Brassica Biofumigants for Improved Soil Health

Biofumigation involves growing specialised cover crops that have the ability to suppress certain soil-borne diseases. Species such as those in the Brassicaceae family, (e.g., radish, mustard and rocket) are known to have this capability. Biofumigation activity is initiated by the degradation of glucosinolates within the tissues of the plant when the crop is incorporated into the soil at approx. 25% flowering rate. In this experiment, nine bio-fumigant varieties were assessed over six planting dates for biomass yield, irrigation management, glucosinolate concentration and efficacy against three soilborne pathogens, namely; Sclerotium rolfsii, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Macrophomina phaseolina. Preliminary results showed incorporation dates varied across varieties and planting times. Winter planting had highest biomass yield across all varieties, compared with the summer plantings (e.g., 14.82 t/ha in winter, versus 5.02 t/ha in summer for Caliente). The efficacy of disease suppression was variable between variety and planting date. For example, Nemfix and BQ Mulch produced a higher percentage mortality rate (100% and 98%) against S. sclerotiorum, compared with autumn (22% and 12%) and winter (37% and 13%) planting. High glucosinolate production was observed during the summer plantings, where irrigation treatments including drought conditions (Low; 0.75 ML/ha), moderate watering (Medium; 2 ML/ha) and field capacity (High; 2.5 ML/ha) were applied. Increased glucosinolate concentrations were observed in the Low irrigation treatments (e.g., Mustclean; 32.31 μmol/g DW), versus High irrigation (e.g., Mustclean; 17.11 μmol/g DW). Summer data pending analysis. These findings can help growers to identify biofumigant varieties that compliment rotation program and optimise disease management practices.

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Soil Health Assessment and Management: Recent Development in Science and Practices

Soil Systems ◽

10.3390/soilsystems5040061 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 61

Author(s):

Mingxin Guo

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Management Practices ◽

Conservation Tillage ◽

Soil Health ◽

Health Assessment ◽

Health Indicators ◽

Assessment Methods ◽

Scientific Validity ◽

Health Card ◽

Research Education

In the past decade soil health has been intensively studied as a science and practiced as a means to help improve the global social, environmental, and economic sustainability. This paper reviews the recent advances of the scientific soil health system. The current understanding and interpretation of soil health from the perspectives of soil functions, processes, and properties is summarized. Multi-tier soil health indicators were selected from relevant soil physical, chemical, and biological parameters. A suite of soil health assessment methods have been developed, such as soil health card, Solvita soil health tests, Haney soil health test, and comprehensive assessment of soil health. An array of soil health management practices have been recommended, including proper land use, crop rotation, cover crops, conservation tillage, soil organic amendment, crop-range-livestock integration, and rotational grazing. Overall, the recommended soil health indicators and assessment methods need further validation and improvement in relevance, scientific validity, practicality, and local adaptation. Continuous research, education, and outreach efforts are warranted to promote localized development, adoption, and implementation of soil health assessment and management.

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Microbial Shifts Following Five Years of Cover Cropping and Tillage Practices in Fertile Agroecosystems

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms8111773 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (11) ◽

pp. 1773

Author(s):

Nakian Kim ◽

María C. Zabaloy ◽

Chance W. Riggins ◽

Sandra Rodríguez-Zas ◽

María B. Villamil

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Management Practices ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Soil Health ◽

Field Studies ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Nutrient Losses ◽

Tillage Practices ◽

Cover Cropping ◽

Tillage System

Metagenomics in agricultural research allows for searching for bioindicators of soil health to characterize changes caused by management practices. Cover cropping (CC) improves soil health by mitigating nutrient losses, yet the benefits depend on the tillage system used. Field studies searching for indicator taxa within these systems are scarce and narrow in their scope. Our goal was to identify bioindicators of soil health from microbes that were responsive to CC (three levels) and tillage (chisel tillage, no-till) treatments after five years under field conditions. We used rRNA gene-based analysis via Illumina HiSeq2500 technology with QIIME 2.0 processing to characterize the microbial communities. Our results indicated that CC and tillage differentially changed the relative abundances (RAs) of the copiotrophic and oligotrophic guilds. Corn–soybean rotations with legume–grass CC increased the RA of copiotrophic decomposers more than rotations with grass CC, whereas rotations with only bare fallows favored stress-tolerant oligotrophs, including nitrifiers and denitrifiers. Unlike bacteria, fewer indicator fungi and archaea were detected; fungi were poorly identified, and their responses were inconsistent, while the archaea RA increased under bare fallow treatments. This is primary information that allows for understanding the potential for managing the soil community compositions using cover crops to reduce nutrient losses to the environment.

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

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11112334 ◽

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.

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Microbiota Management for Effective Disease Suppression: A Systematic Comparison between Soil and Mammals Gut

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13147608 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 7608

Author(s):

Giuliano Bonanomi ◽

Mohamed Idbella ◽

Ahmed M. Abd-ElGawad

Keyword(s):

Diet Composition ◽

Management Practices ◽

Organic Amendment ◽

Soil Health ◽

Organic Amendments ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Disease Suppression ◽

Functional Link ◽

Harmful Organisms ◽

Ecological Mechanisms

Both soil and the human gut support vast microbial biodiversity, in which the microbiota plays critical roles in regulating harmful organisms. However, the functional link between microbiota taxonomic compositions and disease suppression has not been explained yet. Here, we provide an overview of pathogen regulation in soil and mammals gut, highlighting the differences and the similarities between the two systems. First, we provide a review of the ecological mechanisms underlying the regulation of soil and pathogens, as well as the link between disease suppression and soil health. Particular emphasis is thus given to clarifying how soil and the gut microbiota are associated with organic amendment and the human diet, respectively. Moreover, we provide several insights into the importance of organic amendment and diet composition in shaping beneficial microbiota as an efficient way to support crop productivity and human health. This review also discusses novel ways to functionally characterize organic amendments and the proper operational combining of such materials with beneficial microbes for stirring suppressive microbiota against pathogens. Furthermore, specific examples are given to describe how agricultural management practices, including the use of antibiotics and fumigants, hinder disease suppression by disrupting microbiota structure, and the potentiality of entire microbiome transplant. We conclude by discussing general strategies to promote soil microbiota biodiversity, the connection with plant yield and health, and their possible integration through a “One Health” framework.

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Assessing Seasonal Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Furrow-Irrigated Rice with Cover Crops

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11030261 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 261

Author(s):

Sandhya Karki ◽

M. Arlene A. Adviento-Borbe ◽

Joseph H. Massey ◽

Michele L. Reba

Keyword(s):

Nitrous Oxide ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Management Practices ◽

Irrigation Management ◽

Nitrous Oxide Emissions ◽

N2o Emissions ◽

Irrigated Rice ◽

Cereal Rye ◽

Ch4 Emissions ◽

Ch4 And N2o

Improved irrigation management is identified as a potential mitigation option for methane (CH4) emissions from rice (Oryza sativa). Furrow-irrigated rice (FR), an alternative method to grow rice, is increasingly adopted in the Mid-South U.S. However, FR may provide a potential risk to yield performance and higher emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O). This study quantified the grain yields, CH4 and N2O emissions from three different water management practices in rice: multiple-inlet rice irrigation (MIRI), FR, and FR with cereal rye (Secale cereale) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) as preceding winter cover crops (FRCC). CH4 and N2O fluxes were measured from May to September 2019 using a static chamber technique. Grain yield from FR (11.8 Mg ha−1) and MIRI (12.0 Mg ha−1) was similar, and significantly higher than FRCC (8.5 Mg ha−1). FR and FRCC drastically reduced CH4 emissions compared to MIRI. Total seasonal CH4 emissions decreased in the order of 44 > 11 > 3 kg CH4-C ha−1 from MIRI, FR, and FRCC, respectively. Cumulative seasonal N2O emissions were low from MIRI (0.1 kg N2O-N ha−1) but significantly higher from FR (4.4 kg N2O-N ha−1) and FRCC (3.0 kg N2O-N ha−1). However, there was no net difference in global warming potential among FR, FRCC and MIRI. These results suggest that the increased N2O flux from furrow-irrigated rice may not greatly detract from the potential benefits that furrow-irrigation offers rice producers.

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Potato Growth and Yield Characteristics under Different Cropping System Management Strategies in Northeastern U.S.

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11010165 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 165

Author(s):

Robert P. Larkin ◽

C. Wayne Honeycutt ◽

Timothy S. Griffin ◽

O. Modesto Olanya ◽

Zhongqi He

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Management Practices ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Potato Crop ◽

Organic Amendments ◽

Cropping System ◽

Crop Growth ◽

Disease Suppression ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Green Manures

Cropping systems and management practices that improve soil health may greatly enhance crop productivity. Four different potato cropping systems designed to address specific management goals of soil conservation (SC), soil improvement (SI), disease suppression (DS), and a status quo (SQ) standard rotation, along with a non-rotation (PP) control, were evaluated for their effects on potato crop growth, nutrient, and yield characteristics under both irrigated and non-irrigated (rainfed) conditions in field trials in Maine, USA, from 2004 to 2010. Both cropping system and irrigation significantly (p < 0.05) affected most potato crop parameters associated with growth and yield. All rotations increased tuber yield relative to the non-rotation PP control, and the SI system, which included yearly compost amendments, resulted in overall higher yields and a higher percentage of large-size tubers than all other systems with no irrigation (increases of 14 to 90%). DS, which contained disease-suppressive green manures and cover crops, produced the highest yields overall under irrigation (increases of 11 to 35%). Irrigation increased tuber yields in all cropping systems except SI (average increase of 27–37%). SI also resulted in significant increases in leaf area duration and chlorophyll content (as indicators of photosynthetic potential) and root and shoot biomass relative to other cropping systems, particularly under non-irrigated conditions. SI also resulted in higher shoot and tuber tissue concentrations of N, P, and K, but not most micronutrients. Overall, cropping systems that incorporate management practices such as increased rotation length and the use of cover crops, green manures, reduced tillage, and particularly, organic amendments, can substantially improve potato crop growth and yield. Irrigation also substantially increased growth and yield under normal field conditions in Maine, but SI, with its large organic amendments, was essentially a substitute for irrigation, producing comparable results without irrigation.

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Biofumigation: A Cover Crop Option 12 Months of the Year to Manage Three Soilborne Pathogens Ailing the Australian Vegetable Industry

Global Journal of Agricultural Innovation Research & Development ◽

10.15377/2409-9813.2021.08.8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 104-116

Author(s):

J.D. Duff ◽

M.C. Firrell

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Management Strategy ◽

Sclerotium Rolfsii ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Macrophomina Phaseolina ◽

Soilborne Pathogens ◽

Fresh Weight ◽

Cover Cropping ◽

Disease Management Strategy

Brassica biofumigant cover crops are being increasingly considered in vegetable crop rotations as part of an integrated disease management strategy and simply as a cover cropping choice. Nine biofumigant varieties were assessed to see if they could be grown year-round in the Lockyer Valley South East Queensland region, for yield, days to incorporation and glucosinolate concentrations, as well as efficacy against 3 soilborne pathogens; Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Sclerotium rolfsii and Macrophomina phaseolina. The fastest growing brassica biofumigant was BQ Mulch which reached 25% flowering in 36 and 59 days from planting to incorporation with a summer and winter planting respectively. Nemcon and Nemclear took the longest to incorporation when planted in summer, 101 days and failed to flower, while Caliente, Tillage Radish and Biofum reached 25% flowering and incorporation in 98 days when planted in winter. BQ Mulch produced the least amount of biomass, 30.93 t/ha fresh weight and 2.92 t/ha dry weight with a summer planting. Biofum producing the greatest amount of biomass, 185.76 t/ha fresh weight and 17.34 t/ha dry weight with a summer and winter planting respectively. Most varieties produced more total glucosinolates during summer compared to winter. Caliente produced the highest levels of Total GSLs with 53.47 µmol/g DW in summer compared to 23.78 µmol/g DW in winter. This was reflected in their efficacy against the soilborne pathogens. Caliente and Mustclean were more efficacious at controlling Macrophomina and Sclerotinia in summer compared to winter while all varieties were more efficacious at controlling Sclerotinia with a summer planting compared to a winter planting.

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Managing Landscape Irrigation to Avoid Soil and Nutrient Losses

EDIS ◽

10.32473/edis-ss586-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 (11) ◽

Author(s):

George Hochmuth ◽

Laurie Trenholm ◽

Don Rainey ◽

Esen Momol ◽

Claire Lewis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Environment ◽

Management Practices ◽

Root Zone ◽

Irrigation Management ◽

Critical Factor ◽

Nutrient Losses ◽

County Agents ◽

The Right ◽

Soil And Water

Proper irrigation management is critical to conserve and protect water resources and to properly manage nutrients in the home landscape. How lawns and landscapes are irrigated directly impacts the natural environment, so landscape maintenance professionals and homeowners must adopt environmentally-friendly approaches to irrigation management. After selecting the right plant for the right place, water is the next critical factor to establish and maintain a healthy lawn and landscape. Fertilization is another important component of lawn and landscape maintenance, and irrigation must be applied correctly, especially following fertilization, to minimize potential nutrient losses. This publication supplements other UF/IFAS Extension publications that also include information on the role of soil and the root zone in irrigation management. This publication is designed to help UF/IFAS Extension county agents prepare materials to directly address nutrient losses from lawns and landscapes caused by inadequate irrigation management practices. This 6-page fact sheet was written by George Hochmuth, Laurie Trenholm, Don Rainey, Esen Momol, Claire Lewis, and Brian Niemann, and published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, October 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss586

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Inoculation with Mycorrhizal Fungi and Irrigation Management Shape the Bacterial and Fungal Communities and Networks in Vineyard Soils

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9061273 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 1273

Author(s):

Nazareth Torres ◽

Runze Yu ◽

S. Kaan Kurtural

Keyword(s):

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Time Course ◽

Management Practices ◽

Irrigation Management ◽

Fungal Communities ◽

Soil Microbiome ◽

Wine Quality ◽

Network Analyses ◽

Vineyard Soil ◽

Vineyard Soils

Vineyard-living microbiota affect grapevine health and adaptation to changing environments and determine the biological quality of soils that strongly influence wine quality. However, their abundance and interactions may be affected by vineyard management. The present study was conducted to assess whether the vineyard soil microbiome was altered by the use of biostimulants (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation vs. non-inoculated) and/or irrigation management (fully irrigated vs. half irrigated). Bacterial and fungal communities in vineyard soils were shaped by both time course and soil management (i.e., the use of biostimulants and irrigation). Regarding alpha diversity, fungal communities were more responsive to treatments, whereas changes in beta diversity were mainly recorded in the bacterial communities. Edaphic factors rarely influence bacterial and fungal communities. Microbial network analyses suggested that the bacterial associations were weaker than the fungal ones under half irrigation and that the inoculation with AMF led to the increase in positive associations between vineyard-soil-living microbes. Altogether, the results highlight the need for more studies on the effect of management practices, especially the addition of AMF on cropping systems, to fully understand the factors that drive their variability, strengthen beneficial microbial networks, and achieve better soil quality, which will improve crop performance.

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Organic Farming and Cover-Crop Management Reduce Pest Predation in Austrian Vineyards

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects12030220 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 220

Author(s):

Jo Marie Reiff ◽

Sebastian Kolb ◽

Martin H. Entling ◽

Thomas Herndl ◽

Stefan Möth ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Farming ◽

Pest Control ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Management Practices ◽

Integrated Management ◽

Lobesia Botrana ◽

Management Options ◽

Natural Pest Control ◽

Predation Rates

Habitat simplification and intensive use of pesticides are main drivers of global arthropod declines and are, thus, decreasing natural pest control. Organic farming, complex landscapes, and local vineyard management practices such as implementation of flower-rich cover-crop mixtures may be a promising approach to enhance predator abundance and, therefore, natural pest control. We examined the effect of organic versus integrated management, cover-crop diversity in the vineyard inter-rows, and landscape composition on the natural pest control of Lobesia botrana eggs and pupae. Predation of L. botrana pupae was reduced by organic farming and species-poor cover-crops by about 10%. Predation rates of L. botrana eggs did not differ significantly in any of the studied management options. Dominant predators were earwigs (Forficulidae), bush crickets (Tettigoniidae), and ants (Formicidae). Negative effects of organic viticulture are most likely related to the negative nontarget effects on arthropods related to the frequent sulfur and copper applications in combination with the avoidance of strongly damaging insecticides by integrated winegrowers. While a 10% difference in predation rates on a single pest stage is unlikely to have strong practical implications, our results show that the assumed effectiveness of environmentally friendly agriculture needs to be evaluated for specific crops and regions.

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