Crop Diversification, Tillage, and Management System Influence Spring Wheat Yield and Water Use

Lenssen, Andrew W.; Sainju, Upendra M.; Jabro, Jalal D.; Iversen, William M.; Allen, Brett L.; Evans, Robert G.

doi:10.2134/agronj14.0119

Cited by 39 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…drought-Mijatović et al 2013), or water resources scarcity (e.g. Lenssen et al 2014). Diversified agricultural systems are supposedly able to be more robust to extreme climate conditions (Lin 2011).…”

Section: Knowledge Gapmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence map of crop diversification strategies at the global scale

Beillouin

Ben-Ari

Makowski

2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

106

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The diversification of cropping systems encompasses different strategies that may help maintain or enhance the sustainability of agriculture. Thousands of experiments have been carried out around the world since almost five decades to evaluate and compare the performances of various diversification strategies in a wide array of agroecosystems and climates. Although these analyses have been synthesized in a growing number of meta-analyses, the information remains somewhat fragmented. A multicriteria systematic synthesis of worldwide agricultural diversification is still lacking. Here, we review all meta-analyses conducted on crop diversification strategies and produce a detailed overview of their results and of their quality. We identified and analyzed 99 meta-analyses summarizing the results of more than 3700 agronomic experiments on seven crop diversification strategies. Among these strategies, rotation and associated plant species are dominant in the literature followed by intercropping, agroforestry and landscape heterogeneity. Our analysis reveals that rotation and intercropping are associated with yield increases. Agroforestry systematically induces an improvement of biodiversity and soil quality-in particular soil organic carbon. We show that, regardless of the context, a combination of several diversification strategies outperforms any individual strategy. Our review reveals that a significant knowledge gap remains, in particular regarding water use, farmers' profitability, product quality and production stability. Few meta-analyses investigate the performance of landscape heterogeneity and of systems with species other than cereals and pulses. Additionally, we show that most of the meta-analyses studied cannot be considered fully transparent and reproducible. Their conclusions should therefore be interpreted with caution. Our systematic mapping provides a benchmark to guide and improve the relevance and reliability of future meta-analyses in agronomy.

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Section: Knowledge Gapmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence map of crop diversification strategies at the global scale

Beillouin

Ben-Ari

Makowski

2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

106

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“…As corn was resistant to glyphosate, the herbicide was also used at the same rate as above to control weeds at corn leaf 6 to leaf 7 growth stages (Abendroth et al, 2011). Herbicide applications for spring wheat, forage barley, and pea were done with labeled compounds and rates that were previously described (Lenssen et al, 2014a(Lenssen et al, , 2014b. Postharvest residual weeds in spring wheat, forage barley, and pea were treated with tank-mixed glyphosate (3.36 kg a.i.…”

Section: Crop Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After measuring grain yield, the remainder of the grain was harvested with a self-propelled combine and crop residue was returned to the soil. Spring wheat and pea were harvested using a plot combine as described in Lenssen et al (2014b) and forage barley was harvested by swathing and bailing (Lenssen et al, 2014a).…”

Section: Crop Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Energy is also saved by using the NT system, as soil is not cultivated using the tillage equipment in this system (Sainju et al, 2013(Sainju et al, , 2014. Additional application of herbicide, however, is often needed to control weeds in NT (Lenssen et al, 2014a(Lenssen et al, , 2014b. Increased corn yield, reduced cost of seeding due to lower seeding rate and energy use, and improved soil and environmental quality may outweigh the increased cost of herbicide application in NT with the traditional management intensity.…”

Section: Implication Of Management Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Crop yields can also be enhanced using improved crop management intensity, such as increasing seeding rates, changing row spacing, altering planting and harvest dates, and using banded N fertilization, which suppress weeds due to increased competition with crops for water and nutrients and altered timing of growth for hosts and pests (Lenssen et al, 2014a(Lenssen et al, , 2014b. Increased seeding rate increases weed and crop competition, banded fertilization limits nutrient availability to weeds, delayed planting after late application of preplant herbicide kills weed seedlings, and taller stubble increases soil water content by catching more snow and reduces light penetration into the soil, thereby reducing weed germination (Strydhorst et al, 2008;Nichols et al, 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dryland Corn Production and Water Use Affected by Tillage and Crop Management Intensity

et al. 2018

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Management strategies to enhance dryland corn (Zea mays L.) production and soil water use are lacking. We evaluated the effect of tillage and crop management intensity on the growth, yield, and water use of dryland corn from 2005 to 2010 in the northern Great Plains. Tillage systems (no-tillage, NT, and conventional tillage, CT) as main-plot and crop management to corn (traditional intensity: conventional seeding rates and reduced wheat, Triticum aestivumL., stubble height; and improved intensity: increased seeding rate for 3 out of 6 yr and wheat stubble height) as split-plot treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Corn plant stand was greater for CT than NT in 3 out of 6 yr and greater for the improved than the traditional intensity in 3 out of 3 yr. Seed number and grain yield were greater for NT than CT in 4 out of 6 yr. Biomass was greater for NT than CT in 1 out of 6 yr and greater for NT than CT in the traditional intensity. Corn plant height, seed weight, and harvest index as well as preplant and postharvest soil water, water use, and water-use efficiency were not influenced by treatments, but varied with years. Corn yield increased for NT compared with CT during years with below-average precipitation due to increased seed number and by reducing seeding rate and wheat stubble height. No-tillage with reduced seeding rate and wheat stubble height can enhance dryland corn production without affecting soil water. Disciplines

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Warm‐season forage options in Northern Dryland Regions

et al. 2020

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Rotating summer fallow with wheat (Triticum spp.) is done in dryland grain farming at upper latitudes to stabilize yields over time and to prevent crop failure. However, summer fallow is costly since weeds must be controlled and crops are not grown. Replacing summer fallow with grain crops can generate low economic returns. Previous research indicated that annual cool-season forages can be substituted for summer fallow in dryland cropping systems. Our objective was to determine if annual warm-season species were suited for forage production in monocultures and polycultures in the U.S. northern Great Plains. Dry matter (DM) production by 20 warm-and cool-season crop monocultures and 4 polycultures was determined across six environments during 2016, and by 25 warm-and cool-season crop monocultures and polycultures across four environments from 2016 through 2018. Maize (Zea mays L.) monoculture produced forage DM in amounts equal to, or greater than, those produced by other warm-and cool-season crop treatments (P < 0.05). Maize DM production averaged 2.5 to 5.7 Mg ha −1 , depending on the study and environment. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.] and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) also produced relatively large amounts of forage DM. Polycultures failed to produce more DM than monocultures consistently (P > 0.40). These results indicate that maize and other warm-season crops are adapted for dryland forage production in cool regions at upper latitudes. Additional research is needed to determine the impacts of annual warm-season forages on grain yield in a forage-wheat crop sequence.

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Crop Diversification, Tillage, and Management System Influence Spring Wheat Yield and Water Use

Cited by 39 publications

References 44 publications

Evidence map of crop diversification strategies at the global scale

Evidence map of crop diversification strategies at the global scale

Dryland Corn Production and Water Use Affected by Tillage and Crop Management Intensity

Warm‐season forage options in Northern Dryland Regions

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