Assessing carbon and water dynamics of no-till and conventional tillage cropping systems in the inland Pacific Northwest US using the eddy covariance method

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has a storied history as a food crop, and it has long been a dietary staple of peoples in temperate climates. Contemporary research studies have focused mostly on hulled barley for malt and animal feed. As such, nitrogen (N) and seeding rate agronomic data for naked food barley are lacking. In this study, we evaluated the effects of N on ß-glucan and protein content, and N and seeding rate on phenotypic characteristics of naked food barley, including grain yield, emergence, plant height, days to heading, days to maturity, test weight, percent plump kernels, and percent thin kernels. Experiments were conducted at two no-till farms, located in Almota, WA, and Genesee, ID, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest from 2016 to 2018. The experiment comprised two varieties (“Havener” and “Julie”), employed N rates of 0, 62, 95, 129, and 162 kg N ha−1, and seeding rates of 250, 310, and 375 seeds/m−2. Increased N fertilization rate was shown to significantly increase all response variables, except β-glucan content of the variety Julie, days to heading, test weight, and percent plump and thin kernels. Increased N fertilization resulted in higher mean grain yield of Havener and Julie in both Almota and Genesee up to 95 kg N ha−1. Havener had higher yields (3,908 kg N ha−1) than Julie (3,099 kg N ha−1) across locations and years. Julie had higher β-glucan (8.2%) and protein (12.6%) content compared to Havener (β-glucan = 6.6%; protein = 9.1%). Our results indicate that β-glucan content is associated with genotype, environmental, and agronomic factors in dryland cropping systems of the Palouse.

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Reduced chemical input cropping systems in the Southeastern United States: III. Economic analysis

American Journal of Alternative Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s088918930000758x ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 12-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Larry D. King ◽

Dana L. Hoag

Keyword(s):

Weed Control ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Southeastern United States ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Crimson Clover ◽

Continuous Corn ◽

No Till ◽

Clover Seed ◽

The Cost ◽

Input Level

AbstractThis study evaluated the profitability of several cropping systems during a 10-year period of an experiment comparing rotations and levels of purchased inputs. Continuous corn or sorghum, corn/wheat-soybean (2-year), and corn/wheat-soybean/corn/clover hay (4-year) were managed with recommended fertilizer and pesticide rates and no-till planting (C) or with N from legumes, conventional tillage, and cultivation for weed control (L). Medium input management (M: medium rate of N and banded herbicides) was included during years 5 through 10. Generally, corn was the least profitable crop, regardless of input level or type of rotation. Rotating crops improved profit more than did adding inputs to continuous corn. With L, average annual profit was: continuous corn, -$64/ha; 2-year rotation, $135/ha; and 4-year rotation, $158/ha. With C, the 2-year rotation increased profit to $165/ha from -$119/ha with continuous corn. The increased profit with rotations was due to greater profits from wheat, soybean, and hay offsetting low or negative profit from corn. Sorghum (grown only in monoculture) was more profitable with L ($34/ha) than with C (-$20/ha). During the 6 years when all input levels were compared, the order of average profit was M>L>C with continuous corn. Generally, profit was not increased by M compared with L in the 2-and 4-year rotations. With L, the cost of weed control was 20% of that for C with corn and 44% with soybean. Cost of N from fertilizer was $0.66/kg, but cost of N from crimson clover (seed and planting costs) averaged $0.92/kg when clover was drilled, $1.27/kg when aerially seeded, and $0.16/kg when naturally reseeded.

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Natural Suppression of Rhizoctonia Bare Patch in a Long-Term No-Till Cropping Systems Experiment

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-04-13-0420-re ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 98 (3) ◽

pp. 389-394 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

W. F. Schillinger ◽

T. C. Paulitz

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Spring Barley ◽

The United States ◽

Carthamus Tinctorius ◽

Bare Patch ◽

Yellow Mustard ◽

No Till ◽

Mapping Software

The soilborne fungus Rhizoctonia solani AG-8 is a major concern for farmers who practice no-till in the inland Pacific Northwest of the United States. Bare patches caused by Rhizoctonia spp. first appeared in 1999 during year 3 of a 15-year no-till cropping systems experiment near Ritzville, WA (269 mm of annual precipitation). The extent and pattern of patches were mapped each year from 1999 to 2012 at the 8-ha study site with a backpack-mounted global positioning system equipped with mapping software. Bare patches appeared in winter and spring wheat (SW; Triticum aestivum), spring barley (SB; Hordeum vulgare), yellow mustard (Brassica hirta), and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius). At its peak in years 5 to 7, bare patches occupied as much as 18% of total plot area in continuous annual monoculture SW. The area of bare patches began to decline in year 8 and reached near zero levels by year 11. No measurable patches were present in years 12 to 15. Patch area was significantly greater in continuous SW compared with SW grown in a 2-year rotation with SB. Additionally, the 15-year average grain yield for SW in rotation with SB was significantly greater than for continuous SW. Russian thistle (Salsola tragus), a troublesome broadleaf weed with a fast-growing tap root, was the only plant that grew within patches. This article reports the first direct evidence of natural suppression of Rhizoctonia bare patch with long-term no-till in North America. This suppression also developed in a rotation that contained broadleaf crops (yellow mustard and safflower) in all but 5 years of the study, and the suppression was maintained when safflower was added back to the rotation.

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Peer review report 1 On “Assessing carbon dynamics at high and low rainfall agricultural sites in the inland Pacific Northwest US using the eddy covariance method”

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology ◽

10.1016/j.agrformet.2016.01.120 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 217 ◽

pp. 63

Author(s):

Tagir Gilmanov

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Eddy Covariance ◽

Pacific Northwest ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Eddy Covariance Method

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Simulating the Capacity of Rainfed Food Crop Species to Meet Social Demands in Sudanian Savanna Agro-Ecologies

Land ◽

10.3390/land10080827 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 827

Author(s):

Marcos Jiménez Martínez ◽

Christine Fürst

Keyword(s):

Cropping Systems ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Fertilizer Application ◽

West African ◽

Plant Production ◽

Fuel Production ◽

Crop Species ◽

Crop Models ◽

No Till ◽

Growing Conditions

West African land use systems have been experiencing one of the fastest transformations in the world over recent decades. The Sudanian savanna is an interesting example, as it hosts the cultivation of some crops typical of the Guinean savanna as well as some of the Sahel. Therefore, this region is likely to experience further changes in its crop portfolio over the next decades due to crop migration processes responding to environmental change. Simulation approaches can guide the development of agricultural production strategies that contribute to sustainably optimize both food and fuel production. This study used crop models already available in the APSIM platform to simulate plant production and the soil water and nutrient cycles of plots cultivated with groundnut, millet, sorghum, maize, and rice on three (two upland and one lowland) soil fertility classes and subjected to five levels of management (conventional tillage without residue incorporated to the soil and nor fertilizer application; conventional tillage without residue incorporated to the soil and 5 kg N ha−1; conventional tillage with residue incorporated to the soil 20 kg N ha−1, and no-till herbicide treated with 50 and 100 kg N ha−1). Simulation outputs were contrasted against data reported in the literature and converted into nutritional, fuel and feed yields based on the qualities and uses of their different plant comparments. Groundnut yields outperformed all of the cereals across most growing conditions, nutritional and feed indicators. Maize and rice provided the highest caloric yields, with the least fertile growing conditions. Sorghum provided average to high caloric and iron yields across all of the treatments. Millet provided the highest iron yields and high fuel yields across most treatments. Some simulated treatments could not be compared against literature review data because of their absence in actual cropping systems and the lack of experimental data. Plant production was simulated with higher accuracy than the other components of the simulation. In particular, there is a need to better parameterize and validate the rice, groundnut and millet models under Sudanian savanna conditions in order to perform more accurate comparative assessments among species.

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Comparisons of Annual No‐Till Spring Cereal Cropping Systems in the Pacific Northwest

cftm ◽

10.2134/cftm2014.0089 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Frank L. Young ◽

J. R. Alldredge ◽

William L. Pan ◽

Curtis Hennings

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

No Till ◽

The Pacific

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Impacts of Repeated Glyphosate Use on Wheat-Associated Bacteria Are Small and Depend on Glyphosate Use History

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.01354-17 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 83 (22) ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Daniel C. Schlatter ◽

Chuntao Yin ◽

Scot Hulbert ◽

Ian Burke ◽

Timothy Paulitz

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Bacterial Communities ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Cropping System ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

No Till ◽

History Of ◽

History Of Use

ABSTRACT Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide worldwide and a critical tool for weed control in no-till cropping systems. However, there are concerns about the nontarget impacts of long-term glyphosate use on soil microbial communities. We investigated the impacts of repeated glyphosate treatments on bacterial communities in the soil and rhizosphere of wheat in soils with and without long-term history of glyphosate use. We cycled wheat in the greenhouse using soils from 4 paired fields under no-till (20+-year history of glyphosate) or no history of use. At each cycle, we terminated plants with glyphosate (2× the field rate) or by removing the crowns, and soil and rhizosphere bacterial communities were characterized. Location, cropping history, year, and proximity to the roots had much stronger effects on bacterial communities than did glyphosate, which only explained 2 to 5% of the variation. Less than 1% of all taxa were impacted by glyphosate, more in soils with a long history of use, and more increased than decreased in relative abundance. Glyphosate had minimal impacts on soil and rhizosphere bacteria of wheat, although dying roots after glyphosate application may provide a “greenbridge” favoring some copiotrophic taxa. IMPORTANCE Glyphosate (Roundup) is the most widely used herbicide in the world and the foundation of Roundup Ready soybeans, corn, and the no-till cropping system. However, there have been recent concerns about nontarget impacts of glyphosate on soil microbes. Using next-generation sequencing methods and glyphosate treatments of wheat plants, we described the bacterial communities in the soil and rhizosphere of wheat grown in Pacific Northwest soils across multiple years, different locations, and soils with different histories of glyphosate use. The effects of glyphosate were subtle and much less than those of drivers such as location and cropping systems. Only a small percentage of the bacterial groups were influenced by glyphosate, and most of those were stimulated, probably because of the dying roots. This study provides important information for the future of this important tool for no-till systems and the environmental benefits of reducing soil erosion and fossil fuel inputs.

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