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Paul Mäder - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Effects of Reduced Tillage on Weed Pressure, Nitrogen Availability and Winter Wheat Yields under Organic Management
Agronomy, 2019Co-Authors: Merel A.j. Hofmeijer, Alfred Berner, Paul Mäder, Joséphine Peigné, Maike Krauss, Laura ArmengotAbstract:Reduced Tillage reduces soil erosion and increases topsoil organic matter compared with conventional Tillage. However, yields are often reported to be lower, presumably, due to increased weed pressure and a slower N mineralization under organic farming conditions. The effects of Reduced Tillage compared with ploughing on weed infestation and winter wheat performance at four different crop stages, i.e., tillering, stem elongation, flowering, and harvest, was monitored for a single season in an eleven-year-old organic long-term Tillage trial. To disentangle the effects of weed presence on crop yield and potential crop performance, subplots were cleaned from weeds during the whole cropping season. Weed biomass was consistently higher under Reduced Tillage. Soil mineral nitrogen contents under Reduced Tillage management were higher, which could be explained by the earlier ley termination in autumn compared with the conventional Tillage system. Nitrogen status of wheat assessed with SPAD measurements was consequently higher under Reduced Tillage throughout the season. At harvest, wheat biomass and grain yield were similar in both Tillage systems in the presence of weeds, but 15–18% higher in the Reduced Tillage system when weeds were removed. The negative impact of weeds on yields were not found with conventional Tillage with a low weed infestation. Results suggest that Reduced Tillage can provide equivalent and even higher yields to conventional Tillage in organically managed winter wheat if weed management is improved and good nutrient supply is assured.
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WEED FLORA IN A LONG-TERM Reduced Tillage TRIAL, “TILMAN-ORG session”
2014Co-Authors: Laura Armengot, Alfred Berner, Paul Mäder, F. Xavier SansAbstract:Reduced Tillage may improve the environmental and economic performance of organic farming. Reducing the intensity of soil Tillage decreases the energy consumption and the emission of carbon dioxide, and could increase carbon sequestration (Holland 2004). Reduced Tillage also may improve water retention and reduce soil erosion (Berner et al 2008). One of the main drawbacks of the Reduced Tillage practices is the potential increase of weed infestation and changes in weed species composition, sometimes to the benefit of species which are more difficult to control, such as perennial and grass species (Peigne et al 2007; Teasdale et al 2007; Sans et al 2011). Organic farmers commonly keep weeds under control by ploughing and by post-emergence mechanical methods, and by indirect means such as appropriate crop rotation including e.g. gras-clover. For this reason, weed management under Reduced Tillage conditions is expected to be more challenging in organics systems. In this study, we present the results on weed abundance and community composition in a nine-year old long-term experiment under conventional and Reduced Tillage.
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Long-term feasibility of Reduced Tillage in organic farming
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2014Co-Authors: Laura Armengot, Alfred Berner, J.m. Blanco-moreno, Paul Mäder, F. Xavier SansAbstract:Agricultural practices such as soil Tillage emit greenhouse gases such as CO2 and N2O. As a consequence, reducing the Tillage could both reduce greenhouse emissions and improve soil quality. In Europe about 25 % of arable land is managed under Reduced Tillage and no Tillage, mainly using herbicides to get rid of weeds. Therefore, a major drawback for organic farmers is that the lack of herbicide and soil inversion could increase weed infestation. Here, we compared Reduced Tillage and conventional Tillage in a 2002–2011 field experiment under organic management in Switzerland. We analyzed crop production and weed flora, with a focus on perennials and grasses. Data on yield, cover, richness, and composition of the weed flora were collected for wheat in 2003 and 2009, sunflower in 2004 and 2010, and spelt in 2005 and 2011, through two complete rotations. We found that weed abundance was 2.3 times higher under Reduced Tillage, though we did not observe a systematic increase with time. The average abundance of perennials almost doubled over time under Reduced Tillage, thus changing the community composition between Tillage systems. Despite the weed increase, yields were similar for Reduced Tillage and conventional Tillage. As a consequence, this study represents the first long-term trial under organic management showing that Reduced Tillage improves the environmental performance of this cropping system.
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Wheat yield and quality as influenced by Reduced Tillage in organic farming
Organic Agriculture, 2014Co-Authors: Joséphine Peigné, Alfred Berner, Paul Mäder, Monika Messmer, Anne Aveline, Marina Carcea, Valentina Narducci, Marie-françoise Samson, Ingrid K. Thomsen, Florian CeletteAbstract:Organic farmers are interested in soil conservation by Reduced Tillage, techniques well known in conventional agriculture to protect soil quality and limit labor time and energy costs. However, organic farming and Reduced Tillage can modify weeds, soil structure, and thus soil nitrogen (N) mineralization which strongly influences wheat yield and quality. The main objectives of this study were to analyze how Reduced Tillage applied to organic wheat influenced (1) grain yield, protein concentration, and weed infestation; (2) deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination on grain; (3) technological quality parameters such as dry gluten, zeleny index, falling number, and gluten index; (4) protein composition (F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5 fractions, and UPP, gliadin/glutenin ratio); and (5) baking test. For this purpose, we analyzed five site-years of data from winter wheat crops where mouldboard ploughing and Reduced Tillage were compared in three experimental trials (two in France and one in Switzerland). Main results concern wheat yields: the effect of Reduced Tillage on wheat yield was influenced by several factors such as weed competition. No significant increase in mycotoxin content (DON) due to Reduced Tillage was detected. Contamination with DON was always below the European threshold for human consumption. The technological quality parameters were less affected by the Tillage treatments than grain yield: protein content, gluten index, zeleny index, and falling number showed on average no significant difference between treatments although the protein composition was slightly different. The main results of this study are that the effect of Reduced Tillage on grain yield depends very much on soil type, weather conditions, and time after conversion, whereas there is only minor impact on wheat quality. This is in contrast to the hypothesis that Reduced Tillage under organic farming will cause problems in baking quality.
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Using Reduced Tillage and green manures in organic systems – what is the research telling us?
2013Co-Authors: Julia Cooper, Marcin Barański, Majimcha Nobel De Lange, Andreas Gattinger, Paul MäderAbstract:In the TILMAN-ORG project, results from studies using Reduced Tillage and green manures in organic systems are currently being compiled. The data is being sourced from both published sources and ongoing field trials. In this talk we will summarize what the data is telling us so far, focussing on the benefits that can be realised from these practices, as well as key challenges associated with Reduced Tillage and green manures on organic farms.
Qiang Chai - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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less carbon emissions of wheat maize intercropping under Reduced Tillage in arid areas
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2015Co-Authors: Qiang Chai, Wen Yin, Hongyan Cui, Yantai GanAbstract:Intercropping is used to increase grain production in many areas of the world. However, this increasing crop yield costs large amounts of water used by intercropped plants. In addition, intercropping usually requires higher inputs that induce greenhouse gas emissions. Actually, it is unknown whether intercropping can be effective in water-limited arid areas. Here, we measured crop yield, water consumption, soil respiration, and carbon emissions of wheat–maize intercropping under different Tillage and crop residue management options. A field experiment was conducted at Wuwei in northwest China in 2011 and 2012. Our results show that wheat–maize intercropping increased grain yield by 61 % in 2011 and 63 % in 2012 compared with the average yield of monoculture crops. The intercropping under Reduced Tillage with stubble mulching yielded 15.9 t ha−1 in 2011 and 15.5 t ha−1 in 2012, an increase of 7.8 % in 2011 and 8.1 % in 2012, compared to conventional Tillage. Wheat–maize intercropping had carbon emission of 2,400 kg C ha−1 during the growing season, about 7 % less than monoculture maize, of 2,580 kg C ha−1. Reduced Tillage decreased C emission over conventional Tillage by 6.7 % for the intercropping, 5.9 % for monoculture maize, and 7.1 % for monoculture wheat. Compared to monoculture maize, wheat–maize intercropping used more water but emitted 3.4 kg C per hectare per millimeter of water used, which was 23 % lower than monoculture maize. Overall, our findings show that maize–wheat intercropping with Reduced Tillage coupled with stubble mulching can be used to increase grain production while effectively lower carbon emissions in arid areas.
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Less carbon emissions of wheat–maize intercropping under Reduced Tillage in arid areas
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2015Co-Authors: Qiang Chai, Wen Yin, Hongyan Cui, Yantai GanAbstract:Intercropping is used to increase grain production in many areas of the world. However, this increasing crop yield costs large amounts of water used by intercropped plants. In addition, intercropping usually requires higher inputs that induce greenhouse gas emissions. Actually, it is unknown whether intercropping can be effective in water-limited arid areas. Here, we measured crop yield, water consumption, soil respiration, and carbon emissions of wheat–maize intercropping under different Tillage and crop residue management options. A field experiment was conducted at Wuwei in northwest China in 2011 and 2012. Our results show that wheat–maize intercropping increased grain yield by 61 % in 2011 and 63 % in 2012 compared with the average yield of monoculture crops. The intercropping under Reduced Tillage with stubble mulching yielded 15.9 t ha−1 in 2011 and 15.5 t ha−1 in 2012, an increase of 7.8 % in 2011 and 8.1 % in 2012, compared to conventional Tillage. Wheat–maize intercropping had carbon emission of 2,400 kg C ha−1 during the growing season, about 7 % less than monoculture maize, of 2,580 kg C ha−1. Reduced Tillage decreased C emission over conventional Tillage by 6.7 % for the intercropping, 5.9 % for monoculture maize, and 7.1 % for monoculture wheat. Compared to monoculture maize, wheat–maize intercropping used more water but emitted 3.4 kg C per hectare per millimeter of water used, which was 23 % lower than monoculture maize. Overall, our findings show that maize–wheat intercropping with Reduced Tillage coupled with stubble mulching can be used to increase grain production while effectively lower carbon emissions in arid areas.
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yield and water consumption characteristics of wheat maize intercropping with Reduced Tillage in an oasis region
European Journal of Agronomy, 2013Co-Authors: Zhilong Fan, Qiang Chai, Gaobao Huang, Peng Huang, Caihong Yang, Zhiqiang Tao, Hailiang LiuAbstract:Abstract Higher irrigation quota for conventional farming causes substantial conflicts between water supply and demand in agriculture, and wind erosion near soil surface is one of the major causes of farmland degradation and desertification in arid areas. This research investigated the effect of the amounts of irrigation in combination with Tillage practices on soil evaporation (E), water consumption (ET) characteristics, and grain yield performance and water use efficiency (WUE) for wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) intercropped with maize ( Zea mays L.) in strip planting in an Oasis region. The field experiment, conducted at Wuwei station during 2008–2010, had two Tillage systems (Reduced Tillage with wheat stubble retention vs. conventional Tillage without stubble retention), and three (low, medium, and high) levels of irrigation, in a randomized complete block design. Averaged across three years, soil evaporation with medium and high levels of irrigation was 6.8% and 5.4% greater than that with low level of irrigation, respectively. Total water consumption of wheat/maize crops under the medium and high irrigation levels was 8.5% and 18.5% greater, respectively, than that under low irrigation. However, grain yields were similar under the medium and high levels of irrigation, so was WUE. The effect of Tillage on the wheat/maize intercropping was inconsistent across years or among treatments: soil moisture at harvest was 3.0–7.6% greater in the fields with Reduced Tillage compared with those with conventional Tillage in 2008 and 2009, but no difference was found in 2010; the E/ET ratio of Reduced Tillage was 9% lower than the ratio under conventional Tillage in 2008, 3% higher in 2010, but no difference between the two Tillage systems in 2009. Across three years, there was a general trend that the WUE of the wheat/maize intercropping system with Reduced Tillage was greater (by 4–11%) than that with conventional Tillage. We conclude that a medium level of irrigation is sufficient to achieve crop yields and WUE equivalent to those under high level of irrigation, provided that a Reduced Tillage practice is applied to the wheat/maize intercropping in Oasis areas.
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Yield and water consumption characteristics of wheat/maize intercropping with Reduced Tillage in an Oasis region
European Journal of Agronomy, 2013Co-Authors: Fan Zhilong, Qiang Chai, Gaobao Huang, Peng Huang, Caihong Yang, Zhiqiang Tao, Hailiang LiuAbstract:Abstract Higher irrigation quota for conventional farming causes substantial conflicts between water supply and demand in agriculture, and wind erosion near soil surface is one of the major causes of farmland degradation and desertification in arid areas. This research investigated the effect of the amounts of irrigation in combination with Tillage practices on soil evaporation (E), water consumption (ET) characteristics, and grain yield performance and water use efficiency (WUE) for wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) intercropped with maize ( Zea mays L.) in strip planting in an Oasis region. The field experiment, conducted at Wuwei station during 2008–2010, had two Tillage systems (Reduced Tillage with wheat stubble retention vs. conventional Tillage without stubble retention), and three (low, medium, and high) levels of irrigation, in a randomized complete block design. Averaged across three years, soil evaporation with medium and high levels of irrigation was 6.8% and 5.4% greater than that with low level of irrigation, respectively. Total water consumption of wheat/maize crops under the medium and high irrigation levels was 8.5% and 18.5% greater, respectively, than that under low irrigation. However, grain yields were similar under the medium and high levels of irrigation, so was WUE. The effect of Tillage on the wheat/maize intercropping was inconsistent across years or among treatments: soil moisture at harvest was 3.0–7.6% greater in the fields with Reduced Tillage compared with those with conventional Tillage in 2008 and 2009, but no difference was found in 2010; the E/ET ratio of Reduced Tillage was 9% lower than the ratio under conventional Tillage in 2008, 3% higher in 2010, but no difference between the two Tillage systems in 2009. Across three years, there was a general trend that the WUE of the wheat/maize intercropping system with Reduced Tillage was greater (by 4–11%) than that with conventional Tillage. We conclude that a medium level of irrigation is sufficient to achieve crop yields and WUE equivalent to those under high level of irrigation, provided that a Reduced Tillage practice is applied to the wheat/maize intercropping in Oasis areas.
Hailiang Liu - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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yield and water consumption characteristics of wheat maize intercropping with Reduced Tillage in an oasis region
European Journal of Agronomy, 2013Co-Authors: Zhilong Fan, Qiang Chai, Gaobao Huang, Peng Huang, Caihong Yang, Zhiqiang Tao, Hailiang LiuAbstract:Abstract Higher irrigation quota for conventional farming causes substantial conflicts between water supply and demand in agriculture, and wind erosion near soil surface is one of the major causes of farmland degradation and desertification in arid areas. This research investigated the effect of the amounts of irrigation in combination with Tillage practices on soil evaporation (E), water consumption (ET) characteristics, and grain yield performance and water use efficiency (WUE) for wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) intercropped with maize ( Zea mays L.) in strip planting in an Oasis region. The field experiment, conducted at Wuwei station during 2008–2010, had two Tillage systems (Reduced Tillage with wheat stubble retention vs. conventional Tillage without stubble retention), and three (low, medium, and high) levels of irrigation, in a randomized complete block design. Averaged across three years, soil evaporation with medium and high levels of irrigation was 6.8% and 5.4% greater than that with low level of irrigation, respectively. Total water consumption of wheat/maize crops under the medium and high irrigation levels was 8.5% and 18.5% greater, respectively, than that under low irrigation. However, grain yields were similar under the medium and high levels of irrigation, so was WUE. The effect of Tillage on the wheat/maize intercropping was inconsistent across years or among treatments: soil moisture at harvest was 3.0–7.6% greater in the fields with Reduced Tillage compared with those with conventional Tillage in 2008 and 2009, but no difference was found in 2010; the E/ET ratio of Reduced Tillage was 9% lower than the ratio under conventional Tillage in 2008, 3% higher in 2010, but no difference between the two Tillage systems in 2009. Across three years, there was a general trend that the WUE of the wheat/maize intercropping system with Reduced Tillage was greater (by 4–11%) than that with conventional Tillage. We conclude that a medium level of irrigation is sufficient to achieve crop yields and WUE equivalent to those under high level of irrigation, provided that a Reduced Tillage practice is applied to the wheat/maize intercropping in Oasis areas.
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Yield and water consumption characteristics of wheat/maize intercropping with Reduced Tillage in an Oasis region
European Journal of Agronomy, 2013Co-Authors: Fan Zhilong, Qiang Chai, Gaobao Huang, Peng Huang, Caihong Yang, Zhiqiang Tao, Hailiang LiuAbstract:Abstract Higher irrigation quota for conventional farming causes substantial conflicts between water supply and demand in agriculture, and wind erosion near soil surface is one of the major causes of farmland degradation and desertification in arid areas. This research investigated the effect of the amounts of irrigation in combination with Tillage practices on soil evaporation (E), water consumption (ET) characteristics, and grain yield performance and water use efficiency (WUE) for wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) intercropped with maize ( Zea mays L.) in strip planting in an Oasis region. The field experiment, conducted at Wuwei station during 2008–2010, had two Tillage systems (Reduced Tillage with wheat stubble retention vs. conventional Tillage without stubble retention), and three (low, medium, and high) levels of irrigation, in a randomized complete block design. Averaged across three years, soil evaporation with medium and high levels of irrigation was 6.8% and 5.4% greater than that with low level of irrigation, respectively. Total water consumption of wheat/maize crops under the medium and high irrigation levels was 8.5% and 18.5% greater, respectively, than that under low irrigation. However, grain yields were similar under the medium and high levels of irrigation, so was WUE. The effect of Tillage on the wheat/maize intercropping was inconsistent across years or among treatments: soil moisture at harvest was 3.0–7.6% greater in the fields with Reduced Tillage compared with those with conventional Tillage in 2008 and 2009, but no difference was found in 2010; the E/ET ratio of Reduced Tillage was 9% lower than the ratio under conventional Tillage in 2008, 3% higher in 2010, but no difference between the two Tillage systems in 2009. Across three years, there was a general trend that the WUE of the wheat/maize intercropping system with Reduced Tillage was greater (by 4–11%) than that with conventional Tillage. We conclude that a medium level of irrigation is sufficient to achieve crop yields and WUE equivalent to those under high level of irrigation, provided that a Reduced Tillage practice is applied to the wheat/maize intercropping in Oasis areas.
Alfred Berner - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Effects of Reduced Tillage on Weed Pressure, Nitrogen Availability and Winter Wheat Yields under Organic Management
Agronomy, 2019Co-Authors: Merel A.j. Hofmeijer, Alfred Berner, Paul Mäder, Joséphine Peigné, Maike Krauss, Laura ArmengotAbstract:Reduced Tillage reduces soil erosion and increases topsoil organic matter compared with conventional Tillage. However, yields are often reported to be lower, presumably, due to increased weed pressure and a slower N mineralization under organic farming conditions. The effects of Reduced Tillage compared with ploughing on weed infestation and winter wheat performance at four different crop stages, i.e., tillering, stem elongation, flowering, and harvest, was monitored for a single season in an eleven-year-old organic long-term Tillage trial. To disentangle the effects of weed presence on crop yield and potential crop performance, subplots were cleaned from weeds during the whole cropping season. Weed biomass was consistently higher under Reduced Tillage. Soil mineral nitrogen contents under Reduced Tillage management were higher, which could be explained by the earlier ley termination in autumn compared with the conventional Tillage system. Nitrogen status of wheat assessed with SPAD measurements was consequently higher under Reduced Tillage throughout the season. At harvest, wheat biomass and grain yield were similar in both Tillage systems in the presence of weeds, but 15–18% higher in the Reduced Tillage system when weeds were removed. The negative impact of weeds on yields were not found with conventional Tillage with a low weed infestation. Results suggest that Reduced Tillage can provide equivalent and even higher yields to conventional Tillage in organically managed winter wheat if weed management is improved and good nutrient supply is assured.
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WEED FLORA IN A LONG-TERM Reduced Tillage TRIAL, “TILMAN-ORG session”
2014Co-Authors: Laura Armengot, Alfred Berner, Paul Mäder, F. Xavier SansAbstract:Reduced Tillage may improve the environmental and economic performance of organic farming. Reducing the intensity of soil Tillage decreases the energy consumption and the emission of carbon dioxide, and could increase carbon sequestration (Holland 2004). Reduced Tillage also may improve water retention and reduce soil erosion (Berner et al 2008). One of the main drawbacks of the Reduced Tillage practices is the potential increase of weed infestation and changes in weed species composition, sometimes to the benefit of species which are more difficult to control, such as perennial and grass species (Peigne et al 2007; Teasdale et al 2007; Sans et al 2011). Organic farmers commonly keep weeds under control by ploughing and by post-emergence mechanical methods, and by indirect means such as appropriate crop rotation including e.g. gras-clover. For this reason, weed management under Reduced Tillage conditions is expected to be more challenging in organics systems. In this study, we present the results on weed abundance and community composition in a nine-year old long-term experiment under conventional and Reduced Tillage.
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Long-term feasibility of Reduced Tillage in organic farming
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2014Co-Authors: Laura Armengot, Alfred Berner, J.m. Blanco-moreno, Paul Mäder, F. Xavier SansAbstract:Agricultural practices such as soil Tillage emit greenhouse gases such as CO2 and N2O. As a consequence, reducing the Tillage could both reduce greenhouse emissions and improve soil quality. In Europe about 25 % of arable land is managed under Reduced Tillage and no Tillage, mainly using herbicides to get rid of weeds. Therefore, a major drawback for organic farmers is that the lack of herbicide and soil inversion could increase weed infestation. Here, we compared Reduced Tillage and conventional Tillage in a 2002–2011 field experiment under organic management in Switzerland. We analyzed crop production and weed flora, with a focus on perennials and grasses. Data on yield, cover, richness, and composition of the weed flora were collected for wheat in 2003 and 2009, sunflower in 2004 and 2010, and spelt in 2005 and 2011, through two complete rotations. We found that weed abundance was 2.3 times higher under Reduced Tillage, though we did not observe a systematic increase with time. The average abundance of perennials almost doubled over time under Reduced Tillage, thus changing the community composition between Tillage systems. Despite the weed increase, yields were similar for Reduced Tillage and conventional Tillage. As a consequence, this study represents the first long-term trial under organic management showing that Reduced Tillage improves the environmental performance of this cropping system.
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Wheat yield and quality as influenced by Reduced Tillage in organic farming
Organic Agriculture, 2014Co-Authors: Joséphine Peigné, Alfred Berner, Paul Mäder, Monika Messmer, Anne Aveline, Marina Carcea, Valentina Narducci, Marie-françoise Samson, Ingrid K. Thomsen, Florian CeletteAbstract:Organic farmers are interested in soil conservation by Reduced Tillage, techniques well known in conventional agriculture to protect soil quality and limit labor time and energy costs. However, organic farming and Reduced Tillage can modify weeds, soil structure, and thus soil nitrogen (N) mineralization which strongly influences wheat yield and quality. The main objectives of this study were to analyze how Reduced Tillage applied to organic wheat influenced (1) grain yield, protein concentration, and weed infestation; (2) deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination on grain; (3) technological quality parameters such as dry gluten, zeleny index, falling number, and gluten index; (4) protein composition (F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5 fractions, and UPP, gliadin/glutenin ratio); and (5) baking test. For this purpose, we analyzed five site-years of data from winter wheat crops where mouldboard ploughing and Reduced Tillage were compared in three experimental trials (two in France and one in Switzerland). Main results concern wheat yields: the effect of Reduced Tillage on wheat yield was influenced by several factors such as weed competition. No significant increase in mycotoxin content (DON) due to Reduced Tillage was detected. Contamination with DON was always below the European threshold for human consumption. The technological quality parameters were less affected by the Tillage treatments than grain yield: protein content, gluten index, zeleny index, and falling number showed on average no significant difference between treatments although the protein composition was slightly different. The main results of this study are that the effect of Reduced Tillage on grain yield depends very much on soil type, weather conditions, and time after conversion, whereas there is only minor impact on wheat quality. This is in contrast to the hypothesis that Reduced Tillage under organic farming will cause problems in baking quality.
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Soil quality changes in field trials comparing organic Reduced Tillage to plough systems across Europe
2014Co-Authors: Andreas Fließbach, Alfred Berner, Verena Hammerl, Daniele Antichi, Bàrberi, Paolo Bàrberi, C. Bufe, P. Delfosse, A. Gattinger, Meike GrosseAbstract:Conserving and improving the fertility and quality of the limited soil resource to produce food, feed and fibre has always been the key to organic farmers’ management practices. This issue is also addressed in conservation agriculture systems that give up on soil Tillage (no-Tillage) or reduce Tillage intensity, but often build on the extensive use of herbicides and mineral fertilizers. Both systems show advantages for soil quality (Holland, 2004; Mader et al., 2002) and therefore their combination is promising and may provide better soil quality. Challenges of introducing noor Reduced Tillage systems into organic farming are increased weed pressure, retarded mineralization of nutrients that both may lead to Reduced crop yield (Peigne et al., 2007). Pioneer farmers have developed solutions and new machinery to be applicable in organic farming systems. Comparisons of Reduced Tillage to the traditional plough system have started on farms and systematic research started a decade ago. It was the aim of our research activities, accomplished within the frame of the European network TILMAN-ORG (www.tilman-org.net), to evaluate changes in soil carbon stocks and biological soil fertility parameters in soils from European field trials that compared Reduced primary soil Tillage options with standard procedures (mainly plough). The selected sites represent a geoclimatic gradient from the North-East to the South-West. The hypothesis was that Reduced Tillage is enhancing the stratification of soil organic matter, soil microbial biomass and activity, and is changing microbial community structure and microbial functions.
Yantai Gan - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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less carbon emissions of wheat maize intercropping under Reduced Tillage in arid areas
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2015Co-Authors: Qiang Chai, Wen Yin, Hongyan Cui, Yantai GanAbstract:Intercropping is used to increase grain production in many areas of the world. However, this increasing crop yield costs large amounts of water used by intercropped plants. In addition, intercropping usually requires higher inputs that induce greenhouse gas emissions. Actually, it is unknown whether intercropping can be effective in water-limited arid areas. Here, we measured crop yield, water consumption, soil respiration, and carbon emissions of wheat–maize intercropping under different Tillage and crop residue management options. A field experiment was conducted at Wuwei in northwest China in 2011 and 2012. Our results show that wheat–maize intercropping increased grain yield by 61 % in 2011 and 63 % in 2012 compared with the average yield of monoculture crops. The intercropping under Reduced Tillage with stubble mulching yielded 15.9 t ha−1 in 2011 and 15.5 t ha−1 in 2012, an increase of 7.8 % in 2011 and 8.1 % in 2012, compared to conventional Tillage. Wheat–maize intercropping had carbon emission of 2,400 kg C ha−1 during the growing season, about 7 % less than monoculture maize, of 2,580 kg C ha−1. Reduced Tillage decreased C emission over conventional Tillage by 6.7 % for the intercropping, 5.9 % for monoculture maize, and 7.1 % for monoculture wheat. Compared to monoculture maize, wheat–maize intercropping used more water but emitted 3.4 kg C per hectare per millimeter of water used, which was 23 % lower than monoculture maize. Overall, our findings show that maize–wheat intercropping with Reduced Tillage coupled with stubble mulching can be used to increase grain production while effectively lower carbon emissions in arid areas.
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Less carbon emissions of wheat–maize intercropping under Reduced Tillage in arid areas
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2015Co-Authors: Qiang Chai, Wen Yin, Hongyan Cui, Yantai GanAbstract:Intercropping is used to increase grain production in many areas of the world. However, this increasing crop yield costs large amounts of water used by intercropped plants. In addition, intercropping usually requires higher inputs that induce greenhouse gas emissions. Actually, it is unknown whether intercropping can be effective in water-limited arid areas. Here, we measured crop yield, water consumption, soil respiration, and carbon emissions of wheat–maize intercropping under different Tillage and crop residue management options. A field experiment was conducted at Wuwei in northwest China in 2011 and 2012. Our results show that wheat–maize intercropping increased grain yield by 61 % in 2011 and 63 % in 2012 compared with the average yield of monoculture crops. The intercropping under Reduced Tillage with stubble mulching yielded 15.9 t ha−1 in 2011 and 15.5 t ha−1 in 2012, an increase of 7.8 % in 2011 and 8.1 % in 2012, compared to conventional Tillage. Wheat–maize intercropping had carbon emission of 2,400 kg C ha−1 during the growing season, about 7 % less than monoculture maize, of 2,580 kg C ha−1. Reduced Tillage decreased C emission over conventional Tillage by 6.7 % for the intercropping, 5.9 % for monoculture maize, and 7.1 % for monoculture wheat. Compared to monoculture maize, wheat–maize intercropping used more water but emitted 3.4 kg C per hectare per millimeter of water used, which was 23 % lower than monoculture maize. Overall, our findings show that maize–wheat intercropping with Reduced Tillage coupled with stubble mulching can be used to increase grain production while effectively lower carbon emissions in arid areas.