Energy efficiency and soil conservation in conventional,minimum tillage and no-tillage

The objective of this research was to determine the capacity of a soil tillage system in soil conservation,in productivity and in energy efficiency.The minimum tillage and no-tillage systems represent good alternatives to the conventional(plough)system of soil tillage,due to their conservation effects on soil and to the good production of crops(Maize,96%-98%of conventional tillage for minimum tillage,and 99.8%of conventional tillage for no till;Soybeans,103%-112%of conventional tillage for minimum tillage and 117%of conventional tillage for no till;Wheat,93%-97%of conventional tillage for minimum tillage and 117%of conventional tillage for no till.The choice of the right soil tillage system for crops in rotation help reduce energy consumption,thus for maize:97%-98%energy consumption of conventional tillage when using minimum tillage and 91%when using no-tillage;for soybeans:98%energy consumption of conventional tillage when using minimum tillage and 93 when using no-tillage;for wheat:97%-98%energy consumption of conventional tillage when using minimum tillage and 92%when using no-tillage.Energy efficiency is in relation to reductions in energy use,but also might include the efficiency and impact of the tillage system on the cultivated plant.For all crops in rotation,energy efficiency(energy produced from 1 MJ consumed)was the best in no-tillage-10.44 MJ ha-1 for maize,6.49 MJ ha-1 for soybean,and 5.66 MJ ha-1 for wheat.An analysis of energy-efficiency in agricultural systems includes the energy consumed-energy produced-energy yield comparisons,but must be supplemented by soil energy efficiency,based on the conservative effect of the agricultural system.Only then will the agricultural system be sustainable,durable in agronomic,economic and ecological terms.The implementation of minimum and no-tillage soil systems has increased the organic matter content from 2%to 7.6%and water stable aggregate content from 5.6%to 9.6%,at 0-30 cm depth,as compared to the conventional system.Accumulated water supply was higher(with 12.4%-15%)for all minimum and no-tillage systems and increased bulk density values by 0.01%-0.03%(no significant difference)While the soil fertility and the wet aggregate stability have initially been low,the effect of conservation practices on the soil characteristics led to a positive impact on the water permeability in the soil.Availability of soil moisture during the crop growth period led to a better plant watering condition.Subsequent release of conserved soil water regulated the plant water condition and soil structure.

Effects of the nitrification inhibitor nitrapyrin and tillage practices on yield-scaled nitrous oxide emission from a maize field in Iran

Nitrification inhibitors can effectively decrease nitrification rates and nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)emission while increasing crop yield under certain conditions.However,there is no information available on the effects of nitrification inhibitors and tillage practices on N_(2)O emissions from maize cropping in Iran.To study how tillage practices and nitrapyrin(a nitrification inhibitor)affect N_(2)O emission,a split factorial experiment using a completely randomized block design with three replications was carried out in Northeast Iran,which has a cold semiarid climate.Two main plots were created with conventional tillage and minimum tillage levels,and two nitrogen(N)fertilizer(urea)management systems(with and without nitrapyrin application)were created as subplots.Tillage level did not have any significant effect on soil ammonium(NH_(4)^(+))and nitrate(NO_(3)^(-))concentrations,cumulative amount and yield-scaled N_(2)O emission,and aboveground biomass of maize,whereas nitrapyrin application showed significant effect.Nitrapyrin application significantly reduced the cumulative amount of N_(2)O emission by 41%and 32%in conventional tillage and minimum tillage practices,respectively.A reduction in soil NO_(3)^(-)concentration by nitrapyrin was also observed.The average yield-scaled N_(2)O emission was 13.6 g N_(2)O-N kg^(-1)N uptake in both tillage systems without nitrapyrin application and was significantly reduced to 7.9 and 8.2 g N_(2)O-N kg^(-1)N uptake upon the application of nitrapyrin in minimum tillage and conventional tillage practices,respectively.Additionally,nitrapyrin application increased maize biomass yield by 4%and 13%in the minimum tillage and conventional tillage systems,respectively.Our results indicate that nitrapyrin has a potential role in reducing N_(2)O emission from agricultural systems where urea fertilizers are broadcasted,which is common in Iran due to the practice of traditional farming.

Conservation agriculture impact for soil conservation in maize-wheat cropping system in the Indian sub-Himalayas

Conservation agriculture(CA)is considered as a suitable technique for soil erosion control,productivity enhancement,and improved economic benefits.To investigate these issues,an experiment was conducted under rainfed conditions using grass vegetation strip(VS)with minimum tillage,organic amendments and weed mulch during June 2007-October 2011 at Dehradun,Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayan region.Results showed that the mean wheat equivalent yield was
47%higher in the plots under with CA compared with conventional agriculture in a maize-wheat crop rotation.Mean runoff coefficients and soil loss with CA plots were
45%less and
54%less than conventional agriculture plots.On average,after the harvest of maize,soil moisture conservation up to 90 cm soil depth for wheat crop was 108%higher under CA than conventional agriculture plots.The net return from the plots with CA was 85%higher,and when expressed net return per tonne of soil loss,it was four and half times higher than conventional practice.Results demonstrate that the suitable CA practice(a grass strip of Palmarosa with applied organic amendments(farmyard manure,vermicompost and poultry manure)along with weed mulching under conservation tillage)enhances system productivity,reduces runoff,soil loss and conserve soil moisture.&2015 International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation and China Water and Power Press.Production and Hosting by Elsevier B.V.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).