Conservation agriculture in dry areas of Morocco

Mrabet, Rachid; Moussadek, Rachid; Fadlaoui, Aziz; Ranst, Éric Van

doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2011.11.017

Cited by 98 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…In the West Asian and North African regions, there is some evidence that no-till systems with stubble retention have increased soil organic matter and wheat yields more often than not in field experiments compared with the conventional systems (Mrabet et al 2012;Loss et al 2015). In a study on stony hillsides in Morocco however, only small increases in grain yields and water use efficiency were measured (Schwilch et al 2013).…”

Section: Relative Contributions-management and Breedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing the yield gap in rainfed crops: a review

Anderson

Johansen

Siddique

2016

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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The problems and challenges of rapidly increasing world population, global climate change, shortages of water suitable for irrigation and degradation of agricultural land are increasing the demand to improve grain production from rainfed arable lands. Specific challenges include estimating the size and thus the value of the yield gap, identifying the factors limiting current average production and designing profitable remedial strategies for a range of agro-ecological regions. This review of the rainfall-limited potential yields and the gap between actual or average yields of cereal and legume crops and the rainfall-limited potential indicates that there is still substantial room to increase the average yield of crops in rainfed systems in both developed and developing regions. The review has indicated that (1) the size of the gap between average and potential yields varies according to the agro-ecological zone and the available technologies from about 0.5 to over 5 t/ha, leaving considerable scope for future yield improvement; (2) there is relatively less information applicable at the farm or field scale that assesses the spatial and temporal variability of the yield gap, the reasons for the gap and the possible methods to close the gap; (3) there is also limited information on the feasibility and profitability of applying various approaches to close the gap, including tactical and strategic management practices and plant breeding; (4) the evidence of the impact of the components of conservation agriculture on crop yields in a wide range of agro-ecological regions supports the adoption of zero tillage and crop rotation but is less clear in support of residue retention; (5) objective identification and testing of factors that limit production can lead to a rational sequence of amelioration that is specific to each agro-ecological or field situation and can close the yield gap in winter-dominant rainfall environments; and (6) farmerparticipatory varietal selection, including breeding for specific adaptation can make a substantial contribution to closing the gap in a range of environments. A common observation from the reports reviewed here is that sustainable yield improvement will need to employ a range of methods that are appropriate to specific agro-ecological conditions-previous approaches based on single inputs, practices or genotypes can only be partial solutions.

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Section: Relative Contributions-management and Breedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing the yield gap in rainfed crops: a review

Anderson

Johansen

Siddique

2016

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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“…When irrigation is limited, mulching increases wheat yield, water use efficiency, and soil organic carbon fixation (Hari et al, 2013). Straw mulching significantly increased winter wheat grain yield (Marbet et al, 2012). In the same cropping system, conservation tillage and straw mulching significantly boosted yields, improved the use efficiency of limited water resources in arid areas, and lowered carbon emissions from farming .…”

Section: Number Of Total Tillers Hill -1mentioning

confidence: 81%

Effects of Mulching on Growth and Yield Components of Selected Varieties of Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) under Field Condition

Akter

Sarker

Hasan

et al. 2018

Arch. Agri. Environ. Sci.

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Wheat is facing increased high temperature during its grain filling period in Bangladesh which reduces yield drastically. Mulching may help to mitigate this problem. Therefore, a field experiment was carried out at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during the period from November 2015 to March 2016 to find out growth and yield performance of wheat as influenced by mulching. The experiment comprised of two factors viz., variety and mulching. The variety comprised of BARI Gom-26, BARI Gom-27 and BARI Gom-28. Mulching comprised of four different levels of treatments viz.no mulch + no irrigation (control), water hyacinth mulch + no irrigation, rice straw mulch + no irrigation and two irrigations at CRI and flowering stage. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. BARI Gom-28 showed the highest values in growth parameters (plant height, number of total tillers hill -1 , LAI, chlorophyll content and total dry matter) at 30, 45 and 60 DAS. On the other hand, when mulching was compared, rice straw mulch gave higher yield compared to other treatments at 30, 45 and 60 DAS. The interaction effect of variety and mulching showed significant in relation to yield and yield components except plant height, spike length, 1000-grain weight and harvest index (%). The tallest plant (93.20 cm) was obtained from the interaction of BARI Gom-28 and rice straw mulch. The highest number of total tillers hill -1 (4.80), number of effective tillers hill -1 (4.57), spike length (10.23), number of spikelets spike -1 (21.15), 1000-grain weight (48.54 g), grain yield (5.20 t ha -1 ), straw yield (7.27 t ha -1

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“…On-farm operational research reflects a two-way dialogue in which farmers in the field are active partners in the investigation and are able to assess the impact of different options in the "field" [23,24]. It has also been argued [2] that without farmer engagement and appropriate commitment from farmers to test CA system practices, the integration of such practices into production systems and the rapid adoption of CA by farmers, including the required transformational changes for CA system development, are unlikely to occur. This sentiment is very much in line with recent attention paid to the efficacy in innovation systems, away from a historical concentration on linear models for technology transfer and dissemination and into more participatory multi-stakeholder processes for agricultural innovation [25,26].…”

Section: Study Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The district of Salamieh is situated in central Syria and covers approximately 5000 km 2 , with an estimated population of 241,000 (civil statistics in Syria are guarded with much sensitivity, and particularly so with respect to the registration of individuals.). A significant portion of cultivable land is rainfed (100,174 ha), with only a small portion (9225 ha or 9%) under irrigation [27].…”

Section: Study Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential for Conservation Agriculture in the Dry Marginal Zone of Central Syria: A Preliminary Assessment

Lalani

Aleter²,

Kassam

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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This paper reports on early soil related outcomes from conservation agriculture (CA) benchmark sites located within the marginal rainfed environment of agro-ecological zone 4 (annual rainfall: 200-250 mm) in pre-conflict central Syria. The outcomes reported are specifically those that relate to beneficial soil quality and water retention attributes relative to conventional tillage-based soil management practices applied to the fodder barley-livestock system, the dominant system in the zone. On-farm operational research was established to examine the impact of a barley (Hordeum vulgare) and vetch (Vicia sativa) rotation intercropped with atriplex (Atriplex halimus) and salsola (Salsola collina), under CA and conventional tillage agriculture, on the soil quality parameters and crop productivity. Preliminary results showed that CA had a positive effect on the soil quality parameters and crop performance. The soil moisture and hydraulic conductivity were higher under CA (p < 0.05), combined with improved productivity (grain and above-ground biomass) under specific crop mixes. The results suggest that despite the marginal nature of the zone, the use of CA is a viable option for the future of farmers' livelihoods within similar localities and agro-climates, given the benefits for soil moisture and grain and straw productivity. In addition, it is likely to positively impact those in marginal environments where both pastoralism and agro-pastoralism production systems co-exist and compete for crop biomass as a main source of livestock feed. The increase in grain and straw yields vis-à-vis improvements in biophysical parameters in the CA system relative to tillage agriculture does suggest, however, that the competition with livestock for biomass is likely to reduce over time, and farmers would be able to return increased levels of straw (as stubble and residue) as mulch, given improved biomass yields.

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Conservation agriculture in dry areas of Morocco

Cited by 98 publications

References 40 publications

Addressing the yield gap in rainfed crops: a review

Addressing the yield gap in rainfed crops: a review

Effects of Mulching on Growth and Yield Components of Selected Varieties of Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) under Field Condition

Potential for Conservation Agriculture in the Dry Marginal Zone of Central Syria: A Preliminary Assessment

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