crop input Articles
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Organic and conventional production systems in the wisconsin integrated cropping systems trials: i. Productivity 1990–2002
During the last half-century, agriculture in the upper U.S. Midwest has changed from limited-input, integrated grain–livestock systems to primarily high-input specialized livestock or grain systems. This trend has spawned a debate regarding which cropping systems are more sustainable and led to the question: can diverse, low-input cropping systems (organic systems) be as productive as ...
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Risk considerations in the economic assessment of low–input crop production techniques: an example from Swiss wheat production
The role of risks in the adoption of low–input wheat production in Switzerland is investigated using farm–level panel data. Due to governmental support with environmental payments, low–input wheat production is found to be on average more profitable. However, low–input production is also more risky, in particular due to higher yield variability. The here presented analysis reveals that these ...
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Economic performance of alternative tillage systems in the northern corn belt
While no-till (NT) cropping systems can provide conservation benefits in the northern Corn Belt, adoption has been low due to concerns about potential yield reductions and economic risk. Strip-tillage (ST) systems have been proposed as an alternative that may provide many of the conservation benefits of NT while maintaining productivity and economic returns. The objectives of this study were to ...
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Why Vertical Crop Monitoring is Essential to Regenerative Agriculture
A farmer’s day may be different every day during the growing season but the one constant is that each day is dedicated to doing what needs to be done for a healthy crop. Today’s growers also know that they are the custodians of the soil they farm. Our planet’s population depends on their willingness and ability to reverse the damage that some traditional farming practices have ...
By AquaSpy Inc.
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Estimation of maize evapotranspiration using extreme learning machine and generalized regression neural network on the China Loess Plateau
Accurately estimating crop evapotranspiration (ET) is essential for agricultural water management in arid and semiarid croplands. This study developed extreme learning machine (ELM) and generalized regression neural network (GRNN) models for maize ET estimation on the China Loess Plateau. Maize ET, meteorological variables, leaf area index (LAI), and plant height (hc) were continuously ...
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Tillage effects on soil carbon balance in a semiarid agroecosystem
Tillage systems may affect soil C sequestration, with a potential impact on crop productivity or organic matter mineralization. We evaluated crop yield, C inputs to the soil, and in situ CO2–C fluxes under no-till and conventional tillage (disk tillage) during the 3- to 6-yr period from the installation of an experiment in an Entic Haplustoll of the Semiarid Pampean Region of Argentina to ...
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Temporal yield variability under conventional and alternative management systems
Year to year variation in yield is an inherent risk associated with crop production and many growers rely on intensive mechanical or chemical inputs to preserve crop yield in the face of fluctuating environmental conditions. However, as interest grows in alternative crop management systems which depend less on external inputs, determining the degree to which management systems can impact the ...
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Corn Production in the Bowen Food Basin - Case Study
In Bowen, Queensland, in 2010, Hibrix was compared with a high NPK mineral fertiliser program for the production of maize cv. Hycorn 675IT on an alluvial sandy loam soil irrigated via sub-surface drip tape. At commercial harvest, cobs from 20 randomly selected plants per plot from were harvested, weighed and the length, girth at the cob base and length of tip not filled with kernels was measured. ...
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Interactive effects of tillage and mineral fertilization on soil carbon profiles
Both tillage and fertilizer management influence soil organic C (SOC) storage, but their interactive effects remain to be determined for various soil and climatic conditions. We evaluated the long-term effects of tillage (no-till, NT, and moldboard plowing, MP), and N and P fertilization on SOC stocks and concentrations in profiles of a clay loam soil (clayey, mixed, mesic Typic Humaquept). Corn ...
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Agronomic and economic performance characteristics of conventional and low-external-input cropping systems in the central corn belt
We conducted a 9-ha field experiment near Boone, IA, to test the hypothesis that yield, weed suppression, and profit characteristics of low-external-input (LEI) cropping systems can match or exceed those of conventional systems. Over a 4-yr period, we compared a conventionally managed 2-yr rotation system {corn (Zea mays L.)/soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]} with two LEI systems: a 3-yr ...
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Crop productivity and economics during the transition to alternative cropping systems
Many environmental benefits accrue from reducing tillage and increasing crop diversity; however, economic factors often encourage the continued use of intensive tillage and specialized crop production. This study examined crop yields, input costs, and economic returns during the transition to a range of cropping system alternatives in the northern Corn Belt region, including different system ...
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Agronomically Speaking: Fall Fertility? From Soil Test to Prescriptions
Farmers understand that soil fertility is a key component of growing healthy and high yielding crops. While there is much debate on how we accomplish soil fertility and health, there are some general items that are helpful to remember. However, because it was an extremely wet year for many across the country it is even more important to soil test this year. Some of the nutrients ...
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Understand Crop Nutrients to Optimize Farm Management
Crop Nutrient Uptake and Removal Farming today is an increasingly complex business. However, when you break down the simplest function of agriculture, it’s all about nourishment. With the global population expected to reach nearly 10 billion by mid-century, nourishing your soil to meet this demand is increasingly essential to what you do. How often does crop nutrient uptake and removal ...
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Return on Investment in Variable Rate Technology is About a Lot More Than Yield
Delivering value to your farm When you invest hard-earned dollars into new farm technologies, you’d better believe you want to see that value returned to your pockets. But the ways that value shows up are many, and not always so plain to see. With that, many ask: what return on investment (ROI) does variable rate technology (VRT) deliver for my farm? The truth is, it’s a loaded ...
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Plan for success
Take a giant step ahead by using farm management software for your crop planning As the influx of agtech sweeps across fields today, the old adage that best-laid plans often go awry no longer applies to your farm. Crop plans may be as old as farming, but the latest in farm management software takes your farm’s success to a new level. “Crop plans may be as old as farming, but the ...
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Corn grain yield response to crop rotation and nitrogen over 35 years
Crop rotation and N are management methods that can increase corn (Zea mays L.) grain yields. Our objective was to determine the corn grain yield response to six crop rotation sequences and four N rates in a long-term (35-yr) study. The rotations were continuous corn (CC), corn–alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) (CA), corn–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (CS), corn-corn-corn-alfalfa-alfalfa (CCCAA), ...
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Can pulse crops play a role in mitigating greenhouse gases from North American agriculture?
The atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is a serious environmental issue. Globally, agricultural activities are an important source of anthropogenic GHGs, contributing 20% of the annual atmospheric increase. Management choices largely determine if agricultural soils will be a source, a sink, or will be neutral with respect to GHG net flux. The proportion of agricultural land that is ...
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Modern Miracles
When a technology comes along that unlocks a new way of thinking about an old problem, we marvel at it as a “modern miracle.” Growing up in Ireland, I know that memories of the Great Potato Famine still run deep. Today, Irish farmers know how fungicides have helped ensure that potato late blight remains a distant memory. Agriculture has come a long way since the nineteenth century, ...
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Crop rotation and nitrogen input effects on soil fertility, maize mineral nutrition, yield, and seed composition
Knowledge of complex relationships between soils, crops, and management practices is necessary to develop sustainable agricultural production systems. Objectives were to determine how maize (Zea mays L.) would respond to monoculture (C-C), 2-yr rotation (C-S) with soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], or 4-yr rotation (C-S-W/A-A) with soybean, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and alfalfa (Medicago ...
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Using Technology for Complete Farm Management - Case Study
Challenge This case is about one of the world’s largest producers of potato specialties company based in India. The company leases plots for farming and has 2500+ plots spread across an area of 5200 +acres. Earlier, they used to record farm data manually, thus creating multiple inconsistent entries. A check on practices such as dehaulming & rouging, adoption of right package of ...
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