Effects of climate change on killing frost in the Canadian prairies

He, Yong; Wang, Hong; Qian, Budong; McConkey, B.G.; Cutforth, H. W.; Lemke, R.; DePauw, R. M.; Brandt, K.; McCaig, T. N.; Hu, Kelin; Hoogenboom, Gerrit

doi:10.3354/cr01114

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…Some available water is still remaining in the soil profile after crop harvest, suggesting that the crops are unable to utilize all the water that is available during the growing period. Average frost-free days are 114.3 ± 1.6 days over the 126 years of recorded data at the experimental site (He et al, 2012). The short growing period may not give some crops sufficient time to utilize all the water resources available to maximize yield potential.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lentil enhances agroecosystem productivity with increased residual soil water and nitrogen

Gan

Hamel

Kutcher

et al. 2016

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) may have a potential to enhance the productivity of agroecosystems in dry areas where water and nutrients are limited. This study quantified soil water, residual soil nitrogen (N), and crop yields in lentil-based systems in comparison with continuous cereal and conventional summerfallow systems. A 3-yr cropping sequence study was conducted for three cycles in Saskatchewan (50.28°N, 107.79°W) from 2007 to 2011. On average, soil retained 187, 196 and 337 mm of water in the 0–1.2 m depth at crop harvest in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. Summerfallow contained the same amounts of water as the cropped treatments at the harvest in 2009 and 2010. However, in 2008, summerfallow contained more soil water than the cropped treatments. The effect of lentil cultivar on soil water conservation varied with years; the cultivars Glamis, Laird and Sedley conserved highest amounts of soil water by the planting time of 2009 and 2010, but no differences were found among cultivars in 2011. Soil available N (NO3− + NH4+) at spring planting time was 50.4 kg ha−1 in the preceding lentil treatments, which was 44% higher compared with preceding barley or flax, but was 25% lower compared with preceding summerfallow. Lentil cultivars had a similar amount of soil residual N. Grain production in the 3-yr rotation averaged 6.3 t ha−1 per rotation for the wheat–lentil–durum system and 6.8 t ha−1 for the wheat–cereal–durum monoculture, averaging 36% greater compared with wheat–summerfallow–durum system. The lentil system increased total grain production through the access of residual soil water and biologically fixed N, whereas continuous cereal system relies on inorganic fertilizer input for yield. Summerfallow system relies on ‘mining’ the soil for nutrients. We conclude that the adoption of lentil systems will enhance grain production through the use of residual soil water and available N.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lentil enhances agroecosystem productivity with increased residual soil water and nitrogen

Gan

Hamel

Kutcher

et al. 2016

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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show abstract

“…A portion of this water is above the 'permanent wilting point' of water content for the particular soil 34 , suggesting that a portion of remaining water should be available for crops to be grown the following spring. The frost-free period averages 114.3 days over the 126 years of recorded data at the experimental site 25 , with the air temperature reaching below zero in the first and second week of September, and the soil starts freezing soon thereafter. Thus, the rather short growing season, which is typical of the northern latitude region of the North American Great Plains, might not allow some crops to have adequate time to utilize all of the water that is available during the growth period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversifying crop rotations with pulses enhances system productivity

Gan¹,

Hamel²,

Cutforth³

et al. 2016

Crops & Soils

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Agriculture in rainfed dry areas is often challenged by inadequate water and nutrient supplies. Summerfallowing has been used to conserve rainwater and promote the release of nitrogen via the N mineralization of soil organic matter. However, summerfallowing leaves land without any crops planted for one entire growing season, creating lost production opportunity. Additionally, summerfallowing has serious environmental consequences. It is unknown whether alternative systems can be developed to retain the beneficial features of summerfallowing with little or no environmental impact. Here, we show that diversifying cropping systems with pulse crops can enhance soil water conservation, improve soil N availability, and increase system productivity. A 3-yr cropping sequence study, repeated for five cycles in Saskatchewan from 2005 to 2011, shows that both pulse-and summerfallow-based systems enhances soil N availability, but the pulse system employs biological fixation of atmospheric N 2 , whereas the summerfallow-system relies on 'mining' soil N with depleting soil organic matter. In a 3-yr cropping cycle, the pulse system increased total grain production by 35.5%, improved protein yield by 50.9%, and enhanced fertilizer-N use efficiency by 33.0% over the summerfallow system. Diversifying cropping systems with pulses can serve as an effective alternative to summerfallowing in rainfed dry areas.

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“…In many areas of Mediterranean countries, the use of pulses to enhance soil N has been practiced for decades, and the advantages have been widely demonstrated 23 24 . However, it is not known whether diversifying summerfallow systems with pulses is effective and productive in the northern latitude areas where water is scarce and the growing season is short (95 to 125 days) 25 . Our proposal for diversifying summerfallow systems with short-season pulses is largely based on the latest research on pulses: ( a) pulse plants in the northern latitudes have a shallow rooting depth 26 with approximately 77–85% of the roots being located in the 0–0.4 m soil depth 27 , which allows pulse crops to use water mainly from the top 0.6 m soil layer, leaving water in the deeper soil layers (below 0.6 cm) 28 for use by deeper-rooted crops that are grown the following year 29 ; ( b ) dry pea and lentil, the two main annual pulses grown in the semiarid northern Great Plains, use 15–35% less water than cereal or oilseed crops, thereby enhancing water use efficiency 30 ; ( c ) pulses are typically harvested several weeks earlier than cereal or oilseed crops, leaving a longer postharvest period during which soil water can accumulate prior to planting crops the following spring 31 ; ( d ) the inclusion of pulse crops in the rotation can increase crop yields, decrease inputs of inorganic N fertilizer 32 , and enhance N use efficiency 33 ; and finally ( e ) long-term studies have shown that crop diversification with pulses and oilseed can improve overall farming sustainability 6 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversifying crop rotations with pulses enhances system productivity

Gan

Hamel

O’Donovan

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

193

113

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Agriculture in rainfed dry areas is often challenged by inadequate water and nutrient supplies. Summerfallowing has been used to conserve rainwater and promote the release of nitrogen via the N mineralization of soil organic matter. However, summerfallowing leaves land without any crops planted for one entire growing season, creating lost production opportunity. Additionally, summerfallowing has serious environmental consequences. It is unknown whether alternative systems can be developed to retain the beneficial features of summerfallowing with little or no environmental impact. Here, we show that diversifying cropping systems with pulse crops can enhance soil water conservation, improve soil N availability, and increase system productivity. A 3-yr cropping sequence study, repeated for five cycles in Saskatchewan from 2005 to 2011, shows that both pulse- and summerfallow-based systems enhances soil N availability, but the pulse system employs biological fixation of atmospheric N2, whereas the summerfallow-system relies on ‘mining’ soil N with depleting soil organic matter. In a 3-yr cropping cycle, the pulse system increased total grain production by 35.5%, improved protein yield by 50.9%, and enhanced fertilizer-N use efficiency by 33.0% over the summerfallow system. Diversifying cropping systems with pulses can serve as an effective alternative to summerfallowing in rainfed dry areas.

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Effects of climate change on killing frost in the Canadian prairies

Cited by 6 publications

References 40 publications

Lentil enhances agroecosystem productivity with increased residual soil water and nitrogen

Lentil enhances agroecosystem productivity with increased residual soil water and nitrogen

Diversifying crop rotations with pulses enhances system productivity

Diversifying crop rotations with pulses enhances system productivity

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