Alternative methods for terminating green manures in organic grain systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Margaret Pickoff ◽  
Ellen B. Mallory ◽  
Thomas Molloy
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Green Manures ◽  
Late Fall

Abstract Legume green manures (GM) are a vital source of nitrogen (N) for many organic grain systems. A common practice among organic growers is to undersow clover into a small grain, harvest the grain crop and terminate the clover stand in late fall by moldboard plowing in preparation for a cash crop the following spring. While fall plowing offers excellent clover kill, growers increasingly seek an alternative termination method that reduces tillage intensity and bare winter soil. This study, performed at two sites in Maine, evaluates three clover termination methods for kill efficacy, winter soil cover, spring soil conditions and N uptake and grain yield and protein of a subsequent test crop of hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L., var. Glenn). Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) was intercropped with spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and terminated in late fall by moldboard plowing (PL), skim plowing (SK) or undercutting (UC). A control treatment received no clover and was fall plowed. An additional treatment, winterkilled field peas (WK), was evaluated at one site. SK, UC and WK increased soil cover relative to PL, though UC resulted in low clover kill efficacy in a wet spring and is in need of improved design. Grain yield was higher following red clover compared to the no-clover control at one site, but was unaffected by termination method. At one site, grain crude protein was higher following PL than the other treatments, indicating the possibility for more favorable timing of N availability associated with PL.

Legumes intercropped with spring barley contribute to increased biomass production and carry-over effects

2011 ◽  
Vol 150 (5) ◽  
pp. 584-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. A. PAPPA ◽  
R. M. REES ◽  
R. L. WALKER ◽  
J. A. BADDELEY ◽  
C. A. WATSON
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Above Ground Biomass ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Sole Crop ◽  
Matter Production ◽  
Grain Crop ◽  
Carry Over

SUMMARYIntercropping systems that include legumes can provide symbiotically fixed nitrogen (N) and potentially increase yield through improved resource use efficiency. The aims of the present study were: (a) to evaluate the effects of different legumes (species and varieties) and barley on grain yield, dry matter production and N uptake of the intercrop treatments compared with the associated cereal sole crop; (b) to assess the effects on the yields of the next grain crop and (c) to determine the accumulation of N in shoots of the crops in a low-input rotation. An experiment was established near Edinburgh, UK, consisting of 12 hydrologically isolated plots. Treatments were a spring barley (Hordeum vulgare cvar Westminster) sole crop and intercrops of barley/white clover (Trifolium repens cvar Alice) and barley/pea (Pisum sativum cvar Zero4 or cvar Nitouche) in 2006. All the plots were sown with spring oats (Avena sativa cvar Firth) in 2007 and perennial ryegrass in 2008. No fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides were used at any stage of the experiment. Above-ground biomass (barley, clover, pea, oat and ryegrass) and grain yields (barley, pea and oat) were measured at key stages during the growing seasons of 2006, 2007 and 2008; land equivalent ratio (LER) was measured only in 2006. At harvest, the total above-ground biomass of barley intercropped with clover (4·56 t biomass/ha) and barley intercropped with pea cvar Zero4 (4·49 t biomass/ha) were significantly different from the barley sole crop (3·05 t biomass/ha; P<0·05). The grain yield of the barley (2006) intercropped with clover (3·36 t grain/ha) was significantly greater than that in the other treatments (P<0·01). The accumulation of N in barley was low in 2006, but significantly higher (P<0·05) in the oat grown the following year on the same plots. The present study demonstrates for the first time that intercrops can affect the grain yield and N uptake of the following crop (spring oats) in a rotation. Differences were also linked to the contrasting legume species and cultivars present in the previous year's intercrop. Legume choice is essential to optimize the plant productivity in intercropping designs. Cultivars chosen for intercropping purposes must take into account the effects upon the growth of the partner crop/s as well as to the following crop, including environmental factors.

Grain nitrogen concentration differences among three sorghum hybrids with similar grain yield

1999 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kamoshita ◽  
M. Cooper ◽  
R. C. Muchow ◽  
S. Fukai
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Yield Reduction ◽  
N Availability ◽  
N Accumulation ◽  
N Concentration ◽  
Grain Nitrogen

The differences in grain nitrogen (N) concentration among 3 sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) hybrids with similar grain yield were examined under N-limiting conditions in relation to the availability of assimilate and N to grain. Several manipulation treatments [N fertiliser application, lower leaves shading, thinning (reduced plant population), whole canopy shading, canopy opening, spikelet removal] were imposed to alter the relative N and assimilate availability to grain under full irrigation supply. Grain N concentration increased by either increased grain N availability or yield reduction while maintaining N uptake. Grain N concentration, however, did not decrease in the treatments where relative abundance of N compared with assimilate was intended to be reduced. The minimum levels of grain N concentration differed from 0.95% (ATx623/RTx430) to 1.14% (DK55plus) in these treatments. Regardless of the extent of variation in assimilate and N supply to grain, the ranking of hybrids on grain N concentration was consistent across the manipulation treatments. For the 3 hybrids examined, higher grain N concentration was associated with higher N uptake during grain filling and, to a lesser extent, with higher N mobilisation. Hybrids with larger grain N accumulation had a larger number of grains. There was no tradeoff between grain N concentration and yield, suggesting that grain protein concentration can be improved without sacrificing yield potential.

Effects of waterlogging in the spring on soil conditions and the growth and yield of spring barley in three cultivation systems

1989 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Hodgson ◽  
G. M. Whiteley ◽  
Anna E. Bradnam
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Shoot Growth ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Oxygen Flux ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
N Recovery ◽  
Redox Potentials ◽  
Cultivation Systems ◽  
Normal Rainfall

SummaryExperiments were carried out in 1985 and 1986 on a sandy clay–loam to investigate the effects of above average rainfall in May and early June on the growth of the spring barley cv. Klaxon in three systems of cultivation. The cultivation treatments, ploughing (P), shallow-tine cultivation (S) and direct drilling (D), had been repeated on the same plots and cropped with spring barley each year since 1971.A total of 112 mm water was applied to the waterlogged subplots in 1985 and 168 mm in 1986.Compared with plots receiving the normal seasonal rainfall, extra water had no effect on shoot or grain yield in 1985 (mean grain yield 6·38 t/ha) and there were no significant differences between cultivation systems. In 1986, in contrast, water, in excess of normal rainfall, depressed both shoot growth and grain yield (mean grain yields 4·49 and 4·07 t/ha for the normal rainfall and the additional water treatments, respectively), the effect being greater on P than on either S or D.In both years, saturation was achieved in the topsoil for a prolonged period during May and early June in the waterlogged subplots. In 1985 this was associated with a period of low oxygen flux and low redox potential, but this did nothave a significant effect on root or shoot growth. In 1986 there was no comparable period of reduced aeration, nor any significant differences in oxygen flux or redox potentials between water and cultivation treatments. In 1986, reduced growth and yield were directly associated with a mean reduction in N recovery by shoots of 36 kg N/ha, the effect being greatest on the ploughed plots where water was added. The results do not support the hypothesis that waterlogging per seaffects the growth of barley more on ploughed than on direct-drilled land.

Results from factorial experiments testing amounts and times of granular N-fertilizer, late sprays of liquid N-fertilizer and fungicides to control mildew and brown rust on two varieties of spring barley at Saxmundham, Suffolk 1975–8

1982 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. V. Widdowson ◽  
J. F. Jenkyn ◽  
A. Penny
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Brown Rust ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Factorial Experiments ◽  
Grain Yields ◽  
Factorial Combination ◽  
Average Rainfall

SUMMARYExperiments with spring barley at Saxmundham, in each year from 1975 to 1978, compared two varieties (Julia v Wing), two amounts of granular N-fertilizer (50 v 100kg N/ha) and two times of applying it (seed bed v top-dressing), a liquid N-fertilizer spray (0 v 50 kg N/ha), mildew fungicides (with and without) and a rust fungicide (with and without), in factorial combination (26).Leaf diseases were assessed and grain weighed and analysed for % N each year. Thousand-grain weights were measured in 1977 and 1978.Yields were small in 1975 and 1976 because little rain fell in summer, but larger in 1977 and 1978, years with average rainfall.Mildew was most severe in 1975 and least in 1978, brown rust most severe in 1975 and 1978 and practically absent in 1976. Granular N-fertilizer was best applied to the seed bed in all years, whether or not leaf diseases were controlled. Late sprays of liquid N-fertilizer increased yield less than equivalent amounts of seed-bed N, but increased % N in grain more. However, because they also decreased grain size, less of the N applied as a liquid was recovered by grain than was recovered from granules given earlier. The mildew fungicides increased yields by ca. 0·25 t/ha in 1975 and 1977, but decreased them in 1976. They had little or no effect on % N in grain, but increased grain size in 1977. The rust fungicide, benodanil, increased grain yields each year and especially in 1978 (0·37 t/ha). It had no effect on grain % N, but consistently increased grain size and so enhanced grain yield and N uptake.

The effect of soil tillage system on the nitrogen uptake, grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency of spring barley in a cool Atlantic climate

2014 ◽  
Vol 153 (5) ◽  
pp. 862-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. BRENNAN ◽  
P. D. FORRISTAL ◽  
T. McCABE ◽  
R. HACKETT
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Soil Tillage ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Tillage System ◽  
Ct System

SUMMARYField experiments were conducted between 2009 and 2011 in Ireland to compare the effects of soil tillage systems on the grain yield, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and nitrogen (N) uptake patterns of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare) in a cool Atlantic climate. The four tillage treatments comprised conventional tillage in spring (CT), reduced tillage in autumn (RT A), reduced tillage in spring (RT S) and reduced tillage in autumn and spring (RT A+S). Each tillage system was evaluated with five levels of fertilizer N (0, 75, 105, 135 and 165 kg N/ha). Grain yield varied between years but CT had a significantly higher mean yield over the three years than the RT systems. There was no significant difference between the three RT systems. Tillage system had no significant effect on the grain yield response to fertilizer N. As a result of the higher yields achieved, the CT system had a higher NUE than the RT systems at all N rates. There was no significant difference in NUE between the three RT systems. Conventional tillage had significantly higher nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE) than RT A and a significantly higher nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE) than all three RT systems. Crop N uptake followed a similar pattern each year. Large amounts of N were accumulated during the vegetative growth stages while N was lost after anthesis. Increased N rates had a positive effect on N uptake in the early growth stages but tended to promote N loss later in the season. The CT system had the highest N uptake in the initial growth stages but its rate of uptake diminished at a faster rate than the RT systems as the season progressed. Tillage system had an inconsistent effect on crop N content during the later growth stages. On the basis of these results it is concluded that the use of non-inversion tillage systems for spring barley establishment in a cool oceanic climate remains challenging and in certain conditions may result in a reduction in NUE and lower and more variable grain yields than conventional plough-based systems.

scholarly journals The effect of incorporation time of different crops on the residual effect on spring cereals

1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. KÄNKÄNEN ◽  
A. KANGAS ◽  
T. MELA
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Trifolium Pratense ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Residual Effect ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Hordeum Vulgare L ◽  
Spring Cereals

The effect of the time of incorporation of different green manures and barley residues on the grain yield of spring cereals in two successive seasons was studied in seven field trials. Annual hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), westerwold ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam. var. westerwoldicum) and straw of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) were incorporated into the soil by ploughing in early September, late October and the following May, and by reduced tillage in May. Spring barley was established in the following spring, and spring oats (Avena sativa L.) one year later. In general the grain yield of spring barley after legumes was similar to that after barley, in spite of the fact that N fertilization was reduced by 40 kg ha-1. The two autumn ploughing treatments resulted in a good yield of spring barley more reliably than did the spring incorporations. Because delayed autumn ploughing did not decrease the grain yield, a delaying procedure can be recommended for its potential of decreasing nitrogen leaching. Spring ploughing could be used on all but clay soils. Incorporating ryegrass or red clover in spring by using reduced tillage often decreased the grain yield of barley. Timing of incorporation did not have a consistent effect on the grain yield of oats in the third experimental year.;

Effects of nitrogen fertilizer and tridemorph on mildew, growth and yield of spring barley 1975–7

1983 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Jenkyn ◽  
M. E. Finney ◽  
G. V. Dyke
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Powdery Mildew ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Positional Variation ◽  
N Rates

SUMMARYExperiments with spring barley in 1975–7 tested fungicides applied to control powdery mildew (tridemorph) or brown rust (benodanil) in factorial combination with six amounts of fertilizer N, applied either to the seed bed soon after sowing, as a later top dressing or half at each time.Powdery mildew was the principal leaf disease in all three years. It tended to be increased by increments of N and by applying the N late but much less consistently in the first two years, when soils were very dry for much of the growing period, than in 1977 when amounts of rain were much closer to the long-term mean. Tridemorph significantly increased the number of ears in 1975, mean number of grains per ear in 1976 and 1000-grain weight in all three years; it gave net increases in grain yield of 0·55, 0·68 and 0·41 t/ha, respectively, in 1975–7. Yield response to increasing amounts of applied N was greatly increased where mildew had been controlled by the use of tridemorph, and was better where the N had been divided into two dressings than where it had been applied as a single dose. In 1975 and 1977 the biggest responses to tridemorph were obtained with late N but in 1976 yield was increased most by tridemorph where the N had been applied to the seed bed.Analyses of samples taken in 1977 showed no significant effect of tridemorph sprays on concentrations of either N, P or K in the green crop. By contrast, analyses of grain samples in 1976 and 1977 showed that amounts of N in grain (mg N/grain) were affected by amounts of applied N and by tridemorph, and that there were interactions between these two factors. Concentrations of N in the grain (% D.M.) were also determined by the effects which these factors had on grain size. At small N rates tridemorph mostly increased grain size so that N concentrations were decreased by the fungicide. At large N rates increases in grain size where tridemorph had been applied were accompanied by increases in the N content of the grain (mg N/grain) so that N concentrations were either unaffected (1976) or were increased (1977) by the fungicide. With 90 kg/ha of applied N the fungicide increased the amount of N/ha removed in grain by over 21 % in each year. The apparent recoveries of N in these plots were increased from 66 to 81 % and from 87 to 105%, respectively, in the two years. Tridemorph had no significant effect on concentrations of P or K in the harvested grain but increased average amounts of these nutrients removed in the grain by 17 and 14%, respectively, in 1976 and by 14 and 7% respectively, in 1977.Examination of black and white, infra-red aerial photographs of the experiments showed that, in each year, the brightness of individual plot images was significantly correlated with grain yield.Complex designs without division into blocks are especially vulnerable to positional variation. Alternative methods of adjusting for such positional variation were compared in analyses of grain yields. The potential improvements in precision which might be achieved by the appropriate use of such analyses, and the difficulties of ensuring that unacceptable subjectivity and bias are not thereby introduced into the analyses, are discussed.

scholarly journals Agronomic Strategies to Improve N Efficiency Indices in Organic Durum Wheat Grown in Mediterranean Area

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2444
Author(s):  
Federica Carucci ◽  
Giuseppe Gatta ◽  
Anna Gagliardi ◽  
Pasquale De Vita ◽  
Simone Bregaglio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Durum Wheat ◽  
Foliar Application ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Utilization Efficiency ◽  
Organic N ◽  
Sodium Selenate ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Wheat Varieties ◽  
Yield Increase

Organic farming systems are often constrained by limited soil nitrogen (N) availability. Here we evaluated the effect of foliar organic N and sulphur (S), and selenium (Se) application on durum wheat, considering N uptake, utilization efficiency (NUtE), grain yield, and protein concentration as target variables. Field trials were conducted in 2018 and 2019 on two old (Cappelli and old Saragolla) and two modern (Marco Aurelio and Nadif) Italian durum wheat varieties. Four organic fertilization strategies were evaluated, i.e., the control (CTR, dry blood meal at sowing), the application of foliar N (CTR + N) and S (CTR + S), and their joint use (CTR + NS). Furthermore, a foliar application of sodium selenate was evaluated. Three factors—variety, fertilization strategies and selenium application—were arranged in a split-split-plot design and tested in two growing seasons. The modern variety Marco Aurelio led to the highest NUtE and grain yield in both seasons. S and N applications had a positive synergic effect, especially under drought conditions, on pre-anthesis N uptake, N translocation, NUtE, and grain yield. Se treatment improved post-anthesis N uptake and NUtE, leading to 17% yield increase in the old variety Cappelli, and to 13% and 14% yield increase in Marco Aurelio and Nadif, mainly attributed to NUtE increase. This study demonstrated that the synergistic effect of foliar applications could improve organic durum wheat yields in Mediterranean environments, especially on modern varieties.

Switching from conventional tillage to no-tillage: Soil N availability, N uptake, 15N fertilizer recovery, and grain yield of durum wheat

2018 ◽  
Vol 218 ◽  
pp. 171-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Giambalvo ◽  
Gaetano Amato ◽  
Giuseppe Badagliacca ◽  
Rosolino Ingraffia ◽  
Giuseppe Di Miceli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Durum Wheat ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
N Availability ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Soil N Availability ◽  
15N Fertilizer ◽  
Fertilizer Recovery

Barley yield and grain protein concentration as affected by assimilate and nitrogen availability

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 695 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Boonchoo ◽  
S. Fukai ◽  
Suzan E. Hetherington
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Protein Concentration ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
N Availability ◽  
N Application ◽  
N Application Rate ◽  
Growing Conditions ◽  
Different Growth Stages

Two types of experiments were conducted with the malting barley cv. Grimmett to examine how assimilate and nitrogen (N) availability at different growth stages determined yield and grain protein concentration (GPC) in south-east Queensland. In one series of experiments, plants were sown in April, June, and August so that they would experience different growing conditions, and responses to N application rate were examined. Another experiment examined response of growth, yield, and GPC to variation of assimilate production pre and post anthesis, caused by the canopy manipulation treatments of opening, closure, and 50% shading at 3 different growth stages. Without N application all 3 sowings produced similar yields (1·9-2·3 t/ha), but when N was applied, yield was higher and responded more to applied N in the June sowing than in the other sowings.The different responses of grain yield to N application rate among the 3 sowing dates were not due to differences in N uptake but to the efficiency of N use; with favourable temperatures throughout crop growth, the crop sown in June utilised N most eciently to develop a large number of grainsand to produce sufficient as similates to fill these grains. When yield had a positive response to low N application rates, then there was generally no response of GPC, whereas when there was no response of grain yield to further rate of N application then GPC increased. The results of the second experiment show that N uptake depended on plant N demand at early stages of growth when N was still available in the soil, but total N content of tops at maturity was similar among canopy manipulation treatments. Canopy opening at any stage of growth tended to increase tiller number, leaf area index, and above-ground dry matter, but the effect was greater attillering stage which produced the highest yield because of the greatest number of heads. Shading reduced yield at all stages, but particularly at pre-anthesis. Shading and canopy closure during grain filling reduced grain yield, but with similar N uptake these treatments significantly increased GPC .These results indicate that GPC depends on both assimilate and N availability to grain, and GPC can increase sharply when grain yield is reduced with low assimilate availability as a result of adverse growing conditions. Responses of grain yield to applied N depended on environmental conditions, particularly the patterns of air temperature during growth, and the crop utilised N more efficiently to produce higher yield when it was not exposed to extreme temperatures during the latter stages of growth.

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