Shifting crop-pasture rotations to no-till annual cropping reduces soil quality and wheat yield

The impact of conservation tillage practices on carbon sequestration has been of great interest in recent years. This experiment analyzed the organic carbon status of soils sampled at depth increments from 0 to 60 cm after 20 years in a purple paddy soil. The tillage experiment was established in the Key Field Station for Monitoring of Eco-Environment of Purple Soil of the Ministry of Agriculture of China, located in the farm of Southwest University (30°26′N, 106°26′E), Chongqing. In this paper, five tillage treatments including conventional tillage with rice only system (DP), conventional tillage with rotation of rice and rape system (SL), no-till and ridge culture with rotation of rice and rape system (LM), no-till and plain culture with rotation of rice and rape system (XM) and tillage and ridge culture with rotation of rice and rape system (LF) were selected as research objectives to measure SOC storage and stratification ratio of SOC (CSR). The SOC storage under different tillage systems was calculated based on an equivalent soil mass. The CSR can be used as an indicator of soil quality because surface organic matter is essential to erosion control, water infiltration, and the conservation of nutrients. Results showed that in soil under no-till SOC was concentrated near the surface, while in tilled soil SOC decreased equably with the increase of soil depth. The difference of SOC contents between the five tillage systems was the largest in the top soil and the lowest in the bottom soil. The order of SOC storage was LM (158.52 Mg C•ha-1) >DP (106.74 Mg C•ha-1) >XM (100.11 Mg C•ha-1) >LF (93.11 Mg C•ha-1) >SL (88.59 Mg C•ha-1), LM treatment was significantly higher than the other treatments. The CSR of 0-10/50-60 cm was 2.65, 2.70 and 2.14 under LM, XM and LF treatments, while 1.54 and 1.92 under DP and SL treatments. We considered CSR>2 indicate an improvement in soil quality produced by changing from tillage to no-tillage, as well as changing from plane to ridge. Overall, long-term LM treatment is a valid strategy for increasing SOC storage and improving soil quality in a purple paddy soil in Southwest China.

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The adoption of no-till instead of reduced tillage does not improve some soil quality parameters in Argentinean Pampas

Applied Soil Ecology ◽

10.1016/j.apsoil.2015.10.014 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 98 ◽

pp. 166-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Anahí Domínguez ◽

José Camilo Bedano

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Quality Parameters ◽

Reduced Tillage ◽

No Till

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Soil water retention and s index after crop rotation and chiseling

Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo ◽

10.1590/s0100-06832011000600009 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 1927-1937 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Juliano Carlos Calonego ◽

Ciro Antonio Rosolem

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Crop Rotation ◽

Soil Compaction ◽

Water Retention ◽

Pennisetum Glaucum ◽

Soil Water Retention ◽

No Till ◽

Soil Physical Quality ◽

Sunn Hemp

Soil compaction can be minimized either mechanically or biologically, using plant species with vigorous root systems. An experiment was carried out with soybean (Glycine max) in rotation with triticale (X Triticosecale) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) in fall-winter associated with pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) or sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) in spring. Crop rotation under no-till was compared with mechanical chiseling. The experiment was carried out in Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil. Soil quality was estimated using the S index and soil water retention curves (in the layers of 0-0.05, 0.075-0.125, 0.15-0.20, 0.275-0.325, and 0.475-0.525 m deep). Crop rotation and chiseling improved soil quality, increasing the S index to over 0.035 to a depth of 20 cm in the soil profile. The improved soil quality, as shown by the S index, makes the use of mechanical chiseling unnecessary, since after 3 years the soil physical quality under no-tilled crop rotation and chiseling was similar.

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Crop residue effects on soil quality following 10-years of no-till corn

Soil and Tillage Research ◽

10.1016/0167-1987(94)90077-9 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 31 (2-3) ◽

pp. 149-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 231

Author(s):

D.L. Karlen ◽

N.C. Wollenhaupt ◽

D.C. Erbach ◽

E.C. Berry ◽

J.B. Swan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Crop Residue ◽

No Till

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WHEAT YIELD AND WATER USE EFFICIENCY UNDER CONTRASTING RESIDUE AND TILLAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN A SEMIARID AREA OF MOROCCO

Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s0014479702000285 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 237-248 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

R. Mrabet

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Wheat Yield ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Wheat Crop ◽

No Tillage ◽

Partial Removal ◽

No Till ◽

Management Technology ◽

Use Efficiency

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) production using no-tillage is becoming an increasingly accepted management technology. Major obstacles to its adoption in Morocco, however, are exportation of wheat straw from the field and stubble grazing. Among pertinent solutions is the control of these practices. A four-year field study was conducted to determine the effect of residue level under no-tillage on wheat grain and total dry-matter yields, water use and water-use efficiency, and to compare this with conventional tillage systems. The aim was to evaluate whether all the straw produced is needed for no-till cropping or whether partial removal of straw from the field is possible without any adverse effect on production. No-tillage and deep tillage with disk plough performed equally well and subsurface tillage with an off-set disk produced the lowest yields. Both bare and full no-tillage covers depressed wheat production. Uo to 30% of straw produced under no-tillage can be removed without jeopardizing wheat crop performance.

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