Effect Of Crop Residue Application Research Articles

Effect of Eighteen Years of Continuous Crop Residue Application on Crop Yields, Soil P Fractions, and Crop P Uptake in Conservation Tillage Under Semi-Arid Tropical Rainfed Conditions

The continuous use of crop residue in soil can enhance the crop yield and potential availability and mobility of P fractions to crops in conservation tillage. A field experiment was conducted to assess the long-term effects of surface crop residue applications on soil P fractions and their relationship with P uptake and crop yields. Field experiment was conducted at ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India during 2005 to 2022. The experimental treatments applied were: T1 - no crop residue application, T2 - application of crop residue @ 2 t ha-1, T3 - application of crop residue @ 4 t ha-1, and T4 - application of crop residue @ 6 t ha-1 in conservation tillage. The test crops viz. sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) were grown in a yearly rotation every year in the kharif season in conservation tillage. The results of the long-term study revealed that the per cent increase in sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) grain yield with the application of crop residue at the rate of 2, 4 and 6 t crop residue ha-1was to the tune of 7.9, 16.1 and 26.0%, respectively over no crop residue application. Similarly, the per cent increase in the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) seed yield was to the extent of 25.2, 43.0 and 64.1% in 2, 4 and 6 t ha-1, respectively over no crop residue application. The sorghum and cowpea stover yield also significantly (p=0.05%) increased with the added levels of the crop residue. Significantly higher P uptake by sorghum and cowpea was recorded in 6 t crop residue ha-1 as compared to the other crop residue treatments. Results of the current study also showed the significant positive response of long-term crop residue application on the P fractions viz., water-soluble phosphorus (WS-P), aluminum bound P (Al-P), iron bound P (Fe-P), calcium bound P (Ca-P) and reductant soluble P (RS-P), and on available P and total P in soil as compared to no crop residue application. The average percent contribution of P fractions toward the sum-total of extracted P was in the order: Fe-P (30.8%)>RS-P (30.7%)>Al-P (24.2%)>Ca-P (9.4%)>WS-P (4.8%). The WS-P and Al-P were found to be the P fractions indicating their specificity by cowpea crop, and WS-P and Ca-P were found to be P fractions indicating their specificity by sorghum crop. The results of the present study will be highly useful in understanding the effect of crop residue application in conservation tillage on the P fractions and their contribution toward P uptake and crop yields.

Dispersion is essential in crop residue application

Background: Crop residue application can maintain soil fertility and sustain agriculture. However, the effects of residue application are unstable because of variable weather conditions and the residual effects of crop residue application. Furthermore, residue application often reduces crop yields. Therefore, I tried to clarify effective residue application factors in an environment which was has stable weather conditions and low residual effects. Methods: Majuro atoll, a coral sand atoll near the equator, was selected for the experiment site because of its stable weather and low residual effect of coral sand. A factorial design experiment using sweet corn was conducted based on the following four factors: fungi propagation before application, cutting residue into pieces, dispersion (or accumulation) of applied residue, and placement (on the surface or incorporation) with an equal amount of crop residue. The effects of each factors on the corn yields were evaluated using Cohen’s power analysis. Results: The dispersion showed the largest effect (1.2 in Cohen’s), which exceeded the effect of incorporation (0.7). The interaction of dispersion and incorporation showed a huge effect (4.9) on corn yield. Discussion: The effect of dispersion was not positive but it avoided the negative effects of residue clustering. Because, the toxicity of the plant residue and generation of toxic substances by anaerobic decomposition are widely known. Anaerobic decomposition occurs inside the residue clusters. However, dispersion reduced the toxicity by adsorption in soil and avoiding anaerobic decomposition. Furthermore, incorporation showed an interaction effect, but surface placement did not. Conclusion: The dispersion of crop residue enhanced the positive effect of crop residue incorporation by avoiding the toxicity from crop residue. This finding adds a new viewpoint for the controversy between conventional and conservation agriculture

Dispersion has a large effect (Cohen's d) on crop yield in crop residue application

Background: Crop residue application can maintain soil fertility and sustain agriculture. However, the effects of residue application are unstable because of variable weather conditions and the residual effects of crop residue application. Residue application often reduces crop yields. I tried to clarify effective residue application factors in an environment which was has stable weather conditions and low residual effects. Methods: Majuro atoll, a coral sand atoll near the equator, was selected for the experiment site because of its stable weather and low residual effect of coral sand. A factorial design experiment using sweet corn was conducted based on the following four factors: fungi propagation before application, cutting residue into pieces, dispersion (or accumulation) of applied residue, and placement (on the surface or incorporation) with an equal amount of crop residue. The effects of each factors on the corn yields were evaluated using Cohen’s power analysis. Results: The dispersion showed the largest effect (p = 0.045, Cohen’s d = 1.2), which exceeded the effect of incorporation (p = 0.223, Cohen’s d = 0.7). The interaction of dispersion and incorporation showed a huge effect on corn yield (p = 0.005, Cohen’s d = 4.9). Discussion: The effect of dispersion was not positive but it avoided the negative effects of residue clustering. The toxicity of the plant residue and generation of toxic substances by anaerobic decomposition are widely known. Anaerobic decomposition occurs inside the residue clusters. However, dispersion reduced the toxicity by adsorption in soil and avoiding anaerobic decomposition. Furthermore, incorporation showed an interaction effect, but surface placement did not. Conclusion: The dispersion of crop residue enhanced the positive effect of crop residue incorporation by avoiding the toxicity from crop residue. This finding adds a new viewpoint for the controversy between conventional and conservation agriculture.

Dynamics of fractionated P and P budget in soil under different land management in two Tanzanian croplands with contrasting soil textures

Phosphorus deficiency is one of the largest constraints to crop production in tropical African soils owing to low native soil P and the high P fixation capacity of highly weathered soils. To achieve better soil P management, it is necessary to evaluate the effects of land management on soil P dynamics and P budget. We conducted a 4-year cultivation experiment in two dry tropical croplands in Tanzania at two sites with contrasting soil textures, viz. clayey and sandy. We then evaluated the effect of different types of land management (control plot, plot treated with crop residue only, plot treated with fertilizer only, and plot treated with both crop residue and fertilizer) on soil fractionated P and P budget at both sites. At the end of the experiment, fertilizer application (50kgPha−1year−1) clearly increased NaOH-extractable inorganic P by 66.0–82.6kgPha−1 (soil depth 0–15cm) at the clayey site and was equivalent to 33.0–41.3% of applied P fertilizer. However, fertilizer application did not clearly increase NaOH-extractable inorganic P at the sandy site owing to its low content of Al and Fe oxides. On the other hand, the effect of crop residue application (7.5MgCha−1year−1) on fractionated soil P was scarce, even with fertilizer application. Thus, applied crop residue increased soil C but did not significantly increase any P fractions, even with substantial P fertilization. On the basis of the P budget, we found that P was substantially unaccounted for only in the fertilizer treatment plots, i.e., 59.5–89.1 and 121.3–138.2kgPha−1 (soil depth 0–15cm) at clayey and sandy sites, respectively. Our results indicate that substantial P loss, possibly through leaching, seemed to have occurred at the sandy site in particular. Therefore, not only P fixation but also P loss from leaching of applied P should be reduced to achieve better P management in this region.

Effect of Placement Method of Crop Residue and Irrigation on Soil Physical Properties and Plant Production

A proper management of crop residue can increase crop production since it plays an important role on increasingwater availability. The effect of crop residue application on soil productivity depends on many factors. In this research. theeffect of placement of crop residue and irrigation on soil physical properties and crop production were examined under field condition on dry season. The result showed that crop residue placement had no significant effect on all parameters of measured soil physical properties both under dry condition (no irrigation) and wet condition (with irrigation). The effects ofcrop residue placements on maize growth were also not significant. Nevertheless there was a tendency that surface application produced higher biomass than buried application. On grain yield, however. the effect of crop residue placement was significant. especially under dry condition with no water applied Surface application of crop residues produced higher grain yield than buried application.

Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions from a rice-wheat rotation as affected by crop residue incorporation and temperature

Field measurements were made from June 2001 to May 2002 to evaluate the effect of crop residue application and temperature on CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions within an entire rice-wheat rotation season. Rapeseed cake and wheat straw were incorporated into the soil at a rate of 2.25 t hm−2 when the rice crop was transplanted in June 2001. Compared with the control, the incorporation of rapeseed cake enhanced the emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O in the rice-growing season by 12.3%, 252.3%, and 17.5%, respectively, while no further effect was held on the emissions of CO2 and N2O in the following wheatgrowing season. The incorporation of wheat straw enhanced the emissions of CO2 and CH4 by 7.1% and 249.6%, respectively, but reduced the N2O emission by 18.8% in the rice-growing season. Significant reductions of 17.8% for the CO2 and of 12.9% for the N2O emission were observed in the following wheatgrowing season. A positive correlation existed between the emissions of N2O and CO2 (R 2 = 0.445,n = 73,p < 0.001) from the rice-growing season when N2O was emitted. A trade-off relationship between the emissions of CH4 and N2O was found in the rice-growing season. The CH4 emission was significantly correlated with the CO2 emission for the period from rice transplantation to field drainage, but not for the entire rice-growing season. In addition, air temperature was found to regulate the CO2 emissions from the non-waterlogged period over the entire rice-wheat rotation season and the N2O emissions from the nonwaterlogged period of the rice-growing season, which can be quantitatively described by an exponential function. The temperature coefficient (Q 10) was then evaluated to be 2.3±0.2 for the CO2 emission and 3.9±0.4 for the N2O emission, respectively.

Crop residue and tillage effects on carbon sequestration in a Luvisol in central Ohio

Soils play a key role in the global carbon cycle. They can be a source or a sink of carbon and influence CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere. In order to calculate the carbon budget of a region, the effect of soil management practices on carbon sequestration in soils needs to be quantified. Objectives of this experiment were to determine: (i) the effects of ridge till, plow till and no-till on the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool; (ii) the SOC loss or sequestration for mulch rates of 0–16 Mg ha −1 year −1 wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) straw applied in combination with each tillage method, and (iii) impacts of tillage and crop residue treatments on soil physical quality, including aggregation and porosity. The experiment was initiated in 1989 on a Crosby silt loam (Stagnic Luvisol) in Central Ohio. Seven years after initiation of the experiment, there was a positive, linear effect of residue application rate on SOC contents in all tillage treatments. In the eighth year of the experiment these trends were confirmed for plow and no-till, but not for ridge till. Linear-regression equations, relating SOC content for the 0–10 cm soil depth to mulch rate, were: for no-till: SOC (Mg ha −1) = 15.21 + 0.32 [Residue (Mg ha −1 year −1)] ( r = 0.68) and for plow till: SOC = 11.95 + 0.27 [Residue] ( p = 0.72). The carbon conversion efficiencies were 8% per year for plow till and 10% per year for no-till. Detailed sampling at different depths revealed that increases in SOC content were only significant for the 0–5 cm depths of plow and no-till treatments. Effects of crop residue application on water stable aggregation in the 0–10 cm layer were most pronounced with plow till and ridge till but not with no-till. Water retention characteristics, a measure of pore size distribution, was not influenced by tillage system, but crop residue application had a significant effect on water retention in the 0–10 cm layer at matric suctions of 30–300 kPa. This means that residue application increased macropores of diameters 1–10 μm. It is concluded that, depending on the amount of crop residue returned to the soil, the large numbers of farmers converting from plow to no-till cultivation in the Corn Belt may create an important sink for atmospheric CO 2.

The Effect of Crop Residue Application to Soil Fauna Community and Mungbean Growth (Vigna radata)

Litterbag experiment was carried out to determine the effect of crop residue application to soil fauna community andmungbean growth. The experiment arranged in randomized complete design with triplicate. The four treatment application of crotalarian, rice straw and banana’s aerial stem residues as well as without residue application as control. Soil fauna community and mungbean growth measured at 8 weeks after mungbean sown. Soil fauna extracted by modified Barless-Tullgren extractor apparatus. Height and dry weight of mungbean measured as crop growth parameters. The results indicated that the soil fauna densities and diversities as well as the growth of mungbean tended to increase by the application of crop residues. The effect of the treatment decreasing in thefollowing order: banana’s aerial stem residue &gt; crotalarian residue &gt; rice straw &gt; without residue application. Therewere high correlation between mungbean growth and soil fauna diversities.© 2001 Jurusan Biologi FMIPA UNS Surakarta&#x0D; Key words: crop residue, soil fauna, mungbean.