POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION OF SOYBEAN AGROPHYTOCENOSIS DEPENDING ON THE SYSTEM OF FARMING AND SOIL TILLAGE

This work presents the results of the study of changes of the potential contamination of soybean agrophytocenosis in grain-row crop rotation by using different systems of farming and typical black soil tillage. It was established that in the upper 0–5 cm layer of soil there are on average 393–671 million pieces of weed seeds. which is 33.6–43.0% of the total number in the layer of soil 0–20 cm. It was established that the use of periodical moldboard and superficial basic soil tillage had no impact on reducing the potential contamination of typical black soil compared to the variant of differentiated tillage. During subsurface plowing the total number of seeds in the soil layer 0–20 cm increased by 13.5–25.8% compared to differentiated tillage. In the variants of ecological and biological farming systems the number of weed seeds in the layer 0–5 cm was 11.3–19.6% higher compared to the intensive farming system. Based on monitoring of the species composition of the weed seeds bank it was established that in the arable layer of the soil the largest share are annual dicotyledonous – 48–62%. annual monocotyledonous – 30.2–44.6%. perennial – 0.9–3.3% of the total number. It was proved that under the intensive system of farming the yield of soybean variety Silesia increased on average from 10.2 to 147% compared to the ecological and biological system of farming. During the biological system of farming soybean yield did not exceed 1.0–1.8 t/ha. Therefore. the industrial and ecological system of farming had the greatest impact on reducing the potential weediness of the soybean agrocenosis during the growing season. During the biological system of farming crop yields decrease due to the accumulation of weed seeds in the topsoil and formation of high actual weediness of the soybean agrocenosis.

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Influence of farming systems and soil tillage on available moisture stocks of typical black soil in spring wheat crops

PLANT AND SOIL SCIENCE ◽

10.31548/agr2021.03.038 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 38-47

Author(s):

S.P. Tanchyk ◽

◽

O. A. Dudka ◽

O. S. Pavlov ◽

A. I. Babenko ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Farming System ◽

Black Soil ◽

Soil Tillage ◽

Limiting Factors ◽

Critical Periods ◽

Stable Yield ◽

Biological Farming ◽

The Impact

Numerous studies by Ukrainian and foreign scientists have shown that one of the limiting factors for obtaining a stable yield of any crop is the reserves of available moisture in the soil, especially in critical periods of plant growth. The article presents the results of research on the impact of three farming systems – industrial (control), ecological and biological and four options for primary soil tillage – plowing by 20–22 cm (control), chiseling by 20–22 cm, disking by 10–12 cm, disking for 6–8 cm on the reserves of productive moisture in the soil for growing spring durum wheat. According to research, it is established that the highest moisture reserves in a meter of soil for the period of sowing wheat was obtained by combining the biological farming system and chisel tillage, which allowed to accumulate in 2018 – 199.1 mm, 2019 – 179.6 and 2020 – 159.9 mm of available moisture in the soil. The use of chisel tillage in combination with industrial and organic farming systems also provides an advantage in all years of observations over plowing combinations and both disking options with these systems. During the growing season, against the background of all studied agricultural systems, use of chiseling and disking provided the highest reserves of available moisture in the soil. However, the best option should be considered a combination of ecological farming system with chiseling by 20–22 cm, which provided for the flowering period in 2018 – 74.0 mm of moisture, 2019 – 93.7 and 2020 – 90.9 mm, and for the harvest period culture, these indicators were, respectively, 61.0, 67.7 and 61.6 mm. The grain yield of spring durum wheat in this variant was significantly the highest in the experiment and was, respectively, 4.6, 6.7 and 5.6 t/ha.

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Evaluation of soil tillage systems in maize production

Acta Agronomica Hungarica ◽

10.1556/aagr.53.2005.1.7 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

pp. 53-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

T. Rátonyi ◽

L. Huzsvai ◽

J. Nagy ◽

A. Megyes

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Land ◽

Conservation Tillage ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Soil Tillage ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Tillage Systems ◽

Primary Tillage ◽

Direct Drilling

The cultivation technologies for the dominant crops in Hungary need to be improved both in the interests of environmental protection and to reduce cultivation costs. A long-term research project was initiated in order to determine the feasibility of conservation tillage systems. The aim of the experiments was to evaluate conservation farming systems in Hungary in order to achieve more economical and more environment-friendly agricultural land use. Four tillage systems, namely conventional tillage (mouldboard plough), conservation tillage I (primary tillage with a J.D. Disk Ripper), conservation tillage II (primary tillage with a J.D. Mulch Finisher) and no tillage (direct drilling), were compared on a clay loam meadow soil (Vertisol). The physical condition of the experimental soils was evaluated using a hand-operated static cone penetrometer. Parallel with the measurement of penetration resistance, the moisture content of the soil was also determined. The grain yield of maize hybrids (Kincs SC [1999], Occitán SC [2000], Pr 37M34 SC [2001], DeKalb 471 SC [2002]) was measured using a plot combine-harvester. The analysis of soil conditions confirmed that if the cultivation depth and intensity are reduced the compaction of soil layers close to the surface can be expected. The decrease in yields (8-33%) in direct drilling (NT) and shallow, spring cultivated (MF) treatments, despite the higher available water content, can be explained partly by the compacted status of the 15-25 cm soil layer.

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Testing eye temperature assessed with infrared thermography to evaluate stress in meat goats raised in a semi-intensive farming system: a pilot study

Archives Animal Breeding ◽

10.5194/aab-62-199-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

pp. 199-204

Author(s):

Ester Bartolomé ◽

Florencia Azcona ◽

María Cañete-Aranda ◽

Davinia I. Perdomo-González ◽

Joana Ribes-Pons ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Infrared Thermography ◽

Stress Test ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Farming System ◽

High Positive Correlation ◽

Intensive Farming ◽

Meat Goats ◽

Stress Levels ◽

Eye Temperature

Abstract. The Blanca Serrana goat is selected for meat production and usually raised in an extensive farm system. The meat goat industry is getting bigger in Spain, evolving to more intensive farming systems. The negative influence of stress produced by daily management on animal welfare is even bigger in these animals as they are not used to getting so close to humans. Eye temperature has recently appeared as an appropriate and noninvasive tool for welfare assessment in cattle, but no previous studies have been developed in goats. Thus, the main aim of this pilot study was to test eye temperature as a noninvasive tool to explore stress levels associated with a semi-intensive farming system for meat goats in comparison with the standard measurements of stress. For that, 24 Blanca Serrana goats were used. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and eye temperature (ET), assessed with infrared thermography samples, were collected just before and just after a stressful situation created to check how the routine management of semi-intensive farming systems affected this species. A factorial ANOVA, least square means and Scheffé post hoc comparison analyses found statistically significant differences due to the stress test moment for RR (p < 0.05) and ET (p < 0.001) with higher values shown after the stress test than before it. Differences due to age were found just for HR (p < 0.05) and RR (p < 0.01) stress parameters, with kids showing higher results than adults. Pearson correlations between HR, RR and ET parameters showed a medium–high positive correlation of 0.56 between RR and ET. Thus, ET appears as an appropriate and noninvasive tool to explore stress levels associated with a semi-intensive farming system for meat goats.

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ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF INTENSIVE AND SEMI-INTENSIVE GOAT FARMING SYSTEMS IN DUYENHAI DISTRICT, TRAVINH PROVINCE

Scientific Journal of Tra Vinh University ◽

10.35382/18594816.1.33.2019.144 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (33) ◽

pp. 12-24

Author(s):

Linh Thi Yen Nguyen ◽

Ut Danh ◽

Tien Thi My Nguyen ◽

Thanh Ngoc Duong

Keyword(s):

Economic Efficiency ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Farming System ◽

Multivariate Regression Model ◽

Department Of Agriculture ◽

Interview Method ◽

Intensive Farming ◽

Depth Interview ◽

Goat Manure ◽

Goat Farming

This research is conducted to assess the economic efficiency of two farming operations of goats called intensive and semi-intensive in Duyen Hai District, TraVinh Province, thereby finding out the drawbacks of each system and potential solutions towards the sustainability of goat farming in the area. An in-depth interview method was applied (KIP) to inteview two different groups of participants. The first group was leaders of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of TraVinh Province and the second group consisted of 120 household farmers in four communes of Duyen Hai District. Beside, multivariate regression model is also applied in this study. The findings show that both systems offer a great deal of productivity (VND 113.27mil/year/household for semi-intensive farming system and VND 136.11 mil/year/household for intensive farming system). However, in response to climate change, the intensive goat farming operation brings higher level of profits and has a lower environmental impact, especially goat manure is beneficial for crops.

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Determinants of the proportion of break crops on Western Australian broadacre farms

Crop and Pasture Science ◽

10.1071/cp09207 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 61 (3) ◽

pp. 203 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

M. J. Robertson ◽

R. A. Lawes ◽

A. Bathgate ◽

F. Byrne ◽

P. White ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crop Yields ◽

Commodity Prices ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Farming System ◽

Economic Modelling ◽

Deterministic Models ◽

Climatic Regions ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

Representative Farms ◽

Western Australian

Break crops (e.g. pulses, lupins, canola, oats) underpin the continued profitability of cereal (wheat or barley) based cropping sequences. The area sown on farms to break crops varies widely across geographical regions according to climate, soil type mix, enterprise mix (crop v. livestock), and other constraints such as the prevalence of soil-borne disease. Given recent fluctuations in the area of established break crops in Western Australia, there are concerns about their long-term prospects in the farming system. A survey of the area and grain yield of break crops on-farm was combined with whole-farm bio-economic modelling to determine the upper limit to the area of break crops on representative farms in 4 agro-climatic regions. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to ascertain the potential effects of varying commodity prices (sheep and grain), costs of production, and assumptions on the yield of break crops and the boost to the yield of following cereals. The survey revealed that the two dominant break crops, lupins and canola, occupied 8–12% and 8–9%, respectively, of farm area on those farms that grew them in the medium-rainfall zone and this declined to 6–8% and 7–10% in the drier region. Nevertheless, the modelling results show that break crops are an important component of the farming system, even where the area is small, and the response of whole-farm profit to percent of the farm allocated to break crops is relatively flat near the optimum of 23–38%. The modelled area of break crops at maximum profit is higher than that found in farm surveys. The discrepancy could possibly be explained by the lower break crop yields realised by farmers and a reduced boost to cereal yields following break crops than assumed in models. Also, deterministic models do not account for risk, which is an important consideration in the decision to grow break crops. However, the yield difference does not explain the discrepancy entirely and raises questions about farmer motivations for adoption of break crops. The scope for increased area of break crops beyond 23–38% of the farm is limited, even with increases in the yield enhancements in subsequent cereal crops, higher break crop prices, and higher fertiliser costs. Further research is required to better quantify costs and benefits of break crops in Western Australian farming systems.

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Crop-yield and economic comparisons of organic, low-input, and conventional farming systems in California's Sacramento Valley

American Journal of Alternative Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s0889189300008225 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 109-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Sean Clark ◽

Karen Klonsky ◽

Peter Livingston ◽

Steve Temple

Keyword(s):

Crop Rotation ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Farming System ◽

Grain Legume ◽

Conventional Farming ◽

Management Options ◽

Organic System ◽

Low Input ◽

Sacramento Valley

AbstractWe compared the crop yields and economic performance of organic, lowinput, and conventional farming systems over an eight-year period based on research from the Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems (SAFS) Project in California's Sacramento Valley. The SAFS Project consisted of four farming-system treatments that differed in material input use and crop rotation sequence. The treatments included four-year rotations under conventional (conv-4), low-input, and organic management, and a conventionally-managed, two-year rotation (conv-2). The four-year rotations included processing tomato, safflower, corn, and bean and a winter grain and/or legume doublecropped with bean. The conv-2 treatment was a tomato and wheat rotation. In the lowinput and organic systems, inorganic fertilizer and synthetic pesticide inputs were reduced or eliminated largely through crop rotation, legume cover crops, composted manure applications, and mechanical cultivation.All crops, except safflower, demonstrated significant yield differences across farming systems in at least some years of the experiment. Yields of tomato and corn, the most nitrogen (N)-demanding crops in the rotations, responded most years to the farming-system years treatments, while bean and the winter grain/legume displayed treatment differences less often and instead tended to vary more with yearly growing conditions. Nitrogen availability and/or weed competition appeared to account for lower crop yields in the organic and low-input systems in some years. The economics of all farming systems depended mainly on the costs and profits associated with tomato production. The most profitable system was the conv-2 system due to the greater frequency of tomato in that system. Among the four-year rotations, the organic system was the most profitable. However, this system's dependence on price premiums leads to some concern over its long-term economic viability. Among the low-input cropping systems, corn demonstrated clear agronomic and economic advantages over conventional production methods. Based upon these findings, we suggest that future research on organic and low-input farming systems focus on developing cost-effective fertility and weed management options based upon improved understanding of N dynamics and weed ecology.

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A fungal endophyte consortium counterbalances the negative effects of reduced nitrogen input on the yield of field-grown spring barley

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859617000417 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 155 (8) ◽

pp. 1324-1331 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

B. R. MURPHY ◽

T. R. HODKINSON ◽

F. M. DOOHAN

Keyword(s):

Crop Yields ◽

Spring Barley ◽

Fungal Endophytes ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Field Trials ◽

Fungal Endophyte ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Barley Cultivars ◽

Intensive Farming ◽

N Input

SUMMARYThe use of chemicals to fertilize crops incurs economic and environmental costs and it is widely recognized that the current level of chemical fertilizer use is unsustainable in many intensive farming systems. Any methods that can reduce fertilizer input and still maintain acceptable yields would be of great benefit to both the farmer and the environment. The use of beneficial endophytes as crop inoculants may go some way towards improving crop yields beyond that achievable using fertilizer increases alone. Field trials were conducted over two seasons on three contrasting field sites to test the effects of fungal endophytes from a wild barley relative on three barley cultivars (Mickle, Planet and Propino). Seeds were either untreated or dressed with a consortium of four endophyte strains, and three levels of nitrogen (N) were applied to both treatments: full N, 50% N and 0 N. On the field site with the lowest overall N input, the endophyte treatment with 50% N restored yield for ‘Planet’ to that associated with untreated plants receiving the full N input. On the same site and with the same cultivar, endophyte treatment increased yield by 15% under full N, and by a mean 12% for all three cultivars with 50% N input. Over both seasons and all three sites, the endophyte treatment increased yield for the cultivar Planet by a mean of 9%. For the endophyte-associated increase in the variety Planet grain yield over the untreated trials strong correlations were found between increased yield and each of low rainfall, greater evaporation and greater number of degree days above the base. Furthermore, the efficacy of the endophytes was not removed by regular foliar fungicidal treatment. These results suggest that fungal endophytes can contribute to improving barley yield grown in low rainfall areas and under a range of fertilizer input regimes, provided that endophyte treatments are applied to compatible crop cultivars and sites.

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Farming systems in sheep rearing: Impact on growth and reproductive performance, nutrient digestibility, disease incidence and heat stress indices

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0244922 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. e0244922

Author(s):

D. Karthik ◽

J. Suresh ◽

Y. Ravindra Reddy ◽

G. R. K. Sharma ◽

J. V. Ramana ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heat Stress ◽

Disease Incidence ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Farming System ◽

Nutrient Digestibility ◽

Intake Rate ◽

Stress Indices ◽

Intensive Farming ◽

Panting Score ◽

Intensive System

The experiment was conducted with an intent to know the effect of different farming systems on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility coefficients, reproductive traits, disease incidence, heat stress indices, and cost economics of Nellore sheep. The study includes two parallel trials to prevent the influence of age on heat stress indices (panting score and erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF)). One hundred and twenty lambs (60 ram-lambs and 60 ewe-lambs) were allotted in a randomized block design under extensive, semi-intensive, and intensive systems for trial I, whereas trial II include eighteen rams assigned to the three respective farming systems in a completely randomised design. Both, season (summer) and grazing practice increased the panting score and EOF. The heat stress indices were positively correlated (P<0.01) with dry-bulb temperature and temperature-humidity index (THI) and inversely correlated (P<0.01) to relative humidity. Allotting the sheep to intensive system increased (P<0.001) weight gain and average daily gain with higher effect in males compared to females. The parameters of asymptotic weight (A), integration constant (B), and maturation rate were higher for intensive males. The male Nellore lambs had higher asymptotic weight and lower maturity rate than females, irrespective of the rearing system. Intensive sheep revealed a higher dry matter intake, digestibility coefficients, feed conversion ratio. The instantaneous bite mass (IBM) was higher for Commelina benghalensis, while instantaneous bite frequency (IBF), instantaneous intake rate (IIR) were higher for Cyanodon dactylon and amaranthus viridis, respectively. The proportion of intakes were highest for Stylo hemata followed by Cynodon dactylon and Tridax procumbens species. No differences were observed for the weight at puberty, oestrus cycle length, oestrus duration, conception percent, gestation period, and lambing percent in three rearing systems; however, the age at puberty was lower (P<0.001) and the birth weight was higher (P<0.001) for sheep reared under intensive farming system. Highest disease incidence was observed in rainy and winter seasons, particularly in sheep reared under extensive system. The capital expenditure was same for the three rearing systems, while the recurring expenditure was higher for Intensive farming system. The gross income and net income were higher for intensive system on account of higher weight gains. However, the higher returns per rupee of expenditure project the extensive farming as an ideal rearing system for small farmers and entrepreneurs with a low initial capital.

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Ocorrência de rinite atrófica e pneumonia em suínos híbridos e sem raça definida em criação intensiva

Comunicata Scientiae ◽

10.14295/cs.v7i1.504 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 24

Author(s):

Juliana Fortes Vilarinho Braga ◽

Maurício De Paula Ferreira Teixeira ◽

João Batista Lopes ◽

Manoel Henrique Klein Júnior ◽

Silvana Maria Medeiros de Sousa Silva

Keyword(s):

Production Systems ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Farming System ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Atrophic Rhinitis ◽

Swine Production ◽

Intensive Farming ◽

Group I ◽

Group Ii ◽

Swine Herds

The atrophic rhinitis (AR) and pneumonia are among the most frequently diagnosed respiratory diseases in swine production systems and can lead to significant economic losses. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence and degree of AR and pneumonia in hybrids and undefined breed swine herds submitted to intensive farming system and check if there is an association between the occurrence of these diseases in the herds. For this, we used 30 swines hybrids (Group I) and 30 undefined breed swines (Group II) from intensive farming system. The index of atrophic rhinitis (IAR) of herds for Groups I and II were, respectively, 1.00 and 0.57. In Group I, 20.8% (5/24) of the pigs presented pneumonia, while none of the animals in Group II exhibited this pathology. There was no correlation between the presence of atrophic rhinitis and pneumonia for the studied animals. These are the first data on the occurrence of these diseases in swines of Piauí State, Brazil. We demonstrated that these pathologies are present in animals from intensive farming systems and that occurrence varied according to racial type, being the hybrid swines the most affected animals by AR and pneumonia.

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Poultry biodiversity for alternative farming systems development

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202233500004 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 335 ◽

pp. 00004

Author(s):

Edoardo Fiorilla ◽

Alice Cartoni Mancinelli ◽

Marco Birolo ◽

Cesare Castellini ◽

Dominga Soglia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Farming Systems ◽

Farming System ◽

Housing System ◽

Standard Diet ◽

Production Chain ◽

Low Input ◽

Housing Systems ◽

Intensive Farming ◽

Alternative Farming ◽

Ideal Genotype

Poultry biodiversity represents a key factor to improve poultry resilience and promote sustainable and low input farming systems. The EU and member states promote protection of livestock biodiversity and the development of alternative farming through funding projects such as “Local Chicken Breeds in Alternative Production Chain: Welfare, Quality and Sustainability” (funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and University). The aim of the present research was to identify among five different poultry genotypes Bionda Piemontese (BP), Robusta Maculata (RM), RM x Sasso (RMxS), BP x Sasso (BPxS) and a commercial hybrid (Ross 308) the best suitable breed in terms of productivity and welfare for alternative housing system. A total of 300 (60 x genotype), 21 days old male birds were randomly allotted in two housing systems: 1) standard intensive farming (controlled environment, 33 kg/m2 and standard diet) and 2) free-range (“natural” environmental conditions, 21 kg/m2, access to outdoor area and low-input diet). Slaughtering was performed at 81 days of age. During the trial, the productive performance and behaviour of the animals were evaluated. The housing system, the genotype and their interaction significantly affected many of the studied variables, showing broiler not the ideal genotype for extensive farming system, which is more suited for low/medium performance strains.

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