crop management practice News
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150th Harvest from World`s Longest-Running Continuous Rice Experiment
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is marking the 150th harvest of its Long-Term Continuous Cropping Experiment (LTCCE), the world's longest-running rice research project. This living field laboratory offers humanity a firsthand glimpse into the wonders of how rice production can be sustained in a changing climate without adversely affecting the soil and the productivity of a rice ...
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Rainfall and manure application timing affect organic carbon losses
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) losses from tile drains are an underquantified portion of the terrestrial carbon cycle. This is particularly important in the eastern corn belt where tile drainage dominates the agricultural landscape. Specific land management practices, such as manure application, can play a large role in the export of DOC as soluble organic carbon is applied to or injected into ...
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Bolivian researchers sound alarm over quinoa farming
Bolivian scientists have warned that growing international demand for quinoa is endangering local farming practices and the environment, as well as denying access to local consumers. Their caution follows the UN's kick off last month (20 February) of a year-long series of cultural, artistic and academic activities — along with scientific research — to celebrate 2013 as the ...
By SciDev.Net
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New ORNL tool gets handle on cropland CO2 emissions
For the first time, farmers have data that tracks at the county level on-site and off-site energy use and carbon dioxide emissions associated with growing crops in the United States. This information is vital for examining changes in cropland production and management techniques and could play an even bigger role as more land is devoted to bioenergy crops, said Oak Ridge National Laboratory's ...
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Nitrogen use by warm-season grasses for biomass production
Perennial, warm-season grasses are being evaluated as potential renewable energy crops. These species are well-suited for the production of biomass for energy applications because they utilize C4 photosynthesis and are perennial. Grasses that employ the C4 photosynthetic pathway use water, nitrogen (N), and solar radiation more efficiently than plants having the C3 pathway, and therefore are ...
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U.S. EPA Honors Dixon Ridge Farms as Sustainable Agricultural Champion
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld today recognized Dixon Ridge Farms in a Winters, Calif. environmental award ceremony. The Pacific Southwest Region’s 2012 Sustainable Agricultural Champion Award was presented to the organic walnut farm’s founder, Russ Lester. “EPA applauds Dixon Ridge Farms for its many sustainable ...
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Can simple measures of labile soil organic matter predict corn performance?
Organic matter is important for soil health and crop productivity. While an indicator of soil quality, a lot of organic matter is in extremely stable forms, and the nutrients in such forms are difficult for plants to use. The active, labile fraction, however, is a modest but important part of the organic matter. “The labile fraction is small – usually less than 20 or even 10 percent, ...
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China`s clever water use boosts food yields
China produces more food for the same amount of water than other countries in Africa and Asia, researchers have found. The report, completed by Li Baoguo and colleagues from the China Agricultural University, found that China produces 1–1.5 kilograms of wheat and corn per cubic metre of water, compared with Ethiopia's 0.1–0.2 kilograms, India's 0.2–0.7 and Kazakhstan's 0.2–0.3. The ...
By SciDev.Net
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Using nature`s resources to store carbon
The ability of the Earth's living systems to store carbon could play a vital role in the mitigation of climate change. A new report suggests that, in coming decades, safeguarding and restoring carbon in ecosystems has the potential to prevent well over 50 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon entering the atmosphere. Last year the EU launched its Climate Action and Renewable Energy package to set a target ...
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Weather Fluctuations Impact Soybeans Less Than Other Field Crops
From freezing temperatures and snow flurries to sunny, 80-degree days in a span of a week — if this type of strange weather continues, growers across Ohio want to know, will this have a negative impact on soybean crops? Not really, according to a field crops expert in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. Laura Lindsey, a soybean and ...
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