Shrub legume green manure intercropped with maize preceding organic snap bean cultivation

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate strategies for growing pigeon pea and tephrosia intercropped with maize in different spatial arrangements for green manure in organic snap bean farming in succession. The experimental design was a randomized block, in a 2x3 + 1 factorial scheme, corresponding to the two species and the cropping system (monocropping; intercropping with sowing in the same row or between rows). The treatments consisted of pigeon pea and tephrosia monocropping, pigeon pea or tephrosia intercropped with maize in the same planting furrow, pigeon pea or tephrosia intercropped with maize between rows, and maize monocropping (control). After cutting the pre-crops, snap beans were sown. The authors verified that the introduction of shrub leguminous plants in intercropping did not interfere with the phytotechnical characteristics of maize. The tephrosia monocropping and the intercropping of this species with maize, regardless of sowing location, provided, respectively, the highest productivities of pods and dry beans of snap beans, compared with pigeon pea pre-cropping.

Legume Green Manuring Improves Soil Fertility and Plant Growth of Eucalyptus Plantation in south subtropical China

Legume green manure is extensively planted to improve soil fertility in crop field. However, the application of legume in Eucalyptus plantation is still limited and depends on site specific and species. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of green manure inter-plantation on soil fertility and plant growth of Eucalyptus plantation in a short term. A field experiment of one year was established to investigate the green manure growth, forest soil nutrients and Eucalyptus plant growth inter-planted with two legume species (Tephrosia candida, TC and Sesbania cannabina, SC) at south subtropical China. Legumes were inter-planted in linear among the tree space of Eucalyptus stand. Result showed that the green manure inter-plantation increased soil organic matter by 9.66% of TC and 18.44% of SC. Soil available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were improved significantly by the legume treatments as well. The increment of height and diameter in breast height of Eucalyptus during the experiment was significant in legume treatments. Thus, the timber volume increment was improved significantly by 46.81% of TC and 35.47% of SC compared with the control treatment. Therefore, the inter-plantation of legume green manure under the Eucalyptus plantation is effective to improve soil fertility and tree growth. Such a measure is potential and referenced for the sustainable forest management.

Sustain Productivity of Jhum Crops in North East India - A Holistic Approach

To make a comparative study on the impact of green manure (legume, non legume and weed species) and inorganic fertilizer on crop yield and fertility status in soil an experiment was conducted for two successive years in shifting cultivation areas of Assam. Among the different green manure studied maximum yield of rice was recorded in legume green manure (1687.6 kg kgh-1) followed by inorganic fertilizer (1566.6 kgh-1) applied plot in initial year. However during successive year productivity was recorded low in fertilizer applied plot compared legume, non legume and weed green manure. Same trend was noticed in productivity of Maize also. Significant increase of nutrient uptake was observed in green manure treated plot. Fertilizer applied plot showed low value during successive year. Acidity of the soil increased due to release of organic acid during decomposition of green manure. Input of biomass to the soil contributed in increment of organic carbon, nitrogen and other mineral nutrients and thus maintaining productivity as well as fertility status in soil.

Water use efficiency of spring wheat in the semi-arid Canadian prairies: Effect of legume green manure, type of spring wheat, and cropping frequency

Kröbel, R., Lemke, R., Campbell, C. A., Zentner, R., McConkey, B., Steppuhn, H., De Jong, R. and Wang, H. 2014. Water use efficiency of spring wheat in the semi-arid Canadian prairies: Effect of legume green manure, type of spring wheat, and cropping frequency. Can. J. Soil Sci. 94: 223–235. In the semi-arid Canadian prairie, water is the main determinant of crop production; thus its efficient use is of major agronomic interest. Previous research in this region has demonstrated that the most meaningful way to measure water use efficiency (WUE) is to use either precipitation use efficiency (PUE) or a modified WUE that accounts for the inefficient use of water in cropping systems that include summer fallow. In this paper, we use these efficiency measures to determine how cropping frequency, inclusion of a legume green manure, and the type of spring wheat [high-yielding Canada Prairie Spring (CPS) vs. Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS)] influence WUE using 25 yr of data (1987–2011) from the “New Rotation” experiment conducted at Swift Current, Saskatchewan. This is a well-fertilized study that uses minimum and no-tillage techniques and snow management to enhance soil water capture. We compare these results to those from a 39-yr “Old Rotation” experiment, also at Swift Current, which uses conventional tillage management. Our results confirmed the positive effect on WUE of cropping intensity, and of CPS wheat compared with CWRS wheat, while demonstrating the negative effect on WUE of a green manure crop in wheat-based rotations in semiarid conditions. Furthermore, we identified a likely advantage of using reduced tillage coupled with water conserving snow management techniques for enhancing the efficiency of water use.