Search results for "040103 agronomy & agriculture"
showing 10 items of 794 documents
No-till durum wheat yield success probability in semi arid climate: A methodological framework
2018
Abstract The aim of this study is to develop a framework for the evaluation of no-till (NT) yield success probability as a decision tool for farmers or decision makers. The effect of soil management on durum wheat yield has been tested on many long-term field experiments. Results of these researches were collected in a unique dataset to evaluate the success of NT management in comparison to conventional tillage (CT) as influenced by the aridity index, crop residue management and cropping system. A total of 519 observations of long-term experiments (>3years) regarding durum wheat in a number of areas with semi arid climate were included in the present study. The relative ratio of yield under…
Direct seeding mulch-based cropping increases both the activity and the abundance of denitrifier communities in a tropical soil
2009
International audience; This study evaluated the impact of direct seeding mulch-based cropping (DMC), as an alternative to conventional tilling (CT), on a functional community involved in N cycling and emission of greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). The study was carried out for annual soybean/rice crop rotation in the Highlands of Madagascar. The differences between the two soil management strategies (direct seeding with mulched crop residues versus tillage without incorporation of crop residues) were studied along a fertilization gradient (no fertilizer, organic fertilizer, organic plus mineral fertilizers). The activity and size of the denitrifier community were determined by denitrifica…
Application of multivariate analysis techniques for selecting soil physical quality indicators: A case study in long-term field experiments in Apulia…
2019
Long-term field experiments and multivariate analysis techniques represent research tools that may improve our knowledge on soil physical quality (SPQ) assessment. These techniques allow us to measure relatively stable soil conditions and to improve soil quality judgment, thereby reducing uncertainties. A monitoring of SPQ under long-term experiments, aimed at comparing crop residue management strategies (burning vs. incorporation of straw, FE1) and soil management (minimum tillage vs. no tillage, FE2), was established during the crop growing season of durum wheat. The relationships between five SPQ indicators (bulk density [BD], macroporosity [PMAC], air capacity [AC], plant available wate…
Performance of a Pilot-Scale Constructed Wetland and Medium-Term Effects of Treated Wastewater Irrigation of Arundo donax L. on Soil and Plant Parame…
2021
On marginal lands in the Mediterranean basin, giant reed (Arundo donax L.) represents one of the most interesting perennial crops due to high levels of biomass production. Considering periodic water shortage during the summer months in this area, the reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) would seem to be a good opportunity for the growth of the species. The aim of this study was to assess the medium-term effects of irrigation using freshwater (FW) and TWW on soil characteristics and growth in giant reed plants. TWW was obtained from a pilot-scale horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland system (HSSF CWs) with a total surface area of 100 m2. A split-plot design for a two-factor experiment …
An assessment of factors controlling N2O and CO2 emissions from crop residues using different measurement approaches
2017
Management of plant residues plays an important role in maintaining soil quality and nutrient availability for plants and microbes. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the factors controlling residue decomposition and their effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the soil. This uncertainty is created both by the complexity of the processes involved and limitations in the methodologies commonly used to quantify GHG emissions. We therefore investigated the addition of two soil residues (durum wheat and faba bean) with similar C/N ratios but contrasting fibres, lignin and cellulose contents on nutrient dynamics and GHG emission from two contrasting soils: a low-soil org…
Out of sight : Profiling soil characteristics, nutrients and bacterial communities affected by organic amendments down to one meter in a long-term ma…
2019
Common soil characteristics, nutrients and microbial activity at deeper soil depths are topics seldom covered in agricultural studies. Biogeochemical cycles in deep soils are not yet fully understood. This study investigates the effect of different mineral and organic fertilisation on soil organic matter dynamics, nutrients and bacterial community composition in the first meter of the soil profiles in the long-term maize cropping system experiment Tetto Frati, near the Po River in northern Italy. The following treatments have been applied since 1992: 1) crop residue removal (CRR), 2) crop residue incorporation (CRI), 3) crop residue removal with bovine slurry fertilisation (SLU), 4) crop re…
Nutrient removal by rice–wheat cropping system as influenced by crop establishment techniques and fertilization options in conjunction with microbial…
2020
AbstractNutrient uptake by the rice–wheat cropping system (RWCS) is an important indicator of soil fertility and plant nutrient status. The hypothesis of this investigation was that the rate and sources of nutrient application can differentially influence nutrient removal and soil nutrient status in different crop establishment techniques (CETs). Cropping system yield was on par in all the CETs evaluated, however, there were significant changes in soil nutrient availability and microbiological aspects. The system nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and zinc (Zn) uptake in aerobic rice system followed by zero tillage wheat (ARS-ZTW) was 15.7–17.6 kg ha−1, 0.7–0.9 kg ha−1, 7–9.8 kg ha…
Birch (Betula spp.) wood biochar is a potential soil amendment to reduce glyphosate leaching in agricultural soils
2015
Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine), a commonly used herbicide in agriculture can leach to deeper soil layers and settle in surface- and ground waters. To mitigate the leaching of pesticides and nutrients, biochar has been suggested as a potential soil amendment due to its ability to sorb both organic and inorganic substances. However, the efficiency of biochar in retaining agro-chemicals in the soil is likely to vary with feedstock material and pyrolysis conditions. A greenhouse pot experiment, mimicking a crop rotation cycle of three plant genera, was established to study the effects of pyrolysis temperature on the ability of birch (Betula sp.) wood originated biochar to reduce the l…
Long-term effects of crop management on Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae populations.
2004
Little is known about factors that affect the indigenous populations of rhizobia in soils. We compared the abundance, diversity and genetic structure of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae populations in soils under different crop managements, i.e., wheat and maize monocultures, crop rotation, and permanent grassland. Rhizobial populations were sampled from nodules of pea- or vetch plants grown in soils collected at three geographically distant sites in France, each site comprising a plot under long-term maize monoculture. Molecular characterization of isolates was performed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism of 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer as a neutral marker of the genomi…
Estimation of atrazine-degrading genetic potential and activity in three French agricultural soils
2004
The impact of organic amendment (sewage sludge or waste water) used to fertilize agricultural soils was estimated on the atrazine-degrading activity, the atrazine-degrading genetic potential and the bacterial community structure of soils continuously cropped with corn. Long-term application of organic amendment did not modify atrazine-mineralizing activity, which was found to essentially depend on the soil type. It also did not modify atrazine-degrading genetic potential estimated by quantitative PCR targeting atzA, B and C genes, which was shown to depend on soil type. The structure of soil bacterial community determined by RISA fingerprinting was significantly affected by organic amendmen…