Soil carbon pool under organic and conventional crop production system of semi arid tropics

Regardless of land use, the results indicated significant differences in all the studied parameters. Total % SOC ranged from 0.52 to 0.72 for conventional farm samples (mean 0.62%) and 0.63 to 1.59 for the organic samples (mean 1.19). Bulk density (g/cc) ranged from 0.43 to 0.81 (mean 0. 62) for conventional and 0.17 to 0.28 (mean 0.20) organic farm soils. Organic manures increased microbial biomass carbon by 117% and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration by 181% over conventional farming. The results suggested that organic matter is better protected in organic soils and are consequently less vulnerable to mineralization.

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Soil fertility and crop growth under poultry/crop integration

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s174217051200021x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 173-182 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kathleen Hilimire ◽

Stephen R. Gliessman ◽

Joji Muramoto

Keyword(s):

Soil Fertility ◽

Crop Production ◽

Exchange Capacity ◽

Environmental Concerns ◽

Total N ◽

Olsen P ◽

Organic Farm ◽

History Of ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Farm Soils

AbstractInnovative sources of soil fertility are of utmost importance to growers in light of rising fertilizer costs and environmental concerns. Integrating livestock and crop production is one channel by which agricultural practitioners can enhance soil fertility. For this research, soil fertility was analyzed in pastured poultry/crop agroecosystems to determine whether free-ranging birds and pasture could be used to replace or supplement non-manure-based fertilizers. Soils from adjacent cropped areas were compared to plots with a recent history of pastured poultry use on two farms, and crop plants were grown in each type of soil in a replicated greenhouse experiment. Spatial variation in soil fertility was also assessed relative to location of poultry coops. Pastured poultry plots had elevated soil total C, total N, NH4+–N, NO3−–N, Olsen P, exchangeable K, organic matter, cation exchange capacity and electrical conductivity relative to the control of typically managed organic farm soils without pastured animal inputs. These soil fertility changes conferred greater biomass and height to sunflowers and beans grown in these soils relative to control soils for most treatments. Results suggest that pastured poultry can effectively fertilize soil for certain crops but that a need exists for more research into (1) phosphorus management and (2) ensuring a spatially uniform distribution of manure.

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Effect of bio-composts on soil fertility status and productivity of organic farm: An approach to promote sustainable agriculture

Journal of Applied and Natural Science ◽

10.31018/jans.v8i4.1061 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 1912-1918

Author(s):

Dipika Rana ◽

Haseeb U. R. Masoodi

Keyword(s):

Soil Fertility ◽

Crop Production ◽

Vegetable Crops ◽

Conventional Farming ◽

Farming Practices ◽

Organic Farm ◽

Fertility Status ◽

Input Use ◽

Recorded Data ◽

Soil Fertility Status

The findings of this research provide information on various approaches to manage and maintain soil fertility for organic crop production through composting. The initial recorded data pertaining to various conventional farming practices showed very low soil fertility status, low productivity before the initiation of organic farming. In the year prior to 2006 pH was low (4.10) and it increased to 5.40 by 2006-07. Organic carbon percentage increased to 1.35 in 2006-07 and the value of phosphorus was very low in the previous year but increased in the year 2006-07 (6.00 Kg/ha) while Potassium value increased in the year 2006-07 (395.00 Kg/ha). Input use pattern of various composts was also evaluated and it was observed that higher rates of FYM was used in case of maize-wheat+gram (614.31q/ha) in 2006-07 while higher rates of vermicompost was used in case of soybean-pea system i.e 111.11 q/ha for the year 2006-07. It was found that in the year 2006-07, among the cereals, yield of wheat was the highest (15.56 q/ha), among pulses soybean dominated (13.04 q/ha). The yield of potato (74.88 q/ha) was the highest among vegetable crops. For the year 2007-08, the yield of wheat+ lentil was the highest (10.86 q/ha). Among the pulses again yield of soybean was the highest (6.14 q/ha) and potato showed the highest yield among vegetables (73.88 q/ha). It showed that the application of compost had direct effect on productivity as the application of compost in the year 2007-08 decreased the productivity decreased subsequently as compared to initial year i.e 2006-07.

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Relationships among Contrasting Measurements of Microbial Dynamics in Pasture and Organic Farm Soils

Applied and Environmental Soil Science ◽

10.1155/2011/537459 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

S. L. Edenborn ◽

A. J. Sexstone ◽

Y. Sutanto ◽

J. A. Chapman

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Soil Bacteria ◽

Microbial Biomass Carbon ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Organic Farm ◽

Significant Relationships ◽

Manure Amendments ◽

Mineralizable Nitrogen ◽

Farm Soils

Soil bacteria exhibit short-term variations in community structure, providing an indication of anthropogenic disturbances. In this study, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), community level physiological profiling (CLPP), and culture-dependent DGGE (CD DGGE) fingerprinting of the 16S rRNA gene were used to compare microbial communities in organic farm and pasture soils subjected to differing agronomic treatments. Correlation analyses revealed significant relationships between MBC, PMN, and data derived from microbial community analyses. All measures separated soil types but varied in their ability to distinguish among treatments within a soil type. Overall, MBC, PMN, and CLPP were most responsive to compost and manure amendments, while CD DGGE resolved differences in legume cropping and inorganic fertilization. The results support the hypothesis that culturable soil bacteria are a responsive fraction of the total microbial community, sensitive to agronomic perturbations and amenable to further studies aimed at linking community structure with soil functions.

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Agriculture in the Oasis of the Manga Grasslands of Semi-Arid North-East Nigeria

Outlook on Agriculture ◽

10.5367/000000003101294460 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 191-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

A.B. Alhassan ◽

R.C. Carter ◽

I. Audu

Keyword(s):

Rural Economy ◽

Crop Production ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Organic Soils ◽

Confined Water ◽

Acid Sulphate ◽

North East ◽

The Rich ◽

Semi Arid

Peasant farmers in the Manga Grasslands of semi-arid north-east Nigeria depend largely on agriculture for their livelihood. However, recurrent drought since the early 1970s has disrupted the traditional farming systems of the region, and hence the agriculture-based rural economy of the Grasslands. There is evidence that farmers in the Grasslands are obliged to intensify crop production in areas with ‘good’ soils and ‘adequate’ water supply, that is, the oases. The rich organic soils and the shallow, semi-confined water table beneath the oases are precious natural resources for intensive agriculture. These do not come without a price, however, as the rich, organic soils have the potential to be contaminated by acid sulphate and salt. It is expected that future soil creation, particularly under dry climatic conditions, will lead to the formation of true acid sulphate soils, and consequently, the twin processes of soil acidification and salinization will present real management problems for sustainable agriculture. It is concluded however, that under the prevailing soil, hydrological and climatic conditions of the oasis, sustainable agricultural production remains elusive.

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Farm Water Productivity in Conventional and Organic Farming: Case Studies of Cow-Calf Farming Systems in North Germany

Water ◽

10.3390/w10101294 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 1294 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Leen Vellenga ◽

Gregor Qualitz ◽

Katrin Drastig

Keyword(s):

Crop Production ◽

Water Productivity ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Cultivated Plants ◽

Conventional Agriculture ◽

Organic Farm ◽

Cow Calf ◽

North Germany ◽

The Individual ◽

Conventional Farm

The increase of organic agriculture in Germany raises the question of how water productivity differs from conventional agriculture. On three organic and two conventionally farming systems in Germany, water flows and water related indicators were quantified. Farm water productivity (FWP), farm water productivity of cow-calf production (FWPlivestock), and farm water productivity of food crop production (FWPfood crops) were calculated using the modeling software AgroHyd Farmmodel. The FWP was calculated on a mass and monetary basis. FWPlivestock showed the highest productivity on a mass basis occurring on a conventional farm with 0.09 kg m−3Winput, whereas one organic farm and one conventional farm showed the same results. On a monetary basis, organic cow-calf farming systems showed the highest FWPlivestock, with 0.28 € m−3Winput. Since the productivity of the farm depends strongly on the individual cultivated plants, FWPfood crops was compared at the level of the single crop. The results show furthermore that even with a precise examination of farm water productivity, a high bandwidth of temporal and local values are revealed on different farms: generic FWP for food crops and livestock are not within reach.

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Economic analysis of commercial organic and conventional vegetable farming in Kathmandu Valley

Journal of Agriculture and Environment ◽

10.3126/aej.v15i0.19816 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. 58-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kamal Shrestha ◽

Gautam Shrestha ◽

Pradyumna R Pandey

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Farming System ◽

Survey Method ◽

Kathmandu Valley ◽

Conventional Farming ◽

Output Price ◽

Organic Farm ◽

Vegetable Farming ◽

Vegetable Farm ◽

Conventional Farm

Economics of a farming system is the key determinant of its sustainability. Organic and conventional farming systems are two distinct types of production systems having contrasting farm management practices and output price as well. Furthermore, organic farming system is promoted for environmental protection and conventional farming system is cursed for the environmental degradation. The present study was conducted to compare the economics of organic and conventional vegetable production in Kathmandu valley. Thirty farmers each involved in commercial organic and conventional vegetable farming were selected randomly for the study. Data were collected through survey method using semi-structured questionnaire. The estimated per ropani per year cost of cultivation of vegetables in the organic farm (NPR 69,170) was lesser than in conventional farm (NPR 1,00,562). The gross return per ropani in a year in the organic vegetable farm (NPR 1,01,536) was significantly lesser than from conventional farms (NPR 1,35,747). Benefit to cost ratio (BCR) was higher in organic farm (1.47:1) in comparison to conventional farm (1.35:1). This study revealed that organic vegetable farming was more profitable than conventional vegetable farming in Kathmandu valley. To expand commercial agriculture: quality inputs, input and output price stability, co-operative or corporative marketing should be promoted.

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