Stimulation of Soybean (Glycine max) growth and yield using Bradyrhizobium inoculants in the semi-arid environment of Botswana

Legume Research - An International Journal ◽

10.18805/lr-624 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

M. Mosupiemang ◽

K. Bareeleng ◽

M.S. Chiduwa and O.O. Molosiwa

Keyword(s):

Arid Regions ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Arid Environment ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Arid Conditions ◽

Inoculant Strain ◽

Uninoculated Control ◽

Bradyrhizobium Spp ◽

Semi Arid

Background: Crop yields in the semi-arid regions are low due to climatic and soil related constraints.Soybean as one of the most important legume crops grown worldwide, has a role to contribute nitrogen to improve nutrient poor soils in Africa. A study was conducted to examine the effects of Bradyrhizobium spp inoculations on the growth and yield of soybean varieties in a glasshouse.Method: The study was arranged in a randomized complete block factorial design, with factor A being two soybean varieties (Bimha and Status) while factor B was inoculation using four Bradyrhizobium strains and the uninoculated control. Results: Bradyrhizobium inoculation significantly (P less than 0.001)affected days to 50% flowering, days to emergence, nodule number, root dry weight and grain yield and yield traits. Parameters that were affected by both inoculant strain and variety included days to 50% flowering, days to emergence, number of pods per plant, pod weight and number of seeds per pod. The interaction effect of variety and Bradyrhizobium inoculant strain was observed only on number of pods per plants. Our study shows that soybean grows well when inoculated with Bradyrhizobium inoculants, in semi-arid conditions of Botswana.

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Effects of ridging and mulching combined practices on proso millet growth and yield in semi-arid regions of China

Field Crops Research ◽

10.1016/j.fcr.2017.06.015 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 213 ◽

pp. 65-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Yuyu Zhang ◽

Haokun Han ◽

Dazhong Zhang ◽

Jing Li ◽

Xiangwei Gong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Arid Regions ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Proso Millet ◽

Semi Arid

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Growth and Yield of CO2-Enriched Wheat Under Water-Limited Conditions

Functional Plant Biology ◽

10.1071/pp9790367 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 367 ◽

Cited By ~ 94

Author(s):

RM Gifford

Keyword(s):

Water Supply ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Co2 Enrichment ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Atmospheric Co2 ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Yield Enhancement ◽

Wheat Crop ◽

The Absolute ◽

Four Levels

Wheat was grown at a density of 120 plants m-2 in deep pots of soil in two artificially illuminated growth cabinets. One cabinet was left at ambient CO2 levels and the other enriched by 250 volumes per million (vpm). Four levels of growth-restricting water supply were imposed. Responses by the two cultivars used (Gabo and WW15) did not differ appreciably in terms of the mature crop dry-weight parameters examined. Comparison of the crop responses to water supply indicated sufficient correspondence between generalized field behaviour and cabinet behaviour to justify tentative interpretation of the results in terms of possible response of water-limited field wheat crop yields to the globally rising level of atmospheric CO2. The less water made available to the crop the less was the absolute response of grain yield to CO2 enrichment, but the greater was the response relative to the control yield. Under extreme aridity (about 100-120 mm crop transpiration overall), the data implied infinite relative enhancement of yield due to CO2 enrichment, because it allowed some grain growth where none occurred without extra CO2. The absolute yield enhancement was equivalent to 5-13 kg ha-1 per 1.2 vpm increment of atmospheric CO2 concentration. The level of CO2 in the global atmosphere is currently rising by about 1.2 vpm year-1. The higher temperature at which the crops were grown (19°C), relative to average field conditions in many wheat areas, may influence this interpretation.

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Reclaiming Tropical Saline-Sodic Soils with Gypsum and Cow Manure

Water ◽

10.3390/w12010057 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 57 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Francisco Gonçalo Filho ◽

Nildo da Silva Dias ◽

Stella Ribeiro Prazeres Suddarth ◽

Jorge F. S. Ferreira ◽

Ray G. Anderson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Arid Regions ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Organic Amendments ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Water Infiltration ◽

Soil Reclamation ◽

Agricultural Crop ◽

Cow Manure ◽

Sodic Soils ◽

Semi Arid

Saline-sodic soils are a major impediment for agricultural production in semi-arid regions. Salinity and sodicity drastically reduce agricultural crop yields, damage farm equipment, jeopardize food security, and render soils unusable for agriculture. However, many farmers in developing semi-arid regions cannot afford expensive amendments to reclaim saline-sodic soils. Furthermore, existing research does not cover soil types (e.g., Luvisols and Lixisols) that are found in many semi-arid regions of South America. Therefore, we used percolation columns to evaluate the effect of inexpensive chemical and organic amendments (gypsum and cow manure) on the reclamation of saline-sodic soils in the northeast of Brazil. Soil samples from two layers (0–20 cm and 20–40 cm in depth) were collected and placed in percolation columns. Then, we applied gypsum into the columns, with and without cow manure. The experiment followed a complete randomized design with three replications. The chemical amendment treatments included a control and four combinations of gypsum and cow manure. Percolation columns were subjected to a constant flood layer of 55 mm. We evaluated the effectiveness of sodic soil reclamation treatments via changes in soil hydraulic conductivity, chemical composition (cations and anions), electrical conductivity of the saturated soil-paste extract, pH, and the exchangeable sodium percentage. These results suggest that the combined use of gypsum and cow manure is better to reduce soil sodicity, improve soil chemical properties, and increase water infiltration than gypsum alone. Cow manure at 40 ton ha−1 was better than at 80 ton ha−1 to reduce the sodium adsorption ratio.

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Response of planting methods and deficit irrigation on growth and yield attributes of maize under semi-arid conditions

Pure and Applied Biology ◽

10.19045/bspab.2019.80012 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Keyword(s):

Deficit Irrigation ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Yield Attributes ◽

Planting Methods ◽

Arid Conditions ◽

Semi Arid

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A MOISTURE CAPTURE SYSTEM FOR REDUCING SUPPLEMENTAL WATER REQUIREMENTS FOR CANTALOUPE PRODUCTION IN SEMI-ARID REGIONS.

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.27.6.587b ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 27 (6) ◽

pp. 587b-587

Author(s):

David A. Bender ◽

Frank J. Dainello

Keyword(s):

Arid Regions ◽

Seedling Emergence ◽

Fruit Size ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Emergence Time ◽

Plastic Mulch ◽

Supplemental Irrigation ◽

Vine Growth ◽

Soil Temperatures ◽

Semi Arid

Trenched beds covered with plastic mulch was used to capture and retain precipitation for dryland cantaloupe production. Two trenches were formed in the fall in raised beds. Plastic mulch was laid over the beds and slitted at ca. 1 meter intervals over the trenches. Soil was placed over the slits, conforming the plastic to the shape of the trenches and channeling precipitation into the beds. Cantaloupes were seeded in the spring and grown with no supplemental irrigation. Planting moisture was significantly greater under the capture system than in unmulched beds. Seedling emergence time was reduced from 18 to 6 days and vine growth in the first 6 weeks was almost doubled. Total and marketable yields were doubled and fruit size significantly increased when water was limiting. Elevated soil temperatures under the mulch enhanced plant growth and yield even when moisture was not limiting. Combining a moisture capture system with supplemental irrigation could allow commercial production of cucurbit crops under limited water conditions in semi-arid areas.

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Influence of Sowing Date on Growth and Yield Components of Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L.) in Semi-Arid Zone

Journal of Agronomy Research ◽

10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-19-2961 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 36-42

Author(s):

Hilwa, D. Abu Anga ◽

Wael A. Marajan ◽

Abu backer H. Mohammed ◽

Baha Eldin M Idris

Keyword(s):

Plant Height ◽

Yield Components ◽

Arid Zone ◽

Block Design ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Sowing Date ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Area Index ◽

Head Diameter ◽

Semi Arid

The main objective of this study was to quantify the influence of sowing date on growth and yield components of hybrid sunflower (Hysun33) cultivar in semi-arid zone. This experiment was conducted during the seasons 2014/2015-2015/2016 at the farm of the College of Agricultural Studies, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Shambat, Khartoum- Sudan. The experiment was arranged in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications and three treatments. Different parameters were considered including plant height, leaf area index (LAI), filled sees number/head, head diameter, dry weight and yield components. The collected data were statistically analyzed. The results revealed that crop sown in May and July showed significant increase in plant height, LAI, head diameter, dry weight, field seed number/head, weight of 100 seeds; yield, and yield; compared to crop sown in March. However, crop sown in the second season showed an increase in growth and yield components compared to the crop of the first season.

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Salt Tolerance Analysis of Crops using the SWAP Model

Biosciences Biotechnology Research Asia ◽

10.13005/bbra/2490 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 643-649

Author(s):

Forough Kamyab-Talesh ◽

Behrouz Mostafazadeh-Fard ◽

Majid Vazifedoust ◽

Mohammad Shayannejad ◽

Maryam Navabian

Keyword(s):

Irrigation Water ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Good Accuracy ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Tolerance Analysis ◽

Irrigation Scheduling ◽

Threshold Values ◽

Irrigation Network ◽

Swap Model ◽

Semi Arid

ABSTRACT: Soil and water salinities are major environmental factors limiting the productivity of agricultural lands especially in arid and semi arid regions. To determine salinity threshold values and slope of the yield decrements for crops of wheat, barley and maize, SWAP model was study for an arid region located in Semnan Province (52◦25' N 35◦11' E), central part of Iran with area of 35000 ha including 94 villages belonged to irrigation network of Garmsar district. The data collected from the above 94 villages for years 1998 to 2007 were used to calibrate and simulate yield of wheat, barley and maize using the SWAP model. The irrigation water salinities of 2, 4, 6 and 8 dS m-1 were used and yield reductions versus soil saturation extracts were evaluated and salinity threshold values and slope of the yield reductions were determined for each of the above crops. The results showed that the SWAP model predict crop yields with good accuracy and the threshold values and slope of the yield reductions are site dependent. These values should be determined for each area in order to be able to plan better irrigation scheduling for arid regions which have soil and irrigation water salinities problems.

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Review comment on "The effect of tillage methods on soil aggregation and crop yields in a wheat-corn rotation under semi-arid conditions"

10.5194/se-2017-13-rc1 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Anonymous

Keyword(s):

Crop Yields ◽

Soil Aggregation ◽

Review Comment ◽

Arid Conditions ◽

Semi Arid ◽

Tillage Methods

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Behavioural flexibility allows an invasive vertebrate to survive in a semi-arid environment

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2013.1014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 20131014 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Jonathan K. Webb ◽

Mike Letnic ◽

Tim S. Jessop ◽

Tim Dempster

Keyword(s):

Thermal Stress ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Arid Environment ◽

Invasion Success ◽

Cane Toad ◽

Hydration Behaviour ◽

Acoustic Tags ◽

Novel Method ◽

Artificial Reservoirs ◽

Semi Arid

Plasticity or evolution in behavioural responses are key attributes of successful animal invasions. In northern Australia, the invasive cane toad ( Rhinella marina ) recently invaded semi-arid regions. Here, cane toads endure repeated daily bouts of severe desiccation and thermal stress during the long dry season (April–October). We investigated whether cane toads have shifted their ancestral nocturnal rehydration behaviour to one that exploits water resources during the day. Such a shift in hydration behaviour could increase the fitness of individual toads by reducing exposure to desiccation and thermal stress suffered during the day even within terrestrial shelters. We used a novel method (acoustic tags) to monitor the daily hydration behaviour of 20 toads at two artificial reservoirs on Camfield station, Northern Territory. Remarkably, cane toads visited reservoirs to rehydrate during daylight hours, with peaks in activity between 9.00 and 17.00. This diurnal pattern of rehydration activity contrasts with nocturnal rehydration behaviour exhibited by adult toads in their native geographical range and more mesic parts of Australia. Our results demonstrate that cane toads phase shift a key behaviour to survive in a harsh semi-arid landscape. Behavioural phase shifts have rarely been reported in invasive species but could facilitate ongoing invasion success.

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