Showing results for: crop yield Articles
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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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In-situ soil moisture conservation: utilisation and management of rainwater for crop production
The salient results of in-situ soil water conservation technologies that have been found suitable for increasing soil moisture in the arid and semiarid lands of eastern Kenya are reviewed. The results showed that Zai pits, tumbukiza and deep tillage when used together with soil fertility improvement can increase crop yields by 4–10 times in comparison to conventionally cultivated fields. ...
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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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The importance of soil health
Though it is the foundation of life, soil constitutes only a thin layer of material on the surface of our planet. It provides the necessary weathered minerals, organic materials, air, and water, which are the most precious resources for all living creatures. Plants find life in soil, as it provides a rooting medium and nutrient source for plants to grow. Through healthy plants, ...
By SOILCARES
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Transition from intensive tillage to no-tillage and organic diversified annual cropping systems
Transition to no-till (NT) and organic (ORG) farming systems may enhance sustainability. Our objectives were to compare transitional crop productivity and soil nutrient status among diversified NT and ORG cropping systems in Montana. Three NT systems were designed as 4-yr rotations, including a pulse (lentil [Lens culinaris Medik.] or pea [Pisum sativum L.]), an oilseed (canola [Brassica napus ...
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Effect of loblolly pine root pruning on alley cropped herbage production and tree growth
Tillage to disrupt (prune) tree roots is an intensive practice which could improve herbage productivity at the crop–tree interface by reducing competition for water. We compared tillage effects on 9- to 11-yr-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) growth and herbage yields of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] on a fragipan soil in Arkansas. ...
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Tillage effects on water use and grain yield of winter wheat and green pea in rotation
Under water-limited conditions, increasing water use efficiency (WUE) is essential for successful crop production. A 7-yr study (1977–1982, and 1985) to evaluate tillage and tillage timing effects on soil water storage, crop water use, and grain yield of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and spring green pea (Pisum sativum L.) in rotation, was conducted near Pendleton, OR. Treatments included ...
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Energy use and carbon dioxide emissions from cropland production in the United States, 1990–2004
Received for publication June 9, 2008. Changes in cropland production and management influence energy consumption and emissions of CO2 from fossil-fuel combustion. A method was developed to calculate on-site and off-site energy and CO2 emissions for cropping practices in the United States at the county scale. Energy consumption and emissions occur on-site from the operation of farm machinery and ...
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Cover crop and nitrogen effects on maize productivity in no-Tillage Systems of the Brazilian cerrados
Cover crops in direct seeding mulch-based cropping (DMC) systems can be an effective tool to optimize N management for crop production in the Brazilian cerrados. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of four cover crops on maize (Zea mays L.) grain yields in two fields that had been under DMC for 3 and 14 yr. We hypothesized that cover crops would optimize N supply to the maize ...
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Cover Crop and nitrogen effects on maize productivity in no-tillage systems of the Brazilian Cerrados
Cover crops in direct seeding mulch-based cropping (DMC) systems can be an effective tool to optimize N management for crop production in the Brazilian cerrados. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of four cover crops on maize (Zea mays L.) grain yields in two fields that had been under DMC for 3 and 14 yr. We hypothesized that cover crops would optimize N supply to the maize ...
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Local advice on managing blackgrass
Blackgrass is a weed that troubles many, and controlling it is an increasing challenge, particularly with the small armoury of products available, and the growing issue with resistance. Paul Drinkwater, Crop Production Manager for Abbots Ripton Farming Company, explains how, in his 40 years of being in the Cambridgeshire area, the blackgrass problem has evolved. “My role sees me manage ...
By Certis UK
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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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2020 Prior Converted Cropland
About a month ago the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a memorandum of understanding about issues relating to implementing section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Food Security Act (FSA). The concern is the fact the the USDA and the EPA/Corps define wetlands differently. In short, the ...
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Reduced soil tilling helps both soils and yields
Agriculture degrades over 24 million acres of fertile soil every year, raising concerns about meeting the rising global demand for food. But a simple farming practice born from the 1930's Dust Bowl could provide a solution, according to new Stanford research. The study, published Dec. 6 in Environmental Research Letters, shows that Midwest farmers who reduced how much they overturned the soil -- ...
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Is Conservation Tillage the Future of Agriculture?
Like any business, farmers must manage their farms with one foot in the present and the other in the future. It’s not enough to focus just on yields. We must also consider the impact those yields have on our fields. To ensure sustainable crop production, the implementation of a method like conservation tillage is vital. Conservation tillage is a tilling process that leaves at least ...
By Growers
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Wheat: Preparing the Root System for Tillering and Vegetative Growth
The number of tillers is the primary yield component of straw cereals, including wheat, the world’s most widely grown cereal. The number of tillers is fundamental to crop yield development. It will compensate for the loss of plants during sowing due to poor planting. It is directly related to the final number of ears. Three leaves constitute a tiller, and this tiller can be transformed ...
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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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Dolomite and phosphogypsum surface application effects on annual crops nutrition and yield
Brazil has extensive area with acid soils. Using phosphogypsum and soil acidity tolerant cultivars are alternatives to crop establishment in no-till system without previous limestone incorporation in many agricultural soils of Brazil. However, it remains unknown how phosphogypsum and limestone surface application affects rice (Oryza sativa L.) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) nutrition and ...
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The Global Food Challenge Explained in 18 Graphics
The world is projected to hold a whopping 9.6 billion people by 2050. Figuring out how to feed all these people—while also advancing rural development, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting valuable ecosystems—is one of the greatest challenges of our era. So what’s causing the global food challenge, and how can the world solve it? We begin to answer these questions ...
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Effect of height on the competitive ability of wheat with oats
Competitive ability of wheat is influenced by a range of attributes such as plant height, tiller number, and light interception. This study focused on the effect of plant height on weed competitiveness of a set of near-isogenic wheat lines (NILs). The set included seven bread wheat (Triticum aestivium L.) and six durum wheat (T. turgidum L.) cultivars, each having a semidwarf and tall ...
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