scholarly journals Transition to conservation agriculture: how tillage intensity and covering affect soil physical parameters

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felice Sartori ◽  
Ilaria Piccoli ◽  
Riccardo Polese ◽  
Antonio Berti
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crop ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Soil Parameters ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Soil Physics ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Soil Hydraulic

Abstract. Conservation agriculture (CA) relies on two key practices to improve agricultural sustainability—reduced tillage and cover crop usage. Despite known soil physics benefits (reduced soil compaction and strength, enhanced soil porosity and permeability), inconsistent reports on short-term CA results have limited its adoption in European agroecosystems. To elucidate the short-term effects, a three-year experiment in the low-lying Venetian plain (Northern Italy) was undertaken. Bulk density, penetration resistance, and soil hydraulic measures were used to evaluate results obtained by combining three tillage intensities (conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT), no tillage (NT)) with three winter soil coverages (bare soil (BS), tillage radish cover crop (TR), winter wheat cover crop (WW)). Among the tillage methods and soil layers, CT, on average, reduced BD (1.42 g cm−3) and PR (1.64 MPa) better in the 0–30 cm tilled layer. Other treatments yielded higher values (+4 % BD and +3.1 % PR) in the same layer. Across the soil profile, reduced tillage coupled with WW improved soil physics even below the tilled layer, as evidenced by root growth-limiting threshold declines (−11 % in BD values > 1.55 g cm−3 and −7 % in PR values > 2.5 MPa). Soil hydraulic measures confirmed this positive behaviour; NT combined with either BS or WW produced a soil saturated conductivity of 2.12 × 10−4 m s−1 (four-fold that of all other treatments). Likewise, sorptivity increased in NT combined with BS versus other treatments (3.64 × 10−4 m s−1 vs an all-treatment average of 7.98 × 10−5 m s−1). Our results suggest that despite some measure declines due to reduced tillage, the strategy enhances soil physics. In the short term, cover crop WW moderately increased physical soil parameters, whereas TR had negligible effects. This study demonstrates that CA effects require monitoring several soil physical parameters.

scholarly journals A Multivariate Approach to Evaluate Reduced Tillage Systems and Cover Crop Sustainability

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Felice Sartori ◽  
Ilaria Piccoli ◽  
Riccardo Polese ◽  
Antonio Berti
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crop ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Tillage Systems ◽  
Sustainability Index ◽  
Crop Sustainability

The evaluation of the effects of conservation agriculture during the transition from conventional tillage to no-tillage requires numerous indicators to be considered. For this purpose, we monitored changes in a multi-parameter dataset during a three-year experiment that combined three tillage intensities (conventional tillage—CT; minimum tillage—MT; and no tillage—NT) with three soil covering managements (tillage radish cover crop, winter wheat cover crop and bare soil). Using a multivariate analysis, we developed a Relative Sustainability Index (RSI) based on 11 physical (e.g., bulk density and penetration resistance), chemical (e.g., soil organic carbon and pH) and biological soil properties (e.g., earthworm density) to evaluate cropping systems sustainability. The RSI was most affected by tillage intensity showing higher RSI values (i.e., better performances) in reduced tillage systems. Specifically, the RSI under NT was 42% greater than that of CT and 13% greater than that of MT. Soil covering had little impact on the RSI. Among the tested parameters, the RSI was increased most by saturated hydraulic conductivity (+193%) and earthworm density (+339%) across CT and NT treatments.to. Our results suggest that conservation agriculture and, particularly, reduced tillage systems, have the potential to increase farm environmental and agronomic sustainability.

Reduced tillage, cover crops and organic amendments affect soil microbiota and improve soil health in Uruguayan vegetable farming systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Cerecetto ◽  
Kornelia Smalla ◽  
Joseph Nesme ◽  
Silvia Garaycochea ◽  
Pablo Fresia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crop ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Soil Restoration ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Soil Microbiota ◽  
Vegetable Farming

ABSTRACT Conventional tillage and mineral fertilization (CTMF) jeopardize soil health in conventional vegetable production systems. Using a field experiment established in Uruguay in 2012, we aimed to compare the soil restoration potential of organic fertilization (compost and poultry manure) combined with conventional tillage and cover crop incorporated into the soil (CTOF) or with reduced tillage and the use of cover crop as mulch (RTOF). In 2017, table beet was cultivated under CTMF, CTOF and RTOF, and yields, soil aggregate composition and nutrients, as well as soil and table beet rhizosphere microbiota (here: bacteria and archaea) were evaluated. Microbiota was studied by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene fragments amplified from total community DNA. RTOF exhibited higher soil aggregation, soil organic C, nutrient availability and microbial alpha-diversity than CTMF, and became more similar to an adjacent natural undisturbed site. The soil microbiota was strongly shaped by the fertilization source which was conveyed to the rhizosphere and resulted in differentially abundant taxa. However, 229 amplicon sequencing variants were found to form the core table beet rhizosphere microbiota shared among managements. In conclusion, our study shows that after only 5 years of implementation, RTOF improves soil health under intensive vegetable farming systems.

scholarly journals Soil Penetration Resistance after One-Time Inversion Tillage: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis at the Field Scale

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 482
Author(s):  
Michael Kuhwald ◽  
Wolfgang B. Hamer ◽  
Joachim Brunotte ◽  
Rainer Duttmann
Keyword(s):  
Soil Compaction ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Penetration Resistance ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Time Inversion ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Soil Penetration Resistance ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Conservation agriculture may lead to increased penetration resistance due to soil compaction. To loosen the topsoil and lower the compaction, one-time inversion tillage (OTIT) is a measure frequently used in conservation agriculture. However, the duration of the positive effects of this measure on penetration resistance is sparsely known. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the spatio-temporal behavior of penetration resistance after OTIT as an indicator for soil compaction. A field subdivided into three differently tilled plots (conventional tillage with moldboard plough to 30 cm depth (CT), reduced tillage with chisel plough to 25 cm depth (RT1) and reduced tillage with disk harrow to 10 cm depth (RT2)) served as study area. In 2014, the entire field was tilled by moldboard plough and penetration resistance was recorded in the following 5 years. The results showed that OTIT reduced the penetration resistance in both RT-plots and led to an approximation in all three plots. However, after 18 (RT2) and 30 months (RT1), the differences in penetration resistance were higher (p < 0.01) in both RT-plots compared to CT. Consequently, OTIT can effectively remove the compacted layer developed in conservation agriculture. However, the lasting effect seems to be relatively short.

scholarly journals Short-Term Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Soil Strength and Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity in the South African Semiarid Areas

Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 414
Author(s):  
Godwin Iloabuchi Nebo ◽  
Alen Manyevere ◽  
Tesfay Araya ◽  
Johan van Tol
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Penetration Resistance ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Residue Management ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Residue Removal

The severe limitation of agricultural land productivity induced by physical soil degradation has become a major concern in semiarid climates, especially in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. A randomized complete block design in a split-split-plot arrangement was used to evaluate the short-term (2012–2015) effects of tillage (no-till (NT) and conventional tillage (CT)), rotation (maize-fallow-maize (MFM); maize-fallow-soybean (MFS); maize-wheat-maize (MWM) and maize-wheat-soybean (MWS)) and residue management (residue removal (R−) and residue retention (R+)) on bulk density (BD), penetration resistance (PR), soil hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and macroporosity hydraulic conductivity. The interaction of tillage × crop rotation × residue management was not significant (p > 0.05) with respect to BD, PR, Ks and macroporosity. The MFM rotation had the highest BD (1.40 g cm−3), followed by MWM rotation (1.36 g cm−3), and the least BD was observed in the MFS rotation (1.29 g cm−3). Penetration resistance was significantly higher in CT (2.43 MPa) compared to NT (1.46 MPa). The study concludes that inclusion of MFS and MWS rotations can potentially reduce BD in the short term. Similarly, conversion from CT to NT reduces soil resistance.

Relationship Between Cover Crop Growth, Weed Suppression, and Yield of No-tillage Broccoli (Brassica oleraceae L. var. italica)

HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 495f-496
Author(s):  
Ronald D. Morse ◽  
Aref Abdul-Baki
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Weed Suppression ◽  
No Till ◽  
Total Crop ◽  
Fertilizer Rates

In 1997, no-till fall broccoli was grown at the Kentland Agricultural Research Farm (KARF), Blacksburg, Va., and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), Md., to determine supplemental N requirements above the nitrogen contribution from legume in situ mulches. Treatments were tillage systems [CT = conventional tillage, bare soil, tilled prior to transplanting; NT-BS = untilled bare soil; NT-SB = soybean (Glycine max L.) cover crop; and NT-CP = cowpea (Vigna sinensis Endl.) cover crop; and nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 84, and 168 at KARF, and 0, 56, 112, and 168 kg·ha–1 at BARC). All plots at both sites were treated with recommended herbicides and drip irrigated as needed to supplement rainfall. Dry weight soybean and cowpea biomass was 6.1 and 4.3 at KARF and 4.8 and 3.5 t·ha–1 at BARC. In N-unfertilized plots at both sites, average broccoli yield was higher in NT-SB and NT-CP than CT and NT-BS. The N contribution from the legume mulches was inadequate to meet total crop demand, since N fertilizer applications increased broccoli yield in all tillage treatments, including the legume cover crops (soybean and cowpea). In N-fertilized plots, broccoli yield was similar among tillage treatments at KARF where weed problems were not severe; however, at BARC, yield in CT was higher than in all no-till treatments. Weed pressure was considerably lower in CT than in no-till plots at BARC. Based on these data and other related no-till studies, two conclusions can be drawn: a) no-till systems are a viable option for production of broccoli when weeds are adequately controlled; and b) uniformly distributed, high-residue levels are required for weed suppression when weed pressure is high and herbicides are either ineffective or not applied.

scholarly journals Herbicide and Rye Cover Crop Residue Integration Affect Weed Control and Yield in Strip-Tillage Peanut

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.S. Aulakh ◽  
M. Saini ◽  
A.J. Price ◽  
W.H. Faircloth ◽  
E. van Santen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weed Control ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Tillage Systems ◽  
Yellow Nutsedge ◽  
Tillage System ◽  
Strip Tillage ◽  
Common Bermudagrass ◽  
Large Crabgrass

ABSTRACT Reduced-tillage peanut production is increasing due to reduced production costs and increased environmental and economic benefits compared to conventional systems. Experiments were conducted in Alabama and Georgia between 2005 and 2007 to evaluate a strip-tillage system utilizing a high-residue cereal rye cover crop, in comparison to a conventional tillage system. Six weed management schemes were evaluated including a preemergence (PRE) application of pendimethalin alone at 1.12 kg ai/ha or in combination with S-metolachlor at 1.36 kg ai/ha. Both PRE applications were applied alone or followed by (fb) a postemergence (POST) application consisting of a mixture of paraquat at 0.140 kg ai/ha plus bentazon at 0.56 kg ai/ha plus 2,4-DB at 0.224 kg ae/ha. The remaining two treatments consisted of a no-herbicide control and aforementioned POST-only application. In 2005 at the Alabama location, pendimethalin plus metolachlor with or without a POST application controlled all weeds &gt;91% in the strip tillage treatment and controlled tall morningglory, yellow nutsedge, and common bermudagrass &gt;83% in the conventional tillage system. Pendimethalin fb a POST application controlled all weeds &gt; 97%, except large crabgrass (75%) and common bermudagrass (≤ 58%) regardless of tillage system. In 2007, pendimethalin and pendimethalin plus S-metolachlor followed by (fb) a POST application controlled smooth pigweed, tall morningglory, large crabgrass, Florida beggarweed, and sicklepod 70 to 99%, across tillage systems. In 2005 at the Georgia location, large crabgrass control was consistently reduced in strip-tillage compared to conventional tillage regardless of herbicide treatment. In 2006, pendimethalin plus S-metolachlor fb POST controlled common bermudagrass and yellow nutsedge 74 to 99%. Herbicide treatment effect on peanut yield varied with environment. Peanut yield was equivalent or greater by 25% or more in 3 of 4 site years utilizing strip-tillage indicating a yield advantage compared to conventional tillage. Peanut market grade was not affected by any herbicide treatments or tillage methods evaluated. Results show that producers can maintain weed control, equivalent grade and yield in reduced-tillage systems when utilizing a high-residue conservation agriculture system integrated with a PRE plus POST herbicide system.

scholarly journals Conservation Agriculture Improves Long-term Yield and Soil Quality in Irrigated Maize-oats Rotation

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Fonteyne ◽  
Miguel-Angel Martinez Gamiño ◽  
Abel Saldivia Tejeda ◽  
Nele Verhulst
Keyword(s):  
Avena Sativa ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Zea Mays L ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
Four Levels

Conservation agriculture, characterized by minimal tillage, permanent soil cover and crop diversification, has been widely adapted under rainfed conditions, but adoption under irrigated conditions is limited. An experiment initiated in 1997 to evaluate the level of tillage and the amount of soil cover needed for conservation agriculture to work under irrigated conditions in the highlands of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The trial encompassed seven treatments: conventional tillage, two types of reduced tillage and permanent raised beds (PB), which are untilled, with four levels of soil cover in an irrigated rotation with maize (Zea mays L.) in the summer and fodder oats (Avena sativa L.) in the winter. Maize and oats yielded significantly more under PB than with tillage. Maize yielded on average 1.2 Mg ha−1 more in PB with the hybrid used from 1997 to 2008 and 3.9 Mg ha−1 more with the hybrid used from 2012 to 2017. Permanent raised beds generated on average $18,424 MXN ha−1 more profit than the tilled treatments and increased soil organic carbon on average 63% at 0 to 5 cm depth and 32% at 5 to 30 cm depth. The trial shows that conservation agriculture, with PB and little residue cover, is a viable and sustainable option in similar production systems.

Influence of tillage andTriticum aestivumcover crop on herbicide efficacy inOryza sativa

Weed Science ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 332-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Jordan ◽  
Patrick K. Bollich ◽  
Michael P. Braverman ◽  
Dearl E. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Oryza Sativa ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Cyperus Esculentus ◽  
Tillage Systems ◽  
Herbicide Programs ◽  
Herbicide Propanil

Field experiments were conducted from 1994 through 1996 in dry-seeded and water-seededOryza sativato compare weed control andO. sativayield in conventional tillage and reduced tillage (stale seedbed andTriticum aestivumcover crop) systems with no in-season herbicide, propanil applied early postemergence (EPOST), and propanil EPOST followed by propanil plus molinate (dry-seeded production) or granular molinate (water-seeded production). TheT. aestivumcover crop reducedEchinochloa crus-galli, Heteranthera limosa, Ammania coccinea, andCyperus esculentusinfestation and reduced the need for in-season herbicides in some but not all experiments.Oryza sativagrain yield was affected by both tillage systems and herbicide programs; however, these treatment factors influenced yield independently. Increasing the number of in-season herbicide applications increased weed control andO. sativayield in some but not all experiments.

scholarly journals 004 WINTER COVER CROPS FOR WEED CONTROL IN SUSTAINABLE VEGETABLE PRODUCTION

HortScience ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 428a-428
Author(s):  
Vasey N. Mwaja ◽  
John B. Masiunas
Keyword(s):  
Weed Control ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Winter Rye ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Winter Cover ◽  
Winter Cover Crops

A three-year study determined the effect of winter cover crops on weeds and vegetable crops in a vegetable production system. Winter rye and hairy vetch were interseeded in the fall of 1990, 1991 and 1992 at 112 and 34-kg ha-1, respectively. The cover crops were killed by ether applying glyphosate at 1.1 kg a.i ha-1 [reduced tillage(RT)] or mowing and disking the cover crop (Disked). The conventional tillage (CT) was bare ground with a preplant incorporated application of 0.84 kg a.i ha-1 of trifluralin. During the three years, the greatest snap bean yields were in the CT; total yields of cabbage and tomato varied between the years; and were not affected by management systems. Weed control was similar in the RT and CT treatments during the three years. Disked cover crop treatments tended to have greater weed numbers than either RT or CT treatments.

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