Long-term changes in soil fertility in organic arable farming systems in England, with particular reference to phosphorus and potassium

2005 ◽  
Vol 105 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 425-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Gosling ◽  
M. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Arable Farming ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Phosphorus And Potassium

scholarly journals Bacterivorous nematodes correlate with soil fertility and improved crop production in an organic minimum tillage system

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan H. Schmidt ◽  
Johannes Hallmann ◽  
Maria R. Finckh
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Tillage Systems ◽  
Minimum Tillage ◽  
Cover Cropping ◽  
Organic Farming Systems

AbstractOrganic farming systems are generally based on intensive soil tillage for seed bed preparation and weed control, which in the long-term often leads to reduced soil fertility. To avoid this, organic farming systems need to adopt conservation agriculture practices, such as minimum tillage and diligent crop rotations. However, minimum tillage generally delays soil warming in spring causing reduced nitrogen mineralization and thus poor plant growth. This negative effect needs to be compensated. We hypothesize that, in a diverse crop rotation, organic minimum tillage based on frequent cover cropping and application of dead mulch will improve soil fertility and thus crop production as confirmed by a number of chemical and biological soil indicators.We made use of two long-term field experiments that compare typical organic plough-based systems (25 cm) with minimum tillage systems (<15 cm) including application of transfer mulch to potatoes. Both tillage systems were either fertilized with compost or equivalent amounts of mineral potassium and phosphate. In 2019, soil samples from both fields were collected and analyzed for soil pH, organic carbon, macro-, micronutrients, microbial biomass, microbial activity and total nematode abundance. In addition, performance of pea in the same soils was determined under greenhouse conditions.Results from the field experiments showed an increase of macronutrients (+52%), micronutrients (+11%), microbial biomass (+51%), microbial activity (+86%), and bacterivorous nematodes (+112%) in minimum tillage compared with the plough-based system. In the accompanying greenhouse bioassay, pea biomass was 45% higher under minimum than under plough tillage. In conclusion, the study showed that under organic conditions, soil fertility can be improved in minimum tillage systems by intensive cover cropping and application of dead mulch to levels higher than in a plough-based system. Furthermore, the abundance of bacterivorous nematodes can be used as a reliable indicator for the soil fertility status.

scholarly journals A methodic way to more sustainable farming systems.

1992 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Vereijken
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
World Market ◽  
Short Term ◽  
System A ◽  
Arable Farming ◽  
Integrated Or ◽  
Integrated Farming Systems ◽  
Research And Policy

A methodic pathway is suggested for the definition, elaboration, evaluation and introduction of farming systems based on an 'integrated' or an 'ecosystem-oriented' vision, both considered more sustainable than a 'world-market-oriented' vision. The objectives of these three basic types of systems are defined in measurable terms with respect to the major social values or interests supported or adversely influenced by agriculture. For each type of system, a strategy is assessed through which the objectives can be achieved while avoiding conflict. Arable farming is taken as an example of the elaboration, evaluation and introduction of integrated and ecosystem-oriented systems. The paper discusses how prototype systems can be developed on an experimental farm, evaluated by a pilot group of farmers and dispersed on a large scale. For the short term it is recommended to focus research and policy on integrated farming systems, as an urgently needed compromise between socioeconomic and socio-ecological interests. For the long term, the development of ecosystem-oriented farming systems is recommended as a means of solving the agricultural crisis in a more comprehensive and sustainable way. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)

scholarly journals Integrated soil fertility and yield trend in response to long-term fertilisation under the Chinese double rice-cropping systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 22-32
Author(s):  
Qingyin Shang ◽  
Xiuxia Yang ◽  
Hui Yan ◽  
Xiaohui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Farmyard Manure ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Available Phosphorus ◽  
Double Rice ◽  
Rice Cropping Systems

Soil fertility is fundamental in determining crop productivity and sustainability in farming systems. A long-term fertiliser experiment in Chinese double rice-cropping systems initiated in 2011 was used in this study to gain an insight into a complete estimating of soil fertility. The six fertiliser treatments included mineral fertiliser (NP, NK, and NPK), combined NPK with farmyard manure (NPKM) or crop straw (NPKS), and no fertiliser application as a control. Results showed that grain yield averaged 5.5–13.0 t/ha/year, and significant increasing trends were observed in the phosphorus-applied plots (NP, NPK, NPKM, and NPKS), but the treatments without phosphorus applied (control and NK) resulted in declining trends in both early- and late-rice yields. After long-term rice cultivation, the contents of total and available phosphorus significantly declined in phosphorus-deficient plots compared to other treatments. Regression analysis showed that the improvement in grain yields was positively correlated with the increased soil fertility over treatments. Relative to the NPK treatment, the NPKM treatment greatly enhanced soil fertility from 0.50 to 0.78, and particularly dramatically increased the content of available soil phosphorus. Therefore, the high grain yield and soil fertility can be simultaneously achieved by long-term balanced fertiliser applications in Chinese double rice-cropping systems.  

Long‐term changes in paddy soil fertility in tropical Asia after 50 years of the Green Revolution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junta Yanai ◽  
Sota Tanaka ◽  
Atsushi Nakao ◽  
Susumu S. Abe ◽  
Mina Hirose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Paddy Soil ◽  
Green Revolution ◽  
Tropical Asia ◽  
Long Term Changes

Long-term changes in yield and soil fertility in a twenty-year rice-wheat experiment in Nepal

2001 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gami S. ◽  
Ladha J. ◽  
Pathak H. ◽  
Shah M. ◽  
Pasuquin E. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Long Term Changes

Effects of long-term rotation and tillage practice on grain yield and protein of wheat and soil fertility on a Vertosol in a medium-rainfall temperate environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Armstrong ◽  
R. Perris ◽  
M. Munn ◽  
K. Dunsford ◽  
F. Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Green Manure ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Tillage Practice ◽  
Total N ◽  
Millennium Drought

Fundamental changes in farming systems occurred throughout the medium-rainfall zone of southern Australia during the late 1990s. Pulse and canola crops replaced pastures and long-fallowing, and minimal-tillage practices were increasingly adopted. An experiment was established in 1998 to examine long-term effects of these changes on crop productivity and soil fertility. Nine rotation–tillage treatments based on 3- and 6-year cycles were compared by using wheat (Triticum aestivum) as a bioassay crop over 2001–17. Seasonal conditions during the study ranged from the Millennium Drought to the top rainfall decile. Averaged across the 17 seasons, wheat yields were significantly lower in rotations based on continuous wheat (1.73t/ha) or 3 years of perennial lucerne (Medicago sativa) (1.93t/ha) and highest after traditional long-fallow (2.92t/ha) or vetch (Vicia sativa) green manure (2.57t/ha). Wheat yields following a pulse (2.23t/ha) or canola (Brassica napus) (2.21t/ha) were intermediate. Whereas rotation effects varied with seasonal rainfall, there was a long-term trend for relative yields in continuous wheat rotations to decline and those following a green manure or fallow to differ increasingly from other treatments. Compared across the same rotation (canola–wheat–pulse), average wheat yields under no-tillage (2.09t/ha) were significant lower (P&lt;0.05) than under reduced (2.22t/ha) and conventional (2.29t/ha) tillage. By contrast, grain protein concentration increased with increasing proportion and type of legumes (green manure and pasture&gt;pulse) in the rotation via their effect on soil mineral nitrogen (N). Lowest protein was recorded in continuous wheat and highest where at least one-third of the rotation contained a non-pulse legume, i.e. vetch green manure, lucerne or annual medic (Medicago truncatula). Soil-borne cereal fungal pathogens and nematodes generally had little effect on grain yields. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N stocks declined in all treatments over time, except in the lucerne and green manure treatments, where total N was maintained. Greatest declines in SOC and total N occurred in the fallow treatment. Results from the first 20 years of experimentation suggest that differences in grain yield (and protein) of wheat were most likely the result of treatment (rotation and tillage practice) effects on soil nitrate and water (growing-season rainfall and fallow storage) rather than disease. We found no evidence that current farming systems based on use of pulses, canola and reduced tillage are less able to maintain intervening cereal yields than traditional systems. On the contrary, practices such as long-fallowing are expected to have increasing negative influence on productivity in the longer term via decreased soil C and N fertility.

scholarly journals Long-term changes in soil fertility in hill country

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 157-161
Author(s):  
A.D. Mackay ◽  
D.A. Costall
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Soil Sampling ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Olsen P ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Total P

It has been more than 10 years since the last comprehensive soil sampling of the long term phosphorus (P) fertiliser and sheep grazing farmlet study established at the AgResearch Ballantrae Hill Country Research Station in 1975. This paper reports the findings from a sampling in October 2014 of the soils in the farmlets that have had no fertiliser since 1980 (LFNF), received 125 kg/ha/year of superphosphate since 1980 (LFLF) or 375 kg/ha/year of superphosphate since 1980 (HFHF). Increases in total P levels in the soil reflect the differences in P inputs between the LFNF, LFLF and HFHF farmlets over the last 40 years. In sharp contrast total sulphur (S) levels in soils have showed little change, despite the large amounts of sulphur applied in superphosphate each year. Exchangeable calcium (Ca) levels have increased on the farmlets receiving fertiliser, reflecting the Ca inputs in superphosphate, while magnesium (Mg) levels are lower in the HFHF farmlet. Potassium has shown little change, with the exception of increases on low slope areas in the HFHF farmlet. Olsen P levels have not changed in the topsoil (0-75 mm) in the HFHF since the 2003 sampling, despite annual P inputs in excess of maintenance. The absence of any change might be explained by the finding that P is accumulating in large amounts in the 75-150 mm soil depths on low slopes in the HFHF farmlet. This finding was unexpected serving to highlight the insights these long-term experimental studies provide to both science and industry. Keywords: Long term fertiliser study, P fertiliser, Olsen P, soil fertility

The importance of long-term trials in understanding sustainable farming systems: the Rothamsted experience

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 825 ◽  
Author(s):  
PR Poulton
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Sustainable Farming ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Long Term Experiments

This paper gives examples of how long-term experiments can be used t o improve our understanding of sustainable farming systems. Rothamsted conducts more than 20 long-term (>20 years) experiments in south-eastern England; several were started in the middle of the last century. Some have continued with minor changes, others have been modified considerably t o ensure their continuation and relevance. Examples are given of the effect on soils and crop yields of organic matter, the availability of P, and acidification. The use of archived material in addressing problems not even considered when the experiments began is also discussed. Long-term experiments are essential in determining the factors affecting soil fertility and sustainable production. In many cases, effects may only be observed or interactions become apparent over an extended time. Full use should be made of existing experiments and data; in particular, those on different soil types and under different climatic conditions should be compared so that the information is valuable to farmers, advisers, legislators, and other scientists in both the local and wider community.

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