scholarly journals Examining Farmers’ Adoption Decisions towards Precision-Agricultural Practices in Greek Dairy Cattle Farms

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 411
Author(s):  
Georgios Kleftodimos ◽  
Leonidas Sotirios Kyrgiakos ◽  
Christina Kleisiari ◽  
Aristotelis C. Tagarakis ◽  
Dionysis Bochtis
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Adoption Decisions ◽  
Alternative Practices ◽  
Cattle Farms

Nowadays, the sustainability of Greek dairy cattle farms is questionable due to low competitiveness and high GHG emissions. In this context, the BIOCIRCULAR project, funded by the EYDE ETAK, developed a series of alternative practices focusing on precision agriculture principles. However, the adoption of any practice from farmers is not a given, and depends on several determinants. Hence, the objective of this study is to examine farmers’ adoption decisions regarding precision-agricultural practices in Greek dairy production systems, as well as the economic and environmental impacts of this adoption. In order to achieve this, a bio-economic model was developed based on mathematical programming methods. The proposed model simulates a large number of dairy cattle farms with or without crop production, including different management strategies and their relevant costs, and provides an environmental assessment of the adopted practices based on GHG emissions. Moreover, in order to analyze farmers’ adoption decisions, different policy measures, linked to various environmental outcomes, were examined. The results highlighted that the adoption of precision-agricultural practices led to significantly better economic and environmental outcomes. Furthermore, it was found that different levels of incentives can be efficiently targeted to encourage the adoption of new feeds and, more broadly, to secure the sustainability of the sector.

scholarly journals Optimizing Nitrogen and Residue Management to Reduce GHG Emissions while Maintaining Crop Yield: A Case Study in a Mono-Cropping System of Northeast China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 5015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianzheng Li ◽  
Zhongkui Luo ◽  
Yingchun Wang ◽  
Hu Li ◽  
Hongtao Xing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yield ◽  
Northeast China ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Residue Management ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilizers ◽  
N2o Emissions

Reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizers and returning straw to field are being promoted in northeast China (NEC). In this paper, the agricultural production system model (APSIM) was applied to assess the long-term variations of crop yield and soil GHG emissions in a maize mono-cropping system of NEC, and the simulation results were combined with lifecycle assessment to estimate annual GHG emissions (GHGL) and GHG emission intensity (GHGI, GHG emissions per unit yield) of different agricultural practices. Under current farmers’ practice, emissions due to machinery input (including production, transportation, repair, and maintenance) and soil organic carbon (SOC) decline accounted for 15% of GHGL, while emissions from nitrogen fertilizer input (production and transportation) and direct N2O emissions from soil accounted for the majority (~60% of GHGL). Current farmers’ practice in terms of N application and residue management are nearly optimal for crop production but not for climate change mitigation. Reducing N input by 13% and increasing straw retention by 20% can maintain crop yield and SOC, and also reduce GHGL and GHGI by 13% and 11%, respectively. However, it is not feasible to incorporate the straw used as household fuel into soil, which could incur substantial fossil CO2 emissions of 3.98 Mg CO2-eq ha−1 resulting from the substitution of coal for straw. APSIM was successful in simulating crop yield, N2O emissions, and SOC change in NEC, and our results highlight opportunities to further optimize management strategies (especially for the nitrogen and straw management) to reduce GHG emissions while maintaining crop yield.

scholarly journals Legumes increase grassland productivity with no effect on nitrous oxide emissions

2019 ◽  
Vol 446 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 163-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlete S. Barneze ◽  
Jeanette Whitaker ◽  
Niall P. McNamara ◽  
Nicholas J. Ostle
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Relative Proportion ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Nitrous Oxide Emissions ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Grassland Productivity

Abstract Aims Grasslands are important agricultural production systems, where ecosystem functioning is affected by land management practices. Grass-legume mixtures are commonly cultivated to increase grassland productivity while reducing the need for nitrogen (N) fertiliser. However, little is known about the effect of this increase in productivity on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in grass-legume mixtures. The aim of this study was to investigate interactions between the proportion of legumes in grass-legume mixtures and N-fertiliser addition on productivity and GHG emissions. We tested the hypotheses that an increase in the relative proportion of legumes would increase plant productivity and decrease GHG emissions, and the magnitude of these effects would be reduced by N-fertiliser addition. Methods This was tested in a controlled environment mesocosm experiment with one grass and one legume species grown in mixtures in different proportions, with or without N-fertiliser. The effects on N cycling processes were assessed by measurement of above- and below-ground biomass, shoot N uptake, soil physico-chemical properties and GHG emissions. Results Above-ground productivity and shoot N uptake were greater in legume-grass mixtures compared to grass or legume monocultures, in fertilised and unfertilised soils. However, we found no effect of legume proportion on N2O emissions, total soil N or mineral-N in fertilised or unfertilised soils. Conclusions This study shows that the inclusion of legumes in grass-legume mixtures positively affected productivity, however N cycle were in the short-term unaffected and mainly affected by nitrogen fertilisation. Legumes can be used in grassland management strategies to mitigate climate change by reducing crop demand for N-fertilisers.

scholarly journals QTL analysis and management of plant productivity in the precision agriculture

2020 ◽  
pp. 12-19
Author(s):  
Yu. V. Chesnokov
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Qtl Analysis ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Plant Productivity ◽  
Steady Increase

Modern crop cultivation technologies have reached the limits of “saturation” both in the ecological (environmental pollution, suppression of the mechanisms of its self-regulation), energy (exponential growth of irreplaceable energy costs for each additional unit of production), and in production. In this regard, environmental factors (air drought, frosts, active temperatures, etc.), which cannot be optimized, are becoming increasingly important in ensuring a steady increase in the yield of cultivated plant forms. In recent decades, more and more attention has been paid to technogenic and biological systems of agriculture, based on the ecologization and biologization of the intensification processes of adaptive crop production. Such approaches are the precision agriculture system (PA) and QTL analysis. Using these approaches allows not only to ensure a steady increase in productivity due to the combined use of the advantages of precision farming and molecular genetic assessment, including the creation of new forms and varieties that are responsive to РА agricultural practices, but also to level the negative impact of abiotic and biotic environmental factors that limit the size and quality of the crop as well as plant productivity. It is shown that the strategy of adaptive intensification of crop production through the use of the TK system and QTL analysis approaches is not alternative to existing farming systems, however, it focuses modern agriculture on the growth of knowledge-intensive agricultural production as a whole. An analysis of the causes under consideration, the current unfavorable trends in modern crop production and agriculture, clearly shows their scale and long-term nature, and therefore the inevitability of the search for new priorities for intensification of crop production and agriculture, providing a qualitatively new stage of their development in the interests of man.

scholarly journals Socio-ecological factors determine crop performance in agricultural systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Libère Nkurunziza ◽  
Christine A. Watson ◽  
Ingrid Öborn ◽  
Henrik G. Smith ◽  
Göran Bergkvist ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Crop Performance ◽  
Latent Structures

AbstractAgricultural production systems are affected by complex interactions between social and ecological factors, which are often hard to integrate in a common analytical framework. We evaluated differences in crop production among farms by integrating components of several related research disciplines in a single socio-ecological analysis. Specifically, we evaluated spring barley (Hordeum vulgare, L.) performance on 34 farms (organic and conventional) in two agro-ecological zones to unravel the importance of ecological, crop and management factors in the performance of a standard crop. We used Projections to Latent Structures (PLS), a simple but robust analytical tool widely utilized in research disciplines dealing with complex systems (e.g. social sciences and chemometrics), but infrequently in agricultural sciences. We show that barley performance on organic farms was affected by previous management, landscape structure, and soil quality, in contrast to conventional farms where external inputs were the main factors affecting biomass and grain yield. This indicates that more complex management strategies are required in organic than in conventional farming systems. We conclude that the PLS method combining socio-ecological and biophysical factors provides improved understanding of the various interacting factors determining crop performance and can help identify where improvements in the agricultural system are most likely to be effective.

Precision Agriculture for Grain Production Systems

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett Whelan ◽  
James Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Grain Production ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Agricultural Engineering ◽  
Tools And Techniques ◽  
The Impact

Precision Agriculture (PA) is an approach to managing the variability in production agriculture in a more economic and environmentally efficient manner. It has been pioneered as a management tool in the grains industry, and while its development and uptake continues to grow amongst grain farmers worldwide, a broad range of other cropping industries have embraced the concept. This book explains general PA theory, identifies and describes essential tools and techniques, and includes practical examples from the grains industry. Readers will gain an understanding of the magnitude, spatial scale and seasonality of measurable variability in soil attributes, plant growth and environmental conditions. They will be introduced to the role of sensing systems in measuring crop, soil and environment variability, and discover how this variability may have a significant impact on crop production systems. Precision Agriculture for Grain Production Systems will empower crop and soil science students, agronomy and agricultural engineering students, as well as agronomic advisors and farmers to critically analyse the impact of observed variation in resources on crop production and management decisions.

scholarly journals Prospects for Biological Soilborne Disease Control: Application of Indigenous Versus Synthetic Microbiomes

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Mazzola ◽  
Shiri Freilich
Keyword(s):  
Disease Control ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Disease Suppression ◽  
Rapid Screening ◽  
Soilborne Disease ◽  
Functional Attributes

Biological disease control of soilborne plant diseases has traditionally employed the biopesticide approach whereby single strains or strain mixtures are introduced into production systems through inundative/inoculative release. The approach has significant barriers that have long been recognized, including a generally limited spectrum of target pathogens for any given biocontrol agent and inadequate colonization of the host rhizosphere, which can plague progress in the utilization of this resource in commercial field-based crop production systems. Thus, although potential exists, this model has continued to lag in its application. New omics’ tools have enabled more rapid screening of microbial populations allowing for the identification of strains with multiple functional attributes that may contribute to pathogen suppression. Similarly, these technologies also enable the characterization of consortia in natural systems which provide the framework for construction of synthetic microbiomes for disease control. Harnessing the potential of the microbiome indigenous to agricultural soils for disease suppression through application of specific management strategies has long been a goal of plant pathologists. Although this tactic also possesses limitation, our enhanced understanding of functional attributes of suppressive soil systems through application of community and metagenomic analysis methods provide opportunity to devise effective resource management schemes. As these microbial communities in large part are fostered by the resources endemic to soil and the rhizosphere, substrate mediated recruitment of disease-suppressive microbiomes constitutes a practical means to foster their establishment in crop production systems.

scholarly journals Extracellular DNA: Insight of a Signal Molecule in Crop Protection

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1022
Author(s):  
Ireri Alejandra Carbajal-Valenzuela ◽  
Gabriela Medina-Ramos ◽  
Laura Helena Caicedo-Lopez ◽  
Alejandra Jiménez-Hernández ◽  
Adrian Esteban Ortega-Torres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Crop Protection ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Extracellular Dna ◽  
Molecular Characteristics ◽  
Plant Metabolism ◽  
Signal Molecule ◽  
Molecular Pattern ◽  
Trade Offs

Agricultural systems face several challenges in terms of meeting everyday-growing quantities and qualities of food requirements. However, the ecological and social trade-offs for increasing agricultural production are high, therefore, more sustainable agricultural practices are desired. Researchers are currently working on diverse sustainable techniques based mostly on natural mechanisms that plants have developed along with their evolution. Here, we discuss the potential agricultural application of extracellular DNA (eDNA), its multiple functioning mechanisms in plant metabolism, the importance of hormetic curves establishment, and as a challenge: the technical limitations of the industrial scale for this technology. We highlight the more viable natural mechanisms in which eDNA affects plant metabolism, acting as a damage/microbe-associated molecular pattern (DAMP, MAMP) or as a general plant biostimulant. Finally, we suggest a whole sustainable system, where DNA is extracted from organic sources by a simple methodology to fulfill the molecular characteristics needed to be applied in crop production systems, allowing the reduction in, or perhaps the total removal of, chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and insecticides application.

scholarly journals Valuing Cattle Manure as an Agricultural Resource for Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9375
Author(s):  
Erich von Stroheim ◽  
Dana Loyd Keske Hoag
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Manure Management ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Farmer Perceptions ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Beef Feedlots

Within a context of beef feedlots and feed-crop production systems, we surveyed farmers to identify their perceived monetary value for the manure they used or could have used. Value is contextual with respect to a number of socio-economic, environmental, regulatory, and physical factors, which influence farmer’s inclinations about how they manage manure. The most desirable manure management strategies are likely practiced by those who perceive its value highest, and, conversely, the least desirable manure management strategies are likely practiced by those who assign the lowest value to it. This study considered factors that affect or relate to farmer perceptions of manure’s value. Using quantile regression, we observed variations in how farmers perceived the value of manure, considering farm and farmer characteristics, farming practices, select preferences, and whether or not they used manure on their own cropland. For example, we found that livestock producers who grow feed for their own cattle value manure differently compared to crop producers who do not manage cattle, most likely due to perceived need. Added years of experience in farming lowered the farmer’s perception of manure’s value. Additionally, extra tillage required when using manure was seen by farmers not as a burden but rather as a benefit.

scholarly journals Integrated application of drones for soil management and precision agriculture in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
pp. 21-30
Author(s):  
Agbakoba Augustine Azubuike ◽  
Ema Idongesit Asuquo ◽  
Agbakoba Victor Chike
Keyword(s):  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Information And Communication

The recent push for precision agriculture has resulted in the deployment of highly sophisticated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) gadgets in various agricultural practices and methods. The introduction of ICT devices has been linked to significant improvements in agricultural activities. These devices have been shown to enhance the optimal management of critical resources such as water, soil, crop and arable land. Again, ICT devices are increasingly attractive due to their flexibility, ease of operation, compactness and superior computational capabilities. Especially when in comparison to the mundane methods previously used by most small- and large-scale farmers. For instance, ICT devices such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) also referred to as drones, are increasingly being deployed for remote sensing missions where they capture high quality spatial resolution images. The data generated by these UAVs provide much needed information that aids in early spotting of soil degradation, crop conditions, severity of weed infestation and overall monitoring of crop yield variability. This enables farmers to acquire on-the-spot information that will enhance decision making within a short period of time, which will in turn contribute to reduction in running cost and potentially increase yield. It is safe to say that full potentials of drones are yet to be fully utilized in the Nigerian agricultural sector. This is due to several factors; most notably are the numerous challenges that accompany the introduction and adoption of much new technologies. Other factors; include high cost of technology, inadequate or total lack of skilled labour, poor awareness and low-farmer literacy. Therefore, this review work highlights the global progress recorded as a result of the recent application of drones for soil management and efficient crop production. Furthermore, key discussions surrounding the application of drones for precision agriculture and the possible drawbacks facing the deployment of such technology in Nigeria has been covered in this work.

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