Crop Cultivation Articles
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No persistent changes in pasture vegetation or seed bank composition after fallowing
The practice of fallowing pastures during the growing season is intended to increase plant diversity and allow natural reseeding of forage grasses. Fallowing delivers these benefits in New Zealand, but has been adopted on rotationally stocked farms in the northeastern United States with little or no quantitative assessment. Allowing the pasture to remain ungrazed may allow weedy species to ...
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Estimating genetic coefficients for the CSM-CERES-Maize model in North Carolina environments
CSM-CERES-Maize has been extensively used worldwide to simulate corn growth and grain production, but has not been evaluated for use in North Carolina. The objectives of this study were to calibrate CSM-CERES-Maize soil parameters and genetic coefficients using official variety trial data, evaluate model performance in North Carolina, and determine the suitability of the fitting technique using ...
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Nitrogen fertilization effect on phosphorus remediation potential of three perennial warm-season forages
Warm-season C4 grasses are capable of removing excess soil nutrients because of their high yield potential and nutrient uptake efficiency. Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge), limpograss [Hemarthria altissima (Poir.) Stapf & Hubb], and stargrass (Cynodon nlemfuensis Vanderyst), three commonly used pasture grasses in South-Central Florida, were grown to examine the effect of increasing N ...
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Maximizing Timothy forage yield and quality by balanced nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur fertilization
A 3-yr (2005–2007) field experiment was conducted on a Gray Luvisol (Typic Cryoboralf) loam near Star City, SK, Canada, to determine the influence of single and combined annual applications of N, P, and S fertilizers on timothy (Phleum pratense L.) forage dry matter yield (DMY), quality [concentration of crude protein (CP), nitrate N, acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), ...
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Plant growth regulator effects on balancing vegetative and reproductive phases in alfalfa seed yield
The use of plant growth regulators (PGRs) has opened new prospects for increased seed production in grasses and legumes, but little information is available on the effects of PGRs on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) seed production. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of applying chlormequat chloride (CCC) (2-chloroethyl-trimethyl-ammonium chloride) in combination with five PGRs ...
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Yield and plant growth response of peanut to midseason forage harvest
Harvesting of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) foliage during the growing season may increase farm revenue through the sale of peanut hay; however, it is unknown how the peanut plant will respond to forage removal with respect to plant characteristics, pod yield, quality, and revenue. This experiment was a randomized complete block design where peanut foliage was harvested or sprayed with a plant ...
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Cotton Planting date: yield, seedling survival, and plant growth
New cultivars, changes in technology and production practices, and climate change may have altered the optimal planting time for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in the midsouthern United States. A field experiment was conducted from 2002 through 2005 on Gigger silt loam to define planting date (PD) effects on selected cotton cultivars. Six cultivars in 2002 (Deltapine DP555BR and Delta Pearl, ...
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Consequences of conventional versus organic farming on soil carbon: results from a 27-Year field experiment
Organic farming practices are regarded as being beneficial for the environment by promoting soil quality and sequestering soil organic carbon (SOC). We studied SOC dynamics in the long-term field experiment DOK in Switzerland. The experiment compares three organically fertilized treatments under conventional (CONFYM), bioorganic (BIOORG), and biodynamic (BIODYN) management, and two systems with ...
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Alternative crop rotations under mediterranean no-Tillage conditions: biomass, grain yield, and water-use efficiency
In Mediterranean semiarid areas, barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) are major crops because they are well adapted to limited-water environments. In this study we tested the performance of alternative rotations to the typical barley and wheat monocultures in a rainfed Mediterranean semiarid area of northeastern Spain under a no-tillage (NT) system. Four rotations were ...
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Canola–Wheat intercrops for improved agronomic performance and integrated pest management
Intercropping can enhance yields and reduce pest infestations, but investigations of intercropping regimes using crop species common to the large-scale monoculture production systems of western Canada have not examined these diverse elements. Intercrops of canola (Brassica napus L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were established at three sites in Alberta, Canada in 2005 and 2006 to determine ...
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Living mulch forage yield and botanical composition in a corn-soybean-forage rotation
Managing forages as living mulches during row crop production requires suppressing the forages to produce economical crop yields. The objective of this research was to identify forage plants with varied growth habit, persistence, and yield potential to provide desirable ecosystem functions in a multifunctional cropping system. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum Bieb.), ...
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Preplant herbicides don`t increase forage production of cereal rye interseeded into bermudagrass
Interseeding cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) into a bermudagrass sod [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] can increase season-long forage production and land use efficiency. However, previous research has shown that competition from the bermudagrass sod can significantly reduce autumn forage production from cereal rye. Our objective was to determine if the application of a preplant herbicide to a ...
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Yields of alfalfa varieties with different fall-dormancy levels in a temperate environment
Fall dormancy (FD) is an important indicator of winter hardiness in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), but the relationship between FD and the yield potential of alfalfa varieties with contrasting FD classes has not been determined in the temperate regions with mild winters. This study was conducted with 42 varieties of eight FD classes (2–9) over four consecutive years to determine the relationship ...
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Evaluation of factors contributing to surface stability of sand-based turf
The stability of sand-based athletic fields is critical to maximizing playability and safety. The objective of this study was to assess the contributions of sand and plant factors to the surface stability of sports fields. In September 2000, Hallet mason sand (subround), Hallet concrete sand (subround, wide size range), Sidley Pro/Angle sand (angular), Bunker White sand (round), and a mixture of ...
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Integrating winter annual forages into a no-till corn silage system
The benefits of cover crops within crop rotations are well documented, but information is limited on using cover crops for forage within midwestern United States cropping systems, especially under no-tillage management. Our objective was to evaluate plant, animal, and soil responses when integrating winter cover crop forages into no-till corn (Zea mays L.) silage production. Three cover crop ...
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Organic and mineral input management to enhance crop productivity in Central Kenya
Organic resources (ORs) are important nutrient inputs in tropical agriculture. Combined with mineral fertilizers, they form the backbone of integrated soil fertility management. This study was conducted to determine the medium- to long-term influence of OR quality and quantity on maize productivity and to evaluate the occurrence of additive benefits in terms of extra grain yield produced by the ...
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Approaches for quantifying and managing diffuse phosphorus exports at the farm/small catchment scale
Received for publication December 16, 2007. Quantifying and managing diffuse P losses from small catchments or at the farm scale requires detailed knowledge of farming practices and their interaction with catchment processes. However, detailed knowledge may not be available and hence modeling is required. This paper demonstrates two approaches to developing tools that assist P losses from New ...
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Speciation and mobility of arsenic in agricultural lime
Received for publication October 6, 2008. Agricultural liming materials are used to correct soil acidity and to improve plant growth and microbial functionality. A relatively low-grade agricultural lime was found to contain up to 125 mg kg–1 arsenic (As), which is above any fertilizing materials code threshold. The color of the milled material is brown due to ample oxide dendrites. Microprobe ...
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Nitrogen, tillage, and crop rotation effects on carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from irrigated cropping systems
Received for publication December 15, 2008. Long-term effects of tillage intensity, N fertilization, and crop rotation on carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) flux from semiarid irrigated soils are poorly understood. We evaluated effects of: (i) tillage intensity [no-till (NT) and conventional moldboard plow tillage (CT)] in a continuous corn rotation; (ii) N fertilization levels [0–246 kg N ...
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Mitigating diffuse phosphorus transfer from agriculture according to cost and efficiency
Received for publication February 26, 2008. Potential options for mitigating phosphorus (P) transfer from agriculture to water in England and Wales (E&W) were collated across a range of farm systems to assess their potential effectiveness in reducing mass of P transferred and potential cost (pounds sterling [£]) to the farming industry. A simple model framework (called PEASE) incorporating a ...
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