibrated around the best available representation of cropping production systems in SSA, the simulation platform engages the DSSAT Crop Systems Model with the CENTURY Soil Organic Matter model (DSSAT-CENTURY) and provides a virtual experimentation module with which to explore the impact of a range of technological, managerial and environmental metrics on future crop productivity and profitability, as well as input use. For each of 5 (or 30) arc-minute grid cells in SSA, a stack of model input underlies it: datasets that cover soil properties and fertility, historic and future climate scenarios and farmers' management practices; all compiled from analyses of existing global and regional databases and consultations with other CGIAR centers. Running a simulation model is not always straightforward, especially when certain cropping systems or management practices are not even practiced by resource-poor farmers yet (e.g., precision agriculture) or they were never included in the existing simulation framework (e.g., water harvesting). In such cases, we used DSSAT-CENTURY as a function to iteratively estimate relative responses of cropping systems to technology-driven changes in water and nutrient balances compared to zero-adoption by farmers, while adjusting model input parameters to best mimic farmers' implementation of technologies in the field. We then fed the results of the simulation into to the economic and food trade model framework, IMPACT, to assess the potential implications on future food security. The outputs of the overall simulation analyses are packaged as a web-accessible database and published

  16. Using Imaging Spectrometry to Approach Crop Classification from a Water Management Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shivers, S.; Roberts, D. A.

    2017-12-01

    We use hyperspectral remote sensing imagery to classify crops in the Central Valley of California at a level that would be of use to water managers. In California irrigated agriculture uses 80 percent of the state's water supply with differences in water application rate varying by as large as a factor of three, dependent on crop type. Therefore, accurate water resource accounting is dependent upon accurate crop mapping. While on-the-ground crop accounting at the county level requires significant labor and time inputs, remote sensing has the potential to map crops over a greater spatial area with more frequent time intervals. Specifically, imaging spectrometry with its wide spectral range has the ability to detect small spectral differences at the field-level scale that may be indiscernible to multispectral sensors such as Landsat. In this study, crops in the Central Valley were classified into nine categories defined and used by the California Department of Water Resources as having similar water usages. We used the random forest classifier on Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) imagery from June 2013, 2014 and 2015 to analyze accuracy of multi-temporal images and to investigate the extent to which cropping patterns have changed over the course of the 2013-2015 drought. Initial results show accuracies of over 90% for all three years, indicating that hyperspectral imagery has the potential to identify crops by water use group at a single time step with a single sensor, allowing cropping patterns to be monitored in anticipation of water needs.

  17. [Soil quality assessment under different cropping system and straw management in farmland of arid oasis region].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Peng Peng; Pu, Xiao Zhen; Zhang, Wang Feng

    2018-03-01

    To reveal the regulatory mechanism of agricultural management practices on soil quality, an experiment was carried out to study the different cropping system and straw management on soil organic carbon and fractions and soil enzyme activity in farmland of arid oasis region, which would provide a scientific basic for enhancing agricultural resources utilization and sustainable development. In crop planting planning area, we took the mainly crop (cotton, wheat, maize) as research objects and designed long-term continues cropping and crop rotation experiments. The results showed that the soil organic carbon (SOC), soil microbial biomass C, labile C, water-soluble organic C, and hot-water-soluble organic C content were increased by 3.6%-9.9%, 41.8%-98.9%, 3.3%-17.0%, 11.1%-32.4%, 4.6%-27.5% by crop rotation compared to continues cropping, and 12%-35.9%, 22.4%-49.7%, 30.7%-51.0%, 10.6%-31.9%, 41.0%-96.4% by straw incorporated compared to straw removed, respectively. The soil catalase, dehydrogenase, β-glucosidase, invertase glucose, cellulase glucose activity were increased by 6.4%-10.9%, 6.6%-18.8%, 5.9%-15.3%, 10.0%-27.4%, 28.1%-37.5% by crop rotation compared to continues cropping, and 31.4%-47.5%, 19.9%-46.6%, 13.8%-20.7%, 19.8%-55.6%, 54.1%-70.9% by straw incorporated compared to straw removed, respectively. There were significant positive linear correlations among SOC, labile SOC fractions and soil enzyme. Therefore, we concluded that labile SOC fractions and soil enzyme were effective index for evaluating the change of SOC and soil quality. Based on factor analysis, in arid region, developing agricultural production using cropland management measures, such as straw-incorporated and combined short-term continues cotton and crop rotation, could enhance SOC and labile SOC fractions contents and soil enzyme activity, which could improve soil quality and be conducive to agricultural sustainable development.

  18. Cover Crops Effects on Soil Chemical Properties and Onion Yield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodolfo Assis de Oliveira

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Cover crops contribute to nutrient cycling and may improve soil chemical properties and, consequently, increase crop yield. The aim of this study was to evaluate cover crop residue decomposition and nutrient release, and the effects of these plants on soil chemical properties and on onion (Allium cepa L. yield in a no-tillage system. The experiment was carried out in an Inceptisol in southern Brazil, where cover crops were sown in April 2012 and 2013. In July 2013, shoots of weeds (WD, black oats (BO, rye (RY, oilseed radish (RD, oilseed radish + black oats (RD + BO, and oilseed radish + rye (RD + RY were cut at ground level and part of these material from each treatment was placed in litter bags. The litter bags were distributed on the soil surface and were collected at 0, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 days after distribution (DAD. The residues in the litter bags were dried, weighed, and ground, and then analyzed to quantify lignin, cellulose, non-structural biomass, total organic carbon (TOC, N, P, K, Ca, and Mg. In November 2012 and 2013, onion crops were harvested to quantify yield, and bulbs were classified according to diameter, and the number of rotted and flowering bulbs was determined. Soil in the 0.00-0.10 m layer was collected for chemical analysis before transplanting and after harvesting onion in December 2012 and 2013. The rye plant residues presented the highest half-life and they released less nutrients until 90 DAD. The great permanence of rye residue was considered a protection to soil surface, the opposite was observed with spontaneous vegetation. The cultivation and addition of dry residue of cover crops increased the onion yield at 2.5 Mg ha-1.

  19. Persistence and bioaccumulation of oxyfluorfen residues in onion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sondhia, Shobha

    2010-03-01

    A field study was conducted to determine persistence and bioaccumulation of oxyflorfen residues in onion crop at two growth stages. Oxyfluorfen (23.5% EC) was sprayed at 250 and 500 g ai/ha on the crop (variety, N53). Mature onion and soil samples were collected at harvest. Green onion were collected at 55 days from each treated and control plot and analyzed for oxyfluorfen residues by a validated high-performance liquid chromatography method with an accepted recovery of 78-92% at the minimum detectable concentration of 0.003 microg g(-1). Analysis showed 0.015 and 0.005 microg g(-1) residues of oxyfluorfen at 250 g a.i. ha(-1) rate in green and mature onion samples, respectively; however, at 500 g a.i.ha(-1) rates, 0.025 and 0.011 microg g(-1) of oxyfluorfen residues were detected in green and mature onion samples, respectively. Soil samples collected at harvest showed 0.003 and 0.003 microg g(-1) of oxyfluorfen residues at the doses 250 and 500 g a.i. ha(-1), respectively. From the study, a pre-harvest interval of 118 days for onion crop after the herbicide application is suggested.

  20. PERFORMANCE OF ‘NANICÃO JANGADA’ BANANA PLANTS INTERCROPPED WITH WINTER COVER CROPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RICARDO SFEIR DE AGUIAR

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The use of cover crops species may be an important strategy in the pursuit of sustainability of agroecosystems, considering benefits to soil, such as improvements of physical and chemical characteristics, and weed control. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of winter cover crops and other soil managements on chemical soil properties, on the cycle, on the production of the first cycle and on the fruit quality of banana cv. Nanicão Jangada in Andirá – PR, Brazil. The experiment was carried out in a commercial. Planting of banana suckers from the grower area occurred in the first half of March 2011, with a spacing of 2.40 m between rows and 1.90 m between plants. The experiment was designed in randomized blocks with four replications and six plants per plot. The six treatments were: black oat (Avenastrigosa Schreb, forage turnip (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus, consortium of black oat and forage turnip, chicken litter, residues of banana plants, and bare ground. The evaluations were vegetative development and life cycle of banana plants, yield and quality of fruits, soil chemical characterstics, and fresh and dry mass of green manures. The results were submitted to ANOVA (F Test, and Tukey test at 5 % probability. Black oat and black oat with forage turnip consortium were superior in biomass production. Systems of soil management had no effect on the variables, except in the periods between planting and flowering and between planting and harvest, which were shorter in the treatment of soil management with crop residues, longer in the treatment with forage turnip, and intermediate in the other treatments.

  1. Cover Crops for Managing Stream Water Quantity and Improving Stream Water Quality of Non-Tile Drained Paired Watersheds

    OpenAIRE

    Gurbir Singh; Jon E. Schoonover; Karl W. J. Williard

    2018-01-01

    In the Midwestern United States, cover crops are being promoted as a best management practice for managing nutrient and sediment losses from agricultural fields through surface and subsurface water movement. To date, the water quality benefits of cover crops have been inferred primarily from plot scale studies. This project is one of the first to analyze the impacts of cover crops on stream water quality at the watershed scale. The objective of this research was to evaluate nitrogen, phosphor...

  2. The impact of climate and price risks on agricultural land use and crop management decisions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lehmann, N.; Finger, R.

    2013-01-01

    This article aims to investigate the impacts of climate change and of lower and more volatile crop price levels as currently observed in the European Union (EU) on optimal management decisions, average income and income risks in crop production in Western Switzerland. To this end, a bioeconomic

  3. Effects of plantation residue management on the community ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Effects of plantation residue management on the community structure of wattle regeneration invertebrate pests in South Africa. ... Members of the soil invertebrate pest complex included whitegrubs and cutworms that generally had a higher pest status than millipedes, nematodes, grasshoppers, ants, false wireworms, ...

  4. Energy self-reliance, net-energy production and GHG emissions in Danish organic cash crop farms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halberg, Niels; Dalgaard, Randi; Olesen, Jørgen E

    2008-01-01

    -energy production were modeled. Growing rapeseed on 10% of the land could produce bio-diesel to replace 50-60% of the tractor diesel used on the farm. Increasing grass-clover area to 20% of the land and using half of this yield for biogas production could change the cash crop farm to a net energy producer......, and reduce GHG emissions while reducing the overall output of products only marginally. Increasing grass-clover area would improve the nutrient management on the farm and eliminate dependence on conventional pig slurry if the biogas residues were returned to cash crop fields...

  5. Phytotoxicity of water-soluble substances from alfalfa and barley soil extracts on four crop species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Read, J J; Jensen, E H

    1989-02-01

    Problems associated with continuously planting alfalfa (Medicago saliva L.) or seeding to thicken depleted alfalfa stands may be due to autotoxicity, an intraspecific form of allelopathy. A bioassay approach was utilized to characterize the specificity and chemical nature of phytotoxins in extracts of alfalfa soils as compared to fallow soil or soil where a cereal was the previous crop. In germination chamber experiments, water-soluble substances present in methanol extracts of soil cropped to alfalfa or barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) decreased seedling root length of alfalfa L-720, winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Nugaines) and radish (Raphanus sativa L. Crimson Giant). Five days after germination, seedling dry weights of alfalfa and radish in alfalfa soil extracts were lower compared to wheat or red clover (Trifolium pralense L. Kenland). Growth of red clover was not significantly reduced by soil extracts from cropped soil. Extracts of crop residue screened from soil cropped to alfalfa or barley significantly reduced seedling root length; extracts of alfalfa residue caused a greater inhibition of seedling dry weight than extracts of barely residue. A phytotoxic, unidentified substance present in extracts of crop residue screened from alfalfa soil, which inhibited seedling root length of alfalfa, was isolated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Residues from a soil cropped continuously to alfalfa for 10 years had the greatest phytotoxic activity.

  6. Effects of agricultural practices of three crops on the soil communities under Mediterranean conditions: field evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leitão, Sara; José Cerejeira, Maria; Abreu, Manuela; Sousa, José Paulo

    2014-05-01

    communities. Significant differences of soil communities from potato and onion crops with the one from control site were observed at the beginning and during the crop cycle, but similarities were observed at the last sampling date after harvesting. The same was observed for the maize crop, indicating that soil communities recovered from the agricultural disturbances associated with crops management. An integrated approach such as the one adopted in present study, taking into consideration soil community's abundances, feeding activity and time variations along entire crop cycles of several crops under Mediterranean conditions, as well as soil exposure to pesticides residues, may contribute to decision making towards a sustainability of crop areas, including pesticide use and management practices.

  7. Effective management of pigeon pea ( Cajanus cajan ) in a crop ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Effective management of pigeon pea ( Cajanus cajan ) in a crop/livestock integrated farming system in northern Ghana. ... Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science ... Pigeon pea plots with row lengths averaging 11 m and a planting geometry of 80 cm W 50 cm, were either pruned at 60 or 100 cm above ground level or not ...

  8. Eight years of Conservation Agriculture-based cropping systems research in Eastern Africa to conserve soil and water and mitigate effects of climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araya, Tesfay; Nyssen, Jan; Govaerts, Bram; Lanckriet, Sil; Baudron, Frédéric; Deckers, Jozef; Cornelis, Wim

    2014-05-01

    In Ethiopia, repeated plowing, complete removal of crop residues at harvest, aftermath grazing of crop fields and occurrence of repeated droughts have reduced the biomass return to the soil and aggravated cropland degradation. Conservation Agriculture (CA)-based resource conserving cropping systems may reduce runoff and soil erosion, and improve soil quality, thereby increasing crop productivity. Thus, a long-term tillage experiment has been carried out (2005 to 2012) on a Vertisol to quantify - among others - changes in runoff and soil loss for two local tillage practices, modified to integrate CA principles in semi-arid northern Ethiopia. The experimental layout was a randomized complete block design with three replications on permanent plots of 5 m by 19 m. The tillage treatments were (i) derdero+ (DER+) with a furrow and permanent raised bed planting system, ploughed only once at planting by refreshing the furrow from 2005 to 2012 and 30% standing crop residue retention, (ii) terwah+ (TER+) with furrows made at 1.5 m interval, plowed once at planting, 30% standing crop residue retention and fresh broad beds, and (iii) conventional tillage (CT) with a minimum of three plain tillage operations and complete removal of crop residues. All the plowing and reshaping of the furrows was done using the local ard plough mahresha and wheat, teff, barley and grass pea were grown. Glyphosate was sprayed starting from the third year onwards (2007) at 2 l ha-1 before planting to control pre-emergent weeds in CA plots. Runoff and soil loss were measured daily. Soil water content was monitored every 6 days. Significantly different (pconstitute a field rainwater and soil conservation improvement strategy that enhances crop and economic productivity and reduces siltation of reservoirs, especially under changing climate. The reduction in draught power requirement would enable a reduction in oxen density and crop residue demand for livestock feed, which would encourage smallholder

  9. Water Use Efficiency of Cotton and Wheat Crops at Various Management Allowed Depletion in Lower Indus Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    KHALIFA QASIML AGHARI

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with contemporary irrigation water management of major crops in Lower Indus Basin of Pakistan. Field experiments were conducted to estimate the optimum WUE (Water Use Efficiency for various MAD (Management Allowed Depletion levels including 55, 65 and 75% for cotton crop, and 45, 55 and 65% for wheat crop. The daily actual crop Etca (Evapotranspiration was observed through gypsum blocks and a drainage Lysimeter. The observed seasonal cotton crops ETca in the experiments were 486, 413, and 397 mm for 55, 65, and 75% MAD levels, respectively. Similarly, wheat crops ETca observed were 363, 359, and 332mm for 45, 55, and 65% MAD levels, respectively. The WUE determined in terms of seed-cotton yield per unit of seasonal water use were 6.0, 6.5, and 5.8kg (ha mm-1 The corresponding values of WUE for wheat were 14.1, 15.0 and 13.4kg (ha mm-1. Hence; the highest WUE was achieved with MAD at 65% for cotton and at 55% for wheat.

  10. Soil Management Practices to Improve Nutrient-use Efficiencies and Reduce Risk in Millet-based Cropping Systems in the Sahel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koala, S.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Low soil fertility and moisture deficit are among the main constraints to sustainable crop yields in the Sahel. A study therefore, was conducted at the ICRISAT Sahelian Center, Sadore in Niger to test the hypothesis that integrated soil husbandry practices consisting of manure, fertilizer and crop residues in rotational cropping systems use organic and mineral fertilizes efficiently, thereby resulting in higher yields and reduced risk. Results from an analysis of variance showed that choice of cropping systems explained more than 50% of overall variability in millet and cowpea grain yields. Among the cropping systems, rotation gave higher yields than sole crop and intercropping systems and increased millet yield by 46% without fertilizer. Rainfall-use efficiency and partial factor productivity of fertilizer were similarly higher in rotations than in millet monoculture system. Returns from cowpea grown in cowpea-millet rotation without fertilizer and the medium rates of fertilizers (4 kg P.ha-1 + 15 kg N.ha-1 were found to be most profitable in terms of high returns and low risk, principally because of a higher price of cowpea than millet. The study recommends crop diversification, either in the form of rotations or relay intercropping systems for the Sahel as an insurance against total crop failure.

  11. Renewable energy from pyrolysis using crops and agricultural residuals: An economic and environmental evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kung, Chih-Chun; Zhang, Ning

    2015-01-01

    This study examines pyrolysis-based electricity generation and ethanol production using various crops and agricultural residuals in Taiwan. It analyzes the net economic and environmental effects within the framework of the Extended Taiwanese Agricultural Sector Model by incorporating ongoing and potential gasoline, coal and GHG (greenhouse gas) prices. The study discusses the effects of agricultural shifts, which have several important implications for the Taiwanese bioenergy development. First, the cost of collecting rice straw is much lower than the production cost of other energy crops, implying that the efficient use of agricultural waste may eventually result in positive social effects in terms of farmers' revenue, the renewable energy supply and GHG emissions offset. Second, farmers with idle land usually suffer a lower steady income. Encouraging the development of the renewable energy industry increases the demand of raw feedstocks, which involves converting the idle land into cultivation and increasing farmers' revenue. Third, agricultural waste is usually burned and emits CO_2, which accelerates the global climate shift. Approximately one third of emissions could be offset by rice straw-based bioenergy in certain cases. Turning this waste into bioenergy, which offsets net GHG emissions, has positive effects on the climate change mitigation. - Highlights: • Pyrolyzing rice straw provides considerable energy supply (max 4.68 billion kWh). • High emission offset when combined with rice straw (max 2.73 million tons). • Affordable government subsidy ($204 million a year). • Collection and transportation costs of wastes could impact the result significantly.

  12. Predicting optimum crop designs using crop models and seasonal climate forecasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, D; de Voil, P; Hudson, D; Brown, J N; Hayman, P; Marrou, H; Meinke, H

    2018-02-02

    Expected increases in food demand and the need to limit the incorporation of new lands into agriculture to curtail emissions, highlight the urgency to bridge productivity gaps, increase farmers profits and manage risks in dryland cropping. A way to bridge those gaps is to identify optimum combination of genetics (G), and agronomic managements (M) i.e. crop designs (GxM), for the prevailing and expected growing environment (E). Our understanding of crop stress physiology indicates that in hindsight, those optimum crop designs should be known, while the main problem is to predict relevant attributes of the E, at the time of sowing, so that optimum GxM combinations could be informed. Here we test our capacity to inform that "hindsight", by linking a tested crop model (APSIM) with a skillful seasonal climate forecasting system, to answer "What is the value of the skill in seasonal climate forecasting, to inform crop designs?" Results showed that the GCM POAMA-2 was reliable and skillful, and that when linked with APSIM, optimum crop designs could be informed. We conclude that reliable and skillful GCMs that are easily interfaced with crop simulation models, can be used to inform optimum crop designs, increase farmers profits and reduce risks.

  13. Managed Multi-strata Tree + Crop Systems: An Agroecological Marvel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. K. Ramachandran Nair

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Today, when the emphasis on single-species production systems that is cardinal to agricultural and forestry programs the world over has resulted in serious ecosystem imbalances, the virtues of the time-tested practice of growing different species together as in managed Multi-strata Tree + Crop (MTC systems deserve serious attention. The coconut-palm-based multispecies systems in tropical homegardens and shaded perennial systems are just two such systems. A fundamental ecological principle of these systems is niche complementarity, which implies that systems that are structurally and functionally more complex than crop- or tree monocultures result in greater efficiency of resource (nutrients, light, and water capture and utilization. Others include spatial and temporal heterogeneity, perennialism, and structural and functional diversity. Unexplored or under-exploited areas of benefits of MTC systems include their ecosystem services such as carbon storage, climate regulation, and biodiversity conservation. These multispecies integrated systems indeed represent an agroecological marvel, the principles of which could be utilized in the design of sustainable as well as productive agroecosystems. Environmental and ecological specificity of MTC systems, however, is a unique feature that restricts their comparison with other land-use systems and extrapolation of the management features used in one location to another.

  14. No-tillage and fertilization management on crop yields and nitrate leaching in North China Plain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Manxiang; Liang, Tao; Wang, Lingqing; Zhou, Chenghu

    2015-01-01

    A field experiment was performed from 2003 to 2008 to evaluate the effects of tillage system and nitrogen management regimes on crop yields and nitrate leaching from the fluvo-aquic soil with a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–maize (Zea mays L.) double-cropping system. The tillage systems consisted of conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT). Three nitrogen management regimes were included: 270 kg N ha−1 of urea for wheat and 225 kg N ha−1 of urea for maize (U), 180 kg N ha−1 of urea and 90 kg N ha−1 of straw for wheat and 180 kg N of urea and 45 kg N ha−1 of straw for maize (S), 180 kg N ha−1 of urea and 90 kg N ha−1 of manure for wheat and 180 kg N ha−1 of urea and 45 kg N ha−1 of manure for maize (M). An array of tension-free pan lysimeters (50 cm × 75 cm) were installed (1.2 m deep) to measure water flow and -N movement. No significant effect of the N management regime on yields of winter wheat and maize grain was found in the 5-year rotation. Tillage systems had significant influences on -N leaching from the second year and thereafter interacted with N management regimes on -N loads during all maize seasons. The average yield-scaled -N leaching losses were in order of CTS leaching losses while sustaining crop grain yields. Considering the lower costs, NTS could be a potential alternative to decrease yield-scaled -N leaching losses and improve soil fertility while maintaining crop yield for the winter wheat–maize double-cropping systems in the North China Plain. PMID:25859321

  15. Management effects on net ecosystem carbon and GHG budgets at European crop sites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ceschia, Eric; Bêziat, P; Dejoux, J.F.

    2010-01-01

    The greenhouse gas budgets of 15 European crop sites covering a large climatic gradient and corresponding to 41 site-years were estimated. The sites included a wide range of management practices (organic and/or mineral fertilisation, tillage or ploughing, with or without straw removal....... The variability of the different terms and their relative contributions to the net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB) were analysed for all site-years, and the effect of management on NECB was assessed. To account for greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes that were not directly measured on site, we estimated the emissions...... caused by field operations (EFO) for each site using emission factors from the literature. The EFO were added to the NECB to calculate the total GHG budget (GHGB) for a range of cropping systems and management regimes. N2O emissions were calculated following the IPCC (2007) guidelines, and CH4 emissions...

  16. Organic management and cover crop species steer soil microbial community structure and functionality along with soil organic matter properties

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martínez-García, Laura B.; Korthals, Gerard; Brussaard, Lijbert; Jørgensen, Helene Bracht; Deyn, de Gerlinde B.

    2018-01-01

    It is well recognized that organic soil management stimulates bacterial biomass and activity and that including cover crops in the rotation increases soil organic matter (SOM). Yet, to date the relative impact of different cover crop species and organic vs. non-organic soil management on soil

  17. Principles of root water uptake, soil salinity and crop yield for optimizing irrigation management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dirksen, C.

    1983-01-01

    The paper reviews the principles of water and salt transport, root water uptake, crop salt tolerance, water quality, and irrigation methods which should be considered in optimizing irrigation management for sustained, viable agriculture with protection of the quality of land and water resources. In particular, the advantages of high-frequency irrigation at small leaching fractions with closed systems are discussed, for which uptake-weighted mean salinity is expected to correlate best with crop yields. Optimization of irrigation management depends on the scale considered. Non-technical problems which are often much harder to solve than technical problems, may well be most favourable for new projects in developing countries. (author)

  18. Soil Carbon Changes in Transitional Grain Crop Production Systems in South Dakota

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodard, H. J.

    2004-12-01

    Corn-C (Zea Mays L.), soybean-S (Glycine max L.) and spring wheat-W (Triticum aestivum L.) crops were seeded as a component of either a C-S, S-W, or C-S-W crop rotation on silt-loam textured soils ranging from 3.0-5.0% organic matter. Conservation tillage(chisel plow-field cultivator) was applied to half of the plots. The other plots were direct seeded as a no-till (zero-tillage) treatment. Grain yield and surface crop residues were weighed from each treatment plot. Crop residue (stover and straw) was removed from half of the plots. After four years, soil samples were removed at various increments of depth and soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) was measured. The ranking of crop residue weights occurred by the order corn>>soybean>wheat. Surface residue accumulation was also greatest with residue treatments that were returned to the plots, those rotations in which maize was a component, and those without tillage. Mean soil organic carbon levels in the 0-7.5cm depth decreased from 3.41% to 3.19% (- 0.22%) with conventional tillage (chisel plow/field cultivator) as compared to a decrease from 3.19% to 3.05% (-0.14%) in plots without tillage over a four year period. Organic carbon in the 0-7.5cm depth decreased from 3.21% to 3.01% (- 0.20%) after residue removed as compared to a decrease from 3.39% to 3.23% (-0.17%) in plots without tillage applied after four years. The soil C:N ratio (0-7.5cm) decreased from 10.63 to 10.37 (-0.26 (unitless)) in the tilled plots over a four-year period. Soil C:N ratio at the 0-7.5cm depth decreased from 10.72 to 10.04 (-0.68) in the no-till plots over a four year period. Differences in the soil C:N ratio comparing residue removed and residue returned were similar (-0.51 vs. -0.43 respectively). These soils are highly buffered for organic carbon changes. Many cropping cycles are required to determine how soil carbon storage is significantly impacted by production systems.

  19. Biochemical Disincentives to Fertilizing Cellulosic Ethanol Crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, M. E.; Hockaday, W. C.; Snapp, S.; McSwiney, C.; Baldock, J.

    2010-12-01

    Corn grain biofuel crops produce the highest yields when the cropping ecosystem is not nitrogen (N)-limited, achieved by application of fertilizer. There are environmental consequences for excessive fertilizer application to crops, including greenhouse gas emissions, hypoxic “dead zones,” and health problems from N runoff into groundwater. The increase in corn acreage in response to demand for alternative fuels (i.e. ethanol) could exacerbate these problems, and divert food supplies to fuel production. A potential substitute for grain ethanol that could reduce some of these impacts is cellulosic ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol feedstocks include grasses (switchgrass), hardwoods, and crop residues (e.g. corn stover, wheat straw). It has been assumed that these feedstocks will require similar N fertilization rates to grain biofuel crops to maximize yields, but carbohydrate yield versus N application has not previously been monitored. We report the biochemical stocks (carbohydrate, protein, and lignin in Mg ha-1) of a corn ecosystem grown under varying N levels. We measured biochemical yield in Mg ha-1 within the grain, leaf and stem, and reproductive parts of corn plants grown at seven N fertilization rates (0-202 kg N ha-1), to evaluate the quantity and quality of these feedstocks across a N fertilization gradient. The N fertilization rate study was performed at the Kellogg Biological Station-Long Term Ecological Research Site (KBS-LTER) in Michigan. Biochemical stocks were measured using 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), combined with a molecular mixing model (Baldock et al. 2004). Carbohydrate and lignin are the main biochemicals of interest in ethanol production since carbohydrate is the ethanol feedstock, and lignin hinders the carbohydrate to ethanol conversion process. We show that corn residue carbohydrate yields respond only weakly to N fertilization compared to grain. Grain carbohydrate yields plateau in response to fertilization at

  20. Nitrogen leaching: A crop rotation perspective on the effect of N surplus, field management and use of catch crops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    De Notaris, Chiara; Rasmussen, Jim; Sørensen, Peter

    2018-01-01

    Components of the field nitrogen (N) balance (input and surplus) are often used to predict nitrate leaching from agricultural lands. However, management factors, such as use of catch crops, greatly affect the actual loss and are a key to reduce N leaching. The present study is based on the 4th cy...

  1. Residual life management. Maintenance improvement; Gestion de vida remanente. Mejora del mantenimiento

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sainero Garcia, J; Hevia Ruperez, F

    1996-12-31

    The terms Residual Life Management, Life Cycle Management and Long-Term Management are synonymous with a concept which aims to establish efficient maintenance for the profitable and safe operation of a power plant for as long as possible. A Residual Life Management programme comprises a number of stages, of which Maintenance Evaluation focuses on how power plant maintenance practices allow the mitigation and control of component ageing. with this objective in mind, a methodology has been developed for the analysis of potential degradative phenomena acting on critical components in terms of normal power plant maintenance practices. This methodology applied to maintenance evaluation enables the setting out of a maintenance programme based on the Life Management concept, and the programme`s subsequent up-dating to allow for new techniques and methods. Initial applications have shown that although, in general terms, power plant maintenance is efficient, the way in which Residual Life Management is approached requires changes in maintenance practices. These changes range from modifications to existing inspection and surveillance methods or the establishment of new ones, to the monitoring of trends or the performance of additional studies, the purpose of which is to provide an accurate evaluation of the condition of the installations and the possibility of life extension. (Author)

  2. Simulating the effects of climate and agricultural management practices on global crop yield

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deryng, D.; Sacks, W. J.; Barford, C. C.; Ramankutty, N.

    2011-06-01

    Climate change is expected to significantly impact global food production, and it is important to understand the potential geographic distribution of yield losses and the means to alleviate them. This study presents a new global crop model, PEGASUS 1.0 (Predicting Ecosystem Goods And Services Using Scenarios) that integrates, in addition to climate, the effect of planting dates and cultivar choices, irrigation, and fertilizer application on crop yield for maize, soybean, and spring wheat. PEGASUS combines carbon dynamics for crops with a surface energy and soil water balance model. It also benefits from the recent development of a suite of global data sets and analyses that serve as model inputs or as calibration data. These include data on crop planting and harvesting dates, crop-specific irrigated areas, a global analysis of yield gaps, and harvested area and yield of major crops. Model results for present-day climate and farm management compare reasonably well with global data. Simulated planting and harvesting dates are within the range of crop calendar observations in more than 75% of the total crop-harvested areas. Correlation of simulated and observed crop yields indicates a weighted coefficient of determination, with the weighting based on crop-harvested area, of 0.81 for maize, 0.66 for soybean, and 0.45 for spring wheat. We found that changes in temperature and precipitation as predicted by global climate models for the 2050s lead to a global yield reduction if planting and harvesting dates remain unchanged. However, adapting planting dates and cultivar choices increases yield in temperate regions and avoids 7-18% of global losses.

  3. Adapting crop management practices to climate change: Modeling optimal solutions at the field scale

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lehmann, N.; Finger, R.; Klein, T.; Calanca, P.; Walter, A.

    2013-01-01

    Climate change will alter the environmental conditions for crop growth and require adjustments in management practices at the field scale. In this paper, we analyzed the impacts of two different climate change scenarios on optimal field management practices in winterwheat and grain maize production

  4. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Global Warming Potential of Traditional and Diversified Tropical Rice Rotation Systems including Impacts of Upland Crop Management Practices i.e. Mulching and Inter-crop Cultivation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janz, Baldur; Weller, Sebastian; Kraus, David; Wassmann, Reiner; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Kiese, Ralf

    2016-04-01

    Paddy rice cultivation is increasingly challenged by irrigation water scarcity, while at the same time changes in demand (e.g. changes in diets or increasing demand for biofuels) will feed back on agricultural practices. These factors are changing traditional cropping patterns from flooded double-rice systems to the introduction of well-aerated upland crop systems in the dry season. Emissions of methane (CH4) are expected to decrease, while emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) will increase and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks will most likely be volatilized in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2). We measured greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines to provide a comparative assessment of the global warming potentials (GWP) as well as yield scaled GWPs of different crop rotations and to evaluate mitigation potentials or risks of new management practices i.e. mulching and inter-crop cultivation. New management practices of mulching and intercrop cultivation will also have the potential to change SOC dynamics, thus can play the key role in contributing to the GWP of upland cropping systems. To present, more than three years of continuous measurement data of CH4 and N2O emissions in double-rice cropping (R-R) and paddy rice rotations diversified with either maize (R-M) or aerobic rice (R-A) in upland cultivation have been collected. Introduction of upland crops in the dry season reduced irrigation water use and CH4 emissions by 66-81% and 95-99%, respectively. Moreover, for practices including upland crops, CH4 emissions in the subsequent wet season with paddy rice were reduced by 54-60%. Although annual N2O emissions increased twice- to threefold in the diversified systems, the strong reduction of CH4 led to a significantly lower (pbalance but also with regard to soil fertility. New upland crop management practices where first implemented during land-preparation for dry season (July) 2015 where i) 6t/ha rice straw

  5. MAINTAINING LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT: Herbicide-resistant weeds challenge some signature cropping systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bradley D. Hanson

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Invasive and endemic weeds pose recurring challenges for California land managers. The evolution of herbicide resistance in several species has imposed new challenges in some cropping systems, and these issues are being addressed by UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors, specialists and faculty. There are currently 24 unique herbicide-resistant weed biotypes in the state, dominated by grasses and sedges in flooded rice systems and, more recently, glyphosate-resistant broadleaf and grass weeds in tree and vine systems, roadsides and glyphosate-tolerant field crops. Weed scientists address these complex issues using approaches ranging from basic physiology and genetics research to applied research and extension efforts in grower fields throughout the state. Although solutions to herbicide resistance are not simple and are affected by many biological, economic, regulatory and social factors, California stakeholders need information, training and solutions to address new weed management problems as they arise. Coordinated efforts conducted under the Endemic and Invasive Pests and Disease Strategic Initiative directly address weed management challenges in California's agricultural industries.

  6. Relating N2O emissions from energy crops to the avoided fossil fuel-derived CO2 – a study on bioethanol and biogas produced from organically managed maize, rye, vetch and grass-clover

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carter, Mette Sustmann; Hauggard-Nielsen, Henrik; Thomsen, Sune Tjalfe

    2010-01-01

    ‐derived CO2, where the N2O emission has been subtracted. This value does not account for farm machinery CO2 emissions and fuel consumption during biofuel production. We obtained the greatest net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by co‐production of bioethanol and biogas or by biogas alone produced from...... fuel‐derived CO2, which is obtained when energy crops are used for biofuel production. The analysis includes five organically managed crops (viz. maize, rye, rye‐vetch, vetch and grass‐clover) and three scenarios for conversion of biomass to biofuel. The scenarios are 1) bioethanol production, 2......) biogas production and 3) co‐production of bioethanol and biogas, where the energy crops are first used for bioethanol fermentation and subsequently the residues from this process are utilized for biogas production. The net reduction in greenhouse gas missions is calculated as the avoided fossil fuel...

  7. Mixed crop-livestock production systems of smallholder farmers in sub-humid and semi-arid areas of Zambia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lungu, J.C.N.

    2002-01-01

    Livestock production activities among small-scale farmers of semi-arid (Agro-ecological zone 1) and sub-humid (Agro-ecological zone 2) areas of Zambia are integrated with crop production activities in what is termed as crop/livestock farming system. This is a closed system in which production of one enterprise depends on the other. In Zambia, crop production depends on draught animals for tillage of cropping area, animal manure for fertilisation of crops while livestock depend on crop residues for dry season feeding. Good quality grass is generally available in adequate amounts to support reasonable level of livestock productivity during the rainy season. But livestock rely on low quantity and poor quality, highly fibrous perennial grass from veld and fibrous crop residues during the dry season. These resources are inadequate to support optimum livestock productivity activities. Poor nutrition results in low rates of reproduction and production as well as increased susceptibility to diseases. With the increasing human population cropping land is expanding, leading to increased production of crop residues. This has however, reduced the grazing land available for ruminant production. In Zambia large quantities of crop residues (stovers, husks and straws, legume tops and hulls, sugar cane tops, cassava leaves, potato vines, etc.) are left in the field where they are wasted each year because small-scale farmers lack the knowledge on how best to use them. There is a need to find ways to reverse this situation by adapting known and workable technologies to local conditions and by introducing new approaches for improving the use of crop residues and poor quality fibrous feeds. Efforts should also be made to enlarge feed resource base. The technologies should be simple and effective. In the presence of a dynamic market system, livestock production in a crop/livestock system could be intensified and made profitable for small-scale farmers. (author)

  8. Evaluation of the effects of mulch on optimum sowing date and irrigation management of zero till wheat in central Punjab, India using APSIM

    OpenAIRE

    Balwinder-Singh,; Humphreys, E.; Gaydon, D.S.; Eberbach, P.L.

    2016-01-01

    Machinery for sowing wheat directly into rice residues has become more common in the rice-wheat systems of the north-west Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, with increasing numbers of farmers now potentially able to access the benefits of residue retention. However, surface residue retention affects soil water and temperature dynamics, thus the optimum sowing date and irrigation management for a mulched crop may vary from those of a traditional non-mulched crop. Furthermore, the effects of s...

  9. Increasing productivity by matching farming system management and genotype in water-limited environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirkegaard, J A; Hunt, J R

    2010-10-01

    Improvements in water productivity and yield arise from interactions between varieties (G) and their management (M). Most G×M interactions considered by breeders and physiologists focus on in-crop management (e.g. sowing time, plant density, N management). However, opportunities exist to capture more water and use it more effectively that involve judicious management of prior crops and fallows (e.g. crop sequence, weed control, residue management). The dry-land wheat production system of southern Australia, augmented by simulation studies, is used to demonstrate the relative impacts and interactions of a range of pre-crop and in-crop management decisions on water productivity. A specific case study reveals how a novel genetic trait, long coleoptiles that enable deeper sowing, can interact with different management options to increase the water-limited yield of wheat from 1.6 t ha(-1) to 4.5 t ha(-1), reflecting the experience of leading growers. Understanding such interactions will be necessary to capture benefits from new varieties within the farming systems of the future.

  10. Management of high sulfur coal combustion residues, issues and practices: Proceedings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chugh, Y.P.; Beasley, G.A. [eds.

    1994-10-01

    Papers presented at the following sessions are included in this proceedings: (1) overview topic; (2) characterization of coal combustion residues; (3) environmental impacts of residues management; (4) materials handling and utilization, Part I; and (5) materials handling and utilization, Part II. Selected paper have been processed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

  11. [Multi-residue method for screening of pesticides in crops by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanizawa, Haruna; Shima, Mikie; Ikehara, Chieko; Kobata, Masakazu; Sato, Motoaki

    2005-10-01

    A simple and rapid method was developed for the screening of 82 pesticides/metabolites in a wide variety of crops, using solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). After extraction with methanol, the filtered extracts were made up to 100 mL and a 2 mL aliquot was subjected to solid-phase extraction. Co-extractives were removed with a C18 mini-column, while pesticides were retained on 3 kinds of mini-columns (HLB, SAX, activated carbon), and then eluted with acetonitrile. Analysis was performed by LC/MS/MS, and MS acquisition parameters were established in positive and negative ESI modes. The utility of the method was demonstrated by the analysis of 6 crops (carrot, cabbage, onion, spinach, lemon, brown rice) and one mixed vegetable juice. Of 82 compounds tested, 75 in carrot and 62 in lemon were obtained with recoveries ranging from 70-120%. For all samples tested, 75 compounds could be obtained with recoveries of over 50%, and the detection limits of most compounds were lower than 0.01 microg/g. This method provides acceptable performance for analysis of these 75 compounds. Further, by using aliquots of the extracts with small-scale mini-columns, purified samples could be obtained. This proposed method with small matrix effects, is effective and suitable for screening of multiple residual pesticides by using LC/MS/MS.

  12. Evaluating regional water scarcity: Irrigated crop water budgets for groundwater management in the Wisconsin Central Sands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nocco, M. A.; Kucharik, C. J.; Kraft, G.

    2013-12-01

    Regional water scarcity dilemmas between agricultural and aquatic land users pervade the humid northern lake states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, where agricultural irrigation relies on groundwater drawn from shallow aquifers. As these aquifers have strong connectivity to surface waters, irrigation lowers water levels in lakes and wetlands and reduces stream discharges. Irrigation expansion has cultivated a 60-year water scarcity dilemma in The Wisconsin Central Sands, the largest irrigated region in the humid northern lake states, dedicated to potato, maize, and processing vegetable production. Irrigation has depleted Wisconsin Central Sands surface waters, lowering levels in some lakes by over 2 m and drying some coldwater trout streams. Aquatic ecosystems, property values, and recreational uses in some surface waters have been devastated. While the causal link between pumping and surface water stress is established, understanding crop-mediated processes, such as the timing and magnitude of groundwater consumption by evapotranspiration (ET) and groundwater recharge, will be useful in management of groundwater, irrigated cropping systems, and surface water health. Previous modeling and field efforts have compared irrigated crop water use to a natural reference condition on a net annual basis. As a result, we presently understand that for irrigated potatoes and maize, the average annual ET is greater and therefore, the average annual recharge is less than rainfed row crops, grasslands, and both coniferous and deciduous forests. However, we have a limited understanding of the magnitude and timing of ET and recharge from irrigated cropping systems on shorter time scales that proceed with the annual cropping cycle (i.e. planting, full canopy, harvest, residue cover). We seek to understand the spatiotemporal variability of crop water budgets and associated water scarcity in the Wisconsin Central Sands through detailed measurements of drainage (potential

  13. Parameterization Models for Pesticide Exposure via Crop Consumption

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fantke, Peter; Wieland, Peter; Juraske, Ronnie

    2012-01-01

    harvest, degradation half-lives in crops and on crop surfaces, overall residence times in soil, and substance molecular weight. Partition coefficients also play an important role for fruit trees and tomato (Kow), potato (Koc), and lettuce (Kaw, Kow). Focusing on these parameters, we develop crop...... correspond well with results from the complex framework for 1540 substance-crop combinations with total deviations between a factor 4 (potato) and a factor 66 (lettuce). Predicted residues also correspond well with experimental data previously used to evaluate the complex framework. Pesticide mass in harvest...

  14. Cover crops support ecological intensification of arable cropping systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittwer, Raphaël A.; Dorn, Brigitte; Jossi, Werner; van der Heijden, Marcel G. A.

    2017-02-01

    A major challenge for agriculture is to enhance productivity with minimum impact on the environment. Several studies indicate that cover crops could replace anthropogenic inputs and enhance crop productivity. However, so far, it is unclear if cover crop effects vary between different cropping systems, and direct comparisons among major arable production systems are rare. Here we compared the short-term effects of various cover crops on crop yield, nitrogen uptake, and weed infestation in four arable production systems (conventional cropping with intensive tillage and no-tillage; organic cropping with intensive tillage and reduced tillage). We hypothesized that cover cropping effects increase with decreasing management intensity. Our study demonstrated that cover crop effects on crop yield were highest in the organic system with reduced tillage (+24%), intermediate in the organic system with tillage (+13%) and in the conventional system with no tillage (+8%) and lowest in the conventional system with tillage (+2%). Our results indicate that cover crops are essential to maintaining a certain yield level when soil tillage intensity is reduced (e.g. under conservation agriculture), or when production is converted to organic agriculture. Thus, the inclusion of cover crops provides additional opportunities to increase the yield of lower intensity production systems and contribute to ecological intensification.

  15. Residue Management of Biodiesel Industry: A Study of Value Creation in the Supply Chain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stella Maris Lima Altoé

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Residues, whether solid or liquid, are inherent to many industrial processes, and require specialized treatments. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the process of creating value in the supply chain, from the sustainable management of residues in the biodiesel industry. The methodological approach was a multiple case study, with the use of bibliographic data, documents and discourse analysis. Data were collected through interviews with managers of the companies analyzed. The findings suggest that residue management enables the creation of value in the supply chain of biodiesel. It is also noted that from this management, environmental preservation occurs, the incidence of fines is reduced or even eliminated, and there are still economic cooperation between the companies that have different activities but are a part of the supply chain of biodiesel

  16. The benefits of herbicide-resistant crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Jerry M

    2012-10-01

    Since 1996, genetically modified herbicide-resistant crops, primarily glyphosate-resistant soybean, corn, cotton and canola, have helped to revolutionize weed management and have become an important tool in crop production practices. Glyphosate-resistant crops have enabled the implementation of weed management practices that have improved yield and profitability while better protecting the environment. Growers have recognized their benefits and have made glyphosate-resistant crops the most rapidly adopted technology in the history of agriculture. Weed management systems with glyphosate-resistant crops have often relied on glyphosate alone, have been easy to use and have been effective, economical and more environmentally friendly than the systems they have replaced. Glyphosate has worked extremely well in controlling weeds in glyphosate-resistant crops for more than a decade, but some key weeds have evolved resistance, and using glyphosate alone has proved unsustainable. Now, growers need to renew their weed management practices and use glyphosate with other cultural, mechanical and herbicide options in integrated systems. New multiple-herbicide-resistant crops with resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides will expand the utility of existing herbicide technologies and will be an important component of future weed management systems that help to sustain the current benefits of high-efficiency and high-production agriculture. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

  17. Pesticide residue analysis of soil, water, and grain of IPM basmati rice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arora, Sumitra; Mukherji, Irani; Kumar, Aman; Tanwar, R K

    2014-12-01

    The main aim of the present investigations was to compare the pesticide load in integrated pest management (IPM) with non-IPM crops of rice fields. The harvest samples of Basmati rice grain, soil, and irrigation water, from IPM and non-IPM field trials, at villages in northern India, were analyzed using multi-pesticide residue method. The field experiments were conducted for three consecutive years (2008-2011) for the successful validation of the modules, synthesized for Basmati rice, at these locations. Residues of tricyclazole, propiconazole, hexconazole, lambda cyhalothrin, pretilachlor chlorpyrifos, DDVP, carbendazim, and imidacloprid were analyzed from two locations, Dudhli village of Dehradun, Uttrakhand and Saboli and Aterna village of Sonepat, Haryana. The pesticide residues were observed below detectable limit (BDL) (water samples (2008-09). Residues of tricyclazole and carbendazim, analyzed from same locations, revealed pesticide residues as BDL (water samples (2009-2010). The residues of tricyclazole, propioconazole, chlorpyrifos, hexaconazole, pretilachlor, and λ-cyhalothrin were also found as BDL (water samples (<0.001-0.05 μg/L) (2010-2011).

  18. Crop diversity prevents serious weed problems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Melander, Bo

    2016-01-01

    Weed management in organic crop production could benefit from more diversification of today’s cropping systems. However, the potential of diversification needs better documentation and solid suggestions for employment in practise must be identified.......Weed management in organic crop production could benefit from more diversification of today’s cropping systems. However, the potential of diversification needs better documentation and solid suggestions for employment in practise must be identified....

  19. Review of anthraquinone applications for pest management and agricultural crop protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeLiberto, Shelagh T; Werner, Scott J

    2016-10-01

    We have reviewed published anthraquinone applications for international pest management and agricultural crop protection from 1943 to 2016. Anthraquinone (AQ) is commonly found in dyes, pigments and many plants and organisms. Avian repellent research with AQ began in the 1940s. In the context of pest management, AQ is currently used as a chemical repellent, perch deterrent, insecticide and feeding deterrent in many wild birds, and in some mammals, insects and fishes. Criteria for evaluation of effective chemical repellents include efficacy, potential for wildlife hazards, phytotoxicity and environmental persistence. As a biopesticide, AQ often meets these criteria of efficacy for the non-lethal management of agricultural depredation caused by wildlife. We summarize published applications of AQ for the protection of newly planted and maturing crops from pest birds. Conventional applications of AQ-based repellents include preplant seed treatments [e.g. corn (Zea mays L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), wheat (Triticum spp.), millet (Panicum spp.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), pelletized feed and forest tree species] and foliar applications for rice, sunflower, lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), turf, sugar beets (Beta vulgaris L.), soybean (Glycine max L.), sweet corn and nursery, fruit and nut crops. In addition to agricultural repellent applications, AQ has also been used to treat toxicants for the protection of non-target birds. Few studies have demonstrated AQ repellency in mammals, including wild boar (Sus scrofa, L.), thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus, Mitchill), black-tailed prairie dogs (Cyomys ludovicainus, Ord.), common voles (Microtus arvalis, Pallas), house mice (Mus musculus, L.), Tristram's jirds (Meriones tristrami, Thomas) and black rats (Rattus rattus L.). Natural sources of AQ and its derivatives have also been identified as insecticides and insect repellents. As a natural or synthetic biopesticide, AQ

  20. Precise tillage systems for enhanced non-chemical weed management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kurstjens, D.A.G.

    2007-01-01

    Soil and residue manipulation can assist weed management by killing weeds mechanically, interfering in weed lifecycles, facilitating operations and enhancing crop establishment and growth. Current tillage systems often compromise these functions, resulting in heavy reliance on herbicides,

  1. Phosphorus fractionation and crop performance on an alfisol ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effects of Sokoto phosphate rock (PR) and plant residues on soil phosphorus (P) fractions and crop performance was studied in the field on an alfisol in the derived savanna of southwestern Nigeria. The plant residues studied were leaves of Dactyladenia barteri, Flemingia macrophylla, Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena ...

  2. Crop residues as driver for N2O emissions from a sandy loam soil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pugesgaard, Siri; Petersen, Søren O.; Chirinda, Ngonidzashe

    2017-01-01

    -term experiment on a loamy sand soil at Foulum in Denmark. All cropping systems included winter wheat, a leguminous crop (faba bean or grass-clover), potato and spring barley grown in different 4-crop rotations varying in strategies for N supply (fertilizer/manure type and rate, use of catch crops and green......-N leaching losses ranged from 39 to 56 kg N ha−1 y−1 and were lowest in rotations with catch crops; leaching was not correlated with N surplus or N input in fertilizer or manure. Crop yields of the organic rotations were 25 to 37% lower than in identical conventional rotations. As a consequence, yield...

  3. Soil Hydrological Attributes of an Integrated Crop-Livestock Agroecosystem: Increased Adaptation through Resistance to Soil Change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liebig, M.A; Tanaka, D.L; Kronberg, S.L; Karn, J.F; Scholljegerdes, E.J

    2011-01-01

    Integrated crop-livestock systems have been purported to have significant agronomic and environmental benefits compared to specialized, single-enterprise production systems. However, concerns exist regarding the effect of livestock in integrated systems to cause soil compaction, thereby decreasing infiltration of water into soil. Such concerns are compounded by projections of more frequent high-intensity rainfall events from anticipated climate change, which would act to increase surface runoff and soil erosion. A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of residue management, frequency of hoof traffic, season, and production system (e.g., integrated annual cropping versus perennial grass) on infiltration rates from 2001 through 2008 in central North Dakota, USA. Imposed treatments had no effect on infiltration rate at three, six, and nine years after study establishment, implying that agricultural producers should not be concerned with inhibited infiltration in integrated annual cropping systems, where winter grazing is used. The use of no-till management, coupled with annual freeze/thaw and wet/dry cycles, likely conferred an inherent resistance to change in near-surface soil properties affecting soil hydrological attributes. Accordingly, caution should be exercised in applying these results to other regions or management systems.

  4. The role of phosphites in scab management and residues in pecan kernels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phosphite fungicides are used to manage pecan scab (caused by Fusicladium effusum), the most economically destructive disease of pecan in the Southeast US. The EU has imposed a minimum residue limit (MRL) on these fungicides in pecan kernels. Data shows that the phosphite residue exceeds the 2 ppm M...

  5. Irrigation management strategies to improve Water Use Efficiency of potatoes crop in Central Tunisia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghazouani, Hiba; Provenzano, Giuseppe; Rallo, Giovanni; Mguidiche, Amel; Douh, Boutheina; Boujelben, Abdelhamid

    2015-04-01

    In Tunisia, the expansion of irrigated area and the semiarid climate make it compulsory to adopt strategies of water management to increase water use efficiency. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI), providing the application of high frequency small irrigation volumes below the soil surface have been increasingly used to enhance irrigation efficiency. At the same time, deficit irrigation (DI) has shown successful results with a large number of crop in various countries. However, for some crops like potatoes, DI is difficult to manage due to the rapid effect of water stress on tuber yield. Irrigation frequency is a key factor to schedule subsurface drip irrigation because, even maintaining the total seasonal volume, soil wetting patterns can result different during the growth period, with consequence on crop yield. Despite the need to enhance water use efficiency, only a few studies related to deficit irrigation of horticultural crops have been made in Tunisia. Objective of the paper was to assess the effects of different on-farm irrigation strategies on water use efficiency of potatoes crop irrigated with subsurface drip irrigation in a semiarid area of central Tunisia. After validation, Hydrus-2D model was used to simulate soil water status in the root zone, to evaluate actual crop evapotranspiration and then to estimate indirectly water use efficiency (IWUE), defined as the ratio between crop yield and total amount of water supplied with irrigation. Field experiments, were carried out in Central Tunisia (10° 33' 47.0" E, 35° 58' 8.1° N, 19 m a.s.l) on a potatoes crop planted in a sandy loam soil, during the growing season 2014, from January 15 (plantation of tubers) to May 6 (harvesting). Soil water status was monitored in two plots (T1 and T2) maintained under the same management, but different irrigation volumes, provided by a SDI system. In particular, irrigation was scheduled according to the average water content measured in the root zone, with a total of 8

  6. Long Term Evaluation of Yield Stability Trend for Cereal Crops in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mehdi nassiri mahalati

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available During the last few decades cereals yield have increased drastically at the national level however, information about yield stability and its resistance to annual environmental variability are scare. In this study long term stability of grin yield of wheat, barley, rice, corn and overall cereals in Iran were evaluated during a 40-year period (1971-2011. Stability analysis was conducted using two different methods. In the first method the residuals of regression between crop yield and time (years were calculated as stability index. For this different segmented regression models including linear, bi-linear and tri-linear were fitted to yield trend data and the best model for each crop was selected based on statistical measures. Absolute residuals (the difference between actual and predicted yields for each year as well as relative residuals (absolute residuals as percent of predicted yield were estimated. In the second method yield stability was estimated from the slope of the regression line between average annual yield of all cereals (environmental index and the yield of each crop in the same year. Results indicted that in wheat and barley absolute and relative residuals were increased during the study period leading to reduction of stability despite considerable yield increment. However, for rice and corn residuals followed a decreasing trend and therefore yield stability of these crops was increased during the last 40 years. The same result was obtained with the environmental index but in this method reduction of yield stability in barley was lower than wheat. Based on the results, yield and yield stability of cereals crops in Iran increased during the last 40 years. However, the percentage increase in stability is lower than that of yield. Application of nitrogen fertilizers was led to reduction in stability. Yield stability of wheat, barley, rice, corn and overall cereals was improved with increasing their cultivated area.

  7. Soil physical properties and grape yield influenced by cover crops and management systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaqueline Dalla Rosa

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The use of cover crops in vineyards is a conservation practice with the purpose of reducing soil erosion and improving the soil physical quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate cover crop species and management systems on soil physical properties and grape yield. The experiment was carried out in Bento Gonçalves, RS, Southern Brazil, on a Haplic Cambisol, in a vineyard established in 1989, using White and Rose Niagara grape (Vitis labrusca L. in a horizontal, overhead trellis system. The treatments were established in 2002, consisting of three cover crops: spontaneous species (SS, black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb (BO, and a mixture of white clover (Trifolium repens L., red clover (Trifolium pratense L. and annual rye-grass (Lolium multiflorum L. (MC. Two management systems were applied: desiccation with herbicide (D and mechanical mowing (M. Soil under a native forest (NF area was collected as a reference. The experimental design consisted of completely randomized blocks, with three replications. The soil physical properties in the vine rows were not influenced by cover crops and were similar to the native forest, with good quality of the soil structure. In the inter-rows, however, there was a reduction in biopores, macroporosity, total porosity and an increase in soil density, related to the compaction of the surface soil layer. The M system increased soil aggregate stability compared to the D system. The treatments affected grapevine yield only in years with excess or irregular rainfall.

  8. Integrating soil conservation practices and glyphosate-resistant crops: impacts on soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locke, Martin A; Zablotowicz, Robert M; Reddy, Krishna N

    2008-04-01

    Conservation practices often associated with glyphosate-resistant crops, e.g. limited tillage and crop cover, improve soil conditions, but only limited research has evaluated their effects on soil in combination with glyphosate-resistant crops. It is assumed that conservation practices have similar benefits to soil whether or not glyphosate-resistant crops are used. This paper reviews the impact on soil of conservation practices and glyphosate-resistant crops, and presents data from a Mississippi field trial comparing glyphosate-resistant and non-glyphosate-resistant maize (Zea mays L.) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under limited tillage management. Results from the reduced-tillage study indicate differences in soil biological and chemical properties owing to glyphosate-resistant crops. Under continuous glyphosate-resistant maize, soils maintained greater soil organic carbon and nitrogen as compared with continuous non-glyphosate-resistant maize, but no differences were measured in continuous cotton or in cotton rotated with maize. Soil microbial community structure based on total fatty acid methyl ester analysis indicated a significant effect of glyphosate-resistant crop following 5 years of continuous glyphosate-resistant crop as compared with the non-glyphosate-resistant crop system. Results from this study, as well as the literature review, indicate differences attributable to the interaction of conservation practices and glyphosate-resistant crop, but many are transient and benign for the soil ecosystem. Glyphosate use may result in minor effects on soil biological/chemical properties. However, enhanced organic carbon and plant residues in surface soils under conservation practices may buffer potential effects of glyphosate. Long-term field research established under various cropping systems and ecological regions is needed for critical assessment of glyphosate-resistant crop and conservation practice interactions. Copyright (c) 2008 by John Wiley & Sons

  9. Thermogravimetry/mass spectrometry study of woody residues and an herbaceous biomass crop using PCA techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gomez, C.J.; Velo, E.; Puigjaner, L. [Department of Chemical Engineering, ETSEIB, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Avinguda Diagonal 647, G2, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Meszaros, E.; Jakab, E. [Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Chemical Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 17, Budapest 1525 (Hungary)

    2007-10-15

    The devolatilization behaviour of pine and beech wood from carpentry residuals and an herbaceous product from an energy plantation (artichoke thistle) was investigated by thermogravimetry/mass spectrometry (TG/MS). The effect of three pre-treatments, hot-water washing, ethanol extraction and their combination, was also studied. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to help in the evaluation of the large data set of results. The characteristics of the thermal decomposition of the herbaceous crop are considerably different from that of the woody biomass samples. The evolution profiles of some characteristic pyrolysis products revealed that the thermal behaviour of wood and thistle is still considerably different after the elimination of some of the inorganic ions and extractive compounds, although the macromolecular components of the samples decompose at similar temperatures. With the help of the PCA calculations, the effect of the different pre-treatments on the production of the main pyrolysis products was evidenced. (author)

  10. 7 CFR 205.203 - Soil fertility and crop nutrient management practice standard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Soil fertility and crop nutrient management practice standard. 205.203 Section 205.203 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing Practices), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) ORGANIC FOODS PRODUCTION ACT...

  11. Matching soil salinization and cropping systems in communally managed irrigation schemes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malota, Mphatso; Mchenga, Joshua

    2018-03-01

    Occurrence of soil salinization in irrigation schemes can be a good indicator to introduce high salt tolerant crops in irrigation schemes. This study assessed the level of soil salinization in a communally managed 233 ha Nkhate irrigation scheme in the Lower Shire Valley region of Malawi. Soil samples were collected within the 0-0.4 m soil depth from eight randomly selected irrigation blocks. Irrigation water samples were also collected from five randomly selected locations along the Nkhate River which supplies irrigation water to the scheme. Salinity of both the soil and the irrigation water samples was determined using an electrical conductivity (EC) meter. Analysis of the results indicated that even for very low salinity tolerant crops (ECi water was suitable for irrigation purposes. However, root-zone soil salinity profiles depicted that leaching of salts was not adequate and that the leaching requirement for the scheme needs to be relooked and always be adhered to during irrigation operation. The study concluded that the crop system at the scheme needs to be adjusted to match with prevailing soil and irrigation water salinity levels.

  12. Decomposition of corn and soybean residues under field conditions and their role as inoculum source

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.M. Reis

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Necrotrophic parasites of above-ground plant parts survive saprophytically, between growing seasons in host crop residues. In an experiment conducted under field conditions, the time required in months for corn and soybean residues to be completely decomposed was quantified. Residues were laid on the soil surface to simulate no-till farming. Crop debris of the two plant species collected on the harvesting day cut into pieces of 5.0cm-long and a 200g mass was added to nylon mesh bags. At monthly intervals, bags were taken to the laboratory for weighing. Corn residues were decomposed within 37.0 months and those of soybean, within 34.5 months. Hw main necrotrophic fungi diagnosed in the corn residues were Colletotrichum gramicola, Diplodia spp. and Gibberella zeae, and those in soybeans residues were Cercospora kikuchii, Colletotrichum spp, Glomerella sp. and Phomopsis spp. Thus, those periods shoulb be observed in crop rotation aimed at to eliminating contaminated residues and, consequently, the inoculum from the cultivated area.

  13. The effect of species, planting date, and management of cover crops on weed community in hybrid sunflower (Helianthus annuus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Bolandi Amoughein

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Studies showed that if mixed populations of annual weeds grow with the sunflower, for every 10% increase in weed biomass, seed yield would decrease by 13% (Van Gessel & Renner, 2000. In addition to control weeds using herbicides multi-stage spraying is required. In organic farming systems mulch is used to control weeds, protection, fertility and improve soil quality (Glab & Kulig, 2008; Kuchaki et al., 2001. Surface mulches from cover crops suppress weed growth by reducing light levels at the soil surface, thereby slowing photosynthesis. In return, these conditions reduce seed germination and act as a physical barrier to seedling emergence and growth (Teasdale et al., 2007. Materials and Methods: The experiment was carried out in Ardabil Agricultural Research Station, as a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications during 1390-1391. The first factor was considered four types of cover crops including winter rye (Secale cereal, spring barley (Hordeum vulgare, winter wheat (Triticum aestivum and control (no cover crop, no weeding.The second factor was mulch management at two levels (living mulch and dead mulch and the third factor was two planting dates for cover crops (synchronous with sunflower planting and 45 days after sunflower planting. Sunflower seeding performed manually on 23 May on the ridges with 50 cm row distance and spacing between plants was 25 cm in depth of 5 cm. Cover crops seeds, rye, barley and wheat, were planted between rows of sunflower. Due to the low density of weeds in study field, complete weeding and sampling of weeds in one session was performed (60 days after planting date sunflower. Statistical analysis of data performed using SAS software and mean comparison performed using Duncan's test with probability level of 5% and 1%. Diagrams drawn using Excel (Version 8.2. Results and Discussion\t: Density and dry weight of Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis L

  14. Nitrogen release from differently aged Raphanus sativus L. nitrate catch crops during mineralization at autumn temperatures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Ingrid Kaag; Elsgaard, Lars; Olesen, Jørgen Eivind

    2016-01-01

    radish (Raphanus sativus, L.) has emerged as a promising nitrate catch crop in cereal cropping, although the course of remineralization of residue N following termination of this frost-sensitive crucifer remains obscured. We incubated radish residues of different age (different planting and harvest dates...

  15. Farmers' Perception of Integrated Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management for Sustainable Crop Production: A Study of Rural Areas in Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farouque, Md. Golam; Takeya, Hiroyuki

    2007-01-01

    This study aimed to determine farmers' perception of integrated soil fertility and nutrient management for sustainable crop production. Integrated soil fertility (ISF) and nutrient management (NM) is an advanced approach to maintain soil fertility and to enhance crop productivity. A total number of 120 farmers from eight villages in four districts…

  16. The Impacts of Various Environments Factors and Adaptive Management Strategies on Food Crops in the 21st Century Based on a Land Surface Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, A. K.; Lin, T. S.; Lawrence, P.; Kheshgi, H. S.

    2017-12-01

    Environmental factors - characterized by increasing levels of CO2, and changes in temperature and precipitation patterns - present potential risks to global food supply. To date, understanding of environmental factors' effects on crop production remains uncertain due to (1) uncertainties in projected trends of these factors and their spatial and temporal variability; (2) uncertainties in the physiological, genetic and molecular basis of crop adaptation to adaptive management practices (e.g. change in planting time, irrigation and N fertilization etc.) and (3) uncertainties in current land surface models to estimate the response of crop production to changes in environmental factors and management strategies. In this study we apply a process-based land surface model, the Integrated Science Assessment model (ISAM), to assess the impact of various environmental factors and management strategies on the production of row crops (corn, soybean and wheat) at regional and global scales. Results are compared to corresponding simulations performed with the crop model in the Community Land Model (CLM4.5). Each model is driven with historical atmospheric forcing data (1901-2005), and projected atmospheric forcing data under RCP 4.5 or RCP 8.5 (2006-2100) from CESM CMIP5 simulations to estimate the effects of different climate change projections on potential productivity of food crops at a global scale. For each set of atmospheric forcing data, production of each crop is simulated with and without inclusion of adaptive management practices (e.g. application of irrigation, N fertilization, change in planting time and crop cultivars etc.) to assess the effect of adaptation on projected crop production over the 21st century. In detail, three questions are addressed: (1) what is the impact of different climate change projections on global crop production; (2) what is the effect of adaptive management practices on projected crop production; and (3) how do differences in model

  17. The Crop Journal Calls for Papers

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2015-01-01

    We would like to invite you to submit your latest research accomplishments to The Crop Journal,an international,peer‐reviewed research publication covering all aspects of crop sciences including crop genetics,breeding,agronomy,crop physiology,germplasm resources,grain chemistry,grain storage and processing,crop management practices,crop biotechnology,and biomathematics on a bimonthly basis.

  18. The Crop Journal Call for Papers

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2016-01-01

    We would like to invite you to submit your latest research accomplishments to The Crop Journal,an international,peer‐reviewed research publication covering all aspects of crop sciences including crop genetics,breeding,agronomy,crop physiology,germplasm resources,grain chemistry,grain storage and processing,crop management practices,crop biotechnology,and biomathematics on a bimonthly basis.

  19. The Crop Journal Call for Papers

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2016-01-01

    We would like to invite you to submit your latest research accomplishments to The Crop Journal,an international,peer-reviewed research publication covering all aspects of crop sciences including crop genetics,breeding,agronomy,crop physiology,germplasm resources,grain chemistry,grain storage and processing,crop management practices,crop biotechnology,and biomathematics on a bimonthly basis.

  20. The Crop Journal Calls for Papers

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2016-01-01

    We would like to invite you to submit your latest research accomplishments to The Crop Journal,an international,peer‐reviewed research publication covering all aspects of crop sciences including crop genetics,breeding,agronomy,crop physiology,germplasm resources,grain chemistry,grain storage and processing,crop management practices,crop biotechnology,and biomathematics on a bimonthly basis.

  1. The Crop Journal Calls for Papers

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2015-01-01

    We would like to invite you to submit your latest research accomplishments to The Crop Journal,an international,peer-reviewed research publication covering all aspects of crop sciences including crop genetics,breeding,agronomy,crop physiology,germplasm resources,grain chemistry,grain storage and processing,crop management practices,crop biotechnology,and biomathematics on a bimonthly basis.

  2. Nitrogen accumulation and residual effects of nitrogen catch crops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, E.S.

    1991-01-01

    The nitrogen accumulation in Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) and tansy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia L.), under- or aftersown as nitrogen catch crops to spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and field pea (Pisum s...

  3. Soil organic carbon assessments in cropping systems using isotopic techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martín De Dios Herrero, Juan; Cruz Colazo, Juan; Guzman, María Laura; Saenz, Claudio; Sager, Ricardo; Sakadevan, Karuppan

    2016-04-01

    Introduction of improved farming practices are important to address the challenges of agricultural production, food security, climate change and resource use efficiency. The integration of livestock with crops provides many benefits including: (1) resource conservation, (2) ecosystem services, (3) soil quality improvements, and (4) risk reduction through diversification of enterprises. Integrated crop livestock systems (ICLS) with the combination of no-tillage and pastures are useful practices to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) compared with continuous cropping systems (CCS). In this study, the SOC and its fractions in two cropping systems namely (1) ICLS, and (2) CCS were evaluated in Southern Santa Fe Province in Argentina, and the use of delta carbon-13 technique and soil physical fractionation were evaluated to identify sources of SOC in these systems. Two farms inside the same soil cartographic unit and landscape position in the region were compared. The ICLS farm produces lucerne (Medicago sativa Merrill) and oat (Avena sativa L.) grazed by cattle alternatively with grain summer crops sequence of soybean (Glicine max L.) and corn (Zea mays L.), and the farm under continuous cropping system (CCS) produces soybean and corn in a continuous sequence. The soil in the area is predominantly a Typic Hapludoll. Soil samples from 0-5 and 0-20 cm depths (n=4) after the harvest of grain crops were collected in each system and analyzed for total organic carbon (SOC, 0-2000 μm), particulate organic carbon (POC, 50-100 μm) and mineral organic carbon (MOC, is probably due to the presence of deep roots under pastures in ICLS. Delta carbon-13 values for 0-5 cm were -22.9, -21.2 and -19.9 per mil for REF, ICLS and CCS, respectively (Pis explained by the presence of tree species with high lignin content in natural vegetation. Lignin has lower delta carbon-13 compared to cellulose (dominating in crops and pastures), which is present in greater proportion in plant residues of

  4. Lead, arsenic, and copper content of crops grown on lead arsenate-treated and untreated soils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chisholm, D

    1972-01-01

    Increased lead and arsenic concentrations in the surface soil (0-15 cm), resulting from applications of lead arsenate (PbHAs0/sub 1/), increased both lead and arsenic levels in crops grown on treated plots. The lead levels in some crops approached or exceeded the Canadian residue tolerance of 2.0 ppM. Lead arsenate soil treatments did not affect copper absorption by crops. On areas such as old orchard land contaminated with lead arsenate residues it may be advisable to ascertain crops, and also to determine the lead affinity and arsenic sensitivity of the plants to be grown.

  5. Radioprotection and management of radioactive residues study in the radiopharmaceuticals laboratories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zidan, Priscila M.; Silva, Maria Isabel B. da

    2002-01-01

    The 123 I, used in the thyroid cancer diagnoses, is being used at several clinics of nuclear medicine, instead of 131 I. This last one, for presenting half-life 15 times bigger than the first one, causes larger doses to the patient and slower exams. Another subject is the management of the residues generated by radiopharmaceutical laboratories, which requests lager physical space, in the case of 131 I. In the present work, six radiopharmaceutical laboratories of the state of Rio de Janeiro were visited. All of them use the 131 I produced by the Nuclear Engineering Institute. In these visits radioprotection procedures and the management of residues of those laboratories were evaluated, as well as the available infrastructure

  6. Using the DNDC model to compare soil organic carbon dynamics under different crop rotation and fertilizer strategies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mu, L.; Liang, Y.; Xue, Q.; Chen, C.; Lin, X.

    2014-06-01

    Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a vital role in determining soil fertility, water holding capacity and susceptibility to land degradation. On the Chinese Loess Plateau, a large amount of crop residues is regularly removed; therefore, this agricultural area mainly depends on fertilizer inputs to maintain crop yields. This paper aims to use a computer simulation model (DeNitrification and DeComposition, or DNDC) to estimate the changes of SOC content and crop yield from 1998 to 2047 under different cropping systems, providing some strategies to maintain the SOC in balance and to increase crop yields. The results demonstrated that: (i) single manure application or combined with nitrogen fertilizer could significantly enhance the SOC content and crop yield on the sloped land, terraced field and flat land; and (ii) in contrast to sloped land and terraced field, the SOC content and crop yield both continuously increased in flat fields, indicating that the flat field in this region is a good soil surface for carbon sequestration. These results emphasize that application of manure combined with nitrogen fertilizer would be a better management practice to achieve a goal of increasing soil carbon sequestration and food security. (Author)

  7. Adaptive management of irrigation and crops' biodiversity: a case study on tomato

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Lorenzi, Francesca; Alfieri, Silvia Maria; Basile, Angelo; Bonfante, Antonello; Monaco, Eugenia; Riccardi, Maria; Menenti, Massimo

    2013-04-01

    We have assessed the impacts of climate change and evaluated options to adapt irrigation management in the face of predicted changes of agricultural water demand. We have evaluated irrigation scheduling and its effectiveness (versus crop transpiration), and cultivars' adaptability. The spatial and temporal variations of effectiveness and adaptability were studied in an irrigated district of Southern Italy. Two climate scenarios were considered: reference (1961-90) and future (2021-2050) climate, the former from climatic statistics, and the latter from statistical downscaling of general circulation models (AOGCM). Climatic data consist of daily time series of maximum and minimum temperature, and daily rainfall on a grid with a spatial resolution of 35 km. The work was carried out in the Destra Sele irrigation scheme (18.000 ha. Twenty-five soil units were identified and their hydrological properties were determined (measured or estimated from texture through pedo-transfer functions). A tomato crop, in a rotation typical of the area, was considered. A mechanistic model of water flow in the soil-plant-atmosphere system (SWAP) was used to study crop water requirements and water consumption. The model was calibrated and validated in the same area for many different crops. Tomato crop input data and model parameters were estimated on the basis of scientific literature and assumed to be generically representative of the species. Simulations were performed for reference and future climate, and for different irrigation scheduling options. In all soil units, six levels of irrigation volumes were applied: full irrigation (100%), deficit irrigation (80%, 60%, 40%, 20%), no irrigation. From simulation runs, indicators of soil water availability were calculated, moreover the marginal increases of transpiration per unit of irrigation volume, i.e. the effectiveness of irrigation (ΔT/I), were computed, in both climate scenarios. Indicators and marginal increases were used to

  8. Controle de plantas daninhas em milho em função de quantidades de palha de nabo forrageiro Weed control in corn as a function of amount of turnip crop residue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.A. Rizzardi

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Objetivou-se com este experimento avaliar a influência da quantidade de palha de nabo forrageiro (Raphanus sativus var. oleiferus no controle de plantas daninhas em milho. O delineamento experimental foi o de parcelas subdivididas, em blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos constaram das quantidades de 0, 6 e 9 t ha-1 de palha de nabo forrageiro, além do pousio, dispostas na parcela principal e, ainda, de seis momentos de controle de plantas daninhas (milho com 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 e 7 folhas, mais duas testemunhas (sem a presença de plantas daninhas e sem o controle destas, dispostos nas subparcelas. Houve interação de quantidades de palha e momentos de controle em relação ao grau de controle de plantas daninhas; o melhor momento ocorreu entre os estádios de duas a quatro folhas do milho. Na ausência de controle químico, o rendimento de grãos de milho foi superior no tratamento com 9 t ha-1 de palha de nabo forrageiro. O controle químico não proporcionou aumento significativo no rendimento de grãos do milho quando a quantidade de palha de nabo forrageiro foi de 9 t ha-1.The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the amount of turnip (Raphanus sativus var. oleiferus crop residue on weed control in corn. The experimental design was a split-plot, in randomized blocks, with four replications. The treatments tested were 0, 6, and 9 t ha-1 of turnip crop residues, fallow period (the amount of residues was equivalent to the amount of natural vegetation residues, arranged as main plots, and six weed control periods (corn plants with 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 developed leaves, besides two controls (one without weeds and another without weed control, arranged as subplots. Interactions occurred between residue amounts and control periods in relation to the degree of weed control. The best control period was achieved when the corn plants presented from 2 to 4 developed leaves. Corn grain yield was higher in the control

  9. Mapping Cropping Practices of a Sugarcane-Based Cropping System in Kenya Using Remote Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Betty Mulianga

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Over the recent past, there has been a growing concern on the need for mapping cropping practices in order to improve decision-making in the agricultural sector. We developed an original method for mapping cropping practices: crop type and harvest mode, in a sugarcane landscape of western Kenya using remote sensing data. At local scale, a temporal series of 15-m resolution Landsat 8 images was obtained for Kibos sugar management zone over 20 dates (April 2013 to March 2014 to characterize cropping practices. To map the crop type and harvest mode we used ground survey and factory data over 1280 fields, digitized field boundaries, and spectral indices (the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI were computed for all Landsat images. The results showed NDVI classified crop type at 83.3% accuracy, while NDWI classified harvest mode at 90% accuracy. The crop map will inform better planning decisions for the sugar industry operations, while the harvest mode map will be used to plan for sensitizations forums on best management and environmental practices.

  10. Experiences and own management regarding residual symptoms among people with coeliac disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobsson, Lisa Ring; Milberg, Anna; Hjelm, Katarina; Friedrichsen, Maria

    2017-06-01

    Between 7% and 30% of people with treated coeliac disease suffer from residual symptoms, and there is a knowledge gap about their own management of these symptoms. To explore experiences and management concerning residual symptoms despite a gluten-free diet in people with coeliac disease. A qualitative explorative design with semi-structured interviews with 22 adults with coeliac disease in Sweden. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The informants had, at diagnosis, thought that their symptoms would disappear if they followed a gluten-free diet, but the disease was continuing to have a substantial impact on their lives, despite several years of treatment. They experienced cognitive, somatic as well as mental symptoms, including impact on personality (e.g. having a "shorter fuse", being more miserable or tired). However, only a few informants had sought medical care for persistent symptoms. Instead they tried to manage these by themselves, e.g. abstaining from food during periods of more intense symptom, or using distraction. The management of persistent symptoms resembled thorough detective work. To prevent problems related to residual symptoms the informants used withdrawal of social contact as well as acceptance of their situation. People with treated coeliac disease may experience residual symptoms of both a physical and psychological nature, causing major negative impacts on their lives in different ways. In the light of this, healthcare staff should change their practices regarding the follow-up of these people, and in addition to medical care should provide guidance on management strategies to facilitate the daily life. Furthermore, information to newly diagnosed persons should make them aware of the possibility to experience continued symptoms, despite treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Corn residue utilization by livestock in the USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corn (Zea mays L.) residue grazing or harvest provides a simple and economical practice to integrate crops and livestock. Limited information is available on how widespread corn residue utilization is practiced by US producers. In 2010, the USDA-ERS surveyed producers from 19 states on corn grain ...

  12. Root-knot nematode management in double-cropped plasticulture vegetables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desaeger, J A; Csinos, A S

    2006-03-01

    Combination treatments of chisel-injected fumigants (methyl bromide, 1,3-D, metam sodium, and chloropicrin) on a first crop, followed by drip-applied fumigants (metam sodium and 1,3-D +/- chloropicrin) on a second crop, with and without oxamyl drip applications were evaluated for control of Meloidogyne incognita in three different tests (2002 to 2004) in Tifton, GA. First crops were eggplant or tomato, and second crops were cantaloupe, squash, or jalapeno pepper. Double-cropped vegetables suffered much greater root-knot nematode (RKN) pressure than first crops, and almost-total yield loss occurred when second crops received no nematicide treatment. On a first crop of eggplant, all fumigants provided good nematode control and average yield increases of 10% to 15 %. On second crops, higher application rates and fumigant combinations (metam sodium and 1,3-D +/- chloropicrin) improved RKN control and increased yields on average by 20% to 35 % compared to the nonfumigated control. Oxamyl increased yields of the first crop in 2003 on average by 10% to 15% but had no effect in 2004 when RKN failed to establish itself. On double-cropped squash in 2003, oxamyl following fumigation provided significant additional reduction in nematode infection and increased squash yields on average by 30% to 75%.

  13. European energy crops overview. Country report for Denmark

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Statens Planteavlsforsoeg, Tjele Denmark; Statens Jordbrugstekniske Forsoeg, Horsens Denmark

    1996-06-01

    Biomass constitutes a significant contribution to the Danish energy production and is a major tool in increasing the contribution from renewables. So far the focus has been on utilizing existing biomass residues like straw and forest residues and not energy crops. The government has agreed to carry out a demonstration and development programme on energy crops in order to analyse aspects of economy, energy, environment, nature conservancy and comerciality. Several plant species have been investigated for their potential as energy crops and overview information in presented on buchina, sunflower, knotweed, Jerusalem artichoke, false flax, reed Canary grass and corn cockle. More detailed descriptions are given on willow, Miscanthus, energy grain (grain whole crop) and rape which have been most intensively investigated. Rape has been the energy crop grown on the largest scale (40-50,000 ha) but the oil has not been used for energy purposes in Denmark. A research programme on the development of a low input production system for non-food rape is currently conducted. The perennial crops willow and Miscanthus are grown with low input of fertilizer and pesticides and are considered environmentally friendly. Willow-SRC is used as fuel at district heating plants, both commercially and for feasibility studies. Full-scale tests have been carried out on Miscanthus combustion in farm heating plant constructed for straw firing, and on co-combustion with coal at power stations. Grain whole crop (energy grain) has been combusted at a district heating plant, a CHP-plant and a power station. Co-combustion with coal was carried out at a CFB-boiler. Concerning ethanol based on energy crops, only a few activities are in progress. (EG) 89 refs.

  14. Remote Sensing and Geospatial Technological Applications for Site-specific Management of Fruit and Nut Crops: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joel O. Paz

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Site-specific crop management (SSCM is one facet of precision agriculture which is helping increase production with minimal input. It has enhanced the cost-benefit scenario in crop production. Even though the SSCM is very widely used in row crop agriculture like corn, wheat, rice, soybean, etc. it has very little application in cash crops like fruit and nut. The main goal of this review paper was to conduct a comprehensive review of advanced technologies, including geospatial technologies, used in site-specific management of fruit and nut crops. The review explores various remote sensing data from different platforms like satellite, LIDAR, aerial, and field imaging. The study analyzes the use of satellite sensors, such as Quickbird, Landsat, SPOT, and IRS imagery as well as hyperspectral narrow-band remote sensing data in study of fruit and nut crops in blueberry, citrus, peach, apple, etc. The study also explores other geospatial technologies such as GPS, GIS spatial modeling, advanced image processing techniques, and information technology for suitability study, orchard delineation, and classification accuracy assessment. The study also provides an example of a geospatial model developed in ArcGIS ModelBuilder to automate the blueberry production suitability analysis. The GIS spatial model is developed using various crop characteristics such as chilling hours, soil permeability, drainage, and pH, and land cover to determine the best sites for growing blueberry in Georgia, U.S. The study also provides a list of spectral reflectance curves developed for some fruit and nut crops, blueberry, crowberry, redblush citrus, orange, prickly pear, and peach. The study also explains these curves in detail to help researchers choose the image platform, sensor, and spectrum wavelength for various fruit and nut crops SSCM.

  15. Characteristics and management options of crusting soils in a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... to control the crusting. The relationship between crust thickness and soil physical and chemical properties and management practices were assessed using stepwise regression analysis. Soil crusting was largely related to soil aggregation, infiltration, fine sand fraction, cotton monocropping and crop residue incorporation.

  16. Proposal for management and alkalinity transformation of bauxite residue in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Shengguo; Kong, Xiangfeng; Zhu, Feng; Hartley, William; Li, Xiaofei; Li, Yiwei

    2016-07-01

    Bauxite residue is a hazardous solid waste produced during the production of alumina. Its high alkalinity is a potential threat to the environment which may disrupt the surrounding ecological balance of its disposal areas. China is one of the major global producers of alumina and bauxite residue, but differences in alkalinity and associated chemistry exist between residues from China and those from other countries. A detailed understanding of the chemistry of bauxite residue remains the key to improving its management, both in terms of minimizing environmental impacts and reducing its alkaline properties. The nature of bauxite residue and the chemistry required for its transformation are still poorly understood. This review focuses on various transformation processes generated from the Bayer process, sintering process, and combined Bayer-sintering process in China. Problems associated with transformation mechanisms, technical methods, and relative merits of these technologies are reviewed, while current knowledge gaps and research priorities are recommended. Future research should focus on transformation chemistry and its associated mechanisms and for the development of a clear and economic process to reduce alkalinity and soda in bauxite residue.

  17. Controlled-release of Bacillus thurigiensis formulations encapsulated in light-resistant colloidosomal microcapsules for the management of lepidopteran pests of Brassica crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bashir, Oumar; Claverie, Jerome P; Lemoyne, Pierre; Vincent, Charles

    2016-01-01

    Bacillus thuringiensis ( B. t. ) based formulations have been widely used to control lepidopteran pests in agriculture and forestry. One of their weaknesses is their short residual activity when sprayed in the field. Using Pickering emulsions, mixtures of spores and crystals from three B. t. serovars were successfully encapsulated in colloïdosomal microparticles (50 μm) using innocuous chemicals (acrylic particles, sunflower oil, iron oxide nanoparticles, ethanol and water). A pH trigger mechanism was incorporated within the particles so that B. t. release occurred only at pH > 8.5 which corresponds to the midgut pH of the target pests. Laboratory assays performed on Trichoplusia ni ( T. ni ) larvae demonstrated that the microencapsulation process did not impair B. t. bioactivity. The best formulations were field-tested on three key lepidopteran pests that attack Brassica crops, i.e., the imported cabbageworm, the cabbage looper and the diamondback moth. After 12 days, the mean number of larvae was significantly lower in microencapsulated formulations than in a commercial B. t. formulation, and the effect of microencapsulated formulations was comparable to a chemical pesticide (lambda-cyhalothrin). Therefore, colloïdosomal microcapsule formulations successfully extend the bioactivity of B. t. for the management of lepidopteran pests of Brassica crops.

  18. Controlled-release of Bacillus thurigiensis formulations encapsulated in light-resistant colloidosomal microcapsules for the management of lepidopteran pests of Brassica crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oumar Bashir

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Bacillus thuringiensis (B. t. based formulations have been widely used to control lepidopteran pests in agriculture and forestry. One of their weaknesses is their short residual activity when sprayed in the field. Using Pickering emulsions, mixtures of spores and crystals from three B. t. serovars were successfully encapsulated in colloïdosomal microparticles (50 μm using innocuous chemicals (acrylic particles, sunflower oil, iron oxide nanoparticles, ethanol and water. A pH trigger mechanism was incorporated within the particles so that B. t. release occurred only at pH > 8.5 which corresponds to the midgut pH of the target pests. Laboratory assays performed on Trichoplusia ni (T. ni larvae demonstrated that the microencapsulation process did not impair B. t. bioactivity. The best formulations were field-tested on three key lepidopteran pests that attack Brassica crops, i.e., the imported cabbageworm, the cabbage looper and the diamondback moth. After 12 days, the mean number of larvae was significantly lower in microencapsulated formulations than in a commercial B. t. formulation, and the effect of microencapsulated formulations was comparable to a chemical pesticide (lambda-cyhalothrin. Therefore, colloïdosomal microcapsule formulations successfully extend the bioactivity of B. t. for the management of lepidopteran pests of Brassica crops.

  19. RISK MANAGEMENT AND EXPERTISE: UK: Strategies for Precautionary Commercialization of GM Crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Levidow Les

    2000-07-01

    Full Text Available As genetically modified (GM products approach the market stage, the UK government and agro-food industry have faced a suspicious or hostile public. Since 1998 many retail chains have undertaken to exclude any GM-derived ingredients from their own-brand lines. This commercial blockage has intensified pressures for greater precaution, even for a moratorium on cultivating GM crops. Political protest has led to strategies for precautionary commercialization. Government and industry have cooperated to plan a “managed development” of GM crops. Across the agricultural supply chain, industry has devised voluntary guidelines to ensure segregation of GM crops and to limit the spread of GM herbicide-tolerance. In particular UK regulators seek to test the risk that broad-spectrum herbicide sprays could damage wildlife habitats; they have broadened the advisory expertise accordingly. These measures open up the precautionary content to further debate, at both national and EU levels. Market-stage precautions establish a means to test claims that GM crops are environmentally-friendly products. By translating public concerns into broader risk-assessment criteria, the UK procedure involves critics in potentially influencing standards of scientific evidence and environmental harm. This social process has become a prerequisite for legitimizing commercial use.

  20. Long-term performance of anaerobic digestion for crop residues containing heavy metals and response of microbial communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jongkeun; Kim, Joonrae Roger; Jeong, Seulki; Cho, Jinwoo; Kim, Jae Young

    2017-01-01

    In order to investigate the long-term stability on the performance of the anaerobic digestion process, a laboratory-scale continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) was operated for 1100 days with sunflower harvested in a heavy metal contaminated site. Changes of microbial communities during digestion were identified using pyrosequencing. According to the results, soluble heavy metal concentrations were lower than the reported inhibitory level and the reactor performance remained stable up to OLR of 2.0g-VS/L/day at HRT of 20days. Microbial communities commonly found in anaerobic digestion for cellulosic biomass were observed and stably established with respect to the substrate. Thus, the balance of microbial metabolism was maintained appropriately and anaerobic digestion seems to be feasible for disposal of heavy metal-containing crop residues from phytoremediation sites. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Influx of CO2 from Soil Incubated Organic Residues at Constant Temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shoukat Ali Abro

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Temperature induced CO2 from genotypic residue substances is still less understood. Two types of organic residues (wheat- maize were incubated at a constant temperature (25°C to determine the rate and cumulative influx of CO2 in laboratory experiment for 40 days. Further, the effect of surface and incorporated crop residues with and without phosphorus addition was also studied. Results revealed that mixing of crop residues increased CO2-C evolution significantly & emission rare was 37% higher than that of control. At constant temperature, soil mixed residues, had higher emission rates CO2-C than the residues superimposed. There was linear correlation of CO2-C influxed for phosphorus levels and residue application ways with entire incubation at constant temperature. The mixing of organic residues to soil enhanced SOC levels and biomass of microbially bound N; however to little degree ammonium (NH4-N and nitrate NO3-N nitrogen were decreased.

  2. Municipal solid waste options : integrating organics management and residual disposal treatment : executive summary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cant, M. (comp.) [Totten Sims Hubicki Associates Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada); Van der Werf, P. [2cg Inc., Edmonton, AB (Canada); Kelleher, M. [Kelleher Environmental, Toronto, ON (Canada); Merriman, D. [MacViro Consultants, Markham, ON (Canada); Fitcher, K. [Gartner Lee Ltd., Toronto, ON (Canada); MacDonald, N. [CH2M Hill Engineering Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2006-04-15

    The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Options Report explored different MSW management options for 3 community sizes: 20,000, 80,000 and 200,0000 people. It was released at a time when many communities were developing waste management plans to cost-effectively reduce environmental impacts and conserve landfill capacity. The purpose of this report was to provide a greater understanding on the environmental, social, economic, energy recovery/utilization and greenhouse gas (GHG) considerations of MSW management. The report also demonstrated the interrelationships between the management of organics and residuals. It was based on information from existing waste diversion and organics management options and emerging residual treatment technology options. The following organics management and residual treatment disposal options were evaluated: composting; anaerobic digestion; sanitary landfills; bioreactor landfills; and thermal treatment. Composting was examined with reference to both source separated organics (SSO) and mixed waste composting. SSO refers to the separation of materials suitable for composting solid waste from households, while mixed waste composting refers to the manual or mechanical removal of recyclable material from the waste, including compost. The composting process was reviewed along with available technologies such as non-reactor windrow; aerated static pile; reactor enclosed channel; and, container tunnel. An evaluation of SSO and mixed waste composting was then presented in terms of environmental, social, financial and GHG impacts. refs., tabs., figs.

  3. Interaction of turbine-generated turbulence with agricultural crops: Conceptual framework and preliminary results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takle, E. S.; Rajewski, D. A.; Segal, M.; Elmore, R.; Hatfield, J.; Prueger, J. H.; Taylor, S. E.

    2009-12-01

    such purposes for growing commodity agricultural crops are unknown. Suppressing effects of a premature freeze could extend the growing season by two or more weeks. Aerodynamic surface roughness influences the mean wind at hub height of wind turbines. Type of crop (e.g., corn vs. soybeans) and stage of growth will influence roughness, as will management practices (smooth surface vs. crop residue and tillage-induced roughness). Management of crop residue and snow cover influences surface albedo and hence diabatic influences on turbulent loss of momentum at the surface. We have launched a pilot project to assess the interaction of turbines with crops in Iowa by use of models and measurements. Preliminary studies show that turbulence kinetic energy in the lee of turbines may be enhanced by as much as 300% near hub height and 40% at 10 m above the ground under neutral flow conditions. Field observations of fluxes of CO2, heat, and water vapor have been made outside of wind farms, and plans call for simultaneous measurements to be made within and outside of wind farms.

  4. Performance and cross-crop resistance of Cry1F-maize selected Spodoptera frugiperda on transgenic Bt cotton: implications for resistance management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fei; Kerns, David L; Brown, Sebe; Kurtz, Ryan; Dennehy, Tim; Braxton, Bo; Head, Graham; Huang, Fangneng

    2016-06-15

    Transgenic crops producing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins have become a primary tool in pest management. Due to the intensive use of Bt crops, resistance of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, to Cry1F maize has occurred in Puerto Rico, Brazil, and some areas of the southeastern U.S. The sustainability of Bt crops faces a great challenge because the Cry1F-maize resistant S. frugiperda may also infest other Bt crops in multiple cropping ecosystems. Here we examined the survival and plant injury of a S. frugiperda population selected with Cry1F maize on three single-gene and five pyramided Bt cotton products. Larvae of Cry1F-susceptible (SS), -heterozygous (RS), and -resistant (RR) genotypes of S. frugiperda were all susceptible to the pyramided cotton containing Cry1Ac/Cry2Ab, Cry1Ac/Cry1F/Vip3A, Cry1Ab/Cry2Ae, or Cry1Ab/Cry2Ae/Vip3A, and the single-gene Cry2Ae cotton. Pyramided cotton containing Cry1Ac/Cry1F was effective against SS and RS, but not for RR. These findings show that the Cry1F-maize selected S. frugiperda can cause cross-crop resistance to other Bt crops expressing similar insecticidal proteins. Resistance management and pest management programs that utilize diversify mortality factors must be implemented to ensure the sustainability of Bt crops. This is especially important in areas where resistance to single-gene Bt crops is already widespread.

  5. Putting mechanisms into crop production models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boote, Kenneth J; Jones, James W; White, Jeffrey W; Asseng, Senthold; Lizaso, Jon I

    2013-09-01

    Crop growth models dynamically simulate processes of C, N and water balance on daily or hourly time-steps to predict crop growth and development and at season-end, final yield. Their ability to integrate effects of genetics, environment and crop management have led to applications ranging from understanding gene function to predicting potential impacts of climate change. The history of crop models is reviewed briefly, and their level of mechanistic detail for assimilation and respiration, ranging from hourly leaf-to-canopy assimilation to daily radiation-use efficiency is discussed. Crop models have improved steadily over the past 30-40 years, but much work remains. Improvements are needed for the prediction of transpiration response to elevated CO₂ and high temperature effects on phenology and reproductive fertility, and simulation of root growth and nutrient uptake under stressful edaphic conditions. Mechanistic improvements are needed to better connect crop growth to genetics and to soil fertility, soil waterlogging and pest damage. Because crop models integrate multiple processes and consider impacts of environment and management, they have excellent potential for linking research from genomics and allied disciplines to crop responses at the field scale, thus providing a valuable tool for deciphering genotype by environment by management effects. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Energy performance and efficiency of two sugar crops for the biofuel supply chain. Perspectives for sustainable field management in southern Italy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garofalo, Pasquale; D'Andrea, Laura; Vonella, A. Vittorio; Rinaldi, Michele; Palumbo, A. Domenico

    2015-01-01

    Improvement of the energy balance and efficiency for reduced input of cropping systems is one of the main goals for the cultivation of energy crops. In this field study, two sugar crops for bioethanol production were cultivated under different soil tillage management (conventional; no tillage) and mineral nitrogen application (0, 75, 150 kg N ha"−"1): sweet sorghum and sugar beet. The energy performance and efficiency along the bioethanol supply chain were analysed and compared. Both of these crops showed good growth adaptation to the different soil and nitrogen management, and thus the energy return, resource and energy efficiencies were significantly improved in the low-input system. Sweet sorghum provided better responses in terms of water and nitrogen use efficiency for biomass accumulation, as well as its energy yield and net gain, compared to sugar beet, whereas sugar beet showed higher energy efficiency than sorghum. According to these data, both of these crops can be cultivated in a Mediterranean environment with low energy input, which guarantees good crop and energy performances for biofuel strategy planning. - Highlights: • Two sugar crops for the bioethanol supply chain were evaluated. • Energy performances and efficiencies were assessed under different energy input. • Sugar yield resulted not compromised by the different crop management. • The energy gain was improved with low energy input at field level. • Sweet sorghum gave the highest energy yield, sugar beet the energy efficiency.

  7. Genetic structure of farmer-managed varieties in clonally-propagated crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scarcelli, N; Tostain, S; Vigouroux, Y; Luong, V; Baco, M N; Agbangla, C; Daïnou, O; Pham, J L

    2011-08-01

    The relative role of sexual reproduction and mutation in shaping the diversity of clonally propagated crops is largely unknown. We analyzed the genetic diversity of yam-a vegetatively-propagated crop-to gain insight into how these two factors shape its diversity in relation with farmers' classifications. Using 15 microsatellite loci, we analyzed 485 samples of 10 different yam varieties. We identified 33 different genotypes organized in lineages supported by high bootstrap values. We computed the probability that these genotypes appeared by sexual reproduction or mutation within and between each lineage. This allowed us to interpret each lineage as a product of sexual reproduction that has evolved by mutation. Moreover, we clearly noted a similarity between the genetic structure and farmers' classifications. Each variety could thus be interpreted as being the product of sexual reproduction having evolved by mutation. This highly structured diversity of farmer-managed varieties has consequences for the preservation of yam diversity.

  8. Production of 15N-Labelled Liquid Organic Fertilisers Based on Manure and Crop Residue for Use in Fertigation Studies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belén Martínez-Alcántara

    Full Text Available Large quantities of crop residue and animal manure from agricultural and livestock activities are annually produced worldwide. With proper management, these residues are potentially valuable sources of plant nutrients, mainly N. Recycling such subproducts in sustainably-based agricultural systems can minimise the use of mineral fertilisers, and hence reduce the potential risk of surface and groundwater pollution. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to obtain (small scale two liquid labelled-organic fertilisers, an animal- and a vegetal-based organic (AO and VO, respectively fertiliser, to be used as organic N sources in subsequent fertigation studies. Forage maize (Zea mays L. grown under 15N-labelled fertiliser supply was used as raw material for VO fertiliser production, and also as 15N-labelled sheep feed to obtain 15N-labelled manure. The labelled faeces fraction was used as raw material for the AO fertiliser. The VO fertiliser was obtained after an acidic and an enzyme-driven hydrolysis. The AO fertiliser was obtained after acidic hydrolysis. The VO liquid fertiliser presented an N concentration of 330 mg·L-1, 85% of total N was organic, while ammonium and nitrate N accounted for 55% and 45% of the mineral nitrogen fraction, respectively. This fertiliser also exhibited high K, Ca and S concentrations and notable values for the remaining macro- and micronutrients. The AO liquid fertiliser had a similar total N concentration (496 mg·L-1, 82% of total N in an organic form to that of VO, but its mineral N fraction significantly differed, which came in a predominantly (95% ammonia form. It also had a high content of N, P, K and other macronutrients, and sufficient Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu and B levels, which suggests its suitability as a potential fertiliser. The percentage of 15N enrichment in both VO and AO liquid fertilisers exceeded 2% 15N atom excess, which enabled their use in subsequent assays run to assess nitrogen uptake efficiency.

  9. The Giant Reed as an energy crop: assessing the energy requirements within its supply chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rodias, Efthymis; Busato, P.; Bochtis, Dionysis

    2013-01-01

    Biomass energy is one form of renewable energy sources that are in the core of interesting for many researchers. There many different biomass sources that can be exploited for energy production, such as crop residues, waste materials, forestry residues and energy crops. Regarding energy crops......, there are many different types of crops significantly varies in terms of energy potential yields, production and provision methods, etc. To this end, a thoroughly assessment of the energy inputs and outputs of each potential energy crop is necessary. In this paper, the Giant Reed is evaluated energetically...... as a potential energy crop. The assessment regards a 10 year period. The considered energy elements include direct inputs (e.g. fuel consumption) as well as indirect inputs (e.g. embodied energy of materials and machinery). According to the results, the balance between the estimated total energy input...

  10. Cellulosic biofuels from crop residue and groundwater extraction in the US Plains: the case of Nebraska.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sesmero, Juan P

    2014-11-01

    This study develops a model of crop residue (i.e. stover) supply and derived demand for irrigation water accounting for non-linear effects of soil organic matter on soil's water holding capacity. The model is calibrated for typical conditions in central Nebraska, United States, and identifies potential interactions between water and biofuel policies. The price offered for feedstock by a cost-minimizing plant facing that stover supply response is calculated. Results indicate that as biofuel production volumes increase, soil carbon depletion per unit of biofuel produced decreases. Consumption of groundwater per unit of biofuel produced first decreases and then increases (after a threshold of 363 dam(3) of biofuels per year) due to plants' increased reliance on the extensive margin for additional biomass. The analysis reveals a tension between biofuel and water policies. As biofuel production raises the economic benefits of relaxing water conservation policies (measured by the "shadow price" of water) increase. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The Lower Sevier River Basin Crop Monitor and Forecast Decision Support System: Exploiting Landsat Imagery to Provide Continuous Information to Farmers and Water Managers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres-Rua, A. F.; Walker, W. R.; McKee, M.

    2013-12-01

    The last century has seen a large number of innovations in agriculture such as better policies for water control and management, upgraded water conveyance, irrigation, distribution, and monitoring systems, and better weather forecasting products. In spite of this, irrigation management and irrigation water deliveries by farmers/water managers is still based on factors like water share amounts, tradition, and past experience on irrigation. These factors are not necessarily related to the actual crop water use; they are followed because of the absence of related information provided in a timely manner at an affordable cost. Thus, it is necessary to develop means to deliver continuous and personalized information about crop water requirements to water users/managers at the field and irrigation system levels so managers at these levels can better quantify the required versus available water for irrigation during the irrigation season. This study presents a new decision support system (DSS) platform that addresses the absence of information on actual crop water requirements and crop performance by providing continuous updated farm-based crop water use along with other farm performance indicators such as crop yield and farm management to irrigators and water managers. This DSS exploits the periodicity of the Landsat Satellite Mission (8 to 16 days, depending on the period of interest) to provide remote monitoring at the individual field and irrigation system levels. The Landsat satellite images are converted into information about crop water use, yield performance and field management through application of state-of-the-art semi-physical and statistical algorithms that provide this information at a pixel basis that are ultimately aggregated to field and irrigation system levels. A version of the DSS has been implemented for the agricultural lands in the Lower Sevier River, Utah, and has been operational since the beginning of the 2013 irrigation season. The main goal of

  12. Root-Knot Nematode Management in Double-Cropped Plasticulture Vegetables

    OpenAIRE

    Desaeger, J. A.; Csinos, A. S.

    2006-01-01

    Combination treatments of chisel-injected fumigants (methyl bromide, 1,3-D, metam sodium, and chloropicrin) on a first crop, followed by drip-applied fumigants (metam sodium and 1,3-D ± chloropicrin) on a second crop, with and without oxamyl drip applications were evaluated for control of Meloidogyne incognita in three different tests (2002 to 2004) in Tifton, GA. First crops were eggplant or tomato, and second crops were cantaloupe, squash, or jalapeno pepper. Double-cropped vegetables suffe...

  13. Effects of Planting Dates, Irrigation Management and Cover Crops on Growth and Yield of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Koocheki

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Saffron as a winter active plant with low water requirement is the most strategic medicinal plant in arid and semi-arid parts of Iran. This slow-growing plant has narrow leaves and no aerial stem, hence weeds can be overcome it. Moreover, because of its root and canopy structure an important part of different resources is not used by this low input crop. Therefore, the use of associated crops could be an effective way for increasing resources use efficiencies (Koocheki et al., 2016. Appropriate corm planting date is another important factor that affects saffron growth and yield. Results of some studies show that late spring is the best time for corm planting (Ghasemi-Rooshnavand, 2009; Koocheki et al., 2016. In addition, irrigation management has been evaluated in some studies, but irrigation immediately after corm planting has not been investigated previously. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of irrigation management, planting date and the use of some companion crops on flowering of saffron during two growth cycles. Materials and methods This experiment was carried out as a split-split plot experiment based on a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications at Research Station, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran in 2009-2011. Experimental factors included: planting date of saffron as main factor (first of June, first of August and first of October, 2009, the irrigation management as sub factor (irrigation and no irrigation after each planting date and the companion crops as sub-sub factor [Persian clover (Trifolium resupinatum, Bitter vetch (Lathyrus sativus and control. Corm planting was done in 10×25 cm distances with 12 cm depth. In the second year irrigation was done again in the plots which were irrigated after planting in the first year at the same previous dates. Companion crops were sown after first flower picking (November, 2009, then their residue were returned to the soil in

  14. Cover crop and CO2 emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agricultural land management practices account for about 50% of soil organic carbon (SOC) loss. Restoring SOC is important to soil productivity and fertility. Management strategies to rebuild SOC include addition of manure or other organic amendments, increasing root biomass from crops, leaving crop...

  15. Calibration and validation of models for short-term decomposition and N mineralization of plant residues in the tropics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre Ferreira do Nascimento

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Insight of nutrient release patterns associated with the decomposition of plant residues is important for their effective use as a green manure in food production systems. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the ability of the Century, APSIM and NDICEA simulation models for predicting the decomposition and N mineralization of crop residues in the tropical Atlantic forest biome, Brazil. The simulation models were calibrated based on actual decomposition and N mineralization rates of three types of crop residues with different chemical and biochemical composition. The models were also validated for different pedo-climatic conditions and crop residues conditions. In general, the accuracy of decomposition and N mineralization improved after calibration. Overall RMSE values for the decomposition and N mineralization of the crop materials varied from 7.4 to 64.6% before models calibration compared to 3.7 to 16.3 % after calibration. Therefore, adequate calibration of the models is indispensable for use them under humid tropical conditions. The NDICEA model generally outperformed the other models. However, the decomposition and N mineralization was not very accurate during the first 30 days of incubation, especially for easily decomposable crop residues. An additional model variable may be required to capture initial microbiological growth as affected by the moisture dynamics of the residues, as is the case in surface residues decomposition models.

  16. Modeling impacts of water and fertilizer management on the ecosystem service of rice rotated cropping system in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, H.; Yu, C.; Li, C.

    2015-12-01

    Sustainable agricultural intensification demand optimum resource managements of agro-ecosystems. Detailed information on the impacts of water use and nutrient application on agro-ecosystem services including crop yields, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nitrogen (N) loss is the key to guide field managements. In this study, we use the DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) model to simulate the biogeochemical processes for rice rotated cropping systems in China. We set varied scenarios of water use in more than 1600 counties, and derived optimal rates of N application for each county in accordance to water use scenarios. Our results suggest that 0.88 ± 0.33 Tg per year (mean ± standard deviation) of synthetic N could be reduced without reducing rice yields, which accounts for 15.7 ± 5.9% of current N application in China. Field managements with shallow flooding and optimal N applications could enhance ecosystem services on a national scale, leading to 34.3% reduction of GHG emissions (CH4, N2O, and CO2), 2.8% reduction of overall N loss (NH3 volatilization, denitrification and N leaching) and 1.7% increase of rice yields, as compared to current management conditions. Among provinces with major rice production, Jiangsu, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Hubei could achieve more than 40% reduction of GHG emissions under appropriate water managements, while Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian could reduce more than 30% N loss with optimal N applications. Our modeling efforts suggest that China is likely to benefit from reforming water and fertilization managements for rice rotated cropping system in terms of sustainable crop yields, GHG emission mitigation and N loss reduction, and the reformation should be prioritized in the above-mentioned provinces. Keywords: water regime, nitrogen fertilization, sustainable management, ecological modeling, DNDC

  17. Fate of 14C-allylalcohol herbicide in soils and crop residues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scheunert, I.; Vockel, D.; Klein, W.; Korte, F.

    1981-01-01

    Residue disappearance and leaching of 14 C-allylalcohol from different soils were studied in laboratory experiments. Additionally, the uptake of residues by lettuce and carrots was investigated in the greenhouse. In laboratory experiments, residue disappearance and leaching from soils was correlated negatively to the organic matter content. In greenhouse experiments with a sandy loam soil at an application rate normally used in practice, an average of 12.5% of the applied radioactivity was recovered after an eight day interval between application and sowing. Furthermore, an average of 8% (sum in soil and plants) of the applied radioactivity was recovered after lettuce or carrot growing. Uptake of residues was higher by carrots than by lettuce, and higher by lettuce roots than by lettuce tops. No bioaccumulation was observed. The residues in soils and plants were, to a high percent-age, unextractable and, to a smaller extent, fully water-soluble products. Unchanged allylalcohol could not be detected by the analytical methods used

  18. Managing phenol contents in crop plants by phytochemical farming and breeding-visions and constraints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treutter, Dieter

    2010-03-02

    Two main fields of interest form the background of actual demand for optimized levels of phenolic compounds in crop plants. These are human health and plant resistance to pathogens and to biotic and abiotic stress factors. A survey of agricultural technologies influencing the biosynthesis and accumulation of phenolic compounds in crop plants is presented, including observations on the effects of light, temperature, mineral nutrition, water management, grafting, elevated atmospheric CO(2), growth and differentiation of the plant and application of elicitors, stimulating agents and plant activators. The underlying mechanisms are discussed with respect to carbohydrate availability, trade-offs to competing demands as well as to regulatory elements. Outlines are given for genetic engineering and plant breeding. Constraints and possible physiological feedbacks are considered for successful and sustainable application of agricultural techniques with respect to management of plant phenol profiles and concentrations.

  19. Modeling impacts of water and fertilizer management on ecosystem services from rice rotated crop systems in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Han; Yu, Chaoqing; Li, Changsheng; Huang, Xiao; Zhang, Jie; Yue, Yali; Huang, Guorui

    2015-04-01

    Sustainable intensification in agriculture has stressed the need for management practices that could increase crop yields while simultaneously reducing environmental impacts. It is well recognized that water and nutrient management hold great promise to address these goals. This study uses the DNDC biogeochemical model to stimulate the impacts of water regime and nitrogen fertilizer management interactions on ecosystem services of rice rotated crop systems in China. County-level optimal nitrogen fertilizer application rates under various water management practices were captured and then multiple scenarios of water and nitrogen fertilizer management were set to more than 1600 counties with rice rotations in China. Results indicate that an national average of 15.7±5.9% (the mean value and standard deviation derive from variability of three water management practices) reduction of nitrogen fertilizer inputs can be achieved without significantly sacrificing rice yields. On a national scale, shallow flooding with optimal N application rates appear most potential to enhance ecosystem services, which led to 10.6% reduction of nitrogen fertilizer inputs, 34.3% decrease of total GHG emissions, 2.8% less of overall N loss (NH3 volatilization, denitrification and N leaching) and a 1.7% increase of rice yields compared to the baseline scenario. Regional GHG emissions mitigation derived from water regime change vary with soil properties and the multiple crop index. Among the main production regions of rice in China, the highest reduction happened in Jiangxu, Yunnan, Guizhou and Hubei (more than 40% reduction) with high SOC, high multiple crop index and low clay fraction. The highest reduction of GHG emissions derived from reducing current N application rate to optimal rate appeared in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu where the serious over-application of mineral N exit. It was concluded that process models like DNDC would act an essential tool to identify sustainable agricultural

  20. Carbon fractions and soil fertility affected by tillage and sugarcane residue management an Xanthic Udult

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iara Maria Lopes

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The gradual change in management practices in sugarcane (Saccharum spp. production from burning straw to a green harvesting system, as well as the use of minimum soil tillage during field renovation, may affect soil fertility and soil organic matter (SOM contents. The objectives of this work were to investigate the influence of sugar cane production systems on: (1 soil fertility parameters; (2 on physical carbon fractions; (3 and on humic substance fractions, in a long-term experiment, comparing two soil tillage and two residue management systems an Xanthic Udult, in the coastal tableland region of Espírito Santo State, Brazil. The treatments consisted of plots (conventional tillage (CT or minimum tillage (MT and subplots (residue burned or unburned at harvesting, with five replicates The highest values of Ca2+ + Mg2+ and total organic carbon (TOC were observed in the MT system in all soil layers, while high values of K+ were observed in the 0.1-0.2 m layer. The CT associated with the burned residue management negatively influenced the TOC values, especially in the 0.1-0.2 and 0.2-0.4 m layers. The carbon in the humin fraction and organic matter associated with minerals were significantly different among the tillage systems; the MT showed higher values than the CT. However, there were no significant differences between the sugarcane residue management treatments. Overall, fractioning the SOM allowed for a better understanding of tillage and residue management systems effects on the soil properties.

  1. Impact of cash cropping and perennial crops on food crop ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    significant effects on food crop production and productivity. ... 2 Department of Economics and Resource management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway ... food markets work well, the problem of imperfect markets does not allow ..... prices at the time of purchase with the remaining balance due at the end of the.

  2. Carbon budget over 12 years in a production crop under temperate climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buysse, Pauline; Bodson, Bernard; Debacq, Alain; De Ligne, Anne; Heinesch, Bernard; Manise, Tanguy; Moureaux, Christine; Aubinet, Marc

    2017-04-01

    Carbon dioxide (CO2) exchanges between crops and the atmosphere are influenced by both climatic and crop management drivers. The investigated crop, situated at the Lonzée Terrestrial Observatory (LTO, candidate ICOS site) in Belgium and managed for more than 70 years using conventional farming practices, was monitored over three complete sugar beet (or maize)/winter wheat/potato/winter wheat rotation cycles from 2004 to 2016. Continuous eddy-covariance measurements and regular biomass samplings were performed in order to obtain the daily and seasonal Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE), Gross Primary Productivity, Total Ecosystem Respiration, Net Primary Productivity, and Net Biome Production (NBP). Meteorological data and crop management practices were also recorded. The main objectives were to analyze the CO2 flux responses to climatic drivers and to establish the C budget of the cropland. Crop type significantly influenced the measured CO2 fluxes. In addition to crop season duration, which had an obvious impact on cumulated NEE values for each crop type, the CO2 flux response to photosynthetic photon flux density, vapor pressure deficit and temperature differed between crop types, while no significant response to soil water content was observed in any of them. Besides, a significant positive relationship between crop residue amount and ecosystem respiration was observed. Over the 12 years, NEE was negative (-4.34 ± 0.21 kg C m-2) but NBP was positive (1.05 ± 0.30 kg C m-2), i.e. as soon as all lateral carbon fluxes - dominated by carbon exportation - are included in the budget, the site behaves as a carbon source. Intercrops were seen to play a major role in the carbon budget, being mostly due to the long time period it represented (59 % of the 12 year time period). An in-depth analysis of intercrop periods and, more specifically, growing cover crops (mustard in the case of our study), is developed in a companion poster (ref. abstract EGU2017-12216, session SSS9

  3. Improvement of the management of residual waste in areas without thermal treatment facilities: A life cycle analysis of an Italian management district

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Di Maria, Francesco, E-mail: francesco.dimaria@unipg.it [LAR Laboratory, Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Via G. Duranti 93, Perugia (Italy); Micale, Caterina; Morettini, Emanuela [LAR Laboratory, Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Via G. Duranti 93, Perugia (Italy); Sisani, Luciano [TSA spa, Via Case Sparse 107, Magione (Italy); Damiano, Roberto [GESENU spa, Via della Molinella 7, Perugia (Italy)

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • LCA analysis of two option for residual waste management. • Exploitation of mechanical physical sorting facility for extracting recyclable from RMSW. • Processing the mechanically sorted organic fraction in bioreactor landfill. • Sensitivity analysis demonstrate high influence for impact assessment of substitution ratio for recycle materials. - Abstract: Starting from an existing waste management district without thermal treatment facilities, two different management scenarios for residual waste were compared by life cycle assessment (LCA). The adoption of a bioreactor landfill for managing the mechanically sorted organic fraction instead of bio-stabilization led to reduction of global warming and fresh water eutrophication by 50% and 10%, respectively. Extraction of recyclables from residual waste led to avoided emissions for particulate matter, acidification and resource depletion impact categories. Marginal energy and the amount of energy recovered from landfill gas marginally affected the LCA results. On the contrary the quality of the recyclables extracted can significantly modify the eco profile of the management schemes.

  4. Report of the Task Force on Sawmill Wood Residue Management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-11-01

    The Sawmill Wood Residue Task Force was established in 1993 to seek solutions to managing wood residue at sawmills, shingle mills, and log sort yards in British Columbia without burning or landfilling. In particular, the Task Force was formed to address the phaseout of beehive-type wood waste burners by January 1, 1996. The Task Force was formed at the forest product industry's request and included representatives from industry associations and government. It reviewed existing information on the quantities of mill residues and the options available for reducing, reusing, and recycling the residues. Nearly half of all the province's residues of 5 million bone dry tonnes/y is disposed of by burning with no energy recovery, or by landfilling. It was recognized that the total volume of wood residue cannot be handled by any one method suitable for all sources but that in the near term, electricity generation could deal with a significant percentage of wood currently being burned. The most immediate technically viable opportnity by industry in this area may be in cogeneration of electricity for load displacement at pulp mills. Other opportunities exist such as conversion of wood residue to liquid fuels but these require greater commitments to research and development. The need to handle bark and sawdust was identified as a critical requirement for alternate uses. Small niche uses for wood residue must be examined on a case by case basis for each company or group of companies in a region. The provincial government can also promote better use of wood wastes through policies such as social costing of power generation options and sales tax exemption for ethanol fuel. 1 tab

  5. Biogas Production by Co-Digestion of Goat Manure with Three Crop Residues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tong; Liu, Linlin; Song, Zilin; Ren, Guangxin; Feng, Yongzhong; Han, Xinhui; Yang, Gaihe

    2013-01-01

    Goat manure (GM) is an excellent raw material for anaerobic digestion because of its high total nitrogen content and fermentation stability. Several comparative assays were conducted on the anaerobic co-digestion of GM with three crop residues (CRs), namely, wheat straw (WS), corn stalks (CS) and rice straw (RS), under different mixing ratios. All digesters were implemented simultaneously under mesophilic temperature at 35±1 °C with a total solid concentration of 8%. Result showed that the combination of GM with CS or RS significantly improved biogas production at all carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratios. GM/CS (30:70), GM/CS (70:30), GM/RS (30:70) and GM/RS (50:50) produced the highest biogas yields from different co-substrates (14840, 16023, 15608 and 15698 mL, respectively) after 55 d of fermentation. Biogas yields of GM/WS 30:70 (C/N 35.61), GM/CS 70:30 (C/N 21.19) and GM/RS 50:50 (C/N 26.23) were 1.62, 2.11 and 1.83 times higher than that of CRs, respectively. These values were determined to be the optimal C/N ratios for co-digestion. However, compared with treatments of GM/CS and GM/RS treatments, biogas generated from GM/WS was only slightly higher than the single digestion of GM or WS. This result was caused by the high total carbon content (35.83%) and lignin content (24.34%) in WS, which inhibited biodegradation. PMID:23825574

  6. Effect of Integrated Water-Nutrient Management Strategies on Soil Erosion Mediated Nutrient Loss and Crop Productivity in Cabo Verde Drylands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baptista, Isaurinda; Ritsema, Coen; Geissen, Violette

    2015-01-01

    Soil erosion, runoff and related nutrient losses are a big risk for soil fertility in Cabo Verde drylands. In 2012, field trials were conducted in two agro-ecological zones to evaluate the effects of selected techniques of soil-water management combined with organic amendments (T1: compost/manure + soil surfactant; T2: compost/animal or green manure + pigeon-pea hedges + soil surfactant; T3: compost/animal or green manure + mulch + pigeon-pea hedges) on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses in eroded soil and runoff and on crop yields. Three treatments and one control (traditional practice) were tested in field plots at three sites with a local maize variety and two types of beans. Runoff and eroded soil were collected after each erosive rain, quantified, and analysed for NO3-N and PO4-P concentrations. In all treatments runoff had higher concentrations of NO3-N (2.20-4.83 mg L-1) than of PO4-P (0.02-0.07 mg L-1), and the eroded soil had higher content of PO4-P (5.27-18.8 mg g-1) than of NO3-N (1.30-8.51 mg g-1). The control had significantly higher losses of both NO3-N (5.4, 4.4 and 19 kg ha-1) and PO4-P (0.2, 0.1 and 0.4 kg ha-1) than the other treatments. T3 reduced soil loss, runoff and nutrient losses to nearly a 100% while T1 and T2 reduced those losses from 43 to 88%. The losses of NO3-N and PO4-P were highly correlated with the amounts of runoff and eroded soil. Nutrient losses from the applied amendments were low (5.7% maximum), but the losses in the control could indicate long-term nutrient depletion in the soil (19 and 0.4 kg ha-1 of NO3-N and PO4-P, respectively). T1-T3 did not consistently increase crop yield or biomass in all three sites, but T1 increased both crop yield and biomass. We conclude that T3 (combining crop-residue mulch with organic amendment and runoff hedges) is the best treatment for steep slope areas but, the pigeon-pea hedges need to be managed for higher maize yield. T1 (combining organic amendment with soil surfactant) could be a

  7. Effect of Integrated Water-Nutrient Management Strategies on Soil Erosion Mediated Nutrient Loss and Crop Productivity in Cabo Verde Drylands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baptista, Isaurinda; Ritsema, Coen; Geissen, Violette

    2015-01-01

    Soil erosion, runoff and related nutrient losses are a big risk for soil fertility in Cabo Verde drylands. In 2012, field trials were conducted in two agro-ecological zones to evaluate the effects of selected techniques of soil-water management combined with organic amendments (T1: compost/manure + soil surfactant; T2: compost/animal or green manure + pigeon-pea hedges + soil surfactant; T3: compost/animal or green manure + mulch + pigeon-pea hedges) on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses in eroded soil and runoff and on crop yields. Three treatments and one control (traditional practice) were tested in field plots at three sites with a local maize variety and two types of beans. Runoff and eroded soil were collected after each erosive rain, quantified, and analysed for NO3-N and PO4-P concentrations. In all treatments runoff had higher concentrations of NO3-N (2.20-4.83 mg L-1) than of PO4-P (0.02-0.07 mg L-1), and the eroded soil had higher content of PO4-P (5.27-18.8 mg g-1) than of NO3-N (1.30-8.51 mg g-1). The control had significantly higher losses of both NO3-N (5.4, 4.4 and 19 kg ha-1) and PO4-P (0.2, 0.1 and 0.4 kg ha-1) than the other treatments. T3 reduced soil loss, runoff and nutrient losses to nearly a 100% while T1 and T2 reduced those losses from 43 to 88%. The losses of NO3-N and PO4-P were highly correlated with the amounts of runoff and eroded soil. Nutrient losses from the applied amendments were low (5.7% maximum), but the losses in the control could indicate long-term nutrient depletion in the soil (19 and 0.4 kg ha-1 of NO3-N and PO4-P, respectively). T1-T3 did not consistently increase crop yield or biomass in all three sites, but T1 increased both crop yield and biomass. We conclude that T3 (combining crop-residue mulch with organic amendment and runoff hedges) is the best treatment for steep slope areas but, the pigeon-pea hedges need to be managed for higher maize yield. T1 (combining organic amendment with soil surfactant) could be a

  8. High-residue cultivation timing impact on organic no-till soybean weed management

    Science.gov (United States)

    A cereal rye cover crop mulch can suppress summer annual weeds early in the soybean growing season. However, a multi-tactic weed management approach is required when annual weed seedbanks are large or perennial weeds are present. In such situations, the weed suppression from a cereal rye mulch can b...

  9. Long-term decomposition of sugarcane harvest residues in Sao Paulo state, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fortes, Caio; Trivelin, Paulo Cesar Ocheuze; Vitti, Andre Cesar

    2012-01-01

    Crop residues returned to the soil are important to preserve fertility and sustainability. This research addressed the long-term decomposition of sugarcane post-harvest residues (trash) under reduced tillage, therefore field renewal was performed with herbicide followed by subsoiling and ratoons were deprived of interrow scarification. The trial was conducted in the northern Sao Paulo State, Brazil during four consecutive crops (2005–2008) where litter bags containing 15 N-labeled trash were disposed in the field attempting to simulate two distinct situations: the previous crop trash (PCT) or residues incorporated in the field after tillage, and post-harvest trash (PHT) or the remains of plant-cane harvest. Decomposition rates regarding dry matter (DM), carbon (C), root growth, plant nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S), lignin (LIG) cellulose (CEL) and hemicellulose (HCEL) contents were assessed for PCT (2005 ndash;2008) and for PHT (2006–2008). There were significant reductions on DM and C:N ratio due to C losses and root growth within the litter bags over time. The DM from PCT and PHT decreased 96% and 73% after four and three crops, respectively, and the higher nutrients release were found for K, Ca and N. The LIG, CEL and HCEL concentrations in PCT decreased 60%, 29%, 70% after four crops and 47%, 35%, 70% from PHT after three crops, respectively. Trash decomposition was driven mainly by residues biochemical composition, root growth within the trash blanket and the climatic conditions during the crop cycles. -- Highlights: ► Degradation of sugarcane previous or post-harvest trash (PCT or PHT) was evaluated. ► Dry matter and C decreased due to microbial and root growth within trash blankets. ► C:N ratio of PCT linearly decreased 23% per year during four consecutive crops. ► Lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose concentration averagely declined 54, 41 and 70%. ► PCT and PHT are long-term sources of C, K, Ca and N to the soil-plant system.

  10. Land management practices to become important as biofuels use grows |

    Science.gov (United States)

    handling of agricultural crop residues appears to have a large impact on soil's ability to retain carbon impact of agricultural land use and management on U.S. carbon budgets," recently published in the Systems GSSGlobal Security Sciences NENuclear Engineering Photon Sciences ASDAccelerator Systems AESAPS

  11. Participatory tools working with crops, varieties and seeds. A guide for professionals applying participatory approaches in agrobiodiversity management, crop improvement and seed sector development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boef, de W.S.; Thijssen, M.H.

    2007-01-01

    Outline to the guide Within our training programmes on local management of agrobiodiversity, participatory crop improvement and the support of local seed supply participatory tools get ample attention. Tools are dealt with theoretically, are practised in class situations, but are also applied in

  12. Effect of nitrogen fertilization and residue management practices on ammonia emissions from subtropical sugarcane production

    Science.gov (United States)

    mudi, Sanku Datta; Wang, Jim J.; Dodla, Syam Kumar; Arceneaux, Allen; Viator, H. P.

    2016-08-01

    Ammonia (NH3) emission from soil is a loss of nitrogen (N) nutrient for plant production as well as an issue of air quality, due to the fact that it is an active precursor of airborne particulate matters. Ammonia also acts as a secondary source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emission when present in the soil. In this study, the impacts of different sources of N fertilizers and harvest residue management schemes on NH3 emissions from sugarcane production were evaluated based on an active chamber method. The field experiment plots consisting of two sources of N fertilizer (urea and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN)) and two common residue management practices, namely residue retained (RR) and residue burned (RB), were established on a Commerce silt loam. The NH3 volatilized following N fertilizer application was collected in an impinger containing diluted citric acid and was subsequently analyzed using ion chromatography. The NH3 loss was primarily found within 3-4 weeks after N application. Average seasonal soil NH3 flux was significantly greater in urea plots with NH3-N emission factor (EF) twice or more than in UAN plots (2.4-5.6% vs. 1.2-1.7%). The RR residue management scheme had much higher NH3 volatilization than the RB treatment regardless of N fertilizer sources, corresponding to generally higher soil moisture levels in the former. Ammonia-N emissions in N fertilizer-treated sugarcane fields increased with increasing soil water-filled pore space (WFPS) up to 45-55% observed in the field. Both N fertilizer sources and residue management approaches significantly affected NH3 emissions.

  13. Impact of integrated nutrient management on growth and grain yield of wheat under irrigated cropping system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nawab, K.; Amanullah, A.; Shah, P.; Arif, M.; Khan, A.M.

    2011-01-01

    Field study was conducted during 2001-02 and 2002-03 to investigate the effect of cropping patterns and farm yard manure, potassium and zinc on the grain yield of wheat. Trials were conducted at Agricultural Research Farm, KPK Agricultural University Peshawar, Pakistan. Two factors cropping patterns and manures/fertilizers were studied in the experiment. Randomized complete block design was used with split plot arrangements and four replications having net plot size of 12 m/sup 2/. Wheat variety Ghaznavi-98 was sown in November soon after ploughing the soil at proper moisture level suitable for wheat seed germination. Five cropping patterns were allotted to main plots and the eight combinations of FYM, K and Zn to the sub-plots. Same plots were used for next year sowing. Effects of five cropping patterns i.e., rice-wheat, maize-wheat, sunflower-wheat, sorghum-wheat and pigeon pea-wheat and three organic and in-organic fertilizers (Farmyard Manure, Potassium and Zinc) on subsequent wheat crop were observed. Highest grain yield was obtained when wheat was planted after pigeon pea. Manures/fertilizer application (Farmyard Manure, Potassium and Zinc) produced significantly higher grain yield than the control plots. The findings of the present study revealed that leguminous crops can significantly increase the yield of succeeding crops. Thus use of Farmyard Manure, Potassium and Zinc should be included in integrated crop management approaches for sustainable agriculture. (author)

  14. Managing Phenol Contents in Crop Plants by Phytochemical Farming and Breeding—Visions and Constraints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dieter Treutter

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Two main fields of interest form the background of actual demand for optimized levels of phenolic compounds in crop plants. These are human health and plant resistance to pathogens and to biotic and abiotic stress factors. A survey of agricultural technologies influencing the biosynthesis and accumulation of phenolic compounds in crop plants is presented, including observations on the effects of light, temperature, mineral nutrition, water management, grafting, elevated atmospheric CO2, growth and differentiation of the plant and application of elicitors, stimulating agents and plant activators. The underlying mechanisms are discussed with respect to carbohydrate availability, trade-offs to competing demands as well as to regulatory elements. Outlines are given for genetic engineering and plant breeding. Constraints and possible physiological feedbacks are considered for successful and sustainable application of agricultural techniques with respect to management of plant phenol profiles and concentrations.

  15. Modeling soil organic carbon dynamics and their driving factors in the main global cereal cropping systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Guocheng; Zhang, Wen; Sun, Wenjuan; Li, Tingting; Han, Pengfei

    2017-10-01

    Changes in the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock are determined by the balance between the carbon input from organic materials and the output from the decomposition of soil C. The fate of SOC in cropland soils plays a significant role in both sustainable agricultural production and climate change mitigation. The spatiotemporal changes of soil organic carbon in croplands in response to different carbon (C) input management and environmental conditions across the main global cereal systems were studied using a modeling approach. We also identified the key variables that drive SOC changes at a high spatial resolution (0.1° × 0.1°) and over a long timescale (54 years from 1961 to 2014). A widely used soil C turnover model (RothC) and state-of-the-art databases of soil and climate variables were used in the present study. The model simulations suggested that, on a global average, the cropland SOC density increased at annual rates of 0.22, 0.45 and 0.69 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 under crop residue retention rates of 30, 60 and 90 %, respectively. Increasing the quantity of C input could enhance soil C sequestration or reduce the rate of soil C loss, depending largely on the local soil and climate conditions. Spatially, under a specific crop residue retention rate, relatively higher soil C sinks were found across the central parts of the USA, western Europe, and the northern regions of China. Relatively smaller soil C sinks occurred in the high-latitude regions of both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and SOC decreased across the equatorial zones of Asia, Africa and America. We found that SOC change was significantly influenced by the crop residue retention rate (linearly positive) and the edaphic variable of initial SOC content (linearly negative). Temperature had weak negative effects, and precipitation had significantly negative impacts on SOC changes. The results can help guide carbon input management practices to effectively mitigate climate change through soil C

  16. Watershed Scale Optimization to Meet Sustainable Cellulosic Energy Crop Demand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chaubey, Indrajeet [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Cibin, Raj [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Bowling, Laura [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Brouder, Sylvie [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Cherkauer, Keith [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Engel, Bernard [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Frankenberger, Jane [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Goforth, Reuben [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Gramig, Benjamin [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Volenec, Jeffrey [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

    2017-03-24

    The overall goal of this project was to conduct a watershed-scale sustainability assessment of multiple species of energy crops and removal of crop residues within two watersheds (Wildcat Creek, and St. Joseph River) representative of conditions in the Upper Midwest. The sustainability assessment included bioenergy feedstock production impacts on environmental quality, economic costs of production, and ecosystem services.

  17. A comparison of corn (Zea mays L.) residue and its biochar on soil C and plant growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calderón, Francisco J; Benjamin, Joseph; Vigil, Merle F

    2015-01-01

    In order to properly determine the value of charring crop residues, the C use efficiency and effects on crop performance of biochar needs to be compared to the un-charred crop residues. In this study we compared the addition of corn stalks to soil, with equivalent additions of charred (300 °C and 500 °C) corn residues. Two experiments were conducted: a long term laboratory mineralization, and a growth chamber trial with proso millet plants. In the laboratory, we measured soil mineral N dynamics, C use efficiency, and soil organic matter (SOM) chemical changes via infrared spectroscopy. The 300 °C biochar decreased plant biomass relative to a nothing added control. The 500°C biochar had little to no effect on plant biomass. With incubation we measured lower soil NO3 content in the corn stalk treatment than in the biochar-amended soils, suggesting that the millet growth reduction in the stalk treatment was mainly driven by N limitation, whereas other factors contributed to the biomass yield reductions in the biochar treatments. Corn stalks had a C sequestration use efficiency of up to 0.26, but charring enhanced C sequestration to values that ranged from 0.64 to 1.0. Infrared spectroscopy of the soils as they mineralized showed that absorbance at 3400, 2925-2850, 1737 cm-1, and 1656 cm-1 decreased during the incubation and can be regarded as labile SOM, corn residue, or biochar bands. Absorbances near 1600, 1500-1420, and 1345 cm-1 represented the more refractory SOM moieties. Our results show that adding crop residue biochar to soil is a sound C sequestration technology compared to letting the crop residues decompose in the field. This is because the resistance to decomposition of the chars after soil amendment offsets any C losses during charring of the crop residues.

  18. Cover Crops for Managing Stream Water Quantity and Improving Stream Water Quality of Non-Tile Drained Paired Watersheds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gurbir Singh

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In the Midwestern United States, cover crops are being promoted as a best management practice for managing nutrient and sediment losses from agricultural fields through surface and subsurface water movement. To date, the water quality benefits of cover crops have been inferred primarily from plot scale studies. This project is one of the first to analyze the impacts of cover crops on stream water quality at the watershed scale. The objective of this research was to evaluate nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loss in stream water from a no-till corn-soybean rotation planted with winter cover crops cereal rye (Secale cereale and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa in non-tile drained paired watersheds in Illinois, USA. The paired watersheds are under mixed land use (agriculture, forest, and pasture. The control watershed had 27 ha of row-crop agriculture, and the treatment watershed had 42 ha of row crop agriculture with cover crop treatment (CC-treatment. During a 4-year calibration period, 42 storm events were collected and Event Mean Concentrations (EMCs for each storm event were calculated for total suspended solids (TSS, nitrate-N (NO3-N, ammonia-N (NH4-N, dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP, and total discharge. Predictive regression equations developed from the calibration period were used for calculating TSS, NO3-N, NH4-N, and DRP losses of surface runoff for the CC-treatment watershed. The treatment period consisted of total 18 storm events, seven of which were collected during the cereal rye, eight in the hairy vetch cover crop season and three during cash crop season. Cover crops reduced TSS and discharge by 33% and 34%, respectively in the CC-treatment watershed during the treatment period. However, surprisingly, EMCs for NO3-N, NH4-N, and DRP did not decrease. Stream discharge from the paired-watersheds will continue to be monitored to determine if the current water quality results hold or new patterns emerge.

  19. The effectiveness of habitat modification schemes for enhancing beneficial insects: Assessing the importance of trap cropping management approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trisnawati, Indah; Azis, Abdul

    2017-06-01

    Many farms in regions of intensive crop production lack the habitats that historically provided resources to beneficial insects, and this lack has compromised the ability of farmers to rely on natural enemies for pest control. One of the strategies to boost populations of existing or naturally occurring beneficial insects is to supply them with appropriate habitat and alternative food sources, such as diversifying trap crop systems and plant populations in or around fields include perennials and flowering plants. Trap cropping using insectary plant that attracts beneficial insects as natural enemies, especially flowering plants, made for provision of habitat for predators or parasitoids that are useful for biological control. Perimeter trap cropping (PTC) is a method of integrated pest management in which the main crop is surrounded with a perimeter trap crop that is more attractive to pests. We observed PTC habitat modification and conventionaly-managed tobacco farms in Purwosari Village, Pasuruan (East Java) to evaluate the effectiveness of habitat modification management prescription (perimeter trap crop using flowering plant Crotalaria juncea) on agroecosystem natural enemies. Field tests were conducted in natural enemies (predator and parasitoid) abundance dynamic and diversity on tobacco field in Purwoasri, Pasuruan. Yellow pan trap, sweep net and hand collecting methods were applied in each 10 days during tobacco growth stage (vegetative, generative until reproductive/harvesting. The results showed that application perimeter trap crop with C. juncea in tobacco fields able to help arthropod conservation of natural enemies on all tobacco growth stages. These results were evidenced the increase in abundance of predators and parasitoids and the increased value of the Diversity Index (H') and Evenness Index (EH) in all tobacco growth phases. Composition of predator and parasitoid in the habitat modification field were more diverse than in the conventional field

  20. Management of solid residues in waste-to-energy and biomass systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vehlow, J.; Bergfeldt, B. [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH Technik und Umwelt (Germany). Inst. fuer Technische Chemie; Wilen, C.; Ranta, J. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo (Finland); Schwaiger, H. [Forschungsgesellschaft Joanneum mbH, Graz (Austria); Visser, H.J.M. [ECN Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, Petten (Netherlands); Gu, S.; Gyftopoulou, E.; Brammer, J. [Aston Univ., Birmingham (United Kingdom)

    2007-12-15

    A literature review has been performed for getting in-depth information about quality of residues from thermal processes for waste and biomass as well as their disposal or utilisation options and current practices. Residues from waste incineration have been subject to intense research programs for many years and it can be concluded that the quality of bottom ashes has meanwhile a high standard. The question whether an utilisation as secondary building material is accepted or not depends on the definition of acceptable economic impac. For filter ashes and gas cleaning residues the situation is more complex. Their quality is known: due to their high inventory of heavy metals and organic micro-pollutants they are classified as hazardous waste which means they require specific measures for their safe long-term disposal. A number of stabilisation and treatment processes for filter ashes and gas cleaning residues including the recovery of species out of these materials have been developed but none has been implemented in full scale due to economic constraints. There is reason to speculate that even recovery processes which are not profitable for private companies might point out economically useful if future and long-term costs which have to be covered of the society, e.g. for rehabilitation of contaminated sites, are taken into account. Their quality as well as that of residues from combustion of contaminated biomass is mainly depending on the quality of the fuel. The inventory of critical ingredients in fuel produced from waste or waste fractions, especially of halogens and heavy metals, is often rather high and shows typically a wide range of variation. A reliable quality control for such fuels is very difficult. Other residues can - like gas cleaning residues from waste incineration - be inertised in order to meet the criteria for the access to cheaper landfills than those for hazardous waste. A similar conclusion can be drawn for the quality and management of

  1. Proceedings of the 3. Canadian organic residuals and biosolids management conference[Manure, biosolids, and organic industrial/commercial residuals in land applications programs : improving beneficial reuse and protection of water quality

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2007-07-01

    The management of organic residuals in Canada is becoming more challenging and complex, both socially and politically. This conference provided a forum to exchange the latest information on technical legislative and public awareness issues associated with organic residuals and biosolids management in Canada. It was attended by producers, managers, practitioners and regulators from across Canada who discussed various initiatives regarding the production, management use and disposal of organic residuals including municipal wastewater treatment biosolids, animal manures and pulp and paper sludges. The sessions of the conference were entitled: biosolids management; quality issues; public perception and health issues; composting; treatment technologies; waste to energy; technology; and, land application. The conference featured 50 presentations, of which 5 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs.

  2. Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell) occurrence and infestation behaviour as influenced by farm type, cropping systems and soil management practices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kabi, Samuel; Karungi, Jeninah; Sigsgaard, Lene

    2016-01-01

    into the trend. A biological monitoring study that covered 150 pineapple farms was conducted in 2012 and 2013. Farms were categorised under organic and conventional systems. Mealybug population densities (mealybugs/plant) were recorded in relation to seed bed types, cropping system and soil management practices......Occurrence of pineapple mealybug (Dysmicoccus brevipes) has been increasing at an alarming rate on pineapple in Uganda. The cause of the epidemic is unknown. This study was set out to establish whether prevailing cropping systems, production and management practices could provide an insight...... used on each farm. Mealybug population densities were lower in pineapple–banana intercrop system (27.8) than in a sole pineapple crop (81.8) across seasons. Earthed-up seed beds registered higher mealybug densities (84.1) than flat seed beds (31). Earthed-up seed beds created more favourable...

  3. Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L. as cash-cover crop in an organic vegetable system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna LENZI

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available In organic vegetable systems green manure crops play an important role as a nitrogen source, but they cover the soil for several months without producing a direct income. Globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus L. provides both heads to be harvested and particularly abundant plant residues to be possibly incorporated into the soil, so it may play a double role of cash and cover crop. This paper describes an on-farm study in which seed-propagated artichoke, cultivated as an annual crop, preceded zucchini squash and lettuce cultivated in sequence within a vegetable organic system. Artichoke produced about 7 t ha-1 of saleable heads and left, after harvest, 50.3 t ha-1 of fresh biomass usable as green manure. Zucchini squash and lettuce following artichoke showed a significant increase in yield when artichoke residues were incorporated into the soil. Furthermore, a residual positive effect of green manure on soil fertility was detected after lettuce harvest. 

  4. Nitrate leaching and residual effect in dairy crop rotations with grass-clover leys as influenced by sward age, grazing, cutting and fertilizer regimes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksen, Jørgen; Askegaard, Margrethe; Rasmussen, Jim

    2015-01-01

    Intensive dairy farming, with grass-arable crop rotations is challenged by low N use efficiency that may have adverse environmental consequences. We investigated nitrate leaching and N fertility effects of grass–clover leys for five years in two organic crop rotations with different grassland...... with the 2-yr-old leaching the most (36–46 kg N ha−1), and (4) high leaching (>50 kg N ha−1) with lupin and maize, where especially maize was consistently high in all five years (average 81 kg N ha−1). Great care should be taken during all phases of the dairy crop rotation where grasslands cause considerable...... build-up of fertility. With due care and the best management practice, nitrate leaching losses may be reduced to low levels....

  5. Determination of plant species for the phytoremediation of carbofuran residue in rice field soils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alissara Reungsang

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available This study searched for plant species suitable for accumulating carbofuran residue in rice field soil. Three groups of plant, i.e. grass crops, upland crops, and vegetable crops, were grown in 8 inches diameter plastic pots filled with soil containing 5 mg/kg carbofuran. Parts of plants (stems and leaves, roots, fruits were harvested at day 120 and analyzed for carbofuran residue using HPLC. The results indicated that Helianthus annuus L. (sunflower was the most suitable species for phytoremediation of carbofuran residue in rice field soil because it highly accumulated carbofuran up to 93.4 μg/kg dry weight in its stems and leaves. In addition, H. annuus L. (sunflower could tolerate carbofuran since it showed similar physical appearance (circumference and height to control not receiving carbofuran.

  6. Management of agroforestry systems for enhancing resource use efficiency and crop productivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-11-01

    Agroforestry is a low-input system which combines trees with crops in various combinations or sequences. It is an alternative to intensive cropping systems, which rely on large inputs of manufactured fertilizers and other external inputs to sustain production. Agroforestry also has the potential to reduce risk through diversification of a variety of products, including food, fuelwood and animal fodder. Other perceived benefits include enhanced nutrient and water use efficiencies, reduced nutrient leaching to groundwater and improved soil physical and biological properties. The use of leguminous or actinorhizal trees may further enhance these benefits because of their capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen. Depending on the type of agroforestry system and the management practices employed, a substantial portion of this fixed nitrogen can be transferred to companion crops and to the soil. In considering the overall productivity of agroforestry systems, it is essential to investigate the competition or complementarity in the capture and partitioning of resources between tree and crop components. This is especially true for nutrients and water, usually the two most limiting factors influencing crop growth. The focus of this coordinated research project (CRP) was to evaluate the efficacy of various agroforestry systems used in Member States in terms of crop productivity, resource use efficiency and improvements in soil properties. The use of isotopes and nuclear techniques was essential for understanding the dynamics of nutrients and water in agroforestry systems. The contribution of nitrogen from fertilizers and leguminous trees to soil and crops was studied using both direct and indirect 15 N labelling techniques. The cycling of carbon from trees or crops to soil was studied using natural variations in the 13 C signatures of the soils and the different species. The soil moisture neutron probe in conjunction with tensionics was used to monitor soil water status and

  7. Global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of the nitrate leaching and crop yield simulation under different water and nitrogen management practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agricultural system models have become important tools in studying water and nitrogen (N) dynamics, as well as crop growth, under different management practices. Complexity in input parameters often leads to significant uncertainty when simulating dynamic processes such as nitrate leaching or crop y...

  8. Effect of organic waste compost on the crop productivity and soil quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Astover, Alar; Toomsoo, Avo; Teesalu, Triin; Rossner, Helis; Kriipsalu, Mait

    2017-04-01

    Sustainable use of fertilizers is important for maintaining balanced nutrient cycling in agro-ecosystem, soil quality and crop productivity. Considering the high costs and energy demand of mineral fertilizers, it is increasingly important to use more alternative nutrient sources such composts. Nutrient release from organic fertilizers is slower compared to mineral fertilizers and thus their effects need to be evaluated over longer time periods. There is lack of knowledge on the residual effects of organic fertilizers, especially in Nordic climatic conditions. Residual effect of organic fertilizers is in most cases studied with animal manures, but even rare are studies with non-manure based composts. The aim of current study was to evaluate first year direct effect and residual effect of waste compost on the crop productivity and selected soil parameters. Crop rotation field experiment to reveal direct effect of compost to the spring barley yield and residual effect to potato and spring wheat yield was conducted in Tartu, Estonia on pseodopodzolic soil with low humus concentration (food and green waste, and category III animal by-products; and composted in aerated covered static piles for 6 weeks and after that matured in open windows for minimum six months. Compost was applied to soil with ploughing in autumn before spring barley growing season (in years 2012-2014). Compost was applied in three norms according to total N (200, 275 and 350 kg/ha). In addition there was unfertilized control plot and all experimental variants were in three replication with plot size 50 m2. First year effect of compost increased barley yield by 40-50%, first year residual effect resulted in increase of potato yield by 19-30% and second year residual effect to wheat yield was in range from 8 to 17%. First year residual effect to the potato yield was significant (F=8.9; pstatistically non-significant (F=3.2; p=0.07). Residual effect of compost is decreasing year-by-year as expected. In

  9. Grain yield and crop N offtake in response to residual fertilizer N in long-term field experiments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Jens; Thomsen, Ingrid Kaag; Mattsson, L.

    2010-01-01

    in four long-term (>35 yr) field experiments, we measured the response of barley (grain yield and N offtake at crop maturity) to six rates (0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 kg N/ha) of mineral fertilizer N (Nnew) applied in subplots replacing the customary long-term plot treatments of fertilizer inputs (Nprev......). Rates of Nprev above 50-100 kg N/ha had no consistent effect on the soil N content, but this was up to 20% greater than that in unfertilized treatments. Long-term unfertilized plots should not be used as control to test the residual value of N in modern agriculture with large production potentials....... Although the effect of mineral Nprev on grain yield and N offtake could be substituted by Nnew within a range of previous inputs, the value of Nprev was not eliminated irrespective of Nnew rate. Provided a sufficient supply of plant nutrients other than N, the use-efficiency of Nnew did not change...

  10. Dissipation and residues of emamectin benzoate study in paddy under field conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Minghui; Chen, Weitao; Li, Mengyi; Han, Lijun

    2011-12-01

    The objective of this experiment was not only to provide a simple residue analytical method to evaluate the safe application rate of Emamectin Benzoate for paddy crops but also to give a suitable recommended dosage in paddy crops. Paddy samples were detected using HPLC-MS/MS. The half-lives of emamectin benzoate in paddy plants, water and soil were 2.04-8.66 days, 2.89-4.95 days and 3.65-5.78 days with a dissipation rate of 90% over 7 days after application, respectively. Low residues and short half-life suggested that Emamectin Benzoate could be safely used in paddy crops with the suitable dosage and application.

  11. Availability of crop cellulosics for ethanol production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hayes, R.D.

    1982-10-01

    Past estimates of cellulosic resources available from Canadian agriculture totalled over 23 million tonnes of cereal grain straw and corn stover residues surplus to soil and animal requirements. A new much reduced estimate, based on four detailed regional studies that also include previously unassessed resources such as chaff, oilseed hulls, and food processing wastes, is suggested. Eleven million tonnes are currently available from all residue sources for energy conversion by different processes. Only five million tonnes are identified as potentially usable in ethanol production plants were they to be constructed. Additional resource opportunities may become available in future from currently underutilized land, especially saline soils, novel processing techniques of conventional grains and forages, innovative cropping systems that may increase the yield of agricultural biomass, and new food/feed/fuel (i.e. multi-purpose) crops such as kochia, milkweed, and Jerusalem artichoke. 27 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab.

  12. Effect of management systems and cover crops on organic matter dynamics of soil under vegetables

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Fernandes de Souza

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Vegetable production in conservation tillage has increased in Brazil, with positive effects on the soil quality. Since management systems alter the quantity and quality of organic matter, this study evaluated the influence of different management systems and cover crops on the organic matter dynamics of a dystrophic Red Latosol under vegetables. The treatments consisted of the combination of three soil tillage systems: no-tillage (NT, reduced tillage (RT and conventional tillage (CT and of two cover crops: maize monoculture and maize-mucuna intercrop. Vegetables were grown in the winter and the cover crops in the summer for straw production. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with four replications. Soil samples were collected between the crop rows in three layers (0.0-0.05, 0.05-0.10, and 0.10-0.30 m twice: in October, before planting cover crops for straw, and in July, during vegetable cultivation. The total organic carbon (TOC, microbial biomass carbon (MBC, oxidizable fractions, and the carbon fractions fulvic acid (C FA, humic acid (C HA and humin (C HUM were determined. The main changes in these properties occurred in the upper layers (0.0-0.05 and 0.05-0.10 m where, in general, TOC levels were highest in NT with maize straw. The MBC levels were lowest in CT systems, indicating sensitivity to soil disturbance. Under mucuna, the levels of C HA were lower in RT than NT systems, while the C FA levels were lower in RT than CT. For vegetable production, the C HUM values were lowest in the 0.05-0.10 m layer under CT. With regard to the oxidizable fractions, the tillage systems differed only in the most labile C fractions, with higher levels in NT than CT in the 0.0-0.05 m layer in both summer and winter, with no differences between these systems in the other layers. The cabbage yield was not influenced by the soil management system, but benefited from the mulch production of the preceding maize-mucuna intercrop as cover

  13. Management of parthenium weed by extracts and residue of wheat ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was carried out to investigate the prospects of using methanolic extracts and residue of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for the management of parthenium (Parthenium hysterophorus L.), one of the world's worst weeds. In a laboratory bioassay, the effect of methanol extracts of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5% (w/v) concentrations of ...

  14. Grass-clover undersowing affects nitrogen dynamics in a grain legume–cereal arable cropping system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Mundus, Simon; Jensen, Erik Steen

    2012-01-01

    A field experiment was carried out in an arable organic cropping system and included a sequence with sole cropped fababean (Vicia faba L.), lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), oat (Avena sativa L.) and pea–oat intercropping with or without an undersown perennial ryegrass...... N2 fixation and 15N labeling technique to determine the fate of pea and oat residue N recovery in the subsequent crop. The subsequent spring wheat and winter triticale crop yields were not significantly affected by the previous main crop, but a significant effect of catch crop undersowing...

  15. Comparative management of Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) by convenient pesticides and non-chemical practices in a double rice cropping system

    OpenAIRE

    M. N. Poor Amiri; Faramarz Alinia; Sohrab Imani, et al.

    2017-01-01

    The inclination of rice growers towards double cropping system in north of Iran has raised new concerns about the excessive release of broad-spectrum pesticides, particularly organophosphates, in the environment. In this study, the efficiency of three insecticides and an integrated pest management (IPM) program for management of the striped rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lep: Crambidae), in double cropping system was investigated under field condition. According to the results,...

  16. Interactive effects among ecosystem services and management practices on crop production: pollination in coffee agroforestry systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boreux, Virginie; Kushalappa, Cheppudira G; Vaast, Philippe; Ghazoul, Jaboury

    2013-05-21

    Crop productivity is improved by ecosystem services, including pollination, but this should be set in the context of trade-offs among multiple management practices. We investigated the impact of pollination services on coffee production, considering variation in fertilization, irrigation, shade cover, and environmental variables such as rainfall (which stimulates coffee flowering across all plantations), soil pH, and nitrogen availability. After accounting for management interventions, bee abundance improved coffee production (number of berries harvested). Some management interventions, such as irrigation, used once to trigger asynchronous flowering, dramatically increased bee abundance at coffee trees. Others, such as the extent and type of tree cover, revealed interacting effects on pollination and, ultimately, crop production. The effects of management interventions, notably irrigation and addition of lime, had, however, far more substantial positive effects on coffee production than tree cover. These results suggest that pollination services matter, but managing the asynchrony of flowering was a more effective tool for securing good pollination than maintaining high shade tree densities as pollinator habitat. Complex interactions across farm and landscape scales, including both management practices and environmental conditions, shape pollination outcomes. Effective production systems therefore require the integrated consideration of management practices in the context of the surrounding habitat structure. This paper points toward a more strategic use of ecosystem services in agricultural systems, where ecosystem services are shaped by the coupling of management interventions and environmental variables.

  17. Dinâmica do potássio nos resíduos vegetais de plantas de cobertura no Cerrado Potassium dynamics in crop residues of cover plants in Cerrado

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Luiz Rodrigues Torres

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available A produção de biomassa, a manutenção dos resíduos vegetais sobre o solo e sua posterior decomposição são fatores de grande importância no estudo da ciclagem de nutrientes. Este estudo foi desenvolvido na área experimental do CEFET-Uberaba-MG, onde foram avaliados oito tipos de coberturas vegetais: milheto (Pennisetum americanum sin. tiphoydes, braquiária (Brachiaria brizantha, sorgo-forrageiro (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench, guandu (Cajanus cajan (L. Mill sp., crotalária (Crotalarea juncea, aveia-preta (Avena strigosa Schreb, pousio e área em preparo convencional de solo (testemunha em área de Cerrado, na região do Triângulo Mineiro. Avaliaram-se a fitomassa seca (FS, a decomposição dos resíduos em bolsas de decomposição, e a liberação de K. Utilizou-se um modelo matemático para descrever a decomposição dos resíduos e a liberação de K, e calcularam-se a constante de decomposição (k e o tempo de meia-vida (T½. O milheto, o sorgo e a crotalária foram as coberturas que apresentaram maiores produções de matéria seca. O maior acúmulo de K ocorreu em gramíneas e a maior liberação de K ocorreu no milheto, aveia, braquiária e crotalária nos primeiros 42 dias após manejo, nos dois períodos avaliados. A braquiária apresentou o menor T½ vida e a maior taxa de liberação de K.Crop residue production, plant residue maintenance and their decomposition are important factors in the understanding of nutrient recycling process. To evaluate K accumulation and release a study with eight cover crops types was developed: pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum sin. tiphoydes, brachiaria grass (Brachiaria brizantha, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench, pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L. Millsp, sunn hemp (Crotalarea juncea and black oats (Avena strigosa Schreb, fallow land and conventional culture (control in the experimental area of CEFET-Uberaba-MG, in a Cerrado area. The dry mass production, crop residue decomposition in litter bags

  18. Minor crops for export: a case study of boscalid, pyraclostrobin, lufenuron and lambda-cyhalothrin residue levels on green beans and spring onions in Egypt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanafi, Ahmad; Garau, Vincenzo L; Caboni, Pierluigi; Sarais, Giorgia; Cabras, Paolo

    2010-08-01

    Dissipation rates of boscalid [2-chloro-N-(4' -chlorobiphenyl-2-yl)nicotinamide], pyraclostrobin [methyl 2-[1-(4-chlorophenyl) pyrazol-3-yloxymethyl]-N-methoxycarbanilate], lufenuron [(RS)-1-[2,5-dichloro-4-(1,1,2,3,3,3-hexafluoropropoxy)phenyl]-3-(2,6-difluorobenzoyl)urea] and lambda-cyhalothrin [(R)-cyano(3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl (1S,3S)-rel-3-[(1Z)-2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoro-1-propenyl]-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate] in green beans and spring onions under Egyptian field conditions were studied. Field trials were carried out in 2008 in a Blue Nile farm, located at 70 kilometer (km) from Cairo (Egypt). The pesticides were sprayed at the recommended rate and samples were collected at pre-determined intervals. After treatment (T(0)) the pesticide residues in green beans were 7 times lower than in spring onions. This is due to a different structure of vegetable plant in the two crops. In spring onions, half-life (t(1/2)) of pyraclostrobin and lufenuron was 3.1 days and 9.8 days respectively. At day 14th (T(14)) after treatment boscalid residues were below the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) (0.34 versus 0.5 mg/kg), pyraclostrobin and lambda -cyhalothrin residues were not detectable (ND), while lufenuron residues were above the MRL (0.06 versus 0.02 mg/kg). In green beans, at T(0), levels of boscalid, lufenuron and lambda -cyhalothrin were below the MRL (0.28 versus 2 mg/kg; ND versus 0.02 mg/kg; 0.06 versus 0.2 mg/kg, respectively) while, after 7 days treatment (T(7)) pyraclostrobin residues were above the MRL (0.03 versus 0.02 mg/kg). However, after 14 days the residue level could go below the MRL (0.02 mg/kg), as observed in spring onions.

  19. Modelling nutrient management in tropical cropping systems

    OpenAIRE

    Delve, R. (ed.); Probert, M. (ed.)

    2004-01-01

    Metadata only record In tropical regions, organic materials are often more important than fertilizers in maintaining soil fertility, yet fertilizer recommendations and most crop models are unable to take account of the level and quality of organic inputs that farmers use. Computer simulation models, such as the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) developed by CSIRO and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, have proven their value in many cropping environments. Thes...

  20. Combined Effects of Nutrient and Pesticide Management on Soil Microbial Activity in Hybrid Rice Double Annual Cropping System

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    XIEXiao-mei; LIAOMin; LIUWei-ping; SusanneKLOSE

    2004-01-01

    Combined effects on soil microbial activity of nutrient and pesticide management in hybrid rice double annual cropping system were studied. Results of field experiment demonstrated significant changes in soil microbial biomass phospholipid contents,abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and proteolytic bacteria, electron transport system (ETS)/dehydrogenase activity, soil protein contents under different management practices and at various growth stages. Marked depletions in the soil microbial biomass phospholipid contents were found with the advancement of crop growth stages, while the incorporation of fertilizers and/or pesticides also induced slight changes, and the lowest microbial biomass phospholipid content was found with pesticides application alone. A decline in the bacterial abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and proteolytic bacteria was observed during the continuance of crop growth, while the lowest abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and proteolyrJc bacteria was found with pesticides application alone, which coincided with the decline of soil microbial biomass. A consistent increase in the electron transport svstem activit), was measured during the different crop growth stages of rice. The use of fertilizers (NPK) alone or combined with pesticides increased it, while a decline was noticed with pesticides application alone as compared with the control.The soil protein content was found to be relatively stable with fertilizers and/or pesticides application at various growth stages in both crops undertaken, but notable changes were detected at different growrh stages