Historical review and future opportunities for wider scaling of conservation agriculture in Tunisia.

2022 ◽  
pp. 137-150
Author(s):  
Hatem Cheikh M'hamed ◽  
Haithem Bahri ◽  
Mohamed Annabi ◽  
Aymen Frija ◽  
Zied Idoudi
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yields ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Management Paradigms ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Livestock Systems

Abstract In Tunisia, rainfed agriculture is facing the major challenges of low and irregular rainfall, as well as natural resources degradation. These are further accentuated by climate change. Changes in technical and management paradigms are needed to boost agricultural productivity. Since the early 1990s in Tunisia, a Conservation Agriculture (CA) system has been proposed as an adapted set of management principles to ensure more efficient and resilient agricultural production systems. In the last 20 years several research and development (R&D) projects have been implemented. Research findings in Tunisia show that the long-term adoption of CA allows increased crop yields and water use efficiency of cereals, enhanced soil biological life and soil organic carbon and reduced energy costs at farm level. Despite promising research results, adoption and up-scaling of CA in Tunisia has been rather modest (currently some 16,000 ha are managed under CA systems). The purpose of this book chapter is to summarize the previous R&D projects dealing with CA in Tunisia. It also aims to provide better insights into the complexity and potential ongoing solutions for integrating crops and livestock into CA systems. Crop-livestock systems dominate a large part of northern and central Tunisia where most of the rainfed field crops are produced.

scholarly journals Sustainable Intensification in Agriculture: An Approach for Making Agriculture Greener and Productive

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 133-150
Author(s):  
Jiban Shrestha ◽  
Subash Subedi ◽  
Krishna Prasad Timsina ◽  
Sudeep Subedi ◽  
Meena Pandey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Sustainable Intensification ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Agronomic Practices ◽  
Farm Mechanization ◽  
Use Efficiency

Sustainable intensification of agriculture is a good approach for reducing the yield gap without exacerbating the current condition of the environmental components, which is a big challenge for agriculture in the modern world. This review provides a summary of the role and approaches of sustainable intensification in agriculture which offer ways to increase crop production and create long-term sustainability in agriculture production. The current demand for food has continued to rise as a result of the world's rapidly increasing population. In order to increase crop/food production, agricultural systems should be intensified by more sustainable practices, as well as by reforming existing production systems/techniques and diversifying them into newer and more profitable enterprises. Despite the heavy use of inputs, farmers have recently been unable to achieve optimal crop yields. The judicious use of agricultural inputs, combined with improved management techniques, is important for advancing sustainable intensification. New scientific techniques in agronomic practices, as well as improved farm mechanization, are helping to boost resource use efficiency in sustainable crop production. The sustainable agricultural intensification is necessary to increase the agricultural productivity under the changing and adverse climatic conditions while maintaining healthy production practices.

scholarly journals Alley Cropping Increases Land Use Efficiency and Economic Profitability Across the Combination Cultivation Period

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huasen Xu ◽  
Huaxing Bi ◽  
Lubo Gao ◽  
Lei Yun
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Alley Cropping ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Land Use Efficiency ◽  
Term Experiment ◽  
Long Term Experiment ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Short Term Experiment

Alley cropping allows the famer to effectively use available resources and yield more benefits. Choosing suitable associated crop and mitigating the competition between trees and crops are crucial for designing the alley cropping systems. We conducted a long-term experiment, including apple (Malus pumila)/peanut (Arachis hypogaea), apple/millet (Setaria italica) and apple/maize (Zea mays) alley cropping systems with conventional intercropping distance, and corresponding monocultures (Exp.1), and a short-term experiment with improved intercropping distance in the same three combinations (Exp.2) in the Loess Plateau, China. The results showed crop yields in three alley cropping systems were lower than the corresponding monocultures. Apple yields were significantly constrained by millet and maize in the alley cropping systems, but not sensitive to the presence of peanut. Land equivalent ratios (LERs) ranged from 0.44 to 0.89 before the tree bore fruit. The LERs were greater than 1.0 after the tree bore fruit, and the apple trees made a decisive contribution to the land use advantage. Net present values of three alley cropping systems were on average 60.1% higher than the corresponding monocultures across the alley cropping period. The maximum annual present value in the first–fifth, sixth and seventh–ninth years after the alley cropping establishment was observed in the apple/maize, apple/millet and apple/peanut system, respectively. These results highlight that choosing the optimal alley cropping management and suitable associated crops at different years after establishment may allow farmers to increase the land use efficiency and economic profitability.

scholarly journals Manure application increased crop yields by promoting nitrogen use efficiency in the soils of 40-year soybean-maize rotation

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Hua ◽  
Peiyu Luo ◽  
Ning An ◽  
Fangfang Cai ◽  
Shiyu Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
N Use Efficiency ◽  
Organic Fertilizers ◽  
N Recovery ◽  
Nitrogen Use ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
N Use

Abstract It is great of importance to better understand the effects of the long-term fertilization on crop yields, soil properties and nitrogen (N) use efficiency in a rotation cropping cultivation system under the conditions of frequent soil disturbance. Therefore, a long-term field experiment of 40 years under soybean-maize rotation was performed in a brown soil to investigate the effects of inorganic and organic fertilizers on crop yields, soil properties and nitrogen use efficiency. Equal amounts of 15N-labelled urea with 20.8% of atom were used and uniformly applied into the micro-plots of the treatments with N, NPK, M1NPK, M2NPK before soybean sowing, respectively. Analyses showed that a total of 18.3–32.5% of applied N fertilizer was taken up by crops in the first soybean growing season, and that the application of manure combining with chemical fertilizer M2NPK demonstrated the highest rate of 15N recovery and increased soil organic matter (SOM) and Olsen phosphorus (Olsen P), thereby sustaining a higher crop yield and alleviating soil acidification. Data also showed that no significant difference was observed in the 15N recovery from residue N in the second maize season plant despite of showing a lower 15N recovery compared with the first soybean season. The recovery rates of 15N in soils were ranged from 38.2 to 49.7% by the end of the second cropping season, and the residuals of 15N distribution in soil layers revealed significant differences. The M2NPK treatment demonstrated the highest residual amounts of 15N, and a total of 50% residual 15N were distributed in a soil layer of 0–20 cm. Our results showed that long-term application of organic fertilizers could effectively promote N use efficiency by increasing SOM and improving soil fertility, and thus leading to an increase in crop yields. This study will provide a scientific reference and guidance for improving soil sustainable productivity by manure application.

scholarly journals Assessment of Fertilizer Management Strategies Aiming to Increase Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Wheat Grown Under Conservation Agriculture

Agronomy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Santillano-Cázares ◽  
Fidel Núñez-Ramírez ◽  
Cristina Ruíz-Alvarado ◽  
María Cárdenas-Castañeda ◽  
Iván Ortiz-Monasterio
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Nitrogen Use ◽  
Agronomic Efficiency ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
N Management

Sustainable crop production systems can be attained by using inputs efficiently and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) parameters are indirect measurements of sustainability of production systems. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of selected nitrogen (N) management treatments on wheat yields, grain and straw N concentration, and NUE parameters, under conservation agriculture (CA). The present study was conducted at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in northwest, Mexico. Seventeen treatments were tested which included urea sources, timing, and methods of fertilizer application. Orthogonal contrasts were used to compare groups of treatments and correlation and regression analyses were used to look at the relationships between wheat yields and NUE parameters. Contrasts run to compare wheat yields or agronomic efficiency of N (AEN) performed similarly. Sources of urea or timing of fertilizer application had a significant effect on yields or AEN (p > 0.050). However, methods of application resulted in a highly significant (p < 0.0001) difference on wheat yields and agronomic efficiency of N. NUE parameters recorded in this study were average but the productivity associated to NUE levels was high. Results in this study indicate that wheat grew under non-critically limiting N supply levels, suggesting that N mineralization and reduced N losses from the soil under CA contributed to this favorable nutritional condition, thus minimizing the importance of N management practices under stable, mature CA systems.

scholarly journals ON-FARM EXPERIMENTATION ON CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE IN MAIZE-LEGUME BASED CROPPING SYSTEMS IN KENYA: WATER USE EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS

2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. MICHENI ◽  
F. KANAMPIU ◽  
O. KITONYO ◽  
D. M. MBURU ◽  
E.N. MUGAI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Zero Tillage ◽  
System Productivity ◽  
Use Efficiency

SUMMARYConservation agriculture (CA) is a promising technology for controlling soil degradation, mitigating drought, increasing crop yield and reducing production costs. We hypothesized that adopting CA system would improve system productivity and efficiency, hence resulting in higher profits. To test the hypothesis, we designed a study to evaluate water use efficiency (WUE) and the economic benefits (yield and gross margins) of CA in the upper and lower midlands agro-ecological zones of eastern Kenya. Four tillage treatments, including farmers’ practice (residues removed), conventional tillage (residues removed) and two CA practices with residue retention (zero tillage and furrow–ridge), were laid out in 22 farmers’ fields where each farm was treated as a replicate. The results are based on four consecutive seasons farmer–researcher managed trials during the period 2010 and 2012. CA significantly improved crop yields after the first season of experimentation. Joint use of zero tillage and furrow–ridge provided higher WUE and yield advantage (25–34%) in the third and fourth seasons compared to the conventional practices. The lower midlands zone gave higher WUE values, which can be explained by the effects of water harvesting and retention for longer period on CA treatments. CA practices have increased income on average by 12% resulted from labour cost reduction and yield increment. Weeding costs for conventional tillage were USD 88 ha−1 compared to USD 24 ha−1 for herbicide application under CA. Practicing CA will certainly increase crop yields, WUE, generate more revenue and diversify risks during poor seasons. However, these benefits may not necessarily be earned in the first season, but will accrue in subsequent seasons.

An integrated approach to crop/livestock systems: Forage and grain production for swath grazing

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 223-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Tanaka ◽  
J.F. Karn ◽  
M.A. Liebig ◽  
S.L. Kronberg ◽  
J.D. Hanson
Keyword(s):  
Cropping System ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Beef Cows ◽  
Grain Production ◽  
Matter Production ◽  
Production Water ◽  
Winter Grazing ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Livestock Systems

AbstractCurrent agricultural systems are the result of decoupling crop/livestock enterprises for short-term economic gain at the expense of long-term sustainability. Objectives of our research were to determine the influences of winter grazing dry gestating beef cows on no-till forage and grain production, water-use efficiency, and protein and phosphorus (P) production for an oat/pea–triticale/sweet clover–corn 3-year cropping system. Oat/pea and triticale crops were harvested for grain, with the straw and chaff left in swaths after harvest for winter grazing. Drilled corn for forage was swathed in late September. Cropping system treatments were: (1) straw and corn chopped and left in place (IP); (2) straw and corn baled and removed without livestock (R); and (3) straw and corn swath grazed by livestock (L). The first winter for grazing dry, bred cows was in 1999–2000; therefore, no treatment differences occurred for the 1999 crop. In 2000, oat/pea and triticale grain and straw production for the IP treatment was about half of the production for the R treatment, because of low oat/pea and triticale plant stands on the IP treatment. Averaged over all years, corn was about 1.5 times more efficient in using water for dry matter production when compared to oat/pea or triticale. Generally, protein and P production, on a unit area basis, were highest for corn and lowest for triticale. Averaged over 4 years, about half of the nitrogen used for protein production was derived from sources other than applied commercial fertilizer. Data suggest that more than 4 years of research are needed to understand cropping system and animal interactions on forage and grain production in integrated crop/livestock systems, with trends in year four suggesting that livestock may enhance forage and grain production.

An exploratory tool for analysis of forage and livestock production options

2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 788 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Millar ◽  
R. E. Jones ◽  
D. L. Michalk ◽  
S. Brady
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Farm Model ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Gross Margins ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Livestock Systems

The Grain & Graze Whole-Farm Model was developed as a simple modelling tool to identify better strategies to improve the income of farmers and overcome grassland degradation. Using information on farm structure, crop and forage production systems, livestock production systems and variable costs involved in all enterprises, maximum whole-farm gross margins are obtained for an optimum or a prescribed mix of enterprises. The incorporation of production systems for different rainfall scenarios enables climatic risks and water use efficiencies of different enterprises to be investigated. Model simulations demonstrated the potential improvements that could be achieved in dollar water use efficiency ($WUE), by changes in management and/or changes in enterprise. The design of the model makes it a valuable tool for evaluating new systems, as it easy to develop new crop, pasture and livestock systems. Innovative farming systems such as pasture cropping and alley farming are included in the model.

Long-Term Conservation Agriculture and Intensified Cropping Systems: Effects on Growth, Yield, Water, and Energy-use Efficiency of Maize in Northwestern India

Pedosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 952-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiter M. PARIHAR ◽  
Malu R. YADAV ◽  
Shankar L. JAT ◽  
Aditya K. SINGH ◽  
Bhupender KUMAR ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Growth Yield ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Energy Use Efficiency ◽  
Northwestern India ◽  
Use Efficiency

The effect of feeding ensiled alternative forages compared with ensiled ryegrass on excreta losses from growing lambs

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 162-162
Author(s):  
C L Marley ◽  
R Fychan ◽  
M D Fraser ◽  
R Sanderson ◽  
R Jones
Keyword(s):  
Trifolium Pratense ◽  
Nutrient Use Efficiency ◽  
Nutrient Balance ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Nutrient Use ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Farm System ◽  
Livestock Systems

An experiment investigated the effects of using ensiled alternative forages compared with ensiled ryegrass on lamb productivity, nutrient use efficiency and total excreta losses in a lamb finishing system. Lambs offered alternative forages had a higher liveweight gain and nitrogen use efficiency than lambs offered ryegrass silage (P < 0.001) (Marley et al., 2007). However, balancing the input and output of nutrients within the farm system is critical to ensure both short-term productivity and long-term sustainability, as producers aim to establish whole-farm nutrient balance plans and reduce reliance on bought-in fertilisers. Here we present the findings of the effects of feeding ensiled red clover (Trifolium pratense), lucerne (Medicago sativa), pea (Pisum sativum), kale (Brassica oleracea) compared with ensiled hybrid ryegrass (Lolium hybridicum) on excreta losses from these growing lambs and, therefore, the potential impact of incorporating these forages on nutrient budgets within livestock systems.

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