Soil Organic Matter and Tomato Yield following Tillage, Cover Cropping, and Nitrogen Fertilization

Sainju, Upendra M.; Singh, Bharat; Yaffa, Sidat

doi:10.2134/agronj2002.0594

Cited by 37 publications

(30 citation statements)

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“…As suggested by others (Touchton et al 1982(Touchton et al , 1984Hargrove 1986;Blevins and Frye 1993;Reeves et al 1993;Abdul-Baki et al 1997;Sainju et al 2002), for reduced tillage systems that include winter legume cover crops, the crop fertilizer requirement can diminish with successive seasons, and fertilizer rates can often be appreciably reduced. This may be due directly to the release of cover crop N, as well as indirectly through build up of organic matter and improved recycling of N inputs.…”

Section: Cover Crops and Reduced Tillagementioning

confidence: 96%

Nitrogen supply from fertilizer and legume cover crop in the transition to no-tillage for irrigated row crops

Doane

Horwáth

Mitchell

et al. 2009

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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In spite of potential benefits and positive assessments of reducing primary tillage operations, only a small part of irrigated row crops is currently managed using reduced tillage, for reasons that include concerns about its agronomic suitability for certain crop rotations. Three years of a tomato/corn rotation under standard and no-tillage management were used to understand the fate of a fertilizer and cover crop nitrogen (N) application. Uptake of both inputs was reduced under no-tillage during the year of application, in this case a tomato crop. As a result, more input N was retained in the soil in this system. The initial challenge of reduced tomato yields diminished as no-tillage management remained in place and the soil N reservoir developed. Corn production was not affected by tillage treatment. Inclusion of a legume cover crop increased the amount of fertilizer N retained in the soil over time, more so under no-tillage than under standard tillage, emphasizing the benefit of cover crops in reducing the amount of fertilizer required to maintain productivity. While acceptance of reduced tillage ultimately depends on economic performance, the results of this study support its agronomic viability for irrigated row crops.

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Section: Cover Crops and Reduced Tillagementioning

confidence: 96%

Nitrogen supply from fertilizer and legume cover crop in the transition to no-tillage for irrigated row crops

Doane

Horwáth

Mitchell

et al. 2009

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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“…Hairy vetch and rye establish easily, overwinter successfully, produce sufficient biomass, and are easily killed in the spring by mechanical methods (Creamer et al, 1997). Legume manure crops such as hairy vetch have been known to enrich soil N and increase fruit yield compared with non-legume crop or bare fallow (Abdul-Baki and Article Sainju et al, 1999). Hairy vetch-based cropping system profoundly influenced soil microbial biomass levels and soil pools of organic and available NO 3 -N (Doran et al, 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monoculture and Mixture Effects of Green Manure Crops on Soil Quality, Weed Suppression and Organic Red-pepper Production

Lee¹,

Jung²,

Choi³

et al. 2011

Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer

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Organic farming is rapidly expanding worldwide. Crop growth in organic systems greatly depends on the functions performed by soil microbes, and nutrient supply weed suppression by green manure crops input. Four red-pepper production systems were compared: 1) bare ground (conventional system); 2) hairy vetch monoculture; 3) rye monoculture; and 4) hairy vetch-rye mixture. Soil inorganic N reached the peak at 30 DAI and hairy vetch monoculture was the highest (192 mg kg -1 ) and soil total carbon was fluctuated sporadically during the experiment. Carbohydrate and phenolic compounds in soil kept significantly higher in green manure crops systems from 10 DBI to 30 DAI, however the level was the maximum at 10 DBI (carbohydrate) and 30 DAI (phenolic comounds). Incorporation of green manure crops residue enhanced soil microbial biomass C and N throughout the growing season except that MBN in rye was reduced after incorporation. Green manure crops systems suppressed weed occurrence and, in particular, it was prominent in rye monoculture. Mineral elements composition and production in red-pepper fruits were markedly decreased in green manure crops systems although hairy vetch monoculture has come close to bare ground (NPK-applied). Therefore, it was suggested that higher biomass production should be performed not only to improve soil quality and suppress weeds but to yield suitable red-pepper fruits in green manure crops-based organic farming.

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“…A 3-year experiment was conducted in Central Georgia examining the influence of tillage practices (i.e., notill, chisel plowing, and moldboard plowing), cover crops (hairy vetch vs. winter weeds), and N fertilization rates on soil organic C and tomato yield. Soil organic C was greater in plots subjected to no-till with vetch than in plots either chisel or moldboard plowed with vetch or weeds at 0-to 8-in soil depth (Sainju et al, 2001). …”

Section: Soil Organic Carbon In No-till Vegetable Productionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In a tilled system the oxidized soil carbon (CO 2 ), a greenhouse gas, is sent back into the atmosphere contributing to anthropogenic climate change. Changes in soil organic C can occur slowly because of their large pool size and tendency for spatial variability (Sainju et al, 2001).…”

Section: Soil Organic Carbon In No-till Vegetable Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fact that USDA grade 2 and above peppers were harvested in the study, however, may have inflated the yields compared to data that only reported higher grades. A number of researchers have, similarly, found diminished yields with no-till compared to typical cover crop incorporation (e.g., Sainju et al, 2001;Schonbeck et al, 1995). There are a number of possible explanations.…”

Section: Yieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

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No-till Vegetable Production at the Cal Poly Organic Farm

Harkleroad¹

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No-till Vegetable Production at the Cal Poly Organic Farm Nathaniel Jay Harkleroad Tillage and subsequent bare soil have been linked to erosion, nutrient leaching, reduced biological diversity, loss of organic matter, and release of CO 2 into the atmosphere (Brady and Weil, 2004). The usefulness of an organic no-till system for transplanted vegetables was explored over two growing seasons. In 2007-2008, in a randomized complete block design, treatments of tilled and no-till (T and NT, respectively) were seeded to a dense grain and legume winter cover crop. Tilled plots were mown and diskploughed two times; NT plots retained a mow-killed mulch on the soil surface. There were less weeds in NT plots. A corollary experiment was conducted in 2007-2008 to help determine the best cover crops for a no-till system. There was no difference in the amount of biomass produced by the different cover crops, although anthesis for 'Juan' triticale (Triticum X Secale) was 12 days later than for 'Montezuma' red oats (Avena sativa). In 2008-2009, a completely randomized experimental design was used to test the effect of tillage on bell pepper yield, weed suppression, plant height, and total soil carbon. The treatments were tilled and no-till (T and NT, respectively). A winter cover crop was seeded. Tilled plots were mown, hand-forked and roto-tilled; NT plots retained a killed mulch on the soil surface. Although T plots yielded more bell peppers, NT plots had more weed suppression. There was no difference between the treatments in the change of total soil carbon over the 1 year period, although both treatments experienced overall gains. The present study will add to the growing body of research on the possibility of organic no-till vegetable farming for small-to mid-sized growers located on the central coast of California.

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Soil Organic Matter and Tomato Yield following Tillage, Cover Cropping, and Nitrogen Fertilization

Cited by 37 publications

References 0 publications

Nitrogen supply from fertilizer and legume cover crop in the transition to no-tillage for irrigated row crops

Nitrogen supply from fertilizer and legume cover crop in the transition to no-tillage for irrigated row crops

Monoculture and Mixture Effects of Green Manure Crops on Soil Quality, Weed Suppression and Organic Red-pepper Production

No-till Vegetable Production at the Cal Poly Organic Farm

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