Abstract
Crop productivity is typically affected by various soil–plant factors systematically as they influence plant photosynthesis, soil fertility, and root systems. However, little is known about how the productivity of legumes is related to crop rotation systems. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of rotation systems on legume productivity and the relationships among legume productivity and soil–plant factors. Three annual legumes – chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), and lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus), were included in various diversified rotation systems and compared with legume monoculture in the 8-year rotation study. Soil N and water conditions, and canopy and root systems were evaluated at the end of 8-year rotation in the semiarid Canadian prairies. Results showed that diversified rotation systems improved leaf greenness by 4%, shoot biomass by 25%, nodule biomass by 44%, and seed yield by 95% for chickpea and pea, but such effects were not found for lentil. Pea monocultures increased root rot severity by threefold compared with diversified rotations, and chickpea monoculture increased shoot rot severity by 23%, root rot severity by 96% and nodule damage by 219%. However, all the legume monocultures improved soil N accumulation by an average 38% compared to diversified systems. Pea and chickpea displayed considerable sensitivity to plant biotic stresses, whereas lentil productivity had a larger dependence on initial soil N content. The 8-year study concludes that the rotational effect on legume productivity varies with legume species, the frequency of a legume appearing in the rotation, and the integration of relevant soil and plant indices.
Highlights
The development of sustainable agriculture addresses the dual improvements of crop productivity and soil quality to satisfy the ever-growing food demand driven by the growing human population in the coming 50 years (Tilman et al, 2011; Mueller et al, 2012)
Sustainable agriculture addresses the improvement of crop productivity through an integrated ecological approach, such as through the incorporation of disparate biological functions (Fedoroff et al, 2010; Zhang et al, 2011)
Diversified cropping systems with legumes rotating with oilseed and cereal have been shown to enhance the systems productivity (KarpensteinMachan and Stuelpnagel, 2000; Gan et al, 2015), suppress pests (Gurr et al, 2003; Kathiresan, 2007), minimize the development of pathogen resistance (Gan et al, 2006; Kutcher et al, 2011), and enhance environmental sustainability (Gan et al, 2014)
Summary
The development of sustainable agriculture addresses the dual improvements of crop productivity and soil quality to satisfy the ever-growing food demand driven by the growing human population in the coming 50 years (Tilman et al, 2011; Mueller et al, 2012). Conventional agricultural development has been heavily dependent on external chemical fertilizers, which contribute to Diversifying Rotations Enhance Legume Productivity soil degradation, increased costs of crop production, and environmental deterioration (Fedoroff et al, 2010; Malhi et al, 2013). The exploitation of biological N2-fixation (BNF) through symbiosis and enhancement of soil nutrient cycling are increasingly necessary to supplement chemical fertilizers in crop production (Peoples et al, 2009; Hossain et al, 2016). Legume-based cropping systems increase grain yields, and improve soil fertility through BNF of legume plants (Siddique et al, 2012). The improvement of legume growth and productivity largely depends on the integration of various soil and plant factors (Tittonell et al, 2010; Chen et al, 2011)
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