Soil Water Capacity, Pore Size Distribution, and CO2 Emission in Different Soil Tillage Systems and Straw Retention

No-tillage cover crops contribute to better soil quality, being able to replace mechanized tillage management. This observation can only be made after several years of adopting conservationist practices and through research on soil–plant relationships. The objective of the research was to verify the relationship between the production components, physiological, root development, and physical-hydric properties of the soil in the yield of soybean grown in succession to different cover crops or with soil chiseling. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design with four replications, comparing the cultivation of sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) and millet (Penninsetum glaucum L.) as cover crops and a treatment with soil chiseling. The evaluations were carried out during soybean (Glycine max L.) cultivation in the 2019/20 summer crop, that is, after 17 years of experimenting started in 2003. Rotation with sunn hemp increased soybean yield by 6% and 10%, compared with millet rotation and soil chiseling. The species used in crop rotation in a long-term no-tillage system interfere with the physical and water characteristics of the soil, affecting the physiological responses and soybean yield. The rotation with sunn hemp offers greater water stability to the plants and provides greater soybean yield in succession. Future research that better addresses year-to-year variation, architecture, and continuity of pores provided by crop rotation, and evaluations of gas exchange, fluorescence, and activities of stress enzymes in soybean plants may contribute to a better understanding of soil–plant relationships in long-term no-till.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil–Plant Relationships in Soybean Cultivated under Crop Rotation after 17 Years of No-Tillage and Occasional Chiseling

Silva

Matusevicius

Calonego

et al. 2022

“…Soil CO 2 emissions were measured three times per growing season: 21/06/2016, 19/07/2016, and 26/072016; 16/05/2017, 28/06/2017, and 01/08/2017 Measurements were carried out at the same time every day (from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.) and at fixed locations in the field. The soil CO 2 emissions were measured using an infra-red gas analyzer and the soil surface CO 2 efflux was also measured (μmol m −2 s −1 ) [ 51 , 52 ]. A portable, automated soil gas flux system LI-8100A with an 8100-103 chamber and a LI-8100A analyzer (LI-COR Inc.) was used.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Residual Effects of 50-Year-Term Different Rotations and Continued Bare Fallow on Soil CO2 Emission, Earthworms, and Fertility for Wheat Crops

Skinulienė

Marcinkevičienė

Butkevičienė

et al. 2022

Self Cite

In this study, our investigated hypothesis was that different pre-crops would have different effects on earthworm activity and soil CO2 emissions. We also hypothesized that a pre-crop clover–timothy mixture would perform best in terms of increasing the share of organic carbon in soil and, in this way, contribute to improving the sustainability of agroecosystems. The aim of this study was to explore the residual effects of using a 50-year-term of three different crop rotations and a continuous bare fallow period on soil CO2 emissions by investigating the soil earthworm populations, soil agrochemical properties, and winter wheat yields. A field experiment was carried out from 2016 to 2017 at Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania (54°53′ N, 23°50′ E). The experiment was conducted in crop stands of winter wheat cv. ‘Skagen’, which were sown in three crop rotations with different pre-crops and a continuous bare fallow period. The pre-crop used for winter wheat in the cereal crop rotation (CE) was a vetch and oat mixture for green forage, LEG-CER; the pre-crop used for winter wheat in the field with row crops (FWR) crop rotation was black fallow, FAL-CER; the pre-crop used for winter wheat in the Norfolk (NOR) crop rotation was a clover–timothy mixture, GRS-CER; and finally, continuous bare fallow, FAL-CONTROL, was used as well. The highest soil CO2 emission intensity was determined after the pre-crops that left a large amount of plant residues (clover and timothy mixture) in the soil. Plant residues remaining after the pre-crop had the greatest effect on the number of earthworms in the soil after the harvesting of winter wheat. Winter wheat had the best yield when grown in grass and legume sequences. Crop rotation sequences that included perennial grasses accumulated higher contents of total nitrogen and organic carbon. The best values for the productivity indicators of wheat were obtained when it was grown after a fallow crop fertilized with cattle manure. An appropriate crop rotation that promotes the steady long-term contribution of organic matter and increases the content of organic carbon in the soil will have a positive effect on the agrochemical, biological, and physical properties of soil and agroecosystem sustainability; moreover, these effects cannot be achieved by technological means alone.

“…Table 2 shows the soil characteristics of the experimental plots ( 16) at a depth of 0-25 cm. The average values for sand, clay, silt, pH KCl , soil organic carbon (SOC), available phosphorus (PAL), and available potassium (KAL) are provided [14].…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The excessive compaction of untilled topsoil, which leads to a decrease in the physical quality of soil, is considered a primary cause of yield reductions [12]. This issue is particularly problematic for weakly structured soils in humid temperate climates [13,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Tillage and Crop Residue Incorporation Systems on Agrophysical Soil Properties

Steponavičienė,

Rudinskienė,

Žiūraitis

et al. 2023

Self Cite

A long-term field experiment has been ongoing since 1999 at the Experimental Station of Vytautas Magnus University’s Agriculture Academy. According to the latest edition of the International Soil Classification System, the soil in the experimental field can be classified as Planosol, with a silty medium-loam texture at a depth of 0–20 cm and a silty light-loam texture at a depth of 20–40 cm. Studies were carried out on winter wheat crops in 2014, 2017, and 2023. This research aimed to assess how different long-term tillage systems impact soil shear strength and aggregate stability, their interconnection, and the effect of crop residues on soil stability. The treatments were arranged using a split-plot design. In a two-factor field experiment, straw was removed from one part of the experimental field, while the entire straw yield was chopped and spread at harvest in the other part (Factor A). The subplot factor (Factor B) included three different tillage systems: conventional deep ploughing, cover cropping for green manure with no tillage, and no tillage. The soil samples were analyzed at the Laboratory of Agrobiology at Vytautas Magnus University’s Agriculture Academy. The findings indicated that the long-term application of reduced tillage significantly increased the soil shear strength. Shallower tillage depths led to a higher soil shear strength, while the effect of spreading plant residues was relatively lower. The long-term tillage of different intensities, spreading plant residues, and catch crop cultivation for green manure did not significantly affect the soil structure. However, the soil structural stability was found to be highly dependent on soil tillage. Cover cropping for green manure with no tillage and no tillage alone positively affected the soil aggregate stability in the upper 0–10 cm and 10–25 cm layers. The correlation–regression analysis showed that, in the top 0–10 cm and 10–25 soil layers, there were moderate to strong correlations between the soil structural stability, soil shear strength, and the effect of crop residues on soil stability.