Crop rotation and tillage impact yield performance of soybean, sorghum, and wheat

Abstract

The benefits of no-till to crop yield depend on environment and crop sequence; thus, understanding their interactions is a long-term process. This 44-year field experiment examined grain yield, yield stability, and adaptability of continuous winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (Ct-WT), continuous soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] (Ct-SY), continuous grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] (Ct-GS), soybean-winter wheat rotation (SY-WT), and soybean-grain sorghum rotation (SY-GS) under three tillage systems (NT, no-tillage; RT, reduced tillage; CT, conventional tillage) near Ashland Bottoms, KS. The temporal variation across the studied years allowed us to evaluate treatments under low-and high-yielding environments. Crop rotation consistently outyielded continuous cropping, and the advantage was enhanced when integrated with NT. Yield stability decreased under NT continuous cropping in most systems. Wheat was adaptable to low-and high-yielding environments with similar grain yield and yield stability among treatments, except for NT Ct-WT, which had the lowest yield stability and grain yield (2.5 vs. 3.5 Mg ha −1 ).Soybean grain yield was greater under rotation than Ct-SY (2.7 vs. 2.0 Mg ha −1 ) and under NT than RT and CT (2.6 vs. 2.4 Mg ha −1 ), with similar yield stability. Soybean grown after wheat was more adaptable to low-yielding environments and grown after sorghum to high-yielding environments. Sorghum in NT SY-GS was adaptable to low-and high-yielding environments and had the greatest yield (6.2 Mg ha −1 ) and yield stability. This long-term study demonstrated the advantages of crop rotation combined with NT on grain yield, yield stability, and crop adaptability.

Optimizing Soil Health and Sorghum Productivity through Crop Rotation with Quinoa

“…Life 2024, 14,745 Funding: This research was funded by the Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for High Quality and Efficient Production of Characteristic Crops in Huangtu Plateau (SBGJXTZX-41) and Technical System of Current Agricultural Coarse Grain Industry in Shanxi Province 2024 (CYJSTX03-16).…”

“…Crop rotation increases productivity and yield stability by optimizing space and time use compared to monocropping [ 14 ]. It creates a more favorable soil environment for subsequent crops through changes in the soil properties, nutrient availability [ 15 ], soil pH, and soil microbial diversity [ 16 ], while reducing weeds and pest infestations [ 17 ].…”

“…Although sorghum is a minor crop in China, it can be grown on 0.24% of marginal land due to its drought resistance and utilization of energy [ 25 ]. However, the challenges in sorghum cultivation as a sole crop include soil quality issues [ 26 , 27 ], inadequate plant development, increased susceptibility to disease [ 28 ], and reduced yield and quality [ 14 ].…”

“…Crop rotation has been suggested as a potential solution to mitigate the negative impacts associated with continuous cropping practices [ 7 ]. Simão et al [ 14 ] reported that 44 years of sorghum crop rotation with soybean significantly enhanced sorghum yield compared to continuous sorghum. Similarly, Malobane et al [ 12 ] reported that sorghum–vetch rotation increased soil nitrate, ammonium, and phosphorus content compared to continuous sorghum cropping.…”