Performance Of Cropping Systems Research Articles

The LTAR Cropland Common Experiment at R. J. Cook Agronomy Farm.

Dryland agriculture in the Inland Pacific Northwest is challenged in part by rising input costs for seed, fertilizer, and agrichemicals; threats to water quality and soil health, including soil erosion, organic matter decline, acidification, compaction, and nutrient imbalances; lack of cropping system diversity; herbicide resistance; and air quality concerns from atmospheric emissions of particulate matter and greenhouse gases. Technological advances such as rapid data acquisition, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and robotics have helped fuel innovation and discovery but have also further complicated agricultural decision-making and research. Meeting these challenges has promoted interest in (1) supporting long-term research that enables assessment of ecosystem service trade-offs and advances sustainable and regenerative approaches to agriculture, and (2) developing coproduction research approaches that actively engage decision-makers and accelerate innovation. The R. J. Cook Agronomy Farm (CAF) Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) site established a cropping systems experiment in 2017 that contrasts prevailing (PRV) and alternative (ALT) practices at field scales over a proposed 30-year time frame. The experimental site is on the Washington State University CAF near Pullman, WA. Cropping practices include a wheat-based cropping system with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), canola (Brassica napus, variety napus), chickpea (Cicer arietinum), and winter pea (Pisum sativum), with winter wheat produced every third year under the ALT practices of continuous no-tillage and precision applied N, compared to the PRV practice of reduced tillage (RT) and uniformly applied agrichemicals. Biophysical measurements are made at georeferenced locations that capture field-scale spatial variability at temporal intervals that follow approved methods for each agronomic and environmental metric. Research to date is assessing spatial and temporal variations in cropping system performance (e.g., crop yield, soil health, and water and air quality) for ALT versus PRV and associated tradeoffs. Future research will explore a coproduction approach with the intent of advancing discovery, innovation, and impact through collaborative stakeholder-researcher partnerships that direct and implement research priorities.

Deriving general principles of agroecosystem multifunctionality with the Diverse Rotations Improve Valuable Ecosystem Services (DRIVES) network

AbstractLong‐term agricultural field experiments (LTFEs) have been conducted for nearly 150 years. Yet lack of coordination means that synthesis across such experiments remains rare, constituting a missed opportunity for deriving general principles of agroecosystem structure and function. Here, we introduce the Diverse Rotations Improve Valuable Ecosystem Services (DRIVES) project, which uses legacy data from North American LTFEs to address research questions about the multifunctionality of agriculture. The DRIVES Project is a network of researchers who have compiled a database of primary (i.e., observations) and secondary (i.e., transformed observations or modeling results) data from participating sites. It comprises 21 LTFEs that evaluate how crop rotational diversity impacts cropping system performance. The Network consists of United States Department of Agriculture, university, and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center scientists (20 people) who manage and collect primary data from LTFEs and a core team (nine people) who organize the network, curate network data, and synthesize cross‐network findings. As of 2024, the DRIVES Project database contains 495 site‐years of crop yields, daily weather, soil analysis, and management information. The DRIVES database is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, which allows integration with other public datasets. Initial research has focused on how rotational diversity impacts resilience in the face of adverse weather, nutritional quality, and economic feasibility. Our collaborative approach in handling LTFE data has established a model for data organization that facilitates broader synthesis studies. We openly invite other sites to join the DRIVES network and share their data.

Cropping Systems Diversification as an Approach to Enhancing Crop Productivity: A Review

Agricultural intensification increased crop productivity but simplified production with lower diversity of cropping systems, higher genetic uniformity, and a higher uniformity of agricultural landscapes. Associated detrimental effects on the environment and biodiversity as well as the resilience and adaptability of cropping systems to climate change are of growing concern. Crop diversification may stabilize productivity of cropping systems and reduce negative environmental impacts and loss of biodiversity, but a shared understanding of crop diversification including approaches towards a more systematic research is lacking. The current review highlights the use of Cropping Systems Diversification as an Approach to Enhancing Crop Productivity. Crop diversification can be considered as an attempt to increase the diversity of crops through, e.g. crop rotation, multiple cropping or intercropping, compared to specialized farming with the aim to improve the productivity, stability and delivery of ecosystem services. It can be one measure to develop more sustainable production systems, develop value-chains for minor crops. Crop diversification practices can include higher crop diversity, more diverse crop, mixed cropping; cultivation of grain legumes in otherwise cereal dominated systems, perennial leys or grassland and regionally adapted varieties or variety mixtures. Crop diversification and/or additional diversification measures like variation of seeding time or changing cropping patterns have the potential to lead to higher and more stable yields, increase profitability and lead to greater resilience of agro-ecosystems in the long term. These practices have the potential to make cropping systems more diverse in space, time and genetics. Through a balanced portfolio approach to agricultural sustainability, cropping system performance can be optimized in multiple dimensions, including food and biomass production, profit, energy use, pest management, and environmental impacts.

Residual Effect of Compost and Biochar Amendment on Soil Chemical, Biological, and Physical Properties and Durum Wheat Response

The residual effect of compost and biochar amendment on soil properties and durum wheat response was evaluated under field conditions in a Mediterranean environment. The treatments compared in a randomized complete block experimental design with three replications were: mineral fertilizer (100 kg N ha−1), compost applied at the rate of 25 Mg ha−1, biochar applied at the rates of 10 and 30 Mg ha−1, unfertilized control. Wheat was the second crop included in a sorghum–wheat cropping system and did not receive fertilizer supply. A hierarchical statistical analysis was carried out to investigate how different treatments could impact the cropping system performance. The findings highlight the significant influence of soil properties, particularly total N, WEOC, and TOC, on wheat and protein yield. One year after the amendment and fertilizer application, compost and biochar significantly increased soil total organic carbon content. The highest soil water extractable organic carbon was found with the compost application (76.9 mg kg−1), whereas the lowest value (50 mg kg−1) was with the highest rate of biochar. Soil respiration rates and hydraulic properties were not affected by the investigated treatments. This behavior is probably related to the short experimental duration and to the silty clayey soil texture. Significant correlations were observed between bulk density and water content at pressure heads in the −20 and −100 cm range; this range accounts for the effect of soil macro and mesopores. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed strong predictive power for grain (R2_adj = 0.78; p < 0.001) and protein yield (R2_adj = 0.77; p < 0.001). The highest grain yield (3.36 Mg ha−1) was observed with compost, and the lowest (2.18 Mg ha−1) with biochar at a rate of 30 Mg ha−1. These findings lay the basis for understanding how different soil amendment management may impact soil quality and wheat performance, even in consideration of climate change.

Cost benefit analysis of diversified farming systems across Europe: Incorporating non-market benefits of ecosystem services

Crop diversification can enhance farm economic sustainability while reducing the negative impact on the environment and ecosystem services related. Despite the market and non-market benefits of crop diversification, monocropping is a widely used dominant practice in Europe. In this context, this works aims to assess the overall economic impact of several crop diversification systems across Europe and compared it to the monocropping system. For this purpose, an economic valuation by integrating market and non-market values for eight case studies distributed across three different European pedoclimatic regions (Southern Mediterranean, Northern Mediterranean and Boreal) is proposed. The economic valuation was conducted both in the short and medium-long term. For the short-term we conducted a social gross margin analysis, while for the medium-long term a cost-benefit analysis is developed. The results show an improvement in social gross margins for most of the diversification scenarios assessed when environmental and socio-cultural benefits are considered in the short-term. In the medium and long-term the transformation of cropping towards a more diversified agriculture is encouraged by greater economic benefits. These results provide a first insight in global economic performance of diversified cropping systems, whose main contribution relies on the integration of market and non-market values of ecosystem services from crop diversification. They are expected to be useful for guiding policy makers to promote crop diversification practices as a key instrument for building resilience in farming systems for an adaptive management to climate change.

Performance of different rice-based cropping systems in the wet temperate zone of Himachal Pradesh

A field experiment to diversify the rice‒wheat system to increase employment and income was conducted during 2017-18 at the research farm of CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Palampur with eight cropping systems that were replicated four times. One-year results revealed that the highest rice grain yield (16477 kg/ha), net returns (₹ 219828/ha) and marginal returns (₹80946) were recorded from the rice – palak – cucumber sequence. Okra – radish – onion resulted in maximum food availability (55.16 kg/ha/day), whereas employment generation was maximum from rice – lettuce – potato + coriander (102.91%). In terms of carbohydrate yield (5146 kg/ha), protein yield (640.6 kg/ha) and energy equivalent (23919 MJ/ha), it was highest from the rice – wheat sequence; however, in the case of carbohydrate and energy equivalent, it was on par with rice – lettuce – potato + coriander.

Effect of short-term perennial leys on life cycle environmental performance of cropping systems: An assessment based on data from a long-term field experiment

Modern agriculture’s dependence on the intensive use of inputs, such as chemical fertiliser and pesticides, leads to high environmental impacts and, possibly, vulnerability in food security, since most of these inputs are imported from other countries. This calls for more sustainable and resilient agricultural practices. Diversification of crop rotations, e.g. by including perennial leys, enhances provision of ecosystem services, leading to healthier crops and increased yields. Perennial crops also increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, which is interesting from a global warming mitigation perspective. In addition, legume-rich leys can utilise atmospheric nitrogen (N) through symbiotic association with N2-fixing bacteria. However, few studies have evaluated the effects of short-term perennial leys in rotation on cropping system performance over long periods and under different conditions. In this study, we used data from three sites in a long-term experiment in Sweden (initiated in the 1960 s), in combination with Life Cycle Assessment methodology, to assess the environmental and yield effect of including ley in crop rotations. Two N fertiliser regimes (High, Low) in combination with three six-year crop rotations, consisting of either i) two-year mixed grass-legume ley, ii) two-year pure grass ley or iii) annual crops without ley, were compared. Environmental impacts (climate impact, energy resource depletion, eutrophication potential) of the different combinations were quantified per kg harvested crop (expressed in cereal units, CU) and per hectare. The lowest environmental impact, at all sites, was found for the crop rotation with two-year mixed ley under the Low N regime. On average, this combination resulted in 329 g lower GHG emissions per kg CU than the crop rotation without ley and Low N, primarily due to lower input of chemical N fertiliser, which reduced the impact from fertiliser production and soil N2O emissions. Comparison of mean SOC change over the study period revealed reduced SOC stocks for all rotations and all sites, especially in the rotation without ley. Therefore, including short-term perennial leys, especially leys containing legume species, in crop rotations can be a useful tool in meeting policy targets on reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture, and in reducing the dependence on purchased agricultural commodities. However, despite the potential benefits of rotational leys, the market demand for the produced ley biomass may be insufficient. Hence, incentives to increase demand are necessary to promote large-scale adoption, for example, for use in bioenergy production and feed.

Impact of Mineral and Organic Fertilizer Management on the Performance of Oat-Chickpea Cropping Systems

In India, particularly in Manipur, the cultivation of fodder crops is given the least attention as most of the agricultural land is devoted to food crops to meet the food demand of our enormous population. As a result, livestock productivity of the state is suffering. In addition, cultivation of single crops repeatedly over years using inorganic sources of nutrients as inputs for the growth and development of the crops in the same field leads to low production at the cost of soil quality deterioration and environmental issues. Therefore, an experiment was carried out to evaluate the productivity of the oat–chickpea intercropping system to assess the effect of mineral and organic fertilizer management using factorial randomized block design with three replications comprising four levels of the cropping system (CS1-sole oat, CS2-sole chickpea, CS3-intercropping of oat with chickpea in a 3:2 row ratio and CS4-intercropping of oat with chickpea in a 3:3 row ratio) in the main plot and three levels of nutrient management (F1—Full RDF(recommended dose of fertilizer)through inorganic source, F2—50% N of RDF + 50% N through FYM(farm yard manure)and F3—50% N of RDF + 50%N through vermicompost) in the sub plot to study their productivity and economic feasibility. Three years of pooled results revealed that the maximum green fodder yield (50.88 t/ha), dry matter yield (11.84 t/ha) and plant height (120.69 cm) of oat was recorded in CS1, which is among the intercropping systems with the highest green fodder yield (40.11 t/ha) and has a plant height of 115.06 cm; this was recorded in CS3 and the highest dry matter yield (8.44 t/ha) was recorded in CS4. Application of F3 to oats gave the highest green fodder yield, dry matter yield and maximum plant height in all three years of the growing period. The maximum seed yield (1.86 t/ha), harvest index (46.05%), stover yield (2.15 t/ha/ha) and plant height (53.55 cm) of chickpea was obtained in CS2, but among the intercropping system, CS4 was statistically significant at a 5% probability level and was superior in seed yield and stover yield, as compared to the CS3cropping system. The application of F2 showed a higher seed yield and stover yield of chickpea. The green forage equivalent yield (85.37 t/ha), land equivalent ratio (LER) (1.63), gross return ($1902/ha), net returns ($1436/ha) and benefit cost ratio (4.19) were recorded to be the highest in the CS4 cropping system of oat and chickpea. This study concludes that CS4, in combination with the application of F3, can be recommended as it provides a higher green forage equivalent yield, LER and other economic benefits, as compared to other cropping systems and nutrient management practices.

Evaluation of the Environmental Performance of Cropping Systems under Different Nitrogen Management Scenarios Considering Regional Nitrogen Resilience

The agricultural sector is a primary driver of nitrogen (N) pollution. Several European and German policy measures exist regulating N inputs and fostering mitigation measures in crop management. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an established tool for assessing environmental impacts which are also broadly applied for crop production systems and evaluation of N management strategies. However, due to the multiple spatial and temporal pathways of N losses from crop production, assessing N-related impacts in LCA is not straightforward. Consequently, this study further developed and applied a novel distance-to-target approach including regional carrying capacity based normalization references for N assessment in LCA. The overall aim was to prove its applicability as regional decision support for the assessment of N management strategies in cropping systems considering environmental interventions with regional N resiliencies. Therefore, environmental interventions were evaluated within a case study for four different N management scenarios for rapeseed cropping systems in five German NUTS-3 regions. Regional carrying capacity based normalization references were derived for two N-related impact categories: terrestrial eutrophication and terrestrial acidification. The regional normalization references also included background interventions of non-crop producing sectors and were provided for all German NUTS-3 regions applicable as distance-to-target values in LCA. Overall results showed that environmental interventions and exceedance of N resilience were lowest in the N-management scenario applying catch crops for both impact categories. The case study demonstrated that considering absolute sustainability references as regional N resilience in LCA is a valuable tool for agricultural decision-makers to evaluate N management strategies for crop production systems.

Management Effects on the Performance of Double Cropping Systems—Results from a Multi-Site Experiment

Traditional (silage) maize production often has negative side-effects related to unprotected soil surface. There are several possibilities to enhance system sustainability through reducing soil disturbance. However, implementation may be hindered due to reduced nitrogen availability and increased weed infestation, especially in organic agriculture. A field experiment to evaluate yield potential of 18 silage maize cropping systems under organic management was conducted at three distinct locations. Examined parameters were first crop, maize and total harvested dry matter yield (DMY), and maize dry matter content (DMC). Treatment factors included first crop (FC—winter pea, hairy vetch, and their mixtures with rye, control (SCS), management—incorporating FC use and tillage (double cropping system no-till (DCS NT), double cropping system reduced till (DCS RT), double cropped, mulched system terminated with roller-crimper (DCMS Roll), SCS control), fertilization, mechanical weed control—and row width (75 cm, 50 cm). A high variation among environments occurred, but similar patterns manifested across locations: Number of crops in the rotation had a high influence, followed by management and FC. Row width had only marginal and inconsistent effect. FC mixtures generally yielded higher than pure legumes. Maize DMY in DCS, DCMS was lower than or comparable to SCS. Maize DMC were environment-specifically below acceptable range, especially under DCMS. Total harvested DMY in DCS were similar to or greater than SCS. Results suggest differences from the optimization of farming operations for one (SCS) or two crops (DCS, DCMS) with strong effects at early maize development and on the length of season. FC use and tillage factors possibly altered the soil water, temperature, and mineralization dynamics, resulting in modified maize growth. DCS RT and DCMS Pure performed with the best maize yields, improved soil protection, and tillage reduction in the silage maize part of the rotation under organic management. However, alternative management systems, especially under DCS NT and DCMS (Mix) with studied maize maturity classes are less suited, particularly in cool and wet spring conditions, because of a potentially slower development of FC, a later establishment of maize plants and therefore, a shorter growing season for the maize crop.

Adequacy of nitrogen-based indicators for assessment of cropping system performance: A modelling study of Danish scenarios

The EU nitrogen expert panel (EUNEP) has proposed nitrogen-based indicators for farm productivity (N output), efficiency (NUE) and environmental emissions (N surplus). This model-based study (using the Daisy model) was carried out, i) to study the effects of soil type, soil organic matter (SOM), cropping pre-histories varying in C input, 3-to-4 manure-to-mineral N proportions and ten crop rotations on the N-based indicators, and ii) to evaluate the adequacy of these indicators by establishing quantitative relationships between N surplus, N loss and soil organic N (SON) stock change. The results, averaged over 24-year simulation period, indicated that grass-clover dominant rotations had highest N output and showed a tendency to increase SON stocks when compared with spring-cereal monocultures. For most rotations, the NUE ranged between 70 and 75 %. The SON stocks were mainly influenced by initial SOM and cropping prehistory, and stocks increased only under low initial SOM and low C input cropping pre-history (spring barley). Overall, SON stocks tended to increase under low C input pre-history, coarse sand, low initial SOM and high manure N, however, this combination did not result in highest productivity, NUE, and lowest N losses. The relations between N surplus, N loss and SON stock change were strongly affected by crop rotations, emphasizing that using N surplus as an indicator for N leaching/losses while ignoring changes in SON stocks may result in biased conclusions, e.g. estimated average error for N losses ranged from −45 % (underestimation) for maize monoculture to +50 % (overestimation) for continuous grass-clover ley. The results also imply that the environmental assessment of cropping systems must be improved by combining above indicators with estimation of N loss and SON stock changes. This study provides a detailed account of N balance components/N indicators for diverse crop rotations and their use according to the recommendations of the EUNEP.

Climate Change and Management Impacts on Soybean N Fixation, Soil N Mineralization, N2O Emissions, and Seed Yield.

Limited knowledge about how nitrogen (N) dynamics are affected by climate change, weather variability, and crop management is a major barrier to improving the productivity and environmental performance of soybean-based cropping systems. To fill this knowledge gap, we created a systems understanding of agroecosystem N dynamics and quantified the impact of controllable (management) and uncontrollable (weather, climate) factors on N fluxes and soybean yields. We performed a simulation experiment across 10 soybean production environments in the United States using the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) model and future climate projections from five global circulation models. Climate change (2020–2080) increased N mineralization (24%) and N2O emissions (19%) but decreased N fixation (32%), seed N (20%), and yields (19%). Soil and crop management practices altered N fluxes at a similar magnitude as climate change but in many different directions, revealing opportunities to improve soybean systems’ performance. Among many practices explored, we identified two solutions with great potential: improved residue management (short-term) and water management (long-term). Inter-annual weather variability and management practices affected soybean yield less than N fluxes, which creates opportunities to manage N fluxes without compromising yields, especially in regions with adequate to excess soil moisture. This work provides actionable results (tradeoffs, synergies, directions) to inform decision-making for adapting crop management in a changing climate to improve soybean production systems.

Assessment of the Management and Performance of Farming and Cropping Systems in Senegalese Niayes and Groundnut Basin

Senegalese agriculture is characterized by low productivity and raises many societal concerns. These questions relate to meeting the food needs of its growing population and to the development and support of family farms and surroundings for exercising agricultural activity. To carry out effective agricultural and rural activities, it is important to know the specifics of agrarian regions by grasping the structural and functional dynamics of their agriculture. The objective of this study was to establish a framework for assessing its systems, based on overall performing. The methodology was based on multivariate and sustainability analyzes on a sample of 180 millet-based farmhouses in six collectives of Niayes and Groundnut basin. The results showed six clusters of farming types and five millet-cropping systems. By a significant association with the surroundings, biophysical and social settings of the ecosystem and technical-economic conditions of the farmhouses discriminated against 30.6% of practical decisions on millet cultivation routes. Agri-technical performances in terms of impacts, resilience, or self-regulation have shown that the progress made in terms of social well-being (workloads) and externalities on society (yields), of appropriate management agri-resources (regeneration of soil fertility), and their profitability (diversification and agricultural incomes) remains questionable.

The concurrent assessment of agronomic, ecological and environmental variables enables better choice of agroecological service crop termination management

Abstract Although organic farming was originally promoted as an alternative farming system to address agronomic, environmental and ecological issues, its conventionalisation has led to an intensification and specialisation of production. In the light of this, several studies have questioned the environmental benefits of organic farming as well as its agronomic viability. Thus, there is a need to improve organic vegetable systems to reduce their environmental impact without affecting their productivity. To tackle this challenge, European farmers and researchers have recently started to focus on agroecological service crops (ASCs). However, few studies have simultaneously evaluated the agronomic, environmental and ecological aspects of ASC management under different European pedo‐climatic conditions. We evaluated effects of the ASC management strategies—no‐till roller crimping (NT‐RC) and green manuring (T‐GM) on cropping system performance using agronomic, environmental and ecological indicators—to exemplify the need for multidimensional analysis to understand management implications for addressing environmental and agronomic challenges. We combined the results from 11 organic vegetable field trials conducted in seven European countries over a period of 2 years to test for general trends. Our results provide solid evidence that NT‐RC management across different pedo‐climatic conditions in Europe enhances the activity density of ground and rove beetles and improves both the potential energy recycling within the system and weed control. However, in NT‐RC plots, lower cash crop yield and quality, energetic efficiency of production and activity density of spiders were observed compared to T‐GM. Synthesis and applications. Multidimensional analyses using agronomic, environmental and ecological indicators are required to understand the implications of agricultural management in agroecosystem functioning. Introducing agroecological service crops combined with the use of no‐till roller crimping is a promising strategy for improving agronomic performance (e.g. fewer weeds) and reducing environmental (e.g. increasing the potentially recyclable energy) and ecological (e.g. enhancing the activity density of beneficial taxa such as ground and rove beetles) impacts. However, our study also indicates a need for agronomic and environmental improvements while promoting a wider acceptance of this strategy.

Yield and economic performance of various rice-based copping systems in central India

The current experiment was done at the research farm of Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya (JNKVV), Jablapur, Madhya Pradesh, in 2011-12 and 2012-13 to investigate rice performance under various rice-based cropping strategies. During the study period, 12 rice-based farming systems were investigated, including rice, wheat, chickpea, onion-green gramme, berseem, potato-sesame, gobhi sarson-black gramme, vegetable pea-sesame, potato-ground nut, gobhi sarson-sorghum, gobhi sarsonokra, french bean and marigold-sesame.Rice equivalent yield (REY), crop duration, gross monetary returns, cost of cultivation, net monetary returns and the benefit to cost (B:C) ratio were used to evaluate the performance of various rice-based cropping systems. Among the six cropping systems tested, the REY was found highest in the rice-gobhi sarson-okra cropping sequence (174.05 q ha-1) followed by rice-marigold-sesame (140.18 q ha-1).

Assessing Crop and Water Productivity Performance of Different Crops and Cropping Systems

Background: Freshwater in sufficient quantity and adequate quality is a prerequisite for human societies and natural ecosystems. To adequately feed 9.3 billion people in 2050, consumptive water use (i.e. transpired water) by all food and fodder crops needs to increase from its present estimated level of 7000 km3/year to 12,586 km3/year. However, fresh water resources are increasingly getting scarce because of increased competition among a multitude of users. Getting agriculture to perform with progressively smaller allocation of renewable water resources will remain a challenge on global scale. To meet the challenge there is an urgent need to improve the crop water productivity to ensure the sustainability of agriculture. Methods: An experiment was carried out at village Menawali, Hanumangarh, Rajasthan during both kharif and rabi seasons to assess productivity, economics, N-uptake and water use of different crops. An area of 187 ha comprising 25 farmers irrigated by common irrigation channels were selected to collect the information. The information required i.e. soil, crop management, growth, phonological, yields, water balance, N-uptake and water use efficiency of each crops were collected from 15 farmers. Bt-cotton and clusterbean of kharif and wheat and Indian mustard in rabi were prominent crops, cotton-wheat, cotton-mustard, clusterbean-wheat and clusterbean-mustard were major cropping sequences of the study region. Result: In kharif season, Bt-cotton gave higher economic yields than clusterbean and amongst rabi season crops, economic yields of wheat and mustard were 4255, 1778 kg/ha, respectively. The economic yield of cropping sequences varied from 3741-6514 kg/ha and were higher for cotton-wheat (6218 kg/ha), intermediate for clusterbean-wheat (5785 kg/ha) and lower for cotton-mustard (3741 kg/ha) and clusterbean-mustard (3308 kg/ha). The cotton-wheat (₹1181.2 mm) sequence had highest water use. Clusterbean-wheat cropping system recorded highest water productivity (16.5 kg/ha mm) followed by clusterbean-mustard (14.9 kg/ha mm). The clusterbean-mustard (₹456/ha mm) cropping sequence was most profitable and fetched highest net return followed by clusterbean-wheat (₹383/ha mm).

An Integrated Ecological-Social Simulation Model of Farmer Decisions and Cropping System Performance in the Rolling Pampas (Argentina)

Agricultural systems experience land-use changes that are driven by population growth and intensification of technological inputs. This results in land-use and cover change (LUCC) dynamics representing a complex landscape transformation process. In order to study the LUCC process we developed a spatially explicit agent-based model in the form of a Cellular Automata implemented with the Cell-DEVS formalism. The resulting model called AgroDEVS is used for predicting LUCC dynamics along with their associated economic and environmental changes. AgroDEVS is structured using behavioral rules and functions representing a) crop yields, b) weather conditions, c) economic profit, d) farmer preferences, e) technology level adoption and f) natural resources consumption based on embodied energy accounting. Using data from a typical location of the Pampa region (Argentina) for the 1988-2015 period, simulation exercises showed that the economic goals were achieved, on average, each 6 out of 10 years, but the environmental thresholds were only achieved in 1.9 out of 10 years. In a set of 50-years simulations, LUCC patterns quickly converge towards the most profitable crop sequences, with no noticeable tradeoff between the economic and environmental conditions.

Testing APSIM in a complex saline coastal cropping environment

Due to the seasonal increase in soil salt accumulation after cessation of monsoon rains, the simulation of cropping system performance becomes highly challenging in coastal saline cropping areas. Rapidly changing groundwater (GW) dynamics during this period (GW depth and salinity) drive changes in capillary soil moisture rise, soil evaporation and consequent deposition of salts in the crop root zone. Difficulty in simulating this complex cropping environment makes model-based examination of optimal cropping patterns and agronomic management difficult, as one season can be very different to the next. The performance of crops is also difficult to predict under future climate scenarios in these regions, as the impact of both changes in climate and groundwater salinity dynamics on soil status in the crop root-zone changes in complex fashion. No previous simulation study has sought to combine such dynamic and complex elements in simulating crop performance. We calibrated and validated the APSIM model for simulating a broad range of experimental treatments in a rice-pulse cropping system over two seasons, using the example of coastal saline West Bengal, India. This represents a novel evaluation of the APSIM model in simulating the complex mechanisms of seasonal soil water and salinity behavior (as driven solely by daily climate and a dynamic shallow saline water-table), together with the associated crop responses. The model performed well in simulating the observed soil chloride content (CC) and soil water content (SWC) with a high coefficient of determination (R2) for both calibration and validation datasets (CC, R2 = 0.91** and 0.89**; SWC, R2 = 0.90** and 0.93** respectively) and also acceptable RMSE values. These were well within the bounds of observed experimental error, indicating that the model was simulating system behaviour acceptably. APSIM then successfully simulated the observed crop performance in response to these soil dynamics across 24 unique environmental situations. This illustrates that crop performance in such complex environments can be robustly simulated, and that models like APSIM are a useful tool to translate outputs from other models at different scales (for example climate change from general circulation model's (GCM's), and future changes to groundwater depth and salinity dynamics from regional hydrology models) into changes in cropping system performance. This positions APSIM strongly as a robust research tool for climate change studies on agronomic impacts and adaptations in such regions, as well as for development of decision-support tools to assist farmers in selecting suitable crops, cultivars, their sowing times and optimal agronomic management practices for coastal saline zone under prevailing conditions.

Effects of conservation agriculture maize-based cropping systems on soil health and crop performance in New Caledonia

Conservation agriculture (CA) is one strategy with which both sustainability and productivity can be achieved by improving soil health. However, linkages between practices, soil health and cropping system performance remain poorly disentangled. We assessed the relationships between soil health and cropping system performance for three maize-based cropping systems in New Caledonia. Two CA systems, one with direct seeding into a mixed species dead mulch (CA-DM) and one into a stylo living mulch (CA-LM), were compared to a conventional tillage (CT) system. CA vs. CT experiment started in 2011, whereas the differentiation between CA-DM and CA-LM was initiated in 2017 only. In 2018, soil health was evaluated using Biofunctool®, a set of ten in-field tools that assess soil carbon transformation, structure maintenance and nutrient cycling functions. The performance of the three cropping systems were assessed by monitoring weeds, maize growth and yield components. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to disentangle the links between agricultural management, soil health and cropping system performance. Soil structure maintenance and nutrient cycling functions were higher under CA-DM and CA-LM than under CT, and carbon transformation function was higher under CA-DM than under CT and CA-LM. Overall, the soil health index (SHI) was 1.3-fold higher under CA systems than under CT. Cropping system management had both direct and indirect effects on soil functioning and crop productivity leading to a 1.3-fold higher yield under CA than under CT. The direct and indirect effects of CA systems on soil health had positive impacts on ecosystem services (i.e., productivity, weed regulation and soil ecosystem services). Such integrative approaches that account for the relationships and possible trade-offs between cropping system components enable a better understanding of the effects and the performance of practices, and support adaptive agricultural management.

Synergies and tradeoffs among yield, resource use efficiency, and environmental footprint indicators in rice systems

A major question facing global rice systems is the extent to which yield and resource use efficiency indicators can be simultaneously optimized to sustainably meet future food demand. However, research approaches for evaluating synergies and tradeoffs among multiple indicators have been limited to date. Using the case study of rice production in Uruguay, we quantified five cropping system performance indicators at the farm-level from 2012 to 2017, covering approximately 40% of national rice area. Results suggest that maximizing performance in one indicator is associated with tradeoffs for other indicators, with no farm simultaneously ranking as a top-performer (defined as top 10% of farms) across all indicators. The gaps between the average and top-performing farms were largest for agrochemical contamination risk (33%) and smallest for yield (11%). Comparing the groups of top-performing farms within each indicator revealed opportunities for improving system-level performance via synergistic effects between yield and resource use efficiencies, but not between carbon footprint, agrochemical contamination risk, and other indicators. Importantly, synergistic effects were more pronounced for farms at lower compared to higher productivity levels, suggesting less room for sustainability improvements at higher yield levels, unless yields can be further increased without elevated inputs. Important factors to improve the aggregated sustainability index included N fertilizer rate and seeding date. With potential application to rice production systems worldwide, this study highlights an integrated research approach for quantifying synergies and tradeoffs among multiple indicators to understand opportunities for increasing crop yields without negatively impacting resource use efficiency and environmental footprint.