scholarly journals Soil fertility and crop yields in long-term organic and conventional cropping systems in Eastern Nebraska

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 200-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam E. Wortman ◽  
Tomie D. Galusha ◽  
Stephen C. Mason ◽  
Charles A. Francis

AbstractOrganic agriculture aims to build soil quality and provide long-term benefits to people and the environment; however, organic practices may reduce crop yields. This long-term study near Mead, NE was conducted to determine differences in soil fertility and crop yields among conventional and organic cropping systems between 1996 and 2007. The conventional system (CR) consisted of corn (Zea maysL.) or sorghum (Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench)–soybean (Glycine max(L.) Merr.)–sorghum or corn–soybean, whereas the diversified conventional system (DIR) consisted of corn or sorghum–sorghum or corn–soybean–winter wheat (wheat,Triticum aestivumL.). The animal manure-based organic system (OAM) consisted of soybean–corn or sorghum–soybean–wheat, while the forage-based organic system (OFG) consisted of alfalfa (Medicago sativaL.)–alfalfa–corn or sorghum–wheat. Averaged across sampling years, soil organic matter content (OMC), P, pH, Ca, K, Mg and Zn in the top 15 cm of soil were greatest in the OAM system. However, by 2008 OMC was not different between the two organic systems despite almost two times greater carbon inputs in the OAM system. Corn, sorghum and soybean average annual yields were greatest in either of the two conventional systems (7.65, 6.36 and 2.60 Mg ha−1, respectively), whereas wheat yields were greatest in the OAM system (3.07 Mg ha−1). Relative to the mean of the conventional systems, corn yields were reduced by 13 and 33% in the OAM and OFG systems, respectively. Similarly, sorghum yields in the OAM and OFG systems were reduced by 16 and 27%, respectively. Soybean yields were 20% greater in the conventional systems compared with the OAM system. However, wheat yields were 10% greater in the OAM system compared with the conventional DIR system and 23% greater than yield in the OFG system. Alfalfa in the OFG system yielded an average of 7.41 Mg ha−1annually. Competitive yields of organic wheat and alfalfa along with the soil fertility benefits associated with animal manure and perennial forage suggest that aspects of the two organic systems be combined to maximize the productivity and sustainability of organic cropping systems.

Weed Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilshan Benaragama ◽  
Julia L. Leeson ◽  
Steve J. Shirtliffe

AbstractWeeds have acquired evolutionary adaptations to the diverse crop and weed management strategies used in cropping systems. Therefore, changes in crop production practices such as conventional to organic systems, tillage-based to no-till systems, and diversity in crop rotations can result in differences in weed community composition that have management implications. A study was carried out to understand the weed community dynamics in a long-term alternative cropping systems study at Scott, SK, Canada. Long-term (18-yr) weed community composition data in wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) in ORG (organic), RED (reduced-input, no-till), and HIGH (high-input, conventional tillage) systems with three levels of crop rotation diversity, LOW (low diversity), DAG (diversified annual grains), and DAP (diversified annuals and perennials), were used to study the effect of different cropping systems and the effect of environment (random temporal effects) on residual weed community composition using the principal response curve (PRC) technique. The interaction between cropping systems and year-to-year random environmental changes was found to be the predominant factor causing fluctuations in weed community composition. Furthermore, the single most predominant factor influencing the weed composition was year-to-year random changes. Organic systems clearly differed from the two conventional systems in most years and had more diverse weed communities compared with the two conventional systems. The two conventional systems exhibited similar weed composition in most years. In this study, the use of the PRC method allowed capture of the real temporal dynamics reflected in the cropping systems by time interaction. This study further concludes that moving from a tillage-based, high-input conventional system to a no-till, reduced-input system did not cause significant changes in the weed community composition throughout the time period, but diversity in organic systems was high, probably due to increased occurrence of some difficult to control species.


2001 ◽  
pp. 34-39
Author(s):  
János Lazányi

The crop rotation experiment, established by Vilmos Westsik in 1929, is the best known and most remarkable example of continuous production in Hungary. It is still used to study the effects of organic manure treatment, develop models and predict the likely effects of different cropping systems on soil properties and crop yields. Westsik’s crop rotation experiment provides data of immediate value to farmers concerning the applications of fertilisers, green, straw and farmyard manure. The experiment also provides a resource of yield, plant and soil data sets for scientific research into the soil and plant processes which control soil fertility, and into the sustainability of production without environmental deterioration. The maintenance of Westsik’s crop rotation experiment can be used to illustrate the value of long-term field experiments.


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 424
Author(s):  
William Cox ◽  
John J. Hanchar ◽  
Jerome Cherney ◽  
Mark Sorrells

Low prices have prompted growers to contemplate transitioning to an organic system. We evaluated red clover-maize-soybean-wheat (Cl-M-S-W), maize-soybean (M-S-M-S), and soybean-wheat/red clover-maize-soybean (S-W/Cl-M-S) rotations in organic and conventional systems in New York, USA from 2015 to 2018 to identify profitable organic practices. Organic compared with conventional maize in 2017 had 14.6% higher yield and $2107/ha higher returns above selected costs in the S-W/Cl-M-S rotation; and had $1007/ha higher returns in the M-S-M-S rotation, despite 3.6% lower yield and higher production costs, because of the organic price premium. Likewise, organic compared with conventional soybean had ~$800 to ~$900/ha higher returns in 2017 and 2018, despite ~10% lower yield and ~$50/ha higher production costs, because of the organic price premium. Organic compared with conventional wheat yielded ~4% higher with $125/ha higher returns, despite ~$435/ha higher production costs. Organic compared with the conventional system had $1018/ha higher returns in the Cl-M-S-W rotation, $1782/ha higher in the M-S-M-S rotation, and $2961/ha higher in the S-W/Cl-M-S rotation in 2017 and 2018. Although returns in 2015 and 2016 (no organic premium) were lower, the organic compared with the conventional system from 2015 to 2018 had $673/ha higher returns in the Cl-M-S-W rotation, $497/ha higher in the M-S-M-S rotation, and $2355/ha higher in the S-W/Cl-M-S rotation indicating that the S-W/Cl-M-S rotation was the most profitable organic rotation during the four-year period.


1990 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Korva ◽  
E. Varis

Crop yields between 1982 and 1988 are reported here as a part of a cropping system experiment carried out at Suitia, Southern Finland. The soil was silty clay. There were four conventional and four organic systems: conventional cropping systems for barley monoculture, cereal production, diverse plant production, or a cattle farm, and organic cropping systems either for plant production with or without composting, or for cattle farms with or without composting. The crop sequences were fixed by six-year rotations, carried out in two phases. There were great differences in yields between the years, and the organic cropping systems were more negatively affected by poor growing conditions than the conventional ones. In the organic systems, the barley yields in 1985 and in 1988 were 25 % of the yields obtained from conventional stands, when the latter yielded about 3 t/ha. In better years, barley in the organic plant production yielded 50 % of the yield obtained in conventional barley monoculture (6 t/ha). It was not possible to differentiate between the effects of two different causes the preceeding crop and annual variation. The yields obtained with ’organic’ winter wheat and oats (+ Vicia faba) were 40 % of those from the respective conventional pure stands. The clover-grass leys of the organic systems yielded as much as the conventional grass leys until they were destroyed by water and the resulting ice cover during winter. Compared to those of ‘conventional’ system, the ‘organic’ system gave annual mean yields of potato varying from 37 % of the 16 t/ha obtained conventionally to 48% of the 21 t/ha obtained conventionally. Barley variety was found to interact with cropping system in 1988, a year characterised by draught stress. In 1989, in a separate trial carried out on the same field, an interaction between soil wetness (location) and cropping system was observed. Wetness of soil in winter seemed to interfere more severely in the organic system than in the conventional one. Because the uncontrolled variation of the field itself as to topography and drainage makes the comparisons between the organic and the conventional systems somewhat biased and unreliable, these results should not be generalised to cover the overall question of yield level in organic cropping.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zulhafandi Zulhafandi

ABSTRACTDragonflies are insects important in agricultural ecosystems. Dragonflies have a role as a predator, both in theform of a naiad and adults and feed on certain types of pests on rice plant. The objective of the research was tostudy the diversity of dragonflies (Odonata) in the fields organic and conventional systems of rice in PadangPariaman Regency. A survey was conducted using Purposive sampling survey. Sampleswere collected by usingwater and swinging insect nets. The results showed that the dragonflies (Odonata) found on the site of the researchconsisted of 5 family, 15 species with a total of 354 individuals. Odonata found in organic systems rice fieldsconsisted of 5 family, 15 species and 275 individuals, while the ones in conventional system of rice fields were 3familes, 10 species, 79 individuals. Diversity and equity were higher on the organic system of rice field 2.47 andequity 0.90 respectively, compared with conventional rice field with the value of diversity index of 1.98 and equityindex 0.82.Keywords: Diversity, Dragonflies (Odonata), organic, conventionalABSTRACTCapung merupakan serangga yang penting dalam ekosistem pertanian. Capung memiliki peran sebagai predator,baik dalam bentuk naiad maupun dewasa dan memangsa beberapa jenis hama pada tanamana padi. Penelitian inibertujuan untuk mempelajari keanekaragaman capung (Odonata) pada sawah sistem organik dan konvensional diKabupaten Padang Pariaman. Metode yang digunakan adalah metode survey dengan pengambilan sampelPurposive Random Sampling. Cara pengambilan sampel yaitu dengan menggunakan jaring air dan jaring ayunHasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa capung (Odonata) yang ditemukan pada lokasi penelitian terdiri dari 5famili, 15 spesies dengan total individu 354. Odonata pada sawah sistem organik 5 famili, 15 spesies, dan 275individu, sedangkan pada sawah konvensional ditemukan 3 famili, 10 spesies dan 79 individu. Keanekaragamandan kemerataan lebih tinggi terdapat pada sawah sistem organik dengan nilai indeks 2,47 dan kemerataan 0,90,dibandingkan dengan sawah konvensional yang memiliki nilai indeks keanekaragaman 1,98 dengan kemerataan0,82Kata kunci : Keanekaragaman, Capung (Odonata), organik, konvensional


2016 ◽  
Vol 108 (4) ◽  
pp. 1703-1716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenkui Zheng ◽  
Changling Sui ◽  
Zhiguang Liu ◽  
Jibiao Geng ◽  
Xiaofei Tian ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Harumi Niguma ◽  
Jacinta Sanchez Pelayo ◽  
Tereza Cristina Rocha Moreira de Oliveira

The aims of this study were to evaluate the contamination of lettuce (Lactuca sativa), produced in Londrina, Paraná (PR), with total coliform, coliform at 45 °C, E. coli, and Salmonella spp.; and to determine the E. coli contamination of irrigation water used at the farms studied. Four farms were evaluated, of which three produced lettuce using a conventional system and one using an organic system. An evaluation of the production practices of the farms was also carried out. A total of 111 samples were analyzed, 71 lettuce samples from the conventional system and 40 samples from the organic system. A total of eight irrigation water samples were collected for analysis. Coliform at 45 °C counts above the limit tolerated by Brazilian legislation were observed in 2.8% (2/71) of conventionally grown lettuce samples, and Salmonella spp. was isolated in 1.4% (1/71) of those samples. In the organic lettuce samples, 12.5% (5/40) had coliform at 45 °C counts above the limit tolerated and Salmonella spp. was not detected. Irrigation water samples from three farms were unsatisfactory, with counts higher than 102MPN of E. coli per 100mL. The results of this study demonstrate that most conventionally grown lettuce samples show good sanitary conditions in production, and that lettuce contamination is not related to contamination found in irrigation water samples. The results also showed that the organic production practices required by Brazilian certification agencies should be applied to ensure that contamination of produced lettuce remains controlled.


2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Álvaro M. R. Almeida ◽  
Lilian Amorim ◽  
Armando Bergamin Filho ◽  
Eleno Torres ◽  
José R. B. Farias ◽  
...  

The increase in incidence of charcoal rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina on soybeans (Glycine max) was followed four seasons in conventional and no-till cropping systems. In the 1997/98 and 2000/01 seasons, total precipitation between sowing and harvest reached 876.3 and 846.9 mm, respectively. For these seasons, disease incidence did not differ significantly between the no-till and conventional systems. In 1998/99 and 1999/00 precipitation totaled 689.9 and 478.3 mm, respectively. In 1998/99, in the no-till system, the disease incidence was 43.7% and 53.1% in the conventional system. In 1999/00 the final incidence was 68.7% and 81.2% for the no-till and conventional systems, respectively. For these two seasons, precipitation was lower than that required for soybean crops (840 mm), and the averages of disease incidence were significantly higher in the conventional system. The concentration of microsclerotia in soil samples was higher in samples collected in conventional system at 0 - 10 cm depth. However, analysis of microsclerotia in roots showed that in years with adequate rain no difference was detected. In dry years, however, roots from plants developed under the conventional system had significantly more microsclerotia. Because of the wide host range of M. phaseolina and the long survival times of the microsclerotia, crop rotation would probably have little benefit in reducing charcoal rot. Under these study conditions it may be a better alternative to suppress charcoal rot by using the no-till cropping system to conserve soil moisture and reduce disease progress.


2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Letícia KP Camargo ◽  
Juliano Tadeu V de Resende ◽  
Tânia T Tominaga ◽  
Sonia Maria Kurchaidt ◽  
Cristhiano K Camargo ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to determine some physicochemical characteristics of fruits of eight strawberry cultivars (Aromas, Camino Real, Campinas, Dover, Oso Grande, Toyonoka, Tudla-Milsei and Ventana) cultivated in organic and conventional systems. The evaluated characteristics were soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), SS/AT ratio and anthocyanins. Evaluated sensory characteristics were flavor and appearance. The cultivars had a differential performance between themselves and among the systems for the evaluated characteristics. Generally, the conventional system produced fruit with higher levels of soluble solids and, organic system produced higher concentrations of anthocyanins. The fruits of the cultivar Toyonoka had the best soluble solids content in both systems and the anthocyanins content of 'Tudla-Milsei' and 'Camino Real' were proeminent in comparison to the other cultivars. The fruits from the organic system of production were preferred by judges on the sensorial attributes. The highest notes were given to the appearance of the cultivar Ventana in the conventional system and 'Tudla-Milsei' in the organic system.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-50
Author(s):  
Nabin Rawal ◽  
Rajan Ghimire ◽  
Devraj Chalise

Balanced nutrient supply is important for the sustainable crop production. We evaluated the effects of nutrient management practices on soil properties and crop yields in rice (Oryza sativa L.) - rice - wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) system in a long-term experiment established at National Wheat Research Program (NWRP), Bhairahawa, Nepal. The experiment was designed as a randomized complete block experiment with nine treatments and three replications. Treatments were applied as: T1- no nutrients added, T2- N added; T3- N and P added; T4- N and K added; T5- NPK added at recommended rate for all crops. Similarly, T6- only N added in rice and NPK in wheat at recommended rate; T7- half N; T8- half NP of recommended rate for both crops; and T9- farmyard manure (FYM) @10 Mg ha-1 for all crops in rotation. Results of the study revealed that rice and wheat yields were significantly greater under FYM than all other treatments. Treatments that did not receive P (T2, T3, T7, T8) and K (T2, T4) had considerably low wheat yield than treatments that received NPK (T5) and FYM (T9). The FYM lowered soil pH and improved soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (P), and exchangeable potassium (K) contents than other treatments. Management practices that ensure nutrient supply can increase crop yield and improve soil fertility status.Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 5(1): 42-50


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