Using mulch from cover crops to facilitate organic no-till soybean and maize production. A review

Vincent-Caboud, Laura; Casagrande, Marion; David, Christophe; Ryan, Matthew R.; Silva, Erin M.; Peigné, Joséphine

doi:10.1007/s13593-019-0590-2

Cited by 65 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 101 publications

(184 reference statements)

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“…conservation tillage systems, including RT and NT 7,13 . Dedicated research in long-term trials as presented in this paper has contributed to this awareness and to a willingness to replace ploughing.…”

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confidence: 99%

Enhanced soil quality with reduced tillage and solid manures in organic farming – a synthesis of 15 years

Krauss

Berner

Perrochet

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

105

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, frédéric perrochet, Robert frei, Urs niggli & paul Mäder Demands upon the sustainability of farming are increasing in step with climate change and diversity loss. Organic farming offers a viable approach. To further improve organic management, three strategies with potential to enhance soil quality are being tested in a long-term trial since 2002 on a clay loam in temperate Switzerland: reduced tillage vs. ploughing, solid vs. liquid manures and biodynamic preparations. A synthesis of 15 years reveals an increase in topsoil organic carbon (SOC, +25%), microbial biomass (+32%) and activity (+34%) and a shift in microbial communities with conversion from ploughing to reduced tillage. Soils under reduced tillage are more stratified in SOC and nutrients. Additional application of composted manure has increased SOC by 6% compared to pure slurry application, with little impact on soil microbes. Biodynamic preparations have had a minor impact on soil quality. Fertilisation and biodynamic preparations did not affect yields. Both higher and lower yields were harvested in the reduced tillage system in relation to ploughing. the main yield determinants were n supply and higher weed infestation under reduced tillage. continuously reduced tillage in organic farming has been proven to enhance soil quality at this site, while also presenting more challenges in management. Various global challenges are calling for change. Soil erosion and degradation, loss of biodiversity and pollution of adjacent natural systems all call current agricultural management practices into question. To meet sustainability requirements, there is a special need to develop, beyond individual innovations, alternative systems that consider the surrounding environment. Organic farming can serve as an alternative to conventional farming, as it has been shown to lower environmental impacts while being able to feed the world if consumption behaviour is adjusted 1. Organic farming is based on a low external input strategy with legumes, green manures, wide crop rotations and organic fertilisation. All of those approaches build and maintain soil quality 2. Biological mobilisation of soil nutrients for crop nutrition is more important in organic than conventional farming, meaning that soil quality needs to be maintained at a high level. Yet there are management practices and trends in organic farming that may jeopardise soil quality and hence require rethinking and improvement. Regarding primary tillage, mouldboard ploughing is common in organic farming in Europe, where it is an important tool for weed control and organic matter management 3. A bare soil surface is left after ploughing. This increases the risk of soil erosion and hence loss of fertile soil 4. Ploughing is assigned to "conventional tillage" (CT) in the context of the present study. As an alternative, conservation tillage systems have been developed globally for nearly a century 5. Conservation tillage includes "no-till" (NT) with direct drilling of seeds and various kinds of "reduced tillage" (R...

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confidence: 99%

Enhanced soil quality with reduced tillage and solid manures in organic farming – a synthesis of 15 years

Krauss

Berner

Perrochet

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

105

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“…System (B)-a "no-tillage herbicide-free system", where the previous rye cover crop was crimped at rye flowering (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), left on the field and soybean sown with a direct seeding drill immediately, without any later chemical regulation of weeds.…”

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Soybean in No-Till Cover-Crop Systems

et al. 2019

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Introducing agro-ecological techniques such as no-tillage systems with cover crops in rotations with soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) could provide more resilience to changing climatic conditions and, at the same time, reduce soil erosion, nitrate leaching, and weed density in the main crop. However, there are challenges in introducing no-tillage techniques in crop systems in Europe as there is little quantitative knowledge about the agro-economic impact. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the agronomic and economic impacts of three soybean cropping systems involving a rye (Secale cereal L.) cover crop prior to soybean, i.e., two no-tillage systems; either herbicide-free with crimping the rye or herbicide-based without rye crimping and one plough-based in which rye was cut as green silage. The impacts of these cropping strategies were compared in a three-year cropping system experiment at a research station in north-eastern Germany with and without irrigation. The following parameters were measured: (1) cover crop biomass; (2) weed biomass; (3) soybean plant density; (4) soybean grain yield; and (5) gross margin of the cropping system. The results showed that all three soybean cropping systems can effectively suppress weeds. System (C), the no-tillage herbicide-based system, produced the lowest rye biomass and highest soybean yield; system (B), the no-tillage herbicide-free/crimped rye system, produced the highest rye biomass and lowest soybean yield compared to system (A), the standard cutting/plough-based system. The differences in rye biomass and soybean yield observed between the three systems could be mainly attributed to the timing of the cover crop termination and the soybean sowing date. The gross margin was highest in system (C), due to the high soybean grain yield. The low soybean grain yield in system (B) resulted in lower revenues and gross margins compared to systems (A) and (C), although system (B) could be economically attractive in organic farming with higher prices for organic soybean. In the particularly dry year 2016, gross margins were higher when soybean was irrigated compared to the rainfed cultivation, due to significantly higher grain yields. Before recommending the application of the no-tillage with cover crop technique for the conditions tested in north-eastern Germany, more investigations on the benefits and risks of this technique are needed. Further research needs to focus on maintaining a high rye biomass as well as on ensuring an early soybean planting date. Optimizing the crimping and drilling equipment is still required in order to develop good management practices for no-tillage herbicide-free systems in European conditions.

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“…This effect was particularly evident in ORG+, where the short rotation problems were attributed to the typical decrease in crop productivity, during the transition from inversion to non-inversion soil till management [38]. In our case, the termination efficiency towards the CC, that is already known to be one of the critical issues in MBNT systems [8], was further reduced by the no-till soil management. However, processing tomato confirmed its good adaptability to organic practice [39] as the yields obtained in ORG were not statistically different from those observed in INT in 3 out of 4 years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

“…In organic farming systems, CCs are usually terminated before the establishment of the following cash crop by cutting and chopping the plant biomass and incorporating it into the soil (i.e., via green manuring [6]). An emerging alternative to green manuring, that aims at reducing the drawbacks related to the intensive soil tillage (i.e., mainly nonrenewable fuel consumption, soil organic matter and soil biodiversity decrease), is represented by the cover crop mulch-based no-tillage management (MBNT, [8]). In MBNT, the CC is mechanically terminated by one or more roller-crimper passages, thus the devitalized biomass acts as a soil-anchored mulch where the following cash crop is directly sown/transplanted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In MBNT, the CC is mechanically terminated by one or more roller-crimper passages, thus the devitalized biomass acts as a soil-anchored mulch where the following cash crop is directly sown/transplanted. The adoption of MBNT practice in organic cropping systems has the potential to merge the environmental benefits of no-tillage and organic farming [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Processing Tomato–Durum Wheat Rotation under Integrated, Organic and Mulch-Based No-Tillage Organic Systems: Yield, N Balance and N Loss

et al. 2019

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In a 4-year study, the biannual crop rotation processing tomato–durum wheat was applied to three cropping systems: (i) an innovative organic coupled with no-tillage (ORG+) where an autumn-sown cover crop was terminated by roller-crimping and then followed by the direct transplantation of processing tomato onto the death-mulch cover; (ii) a traditional organic (ORG) with autumn-sown cover crop that was green manured and followed by processing tomato; and (iii) a conventional integrated low-input (INT) with bare soil during the fall–winter period prior to the processing tomato. N balance, yield and N leaching losses were determined. Innovative cropping techniques such as wheat–faba bean temporary intercropping and the direct transplantation of processing tomato into roll-crimped cover crop biomass were implemented in ORG+; the experiment was aimed at: (i) quantifying the N leaching losses; (ii) assessing the effect of N management on the yield and N utilization; and (iii) comparing the cropping system outputs (yield) in relation to extra-farm N sources (i.e., N coming from organic or synthetic fertilizers acquired from the market) and N losses. The effects of such innovations on important agroecological services such as yield and N recycling were assessed compared to those supplied by the other cropping systems. Independently from the soil management strategy (no till or inversion tillage), cover crops were found to be the key factor for increasing the internal N recycling of the agroecosystems and ORG+ needs a substantial improvement in terms of provisioning services (i.e., yield).

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Using mulch from cover crops to facilitate organic no-till soybean and maize production. A review

Cited by 65 publications

References 101 publications

Enhanced soil quality with reduced tillage and solid manures in organic farming – a synthesis of 15 years

Enhanced soil quality with reduced tillage and solid manures in organic farming – a synthesis of 15 years

Soybean in No-Till Cover-Crop Systems

Processing Tomato–Durum Wheat Rotation under Integrated, Organic and Mulch-Based No-Tillage Organic Systems: Yield, N Balance and N Loss

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