tillage News
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A burning issue in winter wheat production
Some Pacific Northwest winter wheat producers burn fields to remove straw left after harvest before reseeding. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and cooperators have shown that with careful management, this practice does not result in any more soil erosion than other postharvest practices. Continuous winter wheat cropping systems are used in some parts of the Pacific Northwest ...
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Ants and termites boost dryland wheat yields
"Ants and termites perform the same ecosystem service functions in dryland agriculture that earthworms perform in cooler and wetter areas, but the potential for ants and termites to provide these benefits has received little attention until now," said CSIRO's Dr Theo Evans. "We already knew that the activities of ants and termites affect soil structure, aeration, water infiltration and nutrient ...
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Satellite data plus conservation equals better crop yields
Combining remote sensing technology with water and soil conservation techniques can help raise crop yields in South Asia, scientists have reported. Satellite data can help identify specific problems on farmlands such as moisture shortage, excessive soil wetness and flood occurrence. Using the data along with appropriate resource conserving technology (RCT) will increase productivity, a study ...
By SciDev.Net
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Winter Wheat Harvest Woes
Wheat harvest season is well underway for many U.S. wheat growers. Some of the first soft-red wheat harvested by U.S. farmers in 2015 is the worst in at least 17 years, according to Bloomberg and other sources. This year’s heavy rainfalls – up to three times the normal amount – have made mycotoxin diseases like vomitoxin more prominent in many wheat-growing states. USDA ...
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Straw covering on soil can increase crop yields and improve the efficiency of water use
Straw from previous harvests can be used to help increase crop yields and improve the efficiency of water use in arid regions, finds a new study from China. By testing different techniques to improve water efficiency, the researchers found that the most effective method involved using straw to cover the soil when growing maize and wheat together in the same growing season. In north-western ...
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Crop residues provide valuable protection for soil
Removing wheat and sorghum crop residue after harvest, such as stalks, stubble and leaves, may cause more harm than good according to new research. Results indicate that removing residue can increase nutrient and sediment levels in water runoff, and decrease organic carbon stored in the soil. Crop residue left after harvest performs several ecosystem services. In particular it protects the soil ...
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Farming must change to feed the world
The world's farmers must quickly switch to more sustainable and productive farming systems to grow the food needed by a swelling world population and respond to climate change, FAO's top crops expert told an international farm congress here today. In a keynote speech to 1,000 participants at the IVth World Congress on Conservation Agriculture (CA) in New Delhi, Shivaji Pandey, Director of FAO's ...
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Oilseed rape seeding in 2019: Increased rapeseed yields and positive price trends
At the moment, the question of whether the cultivation of rapeseed still turns out to be profitable is being intensely discussed in many cropping businesses, but it is precisely the current prospects for oilseed rape that do not look bad at all. In addition to the well-known strengths of rapeseed, such as the effects as a preceding crop, more stable yields and positive price trends are to be ...
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Ecosystem-based farming comes of age
A new FAO book out today takes a close look at how the world's major cereals maize, rice and wheat - which together account for an estimated 42.5 percent of human calories and 37 percent of our protein - can be grown in ways that respect and even leverage natural ecosystems. Drawing on case studies from around the planet, the new book illustrates how the "Save and Grow" approach to agriculture ...
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