Winter cereal production on the Darling Downs dash a comparison of reduced tillage practices

1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Marley ◽  
JW Littler
Keyword(s):  
Water Storage ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Zero Tillage ◽  
Storage Efficiency ◽  
Winter Cereal ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Weed Growth ◽  
Major Treatment ◽  
Cracking Clays

Five experiments, 1 of which was continued over 3 years on the same site, were established on non-sloping Darling Downs cracking clays to compare conventional, reduced and zero tillage systems of fallowing for annual wheat production. Average values for soil water storage efficiency (percentage of fallow rainfall stored) were 14.0% for stubble burnt and conventional cultivation with tined implements (TI); 19.8% for stubble retained and conventional cultivation with tined implements (T2); 25.3% for stubble retained and zero tillage with chemical control of fallow weed growth (T3); 21.1% for stubble retained with no tillage but chemical weed control until early March, followed by cultivations with tined implements until sowing (T4); and 21.1% for stubble retained and fallow cultivations with a sweep plough (T6). Nitrogen mineralisation during fallow periods was measured over 3 seasons at the final site. No major treatment differences occurred. A small mean grain yield advantage of 4.6% to T3 over T1 was established in those seasons when improved fallow water storage was obtained with T3. The lack of yield improvement by reduced tillage treatments (T4, T5 and T6) over T1 is attributed largely to above-average crop period rainfall in those seasons when the treatments had resulted in improved presowing water.

Conservation tillage increases in soil water storage, soil animal populations, grain yield, and response to fertiliser in the semi-arid subtropics

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
BJ Radford ◽  
AJ Key ◽  
LN Robertson ◽  
GA Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Soil Animal ◽  
Soil Macrofauna ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Animal Populations

We compared 4 tillage practices (traditional, stubble mulch, reduced, no tillage) during 10 years under rainfed conditions on an alluvial soil in the semi-arid subtropics of central Queensland. In the final 4 years, responses to applied fertiliser nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and zinc (Zn) were determined. We measured soil water storage, soil nitrate accumulation, grain yield (sorghum, wheat), grain protein content, and populations of soil macrofauna, with the aim of identifying soil-conserving practices that also produce high yields of high quality grain. Stubble mulch, reduced tillage, and no tillage all outyielded traditional tillage when soil fertility was adequate. With applied N, S, and Zn, the mean wheat yields from traditional, stubble mulch, reduced, and no tillage were 2.44, 3.32, 3.46, and 3.64 t/ha, respectively. The yield responses to tillage practices were due to increases in storage of soil water or efficiency of crop water use or both. Populations of soil macrofauna averaged (per m2) 19 (traditional tillage), 21 (stubble mulch), 33 (reduced tillage), and 44 (no tillage). The effect of the tillage practices on soil animal populations may be a factor contributing to the measured differences in soil water storage and water use efficiency. We conclude that conservation tillage practices can greatly increase grain yields, provided crop and fallow management practices are appropriate. Potential yield advantages are realised if crop establishment, crop nutrition; and control of weeds, bests, and diseases ark adequate.

Zero tillage and nitrogen fertiliser application in wheat and barley on a Vertosol in a marginal cropping area of south-west Queensland

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 965 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Thomas ◽  
R. C. Dalal ◽  
E. J. Weston ◽  
C. J. Holmes ◽  
A. J. King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Zero Tillage ◽  
Gross Margin ◽  
Winter Cereal ◽  
South West ◽  
Cereal Production ◽  
Fallow Soil ◽  
Fertiliser Application

Winter cereal cropping is marginal in south-west Queensland because of low and variable rainfall and declining soil fertility. Increasing the soil water storage and the efficiency of water and nitrogen (N) use is essential for sustainable cereal production. The effect of zero tillage and N fertiliser application on these factors was evaluated in wheat and barley from 1996 to 2001 on a grey Vertosol. Annual rainfall was above average in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 and below average in 2000 and 2001. Due to drought, no crop was grown in the 2000 winter cropping season. Zero tillage improved fallow soil water storage by a mean value of 20 mm over 4 years, compared with conventional tillage. However, mean grain yield and gross margin of wheat were similar under conventional and zero tillage. Wheat grain yield and/or grain protein increased with N fertiliser application in all years, resulting in an increase in mean gross margin over 5 years from $86/ha, with no N fertiliser applied, to $250/ha, with N applied to target ≥13% grain protein. A similar increase in gross margin occurred in barley where N fertiliser was applied to target malting grade. The highest N fertiliser application rate in wheat resulted in a residual benefit to soil N supply for the following crop. This study has shown that profitable responses to N fertiliser addition in wheat and barley can be obtained on long-term cultivated Vertosols in south-west Queensland when soil water reserves at sowing are at least 60% of plant available water capacity, or rainfall during the growing season is above average. An integrative benchmark for improved N fertiliser management appears to be the gross margin/water use of ~$1/ha.mm. Greater fallow soil water storage or crop water use efficiency under zero tillage has the potential to improve winter cereal production in drier growing seasons than experienced during the period of this study.

Winter cereal production on the Darling Downs dash an 11 year study of fallowing practices

1989 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 807 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Marley ◽  
JW Littler
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Early Growth ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Zero Tillage ◽  
Storage Efficiency ◽  
Winter Cereal ◽  
Available N ◽  
Cereal Production

A long term field experiment to compare 4 methods of fallowing for annual winter cereal production on a Darling Downs Vertisol was started in 1968 on the Hermitage Research Station near Warwick, Queensland. Fallowing systems being investigated are (i) tined tillage with stubble burnt (TcSb); (ii) tined tillage with stubble retained (TcSr); (iii) zero tillage with stubble burnt (TzSb); and (iv) zero tillage with stubble retained (TzSr); each at 3 rates of nitrogen (N) fertiliser application. This paper reports the effect of these treatments on fallow water accumulation, fallow N mineralisation, crop growth and yield, for the period 1968-79. Average values for available soil water in the 0-150 cm zone at sowing were 195 mm for TcSb, 212 mm for TcSr, 225 mm for TzSb and 252 mm for TzSr, and for storage efficiency (percentage of fallow rainfall stored) were 18, 20, 25 and 27% respectively. The relatively greater water storage efficiency of Tz treatments occurred mainly in fallow seasons when initial storage was low. Nitrogen mineralisation during fallows averaged 61 kg/ha and was depressed in some years by Sr. Carryover of available N in excess of crop requirements was shown at the higher rate of N fertilisation. Grain yields averaged over 12 crops were similar for the 4 fallowing systems. The lack of grain yield response to the improved water storage under TzSr was probably caused by yellow spot disease (Pyrenophora tritici-repentis) and root lesion nematode (Pratylenchus thornei), which were most prevalent under this treatment in wheat crops. Poor early growth of barley under TzSr limited its water use and grain yield potential, however, the cause of the poor early growth of barley is not known. A reduction in grain yield of 232 kg/ha associated with Sr was overcome with the addition of 23 kg N/ha as urea.

Effects of soil water storage efficiency on winter wheat water use efficiency in different precipitation areas during the fallow period in the Loess Plateau, western China

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
贾建英 JIA Jianying ◽  
赵俊芳 ZHAO Junfang ◽  
万信 WAN Xin ◽  
韩兰英 HAN Lanying ◽  
王小巍 WANG Xiaowei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Western China ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Storage Efficiency ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Fallow Period ◽  
Use Efficiency

Effect of tillage and crop establishment methods on yield and economics of cotton

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
ANIL KHIPPAL ◽  
KAMINI KUMARI S. Bhadauria ◽  
JASBIR SINGH
Keyword(s):  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Variable Cost ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Zero Tillage ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Plant Stand ◽  
Method Of Planting ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
Very High

In Haryana (India) cotton is generally sown with conventional tillage practices witnesses poor germination and plant establishment. Poor plant stand is attributed by burning of emerging plants due to very high temperature at the time of planting, which is further worsen by crust formation due to pre-monsoon showers. Keeping these points in view, an experiment was conducted with farmers' participatory research mode in village Hajwana of Kaithal district. Cotton sown with zero tillage technique resulted in approximately five percent higher yield i.e. 136.3 kg ha-1 over conventional tillage. Mean returns over variable cost of all the three years were 10.8 percent i.e. Rs. 11794 ha-1 more in zero tillage over conventional tillage. Benefit: cost ratio were 3.86, 3.86 and 4.61 in conventional method of planting, bed planting and zero tillage technique, respectively. Zero tillage planting of cotton reduced fuel consumption by 93.4 % and 91.7 % compared to bed planting and conventional planting respectively.

scholarly journals Regression Models for Soil Water Storage Estimation Using the ESA CCI Satellite Soil Moisture Product: A Case Study in Northeast Portugal

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Tomás de Figueiredo ◽  
Ana Caroline Royer ◽  
Felícia Fonseca ◽  
Fabiana Costa de Araújo Schütz ◽  
Zulimar Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Soil Water Balance ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
The Relationship

The European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative Soil Moisture (ESA CCI SM) product provides soil moisture estimates from radar satellite data with a daily temporal resolution. Despite validation exercises with ground data that have been performed since the product’s launch, SM has not yet been consistently related to soil water storage, which is a key step for its application for prediction purposes. This study aimed to analyse the relationship between soil water storage (S), which was obtained from soil water balance computations with ground meteorological data, and soil moisture, which was obtained from radar data, as affected by soil water storage capacity (Smax). As a case study, a 14-year monthly series of soil water storage, produced via soil water balance computations using ground meteorological data from northeast Portugal and Smax from 25 mm to 150 mm, were matched with the corresponding monthly averaged SM product. Linear (I) and logistic (II) regression models relating S with SM were compared. Model performance (r2 in the 0.8–0.9 range) varied non-monotonically with Smax, with it being the highest at an Smax of 50 mm. The logistic model (II) performed better than the linear model (I) in the lower range of Smax. Improvements in model performance obtained with segregation of the data series in two subsets, representing soil water recharge and depletion phases throughout the year, outlined the hysteresis in the relationship between S and SM.

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