Effects of soil management and plant breeding on insect herbivore growth and consumption

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Emily Rose Althoff
Keyword(s):  
Soil Nitrogen ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Insect Herbivory ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Insect Herbivore ◽  
Foliar Nitrogen ◽  
No Till ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Soybean Looper

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The benefits of sustainable soil management practices on soil health have been well documented for over a century. In 2017, 42,087,306 ha of farm land were cultivated with no-till practices, which reduce soil erosion. Crop rotation can also improve soil health by increasing soil nitrogen content. As nitrogen is a limiting factor to plant and insect growth, changes in soil nitrogen will likely affect plant-insect interactions. Furthermore, far fewer studies have examined long-term effects of soil management on insect communities. We examine the effects of longterm soil management practices (27 years) on soil nitrogen availability, foliar nitrogen content and secondary metabolites, and insect herbivory. We compare leaf-chewing insect growth and consumption rates feeding on tilled continuous, no-till continuous, tilled rotated, and no-till rotated plots containing soybean (Glycine max). While piercing-sucking insects were fed corn (Zea mays) kernels from rotated no-till or rotated tilled plots or soybean pods from rotated no-till or continuous till plots. Piercing-sucking insects experienced higher growth on continuous tilled corn in comparison to the soybean treatments, likely due to the senescence of the soybean pods. In 2018, soybean looper (Chrysodeixis includens Walker) feeding on continuously planted, tilled soybean had greater relative growth rates than those feeding on rotated, no-till soybean. However, in 2019, soybean looper consumption was higher on the rotated, no-till treatment than on continuous till soybean. Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) consumption and growth did not differ among treatments in both years. While percent soil nitrogen levels differed, our bioassay results led us to conclude that management practices that promote soil health such as no-tillage and crop rotation do not greatly influence insect herbivory. Additionally, for thousands of years, humans have artificially selected for yield in food crops. In recent years, this has become more critical as arable land has decreased while human populations have increased. Increase in yield influences plant physiology, photosynthetic rates, and nitrogen uptake. As plant growth has been selected for, plant defenses may have decreased, leading to potential increases in insect herbivore growth, consumption, efficiency of conversion of digested food, and efficiency of conversion of ingested food. We conducted bioassays feeding soybean looper (Chrysodeixis includens Walker) larvae leaves from 19 soybean cultivars released over the last 86 years. Larval growth was not affected by soybean release year, but consumption decreased on recent varieties. Efficiency of conversion of digested food and efficiency of conversion of ingested food also increased on more recent varieties, perhaps, because of differences in foliar nitrogen or terpenoids. This is important as selection for yield has not necessarily resulted in selection for higher insecticide application.

Corrigendum to: Soil indicators and their use by farmers in the Billabong Catchment, southern New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 340
Author(s):  
B. Kelly ◽  
C. Allan ◽  
B. P. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Health Need ◽  
Soil Indicators

'Soil health' programs and projects in Australia's agricultural districts are designed to influence farmers' management behaviours, usually to produce better outcomes for production, conservation, and sustainability. These programs usually examine soil management practices from a soil science perspective, but how soils are understood by farmers, and how that understanding informs their farm management decisions, is poorly documented. The research presented in this paper sought to better understand how dryland farmers in the Billabong catchment of southern New South Wales use soil indicators to inform their management decisions. Thematic content analysis of transcripts of semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with farmers suggest several themes that have implications for soil scientists and other professionals wishing to promote soil health in the dryland farming regions of south-eastern Australia. In particular, all soil indicators, including those related to soil 'health', need to relate to some clear, practical use to farmers if they are to be used in farm decision making. This research highlights a reliance of the participants of this research on agronomists. Reliance on agronomists for soil management decisions may result in increasing loss of connectivity between farmers and their land. If this reflects a wider trend, soil health projects may need to consider where best to direct their capacity-building activities, and/or how to re-empower individual farmers.

scholarly journals Root renovation: how an improved understanding of basic root biology could inform the development of elite crops that foster sustainable soil health

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna W.-H. Wong ◽  
Jonathan M. Plett
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Breeding Strategy ◽  
Microbial Interactions ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Microbial Association

A major goal in agricultural research is to develop ‘elite’ crops with stronger, resilient root systems. Within this context, breeding practices have focussed on developing plant varieties that are, primarily, able to withstand pathogen attack and, secondarily, able to maximise plant productivity. Although great strides towards breeding disease-tolerant or -resistant root stocks have been made, this has come at a cost. Emerging studies in certain crop species suggest that domestication of crops, together with soil management practices aimed at improving plant yield, may hinder beneficial soil microbial association or reduce microbial diversity in soil. To achieve more sustainable management of agricultural lands, we must not only shift our soil management practices but also our breeding strategy to include contributions from beneficial microbes. For this latter point, we need to advance our understanding of how plants communicate with, and are able to differentiate between, microbes of different lifestyles. Here, we present a review of the key findings on belowground plant–microbial interactions that have been made over the past decade, with a specific focus on how plants and microbes communicate. We also discuss the currently unresolved questions in this area, and propose plausible ways to use currently available research and integrate fast-emerging ‘-omics’ technologies to tackle these questions. Combining past and developing research will enable the development of new crop varieties that will have new, value-added phenotypes belowground.

scholarly journals SMAF: A Soil Health Assessment Tool

2013 ◽  
Vol 120 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
D. L. KARLEN ◽  
C. D. NANCE ◽  
D. L. DINNES ◽  
D. W. MEEK
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Winter Triticale ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Health Differences ◽  
Health Assessments

The Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) was developed to help quantify soil quality/health effects of tillage, crop rotation, and other soil management practices. Our objective was to determine if the SMAF could detect soil health differences after growing a single winter triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) crop. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 7.5- and 7.5 to 15-cm depth increments during the 2003 – 2004 and 2004 – 2005 growing seasons near Ames and Lewis, IA, and analyzed for several potential soil quality indicators. The SMAF analysis showed higher soil quality ratings for surface than subsurface samples. It also showed that a single winter grain crop can significantly improve soil quality after either corn (Zea mays L.) or soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.). Finally, in response to increasing interest in soil health assessments, a detailed appendix is attached to provide guidance for future soil health assessments.

scholarly journals Stacking Agricultural Management Tactics to Promote Improvements in Soil Structure and Microbial Activities

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 539 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Michael Lehman ◽  
Shannon L. Osborne ◽  
Kimberly McGraw
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Structure ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Agricultural Management ◽  
Residue Management ◽  
No Till ◽  
Management Tactics

Linking agricultural management tactics to quantifiable changes in soil health-related properties is a key objective for increasing adoption of the most favorable management practices. We used two long-term, no-till cropping studies to illustrate the variable patterns of response of soil structure indices and microbial activity to additional management tactics, including crop rotational diversity, residue management and cover cropping. We found that observable effects of management tactics on soil properties were often dependent on the current crop phase sampled, even though the treatments were well-established. In some cases, a single additional management tactic produced a response, two tactics each produced a response and sometimes there were interactions between tactics. However, importantly, we never observed a negative effect for any of the response variables when stacking soil health building practices in no-till cropping systems. The collective results from the two field studies illustrate that soil health improvements with stacking management tactics are not always simply additive and are affected by temporal relationships inherent to the treatments. We conclude that the implementation of multiple positive management tactics increases the likelihood that improvements in soil properties can be documented with one or more of the proxy measures for soil health.

Soil indicators and their use by farmers in the Billabong Catchment, southern New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Kelly ◽  
C. Allan ◽  
B. P. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Health Need ◽  
Soil Indicators

‘Soil health’ programs and projects in Australia’s agricultural districts are designed to influence farmers’ management behaviours, usually to produce better outcomes for production, conservation, and sustainability. These programs usually examine soil management practices from a soil science perspective, but how soils are understood by farmers, and how that understanding informs their farm management decisions, is poorly documented. The research presented in this paper sought to better understand how dryland farmers in the Billabong catchment of southern New South Wales use soil indicators to inform their management decisions. Thematic content analysis of transcripts of semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with farmers suggest several themes that have implications for soil scientists and other professionals wishing to promote soil health in the dryland farming regions of south-eastern Australia. In particular, all soil indicators, including those related to soil ‘health’, need to relate to some clear, practical use to farmers if they are to be used in farm decision making. This research highlights a reliance of the participants of this research on agronomists. Reliance on agronomists for soil management decisions may result in increasing loss of connectivity between farmers and their land. If this reflects a wider trend, soil health projects may need to consider where best to direct their capacity-building activities, and/or how to re-empower individual farmers.

scholarly journals Single- versus Double-Species Cover Crop Effects on Soil Health and Yield in Mississippi Soybean Fields

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2334
Author(s):  
Heather L. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Trifolium Incarnatum ◽  
Crimson Clover ◽  
No Till ◽  
Secale Cereale L ◽  
Species Cover

Conservation management practices can improve soil health while minimizing deleterious effects of agriculture on the environment. However, adoption of these practices, particularly cover crops, is not widespread, as they often reduce crop yields compared to traditional management practices. The purpose of the current study was to determine if a two-species cover crop treatment of rye (Secale cereale L.) and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) could increase soil health parameters and maximize soybean (Glycine max L.) yield greater than rye only in tilled and no-till Mississippi field soils. Enhanced microbial biomass and organic matter input from cover crops increased the activities of β-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis, N-acetylglucosaminidase, and phosphatase in surface soils. Rye plus clover tended to elicit higher activities than rye only in no-till plots. Both cover crop treatments inhibited soybean yield in tilled plots by 11–25%. These results indicate that tillage exacerbates yield inhibition by cover crops in soybean and that double-species cover crop treatments were more consistent in increasing activities linked to nutrient cycling. Further study examining different combinations of cover crops in no-till systems is necessary to gain a better understanding of how they can be implemented to enhance soil health while maximizing crop yield.

scholarly journals Soil management and nitrogen fertilization for sprinkler-irrigated upland rice cultivars

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orivaldo Arf ◽  
Ricardo Antonio Ferreira Rodrigues ◽  
Carlos Alexandre Costa Crusciol ◽  
Marco Eustáquio de Sá ◽  
Salatiér Buzetti
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Rice Yield ◽  
Upland Rice ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Soil Tillage ◽  
Rice Cultivars ◽  
Milled Rice ◽  
No Till ◽  
Moldboard Plow

The use of sprinkler irrigation for rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop is a relatively recent practice in Brazil. Therefore, crop soil and fertilization management are still not very well defined. Another problem is the inexistence of specific cultivars adapted to this cropping system. This study aimed to evaluate sprinkler-irrigated upland rice cultivars under different soil management practices and nitrogen sidedressing rates in relation to yield and grain quality. A randomized block design was used, arranged as a 3 x 3 x 5 factorial scheme, totaling 45 treatments consisting of the combination of three rice cultivars (Primavera, Confiança and Maravilha), three soil management systems (disk harrow + levelling harrow, moldboard plow + levelling harrow and no-till) and five nitrogen rates, applied as sidedressing (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 kg ha-1), with four replicates. The experiment was set up during the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 cropping seasons, in Selvíria, MS, Brazil, on a Typic Haplustox of clayey texture. Cultivars Primavera and Maravilha presented higher grain yield than Confiança; on the other hand the latter showed higher milled and head rice yields during seed processing. Soil tillage with the moldboard plow and no-till interfered positively in the agronomic and productive characteristics of the crop. In relation to milled rice yield, tilling with the levelling disk + moldboard plow showed better results in relation to no-till. Nitrogen sidedressing did not interfere with the agronomic and productive characteristcs as well as with the milled rice yield of all cultivars.

scholarly journals The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1834) ◽  
pp. 20200169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pete Smith ◽  
Saskia D. Keesstra ◽  
Whendee L. Silver ◽  
Tapan K. Adhya
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Soil Biodiversity ◽  
To Come

This theme issue provides an assessment of the contribution of soils to Nature's Contributions to People (NCP). The papers in this issue show that soils can contribute positively to the delivery of all NCP. These contributions can be maximized through careful soil management to provide healthy soils, but poorly managed, degraded or polluted soils may contribute negatively to the delivery of NCP. Soils are also shown to contribute positively to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Papers in the theme issue emphasize the need for careful soil management. Priorities for soil management must include: (i) for healthy soils in natural ecosystems, protect them from conversion and degradation, (ii) for managed soils, manage in a way to protect and enhance soil biodiversity, health, productivity and sustainability and to prevent degradation, and (iii) for degraded soils, restore to full soil health. Our knowledge of what constitutes sustainable soil management is mature enough to implement best management practices, in order to maintain and improve soil health. The papers in this issue show the vast potential of soils to contribute to NCP. This is not only desirable, but essential to sustain a healthy planet and if we are to deliver sustainable development in the decades to come. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of soils in delivering Nature’s Contributions to People’.

scholarly journals High Seeding Rates and Low Soil Nitrogen Environments Optimize Weed Suppression and Profitability in Organic No-Till Planted Soybean

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uriel D. Menalled ◽  
Sarah J. Pethybridge ◽  
Chris J. Pelzer ◽  
Richard G. Smith ◽  
Antonio DiTommaso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Soil Nitrogen ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Weed Suppression ◽  
Seeding Rate ◽  
No Till ◽  
Crop Density ◽  
Nitrogen Treatments

No-till planting crops into rolled-crimped cover crops can improve soil health while reducing labor and fuel requirements compared with traditional tillage-based production. However, little information is available to help farmers optimize the management of organic no-till planted crops. Weed suppression, crop yield, and profitability were assessed across soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seeding rates and soil nitrogen environments in an experiment conducted at two sites in central New York. Soybeans were no-till planted into rolled-crimped cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) at 0, 185,000, 371,000, 556,000, and 741,000 seeds ha−1. Three rates (0, 63, or 125 kg ha−1) of sodium nitrate (15-0-2) were applied across seeding rates to create different soil nitrogen environments. When pooled over sites, the lowest weed biomass occurred at the highest soybean density in the lowest soil nitrogen environment. An interaction was observed between soybean seeding rate and nitrogen treatments on weed communities. Soybean yield increased asymptotically with crop density and was not affected by nitrogen or site treatments. When pooled over nitrogen treatments and sites, partial returns to the soybean seeding rates were maximized at $2,238 ha−1 with 527,800 seeds ha−1. Results suggest that crop density is an important lever for optimizing weed suppression and crop yield in organic no-till soybean, and that managing for low soil nitrogen conditions may further enhance weed suppression while maintaining high yields.

Enzymological and Physicochemical Evaluation of the Effects of Soil Management Practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 2243-2247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Dora Samuel ◽  
Delia Mirela Tit ◽  
Carmen Elena Melinte (Frunzulica) ◽  
Ciprian Iovan ◽  
Lavinia Purza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Enzymatic Activities ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Maize Crop ◽  
No Till

Soil enzymes activities have been considered as sensitive indicators of alteration soil quality by management. In order to obtain new data on the soil enzymological effects of soil management practices, we have determined some enzymatic activities in a preluvosoil submitted to a complex tillage and crop rotation experiment at the Agricultural Research and Development Station in Oradea (Bihor County). Actual and potential dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase and catalase activities were investigated in a split plot experiment where tillage (no-till and conventional tillage) was the main plot and crop rotation (Wheat/Maize, W/M; Soybean/Maize, S/M; Oats-Clover/maize, O-C/M) was the subplot. Soil samples were taken at 0-20, 20-40 and 40-60 cm. Each activity in both non-tilled and conventionally tilled soil under maize crop decreased with increasing sampling depth. It was found that no-till, in comparison with conventional tillage, resulted in insignificantly higher (p]0.10) soil enzymatic activities in the 0-20 cm layer and insignificantly (at least at p]0.10) lower activities in the deeper layers, excepting actual and potential dehydrogenase activities in the 40-60 cm layer, in which these activities were significantly lower(0.02]p]0.01). Based on the absolute values of the enzymatic activities, the enzymatic indicator of soil quality (EISQ) was calculated. The EISQ values ranged between 0.201 and 0.974 indicating the presence of high enzymatic activities in the upper layer and a moderate intensity of the enzymatic activities in the deeper layers. A significant correlation between soil enzyme activities and physical and chemical indicators was established.

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