INFLUENCE OF SUCCESSION CROPPING ON ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF NO-TILL CROP ROTATIONS

Purpose. The aim of the article is conduction of a retrospective analysis of the experience results of introducing innovative, energy-saving technologies in agriculture of Ukrainian enterprises. Choosing of inhibitory factors of innovative development and providing recommendations for further introduction of innovations to increase economic efficiency and competitiveness of agricultural enterprises in different regions of our country. Methodology of research. The following research methods were used to achieve this goal: monographic – for a detailed study of phenomena, processes and best practices of enterprises; abstract and logical - to outline the main factors influencing the accelerated use of energy-saving, innovative technologies in agriculture of Ukrainian enterprises; for the description of analytical tables, formation of conclusions and offers; comparative analysis - to compare the effectiveness of the different variants of technologies used for growing crops in crop rotations. Findings. Energy-saving, innovative technologies in agriculture by crop rotations in the regions of Ukraine are generalized and systematized. It is recommended for the Left-Coast Forest-Steppe and Steppe to use a differentiated system of tillage in crop rotations, which reduces about 120-150 UAH / ha of direct costs compared to traditional plowing. Originality. The substantiation of introduction of energy saving technologies in agriculture on crop rotations and their effective influence on development of the enterprises economy in separate regions of Ukraine has received further development. Practical value. Substantiated results of the study can be used by agricultural enterprises, which will increase the economic efficiency of both the crop sector and promote the development of the agricultural economy in the regions of Ukraine. Key words: energy-saving technologies in agriculture, “Mini-till”, “No-till”, “Strip-till”, differentiated technologies, resource savings, productivity, economic efficiency, competitiveness.

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Managing Crop Rotations in No-till Farming Systems

No-till Farming Systems for Sustainable Agriculture ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-46409-7_2 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 21-31

Author(s):

Leonard Rusinamhodzi

Keyword(s):

Farming Systems ◽

Crop Rotations ◽

No Till

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Tillage and crop rotation effects on soil carbon and selected soil physical properties in a Haplic Cambisol in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Soil and Water Research ◽

10.17221/176/2018-swr ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (No. 1) ◽

pp. 47-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mxolisi Mtyobile ◽

Lindah Muzangwa ◽

Pearson Nyari Stephano Mnkeni

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Water Content ◽

Bulk Density ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Crop Rotation ◽

Soil Bulk Density ◽

Crop Rotations ◽

Soil Porosity ◽

No Till

The effects of tillage and crop rotation on the soil carbon, the soil bulk density, the porosity and the soil water content were evaluated during the 6<sup>th</sup> season of an on-going field trial at the University of Fort Hare Farm (UFH), South Africa. Two tillage systems; conventional tillage (CT) and no-till and crop rotations; maize (Zea mays L.)-fallow-maize (MFM), maize-fallow-soybean (Glycine max L.) (MFS); maize-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize (MWM) and maize-wheat-soybean (MWS) were evaluated. The field experiment was a 2 × 4 factorial, laid out in a randomised complete design. The crop residues were retained for the no-till plots and incorporated for the CT plots, after each cropping season. No significant effects (P > 0.05) of the tillage and crop rotation on the bulk density were observed. However, the values ranged from 1.32 to1.37 g/cm<sup>3</sup>. Significant interaction effects of the tillage and crop rotation were observed on the soil porosity (P < 0.01) and the soil water content (P < 0.05). The porosity for the MFM and the MWS, was higher under the CT whereas for the MWM and the MWS, it was higher under the no-till. However, the greatest porosity was under the MWS. Whilst the no-till significantly increased (P < 0.05) the soil water content compared to the CT; the greatest soil water content was observed when the no-till was combined with the MWM rotations. The soil organic carbon (SOC) was increased more (P < 0.05) by the no-till than the CT, and the MFM consistently had the least SOC compared with the rest of the crop rotations, at all the sampling depths (0–5, 5–10 and 10–20 cm). The soil bulk density negatively correlated with the soil porosity and the soil water content, whereas the porosity positively correlated with the soil water content. The study concluded that the crop rotations, the MWM and the MWS under the no-till coupled with the residue retention improved the soil porosity and the soil water content levels the most.

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The Diversification and Intensification of Crop Rotations under No-Till Promote Earthworm Abundance and Biomass

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy10070919 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 919

Author(s):

María Pía Rodríguez ◽

Anahí Domínguez ◽

Melisa Moreira Ferroni ◽

Luis Gabriel Wall ◽

José Camilo Bedano

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Crop Production ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Taxonomic Composition ◽

Matter Content ◽

Crop Rotations ◽

Subtle Change ◽

No Till ◽

Novel Approach

The diversification and intensification of crop rotations (DICR) in no-till systems is a novel approach that aims to increase crop production, together with decreasing environmental impact. Our objective was to analyze the effect of different levels of DICR on the abundance, biomass, and species composition of earthworm communities in Argentinean Pampas. We studied three levels of DICR—typical rotation (TY), high intensification with grass (HG), and with legume (HL); along with three references—natural grassland (NG), pasture (PA), and an agricultural external reference (ER). The NG had the highest earthworm abundance. Among the DICR treatments, abundance and biomass were higher in HL than in HG and, in both, these were higher than in TY. The NG and PA had a distinctive taxonomic composition and higher species richness. Instead, the DICR treatments had a similar richness and species composition. Earthworm abundance and biomass were positively related to rotation intensity and legume proportion indices, carbon input, and particulate organic matter content. The application of DICR for four years, mainly with legumes, favors the development of earthworm populations. This means that a subtle change in management, as DICR, can have a positive impact on earthworms, and thus on earthworm-mediated ecosystem services, which are important for crop production.

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Temporal Change of Soil Carbon on a Long-Term Experimental Site with Variable Crop Rotations and Tillage Systems

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy10060840 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 840 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ahmed Laamrani ◽

Paul R. Voroney ◽

Aaron A. Berg ◽

Adam W. Gillespie ◽

Michael March ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Winter Wheat ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Red Clover ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Crop Rotations ◽

Tillage Practices ◽

No Till

The impacts of tillage practices and crop rotations are fundamental factors influencing changes in the soil carbon, and thus the sustainability of agricultural systems. The objective of this study was to compare soil carbon status and temporal changes in topsoil from different 4 year rotations and tillage treatments (i.e., no-till and conventional tillage). Rotation systems were primarily corn and soy-based and included cereal and alfalfa phases along with red clover cover crops. In 2018, soil samples were collected from a silty-loam topsoil (0–15 cm) from the 36 year long-term experiment site in southern Ontario, Canada. Total carbon (TC) contents of each sample were determined in the laboratory using combustion methods and comparisons were made between treatments using current and archived samples (i.e., 20 year and 9 year change, respectively) for selected crop rotations. Overall, TC concentrations were significantly higher for no-till compared with conventional tillage practices, regardless of the crop rotations employed. With regard to crop rotation, the highest TC concentrations were recorded in corn–corn–oats–barley (CCOB) rotations with red clover cover crop in both cereal phases. TC contents were, in descending order, found in corn–corn–alfalfa–alfalfa (CCAA), corn–corn–soybean–winter wheat (CCSW) with 1 year of seeded red clover, and corn–corn–corn–corn (CCCC). The lowest TC concentrations were observed in the corn–corn–soybean–soybean (CCSS) and corn–corn–oats–barley (CCOB) rotations without use of cover crops, and corn–corn–soybean–winter wheat (CCSW). We found that (i) crop rotation varieties that include two consecutive years of soybean had consistently lower TC concentrations compared with the remaining rotations; (ii) TC for all the investigated plots (no-till and/or tilled) increased over the 9 year and 20 year period; (iii) the no-tilled CCOB rotation with 2 years of cover crop showed the highest increase of TC content over the 20 year change period time; and (iv) interestingly, the no-till continuous corn (CCCC) rotation had higher TC than the soybean–soybean–corn–corn (SSCC) and corn–corn–soybean–winter wheat (CCSW). We concluded that conservation tillage (i.e., no-till) and incorporation of a cover crop into crop rotations had a positive effect in the accumulation of TC topsoil concentrations and could be suitable management practices to promote soil fertility and sustainability in our agricultural soils.

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Role of Crop Rotations in the Dynamic of Soil Organic Matter Pools

Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.5539/jas.v10n8p341 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 341

Author(s):

Rodrigo Santos Moreira ◽

Marcio Koiti Chiba ◽

Isabella Clerici De Maria ◽

Caio César Zito Siqueira ◽

Aildson Pereira Duarte ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Crop Rotation ◽

Light Fraction ◽

Crop Rotations ◽

Organic Matter Quality ◽

Humification Index ◽

No Till ◽

C And N ◽

Soil Organic Matter Quality

Soil organic matter is considered a key attribute for a sustainable agricultural production and is influenced by the quantity and quality of the crop residue deposited on the soil surface. Therefore, different crop rotations could change the soil organic matter pools. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the soil carbon pools obtained by chemical and physical fractionation methods and the humification index under different crop rotations in a no-till system. We test the following hypothesis: a) the distribution of C and N among the soil organic matter fractions depends on plant species rotation schemes and; b) labile fractions are more sensitive to the input of crop residues and therefore, more suitable for evaluating the impact of different crop rotations in the soil organic matter quality. We evaluated four crop sequences (corn/corn/corn; corn/wheat/corn; soybean/wheat/corn and soybean/corn/corn) in a no-till system. A five-year reforested area was used as reference. We determined the total C and N contents, the mineral-associated C and N, the light fraction of C and N, the labile carbon extracted with KMnO4 and the soil organic matter humification index. We found narrow differences between the crop rotation systems in the total C and N levels, the mineral-associated C and N fractions and the labile C extracted with KMnO4. The diversification of the agricultural system with soybean in crop rotation favored the accumulation of light fraction C and N in the soil that were more efficient to provide information about the changes in the soil organic matter quality.

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Limited Irrigation of Corn-Based No-Till Crop Rotations in West Central Great Plains

Agronomy Journal ◽

10.2134/agronj2015.0536 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 108 (3) ◽

pp. 1132-1141 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Alan J. Schlegel ◽

Yared Assefa ◽

Troy J. Dumler ◽

Lucas A. Haag ◽

Loyd R. Stone ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Great Plains ◽

Crop Rotations ◽

No Till ◽

West Central

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Effectiveness of Herbicides for Control of Common Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) in Corn and Soybean

Weed Technology ◽

10.1614/wt-d-16-00043.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 193-201 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kelly M. Patches ◽

William S. Curran ◽

Dwight D. Lingenfelter

Keyword(s):

Crop Rotations ◽

Phytolacca Americana ◽

Wide Spread ◽

Agronomic Crops ◽

No Till ◽

Successful Control ◽

Frequent Problem

Common pokeweed is a competitive, simple perennial broadleaf weed that produces abundant seed, making it a frequent problem in agronomic crops in Pennsylvania. Traditionally, tillage was used to manage pokeweed; however, the wide-spread adoption of no-till, as well as a decline in the use of diverse crop rotations and soil-residual herbicides, may have allowed pokeweed populations to increase in recent years. The objective of this research was to identify effective herbicides for control of common pokeweed in corn and soybean. Herbicide efficacy experiments were conducted in separate locations from 2011 to 2013 to determine the effectiveness of POST corn and soybean herbicides for control of pokeweed. Glyphosate-resistant corn and soybean varieties were used and several herbicides were evaluated alone and in combination. The results from this work show that glyphosate is an important herbicide for successful control of pokeweed in soybean. When glyphosate was included, 79 to 91% control was achieved, while for treatments not containing glyphosate, control was not greater than 62%. In corn, several non-glyphosate herbicides, including 2,4-D, dicamba, and mesotrione plus atrazine, are options in addition to glyphosate for controlling pokeweed. Most corn treatments provided at least 80% control throughout the season and significantly reduced common pokeweed biomass compared to the nontreated control. In the year after application, pokeweed control was found to be similar to the results from the previous fall in both corn and soybean.

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