Effects of long-term use of sodic water irrigation, amendments and crop residues on soil properties and crop yields in rice–wheat cropping system in a calcareous soil

Long-term no-till (NT) systems in the semiarid central Great Plains of the United States require flexible management strategies to minimize the impacts of herbicide resistant (HR) kochia (Kochia scoparia L.) and tumble windmill grass (Chloris verticillata Nutt.) as well as nutrient stratification on soil and crop productivity. This study examined strategic tillage (ST) to control HR weeds and improve crop yields in an otherwise long-term NT cropping system. Treatments were three crop rotations: (1) continuous winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (WW); (2) wheat-fallow (WF); and (3) wheat-grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.)-fallow (WSF); as main plots. Subplots were reduced tillage (RT), continuous NT, and ST of NT. Results showed ST and RT treatments provided significant control of HR weeds. Soil water content at wheat planting was significantly less with RT compared to NT or ST. Strategic tillage did not affect wheat or grain sorghum yields, but RT decreased sorghum yields by 15% compared to NT. Increasing cropping intensity reduced wheat yields. Strategic tillage reduced bulk density and had no effect on aggregate size distribution or mean weight diameter (MWD) compared to NT though RT reduced the proportion of large macroaggregates and MWD. Similarly, ST compared to NT had no effect on soil organic carbon (SOC) or nitrogen (N) concentrations. Soil phosphorus (P) was not different among the tillage treatments though RT increased potassium (K) concentration near the soil surface. The SOC, MWD, and micronutrient availability were greatest with WW though it had significantly lower pH and K concentration. Our results suggest ST could provide a mitigation option for HR weeds in NT systems with little impact on crop yields and soil properties.

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The effects of two organic manures on soil properties and crop yields on a temperate calcareous soil under a wheat–maize cropping system

European Journal of Agronomy ◽

10.1016/j.eja.2009.03.001 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 36-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 108

Author(s):

Yunchen Zhao ◽

Ping Wang ◽

Jianlong Li ◽

Yuru Chen ◽

Xianzhi Ying ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Calcareous Soil ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Cropping System ◽

Organic Manures

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Changes in soil chemical properties and crop yields with long‐term cropping system and nitrogen fertilization

age ◽

10.1002/agg2.20019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Upendra M. Sainju ◽

Sikiru Y. Alasinrin

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Fertilization ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Cropping System ◽

Soil Chemical Properties

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Soil properties after 36 years of N fertilization under continuous corn and corn-soybean management

10.5194/soil-2021-26 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nakian Kim ◽

Gevan D. Behnke ◽

María B. Villamil

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Crop Rotation ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Block Design ◽

N Fertilization ◽

Total Carbon ◽

Nitrous Oxide Emissions ◽

Continuous Corn

Abstract. Modern agricultural systems rely on inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilization to enhance crop yields, but its overuse may negatively affect soil properties. Our objective was to investigate the effect of long-term N fertilization on key soil properties under continuous corn [Zea mays L.] (CCC) and both the corn (Cs) and soybean [Glycine max L. Merr.] (Sc) phases of a corn-soybean rotation. Research plots were established in 1981 with treatments arranged as a split-plot design in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plot was crop rotation (CCC, Cs, and Sc), and the subplots were N fertilizer rates of 0 kg N ha−1 (N0, controls), and 202 kg N ha−1, and 269 kg N ha−1 (N202, and N269, respectively). After 36 years and within the CCC, the yearly addition of N269 compared to unfertilized controls significantly increased cation exchange capacity (CEC, 65 % higher under N269) and acidified the top 15 cm of the soil (pH 4.8 vs. pH 6.5). Soil organic matter (SOM) and total carbon stocks (TCs) were not affected by treatments, yet water aggregate stability (WAS) decreased by 6.7 % within the soybean phase of the CS rotation compared to CCC. Soil bulk density (BD) decreased with increased fertilization by 5 % from N0 to N269. Although ammonium (NH4+) did not differ by treatments, nitrate (NO3−) increased eight-fold with N269 compared to N0, implying increased nitrification. Soils of unfertilized controls under CCC have over twice the available phosphorus level (P) and 40 % more potassium (K) than the soils of fertilized plots (N202 and N269). On average, corn yields increased 60 % with N fertilization compared to N0. Likewise, under N0, rotated corn yielded 45 % more than CCC; the addition of N (N202 and N269) decreased the crop rotation benefit to 17 %. Our results indicated that due to the increased level of corn residues returned to the soil in fertilized systems, long-term N fertilization improved WAS and BD, yet not SOM, at the cost of significant soil acidification and greater risk of N leaching and increased nitrous oxide emissions.

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How diversity of crop residues in long-term no-tillage systems affect chemical and microbiological soil properties

Soil and Tillage Research ◽

10.1016/j.still.2019.104316 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 194 ◽

pp. 104316 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Daiane dos Santos Soares ◽

Maria Lucrecia Gerosa Ramos ◽

Robélio Leandro Marchão ◽

Giovana Alcântara Maciel ◽

Alexsandra Duarte de Oliveira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Crop Residues ◽

No Tillage ◽

Tillage Systems

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The role of management in yield improvement of the wheat crop—a review with special emphasis on Western Australia

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar05077 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 56 (11) ◽

pp. 1137 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

W. K. Anderson ◽

M. A. Hamza ◽

D. L. Sharma ◽

M. F. D'Antuono ◽

F. C. Hoyle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Western Australia ◽

Weed Management ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Grain Quality ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Cropping System ◽

Rate Of Change ◽

Wheat Crop ◽

Positive Interactions

Modern bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) has been well adapted for survival and production in water-limited environments since it was first domesticated in the Mediterranean basin at least 8000 years ago. Adaptation to various environments has been assisted through selection and cross-breeding for traits that contribute to high and stable yield since that time. Improvements in crop management aimed at improving yield and grain quality probably developed more slowly but the rate of change has accelerated in recent decades. Many studies have shown that the contribution to increased yield from improved management has been about double that from breeding. Both processes have proceeded in parallel, although possibly at different rates in some periods, and positive interactions between breeding and management have been responsible for greater improvements than by either process alone. In southern Australia, management of the wheat crop has focused on improvement of yield and grain quality over the last century. Adaptation has come to be equated with profitability and, recently, with long-term economic and biological viability of the production system. Early emphases on water conservation through the use of bare fallow, crop nutrition through the use of fertilisers, crop rotation with legumes, and mechanisation, have been replaced by, or supplemented with, extensive use of herbicides for weed management, reduced tillage, earlier sowing, retention of crop residues, and the use of ‘break’ crops, largely for management of root diseases. Yields from rainfed wheat crops in Western Australia have doubled since the late 1980s and water-use efficiency has also doubled. The percentage of the crop in Western Australia that qualifies for premium payments for quality has increased 3–4 fold since 1990. Both these trends have been underpinned by the gradual elimination or management of the factors that have been identified as limiting grain yield, grain quality, or long-term viability of the cropping system.

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