Medium-term effects of conservation agriculture based cropping systems for sustainable soil and water management and crop productivity in the Ethiopian highlands

The effects of two tillage methods (zero tillage and conventional tillage), two residue managements (residue kept and residue removed) and two levels of cropping system (maize + soybean and sole maize) were studied over 3 years (2015-2017) at Dailekh district of Nepal. Arun-2 and Puja were the varieties of maize and soybean used respectively, followed by winter wheat. The results revealed that the maize + soybean system had significantly higher plant population and ear population (34.83 thousands ha-1 and 34.35 thousands ha-1, respectively), grains per row (37.1), ear length (16.6 cm) and 20.5% higher grain yield as compared to sole maize. The highest maize equivalent yield (7.92 t ha-1) was recorded in maize + soybean as compared to the lower grain yield equivalent (7.06 t ha-1) in sole maize. Zero tillage accounted relatively higher benefits (high net income and B:C ratio) as compared to conventional tillage. The residue kept plot resulted significantly higher B:C ratio (2.41) than the residue removed (2.11) and the maize + soybean recorded 82.5% greater B:C ratio compared to sole maize. Net annual income was significantly higher in zero tillage, residue kept and maize + soybean system (NRs. 223072.00, 222958.00 and 269016.00 ha-1 respectively). Such combinations are recommended for Dailekh district of Nepal to have profitable crop productivity. SAARC J. Agri., 17(1): 49-63 (2019)

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Conservation Agriculture: A Different Approach for Crop Production Through Sustainable Soil and Water Management: A Review

Sustainable Agriculture Reviews - Organic Farming, Pest Control and Remediation of Soil Pollutants ◽

10.1007/978-1-4020-9654-9_5 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 55-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Fabio Stagnari ◽

Solange Ramazzotti ◽

Michele Pisante

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Crop Production ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Soil And Water

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Effect of soil and water management practices on crop productivity in tropical inland valley swamps

Agricultural Water Management ◽

10.1016/j.agwat.2019.05.036 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 222 ◽

pp. 82-91 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mohamed M. Blango ◽

Richard A.C. Cooke ◽

Juana P. Moiwo

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Management Practices ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Inland Valley ◽

Soil And Water

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Are conservation agriculture (CA) systems productive and profitable options for smallholder farmers in different agro-ecoregions of Zimbabwe?

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170516000041 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 87-103 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

W. Mupangwa ◽

M. Mutenje ◽

C. Thierfelder ◽

I. Nyagumbo

Keyword(s):

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Maize Yield ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Direct Seeding ◽

Maize Production ◽

Production Risk ◽

Conventional Practice

AbstractContinuous conventional tillage coupled with unsystematic cereal/legume rotations has promoted low crop productivity on smallholder farms. A multi-locational study was established in three agro-ecoregions (AEs) of Zimbabwe. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of four tillage systems (conventional plowing, planting basins, rip-line and animal traction direct seeding systems) on maize (Zea mays L.), cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] yields, and evaluate the economic performance of the conservation agriculture (CA) systems relative to conventional plowing. Each farmer was a replicate of the trial over the three cropping seasons. In the high (750–1000 mm per annum) and low (450–650 mm) rainfall AEs, conventional practice and CA systems gave similar maize grain yield. Under medium rainfall conditions (500–800 mm) planting basins, rip-line and direct seeding systems gave 547, 548 and 1690 kg ha−1 more maize yield than the conventional practice. In the high and low rainfall AEs, conventional practice and planting basins had the lowest maize production risk. Cowpea yield was 35 and 45% higher in the rip-line and direct seeding than conventional practice. Soybean yield was higher in rip-line (36%) and direct seeding (51%) systems than conventional practice. Direct seeding system gave the highest net benefits in all AEs. A combination of long-term biophysical and socio-economic assessments of the different cropping systems tested in our study is critical in order to fully understand their performance under different AEs of Zimbabwe.

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Potential of conservation agriculture modules for energy conservation and sustainability of rice-based production systems of Indo-Gangetic Plain region

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-020-10395-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 246-261 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rajiv Nandan ◽

Shish Pal Poonia ◽

Sati Shankar Singh ◽

Chaitanya Prasad Nath ◽

Virender Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Conservation ◽

Production Systems ◽

Conservation Tillage ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Net Energy ◽

Energy Productivity ◽

Economic Relations ◽

Transplanted Rice

AbstractRice-based cropping systems are the most energy-intensive production systems in South Asia. Sustainability of the rice-based cropping systems is nowadays questioned with declining natural resource base, soil degradation, environmental pollution, and declining factor productivity. As a consequence, the search for energy and resource conservation agro-techniques is increasing for sustainable and cleaner production. Conservation agriculture (CA) practices have been recommended for resource conservation, soil health restoration and sustaining crop productivity. The present study aimed to assess the different CA modules in rice-based cropping systems for energy conservation, energy productivity, and to define energy-economic relations. A field experiment consisted of four different tillage-based crop establishment practices (puddled-transplanted rice followed by (fb) conventional-till maize/wheat (CTTPR-CT), non-puddled transplanted rice fb zero-till maize/wheat (NPTPR-ZT), zero-till transplanted rice fb zero-till maize/wheat (ZTTPR-ZT), zero-till direct-seeded rice fb zero-till maize/wheat (ZTDSR-ZT)), with two residue management treatments (residue removal, residue retention) in rice–wheat and rice–maize rotations were evaluated for energy budgeting and energy-economic relations. Conservation-tillage treatments (NPTPR-ZT, ZTTPR-ZT, and ZTDSR-ZT) reduced the energy requirements over conventional tillage treatments, with the greater reduction in ZTTPR-ZT and ZTDSR-ZT treatments. Savings of energy in conservation-tillage treatments were attributed to reduced energy use in land preparation (69–100%) and irrigation (23–27%), which consumed a large amount of fuel energy. Conservation-tillage treatments increased grain and straw/stover yields of crops, eventually increased the output energy (6–16%), net energy (14–26%), energy ratio (25–33%), and energy productivity (23–34%) as compared with CTTPR-CT. For these energy parameters, the treatment order was ZTDSR-ZT ≥ ZTTPR-ZT > NPTPR-ZT > CTTPR-CT (p < 0.05). Crop residue retention reduced net energy, energy ratio, and energy productivity when compared with residue removal. Our results of energy-economic relations favored the “conservative hypothesis,” which envisages that energy and monetary investments are not essentially the determinants of crop productivity. Thus, zero tillage-based crop establishments (ZTTPR-ZT, ZTDSR-ZT) in rice-based production systems could be the sustainable alternative to conventional tillage-based agriculture (CTTPR-CT) as they conserved non-renewable energy sources, reduced water requirement, and increased crop productivity.

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Effectiveness of conservation agriculture in increasing crop productivity in low-input rainfed rice cropping systems under humid subtropical climate

Field Crops Research ◽

10.1016/j.fcr.2019.05.002 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 239 ◽

pp. 104-113 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lalaina Ranaivoson ◽

Krishna Naudin ◽

Aude Ripoche ◽

Lilia Rabeharisoa ◽

Marc Corbeels

Keyword(s):

Cropping Systems ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Subtropical Climate ◽

Low Input ◽

Rainfed Rice ◽

Rice Cropping Systems

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Viable weed seed density and diversity in soil and crop productivity under conservation agriculture practices in rice-based cropping systems

Crop Protection ◽

10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105210 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 136 ◽

pp. 105210

Author(s):

Rajiv Nandan ◽

Vikram Singh ◽

Virender Kumar ◽

S.S. Singh ◽

K.K. Hazra ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cropping Systems ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Seed Density ◽

Weed Seed

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A Review of Soil-Improving Cropping Systems for Soil Salinization

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy9060295 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 295 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Julián Cuevas ◽

Ioannis N. Daliakopoulos ◽

Fernando del Moral ◽

Juan J. Hueso ◽

Ioannis K. Tsanis

Keyword(s):

Crop Production ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Soil Salinization ◽

Review Literature ◽

Residue Management ◽

Negative Effect

A major challenge of the Sustainable Development Goals linked to Agriculture, Food Security, and Nutrition, under the current global crop production paradigm, is that increasing crop yields often have negative environmental impacts. It is therefore urgent to develop and adopt optimal soil-improving cropping systems (SICS) that can allow us to decouple these system parameters. Soil salinization is a major environmental hazard that limits agricultural potential and is closely linked to agricultural mismanagement and water resources overexploitation, especially in arid climates. Here we review literature seeking to ameliorate the negative effect of soil salinization on crop productivity and conduct a global meta-analysis of 128 paired soil quality and yield observations from 30 studies. In this regard, we compared the effectivity of different SICS that aim to cope with soil salinization across 11 countries, in order to reveal those that are the most promising. The analysis shows that besides case-specific optimization of irrigation and drainage management, combinations of soil amendments, conditioners, and residue management can contribute to significant reductions of soil salinity while significantly increasing crop yields. These results highlight that conservation agriculture can also achieve the higher yields required for upscaling and sustaining crop production.

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