High probability of yield gain through conservation agriculture in dry and cool regions for major staple crops

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Su ◽  
Benoit Gabrielle ◽  
Damien Beillouin ◽  
David Makowski
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Climatic Regions ◽  
Yield Gain

<p><strong>Conservation agriculture (CA) has been promoted to reduce land degradation, improve the soil fertility, the soil structure and increase the level of soil organic carbon over time. It is expected to mitigate climate change and enhance the resistance of crops to the changing climate. Yet, its impacts on crop yields remains controversial. To gain further insight on the sustainability of CA, we mapped the probability of yield gain when switching from conventional tillage systems (CT) to CA worldwide. The range of yield changes were estimated with machine learning algorithms trained by 2828 paired yield observations on 8 crop species extracted from 323 publications. CA stands a more than 50% chance to outperform CT in dry and cool regions of the world, while it can lead to yield losses of up to 59% in warmer and wetter regions. Residue retention has the largest positive impact on CA productivity compared to other management practices. The promising and the risky regions for CA global implementation were identified. The productive performance of CA for different crops in future climate were also estimated and mapped globally, the results of different scenarios were compared and analyzed. Overall, with proper managements, CA appears as a sustainable agricultural practice for specific climatic regions and crop species</strong><strong>. </strong></p>

scholarly journals High probability of yield gain through conservation agriculture in dry regions for major staple crops

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Su ◽  
Benoit Gabrielle ◽  
Damien Beillouin ◽  
David Makowski
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Yield Gain

AbstractConservation agriculture (CA) has been promoted to mitigate climate change, reduce soil erosion, and provide a variety of ecosystem services. Yet, its impacts on crop yields remains controversial. To gain further insight, we mapped the probability of yield gain when switching from conventional tillage systems (CT) to CA worldwide. Relative yield changes were estimated with machine learning algorithms trained by 4403 paired yield observations on 8 crop species extracted from 413 publications. CA has better productive performance than no-till system (NT), and it stands a more than 50% chance to outperform CT in dryer regions of the world, especially with proper agricultural management practices. Residue retention has the largest positive impact on CA productivity comparing to other management practices. The variations in the productivity of CA and NT across geographical and climatical regions were illustrated on global maps. CA appears as a sustainable agricultural practice if targeted at specific climatic regions and crop species.

Corrigendum to: Conservation agriculture effects on soil properties and crop productivity in a semiarid region of India

Soil Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 200 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Somasundaram ◽  
M. Salikram ◽  
N. K. Sinha ◽  
M. Mohanty ◽  
R. S. Chaudhary ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Semiarid Region ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Residue Retention

Conservation agriculture (CA) including reduced or no-tillage and crop residue retention, is known to be a self–sustainable system as well as an alternative to residue burning. The present study evaluated the effect of reduced tillage coupled with residue retention under different cropping systems on soil properties and crop yields in a Vertisol of a semiarid region of central India. Two tillage systems – conventional tillage (CT) with residue removed, and reduced tillage (RT) with residue retained – and six major cropping systems of this region were examined after 3 years of experimentation. Results demonstrated that soil moisture content, mean weight diameter, percent water stable aggregates (>0.25mm) for the 0–15cm soil layer were significantly (Pmoderately labile>less labile. At the 0–15cm depth, the contributions of moderately labile, less labile and non-labile C fractions to total organic C were 39.3%, 10.3% and 50.4% respectively in RT and corresponding values for CT were 38.9%, 11.7% and 49.4%. Significant differences in different C fractions were observed between RT and CT. Soil microbial biomass C concentration was significantly higher in RT than CT at 0–15cm depth. The maize–chickpea cropping system had significantly (P–1 followed by soybean+pigeon pea (2:1) intercropping (3.50 t ha–1) and soybean–wheat cropping systems (2.97 t ha–1). Thus, CA practices could be sustainable management practices for improving soil health and crop yields of rainfed Vertisols in these semiarid regions.

scholarly journals Yield and Quality Performance of Traditional and Improved Bread and Durum Wheat Varieties under Two Conservation Tillage Systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 4522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Ruiz ◽  
Encarna Zambrana ◽  
Rosario Fite ◽  
Aida Sole ◽  
Jose Luis Tenorio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Durum Wheat ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Wheat Varieties

The increasing spread of conservation agriculture demands that the next generation of wheat varieties includes cultivars capable of maintaining satisfactory yields with lower inputs and under uncertain climate scenarios. On the basis of the genetic gains achieved during decades of selection oriented to yield improvements under conventional crop management, it is important that novel breeding targets are defined and addressed. Grain yield, yield-related traits, and phenological and morphological characteristics, as well as functional quality parameters have been analyzed for six varieties each of bread and durum wheat, under minimum tillage and no-tillage. During the three-year experiment, the climatic conditions at the field trial site were characterized by low rainfall, although different degrees of aridity—from moderate to severe—were experienced. Differences were found between these two soil management practices in regard to the varieties’ yield stability. A positive influence of no-tillage on traits related to grain and biomass yield was also evidenced, and some traits among the examined seemed involved in varietal adaptation to a particular non-conventional tillage system. The study also confirmed some breeding targets for improved performance of wheat genotypes in conservation agroecosystems. These traits were represented in the small set of traditional varieties analysed.

scholarly journals The effect of cover crops on the yield of carrot (Daucus carota L.) in ploughless and conventional tillage

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 57-64
Author(s):  
Marzena Błażewicz-Woźniak ◽  
Dariusz Wach ◽  
Elżbieta Patkowska ◽  
Mirosław Konopiński
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Soil Tillage ◽  
Marketable Yield ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Daucus Carota L

The experimental design included seven cover crop species and six kinds of soil tillage in the field cultivation of carrot. The use of cover crops had a positive impact on the yield of marketable roots of carrot in comparison with the cultivation without the cover crops. A significant increase of marketable yield was noted after phacelia, buckwheat, mustard and sunflower. The flat ploughless tillage significantly reduced the marketable yield of roots in comparison with traditional ploughing. The largest marketable yield of roots was obtained from cultivation on ridges after mixing the biomass of buckwheat or phacelia or mustard with the soil, and the smallest, after reduced spring tillage using aggregate without cover crops. The largest marketable yield in flat ploughless tillage was obtained when using grubber before winter, and the biomass of phacelia was mixed with soil. Growing carrot on the ridges had a positive influence on increasing the share of the marketable yield of roots in comparison with other variants of cultivation including the conventional tillage. The all cover crops with the exception of spring vetch significantly increased the share of marketable roots in the yield compared with cultivation without cover crops. The largest percentage of the marketable yield was noted after use of phacelia. 

scholarly journals ON-FARM EXPERIMENTATION ON CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE IN MAIZE-LEGUME BASED CROPPING SYSTEMS IN KENYA: WATER USE EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS

2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. MICHENI ◽  
F. KANAMPIU ◽  
O. KITONYO ◽  
D. M. MBURU ◽  
E.N. MUGAI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Zero Tillage ◽  
System Productivity ◽  
Use Efficiency

SUMMARYConservation agriculture (CA) is a promising technology for controlling soil degradation, mitigating drought, increasing crop yield and reducing production costs. We hypothesized that adopting CA system would improve system productivity and efficiency, hence resulting in higher profits. To test the hypothesis, we designed a study to evaluate water use efficiency (WUE) and the economic benefits (yield and gross margins) of CA in the upper and lower midlands agro-ecological zones of eastern Kenya. Four tillage treatments, including farmers’ practice (residues removed), conventional tillage (residues removed) and two CA practices with residue retention (zero tillage and furrow–ridge), were laid out in 22 farmers’ fields where each farm was treated as a replicate. The results are based on four consecutive seasons farmer–researcher managed trials during the period 2010 and 2012. CA significantly improved crop yields after the first season of experimentation. Joint use of zero tillage and furrow–ridge provided higher WUE and yield advantage (25–34%) in the third and fourth seasons compared to the conventional practices. The lower midlands zone gave higher WUE values, which can be explained by the effects of water harvesting and retention for longer period on CA treatments. CA practices have increased income on average by 12% resulted from labour cost reduction and yield increment. Weeding costs for conventional tillage were USD 88 ha−1 compared to USD 24 ha−1 for herbicide application under CA. Practicing CA will certainly increase crop yields, WUE, generate more revenue and diversify risks during poor seasons. However, these benefits may not necessarily be earned in the first season, but will accrue in subsequent seasons.

scholarly journals A global dataset for crop production under conventional tillage and no tillage systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Su ◽  
Benoit Gabrielle ◽  
David Makowski
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
High Variability ◽  
Environmental Externalities ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractNo tillage (NT) is often presented as a means to grow crops with positive environmental externalities, such as enhanced carbon sequestration, improved soil quality, reduced soil erosion, and increased biodiversity. However, whether NT systems are as productive as those relying on conventional tillage (CT) is a controversial issue, fraught by a high variability over time and space. Here, we expand existing datasets to include the results of the most recent field experiments, and we produce a global dataset comparing the crop yields obtained under CT and NT systems. In addition to crop yield, our dataset also reports information on crop growing season, management practices, soil characteristics and key climate parameters throughout the experimental year. The final dataset contains 4403 paired yield observations between 1980 and 2017 for eight major staple crops in 50 countries. This dataset can help to gain insight into the main drivers explaining the variability of the productivity of NT and the consequence of its adoption on crop yields.

Modelling soil carbon under diverse cropping systems and farming management in contrasting climatic regions in Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khadiza Begum ◽  
Raul Zornoza ◽  
Roberta Farina ◽  
Riitta Lemola ◽  
Marianna Cerasuolo
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Ecosystem Model ◽  
Climatic Regions ◽  
Moisture Deficit ◽  
Mediterranean Regions ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Systems ◽  
The Impact

<p>Sustainable agriculture has been identified as key to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal aiming at ending poverty and hunger, and addressing climate change, while maintaining natural resources. Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration is an important soil functions for the ecosystems service, and storing carbon (C) in soil by changing traditional management practices can represent an important step towards the development of more sustainable agricultural systems in Europe. Within the European project <em>Diverfarming,</em> the process-based ecosystem model ECOSSE was modified and evaluated in three long term experiments to assess the impact of crop diversification and agricultural management in SOC dynamics. ECOSSE was able to simulate SOC under Mediterranean regions in Spain and Italy after changing the minimum value of the decomposition rate modifying factor for soil moisture and allowing a higher soil moisture deficit. In Spain the addition of manure and cover crop in the diversified systems produced an increase in SOC compared to the conventional management (6% in simulations, 2% in measurement) in eight years. The effect of tillage on SOC stock in the Italian dry soil was also modelled, and a positive impact on SOC was predicted when no tillage is practised. Finally, ECOSSE was used to understand the impact of diversifications in Finland where different proportions of legumes and grass were considered in four-year crop rotations compared to conventional cereal rotations. Experiments and modelling showed that the loss of SOC in conventional cereal was compensated when grass was introduced in the rotations. A good agreement (RMSE <10%) and a non-significant bias were observed between model and data for all sites. The modified ECOSSE was able to predict SOC under diverse cropping systems and farming management in contrasting climatic regions. Further studies linking SOC simulations to indicator of sustainability across various European pedoclimatic regions is ongoing.</p>

Effect of conservation tillage on crop yields, soil erosion, and soil properties under furrow irrigation in western Colorado

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ashraf ◽  
C.H. Pearson ◽  
D.G. Westfall ◽  
R. Sharp
Keyword(s):  
Production Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Winter Barley ◽  
Furrow Irrigation ◽  
New Production ◽  
Dry Bean

AbstractConservation tillage (CS) is used widely in rainfed and sprinkler-irrigated production systems but adoption of CS on furrow-irrigated cropland has been limited. Some crops and crop rotations are more conducive to conservation tillage under furrow irrigation than others. The objective of this research was to evaluate CS in a furrowirrigated crop rotation of corn, soybean, winter barley, and dry bean at Fruita, Colorado in 1991 and 1992. Infiltration rates were 24 and 50% higher and advance times were 37 and 25% longer in the CS treatment during 1991 and 1992, respectively, compared with conventional tillage (CV). Furrows in the CV treatment were 8 and 25% wider than those in the CS treatment after the first and sixth irrigations, respectively. This indicates more soil movement with CV than with CS. In 1992, soil water content in the CS treatment was 17, 17, and 27% higher than with CV throughout the growing season for corn, soybean, and dry bean, respectively. Grain yields of winter barley, soybean, dry bean, and corn were not affected significantly by tillage treatment. Profitability of CS and CV was quite similar when all four crops in the rotation were considered together. This research was conducted under conditions expected to be similar to those that could be used by growers and indicates that corn, soybean, winter barley, and dry bean can be grown successfully in rotation using conservation tillage under furrowirrigated conditions. Successful adoption of conservation tillage under furrow irrigation will require growers to adopt encompassing new production management practices and possibly purchase new equipment such as planters and cultivators that will operate in high residue conditions, and growers must overcome any psychological barriers they may have to maintaining high amounts of surface crop residue when furrow irrigating.

Permaculture farmers consistently cultivate perennials, crop diversity, landscape heterogeneity and nature conservation

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hirschfeld ◽  
Rene Van Acker
Keyword(s):  
Nature Conservation ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Design System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Crop Species

AbstractPermaculture is an international sustainability movement and agroecological design system. Using ecological management practices and locally-adapted solutions, permaculture claims to benefit several ecosystem services including provisioning of diverse crop yields, regulating hydrological cycles and soil quality, supporting wildlife conservation, and biocontrol of pests, weeds and diseases. Despite limited attention by the academic community, grassroots permaculture adoption has been reported in at least 45 countries worldwide thus creating a unique opportunity for in-situ research. This study characterized plant communities on ten applied permaculture farms and found that independent adopters consistently implemented predominately perennial species (73% of species richness), polycultures (mean 42 crop species per site), and zone design. These practices resulted in commercial farms characterized by perennialization, crop diversification, landscape heterogeneity and nature conservation. Grassroots adopters were remarkably consistent in their interpretation and application of an unregulated agricultural model suggesting that such movements may exert considerable influence over local agroecological transitions. While this characterization does not provide an exhaustive depiction of applied permaculture, it is recommended that future research acknowledge these traits as a minimum for study designs investigating the effects of permaculture management on ecosystem function.

EFFECT OF LONG-TERM USE OF TILLAGE, RESIDUES AND N LEVELS IN SORGHUM (SORGHUM VULGARE (L)) – CASTOR (RICINUS COMMUNIS) CROPPING SYSTEM UNDER RAINFED CONDITIONS – CROP RESPONSES AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE – PART I

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. KUSUMA GRACE ◽  
K. L. SHARMA ◽  
D. SUMACHANDRIKA ◽  
K. SRINIVAS ◽  
U. K. MANDAL ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Ricinus Communis ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Water Infiltration ◽  
Fertilizer N ◽  
Long Term Effect

SUMMARYThis experiment was conducted to study the long-term effect of soil management treatments on crop yields, sustainability yield indices (SYI) and soil fertility in rainfed semi-arid tropical Alfisol at Hayathnagar Research Farm, Hyderabad, India, during the period 1995 to 2009. The experiment was conducted in a split–split plot design with conventional tillage (CT) and minimum tillage (MT) as main factors, surface application of sorghum stover @ 2 t ha−1 (SS), fresh Gliricidia loppings @ 2 t ha−1 (GL) and ‘no’ residue (NR) as sub-factors and levels of N viz. 0 (N0), 30 (N30), 60 (N60) and 90 (N90) kg N ha−1 as sub–sub factors in a castor–sorghum two-year rotation. On an average, CT maintained 30.4 and 57.0% higher grain yields of sorghum and castor, respectively, over MT. Between two residues, GL performed well in both the crops. The highest yields of sorghum (1425 kg ha−1) and castor (876 kg ha−1) were recorded at 90 kg N ha−1. CT maintained higher SYI of 0.44 compared to MT (0.38) and higher agronomic efficiency (AE) of 13.5 and 6.76 kg grain kg−1 N for sorghum and castor crop, respectively. Use of crop residue as mulch had an advantage in increasing the yield of both the crops with increase in rainfall under CT even without N application (control), probably by making the soil more receptive to water infiltration, better moisture storage and by reducing the evaporative losses. Using response functions, the optimum fertilizer N requirement was also computed for a given set of tillage and residue combinations. The revised optimum fertilizer N doses for sorghum and castor varied from 45 to 56 kg ha−1 and 46 to 74 kg ha−1, respectively, under different tillage and residue combinations and could be recommended depending upon the soil management practices.

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