Stable nutrient flows in sustainable and alternative cropping systems of globe artichoke

Abstract

The conventional cultivation of globe artichoke causes high nitrogen (N) balance surpluses. The planning of more sustainable open-field horticultural systems (with no synthetic fertilizer supply) can contribute to the reduction of the nutrient surplus. We hypothesized that an artichoke conventional system could be shifted to a sustainable system through mineral fertilizer supply based on expected plant nutrient uptake, return of crop residues in well-defined growth phases, use of fertility-building crops, and crop rotations. Over a 10-year field experiment, three management systems, differing in fertilizer rates, crop sequence (monoculture/rotation with cauliflower), and legume cover crop adoption and management, were compared: (i) improved conventional, (ii) alternative monoculture, and (iii) biannual rotation. We monitored soil conditions at a sampling interval of approximately 3 years. We calculated gross N, P, and K balances for each growing season, and we also monitored soil respiration over the last two growing seasons. On average, the biannual rotation resulted in a well-balanced N budget (72 kg ha −1 N surplus) compared with improved conventional (160 kg N ha −1 N surplus) and alternative monoculture (− 34 kg ha −1 deficit) systems. By contrast, compared with the improved conventional system (133 and 116 kg ha −1 for P and K budgets, respectively), alternative monoculture and biannual rotation systems had negative budgets for P (− 9 kg ha −1 for both alternative systems) and K (− 58 and − 51 kg ha −1 for alternative monoculture and biannual rotation systems, respectively) in nine of ten growing seasons. Our results show for the first time that long-term biannual rotation with cauliflower coupled with cover crop use can optimize nutrient fluxes of conventionally grown globe artichoke. Overall, the study proposes a re-design of artichoke cropping systems, provides novel information useful for growers, and verifies that introducing a legume species cover crop is also the most promising approach to foster long-term sustainability.

Can Organic Sources of Nutrients Increase Crop Yields to Meet Global Food Demand?

“…For example, tomatoes grown on fields that have been organically managed for 10 years exhibited respectively 79 and 97% higher quercetin and kaempferol aglycones (i.e., the flavonoid concentrations) than their conventional counterparts [55]. Likewise, a long-term biannual rotation with cauliflower coupled with legume cover crop in an organic system optimized the nutrient fluxes of globe artichoke, suggesting as the most promising approach to foster long-term sustainability for the Mediterranean climate [56]. In a follow-up study in the same environment, polyphenol and Fe and K contents and dihydroxycinnamic and dicaffeoylquinic acids of globe artichoke were higher in organic system than in conventional system [57].…”

Leguminous Cover Crop Astragalus sinicus Enhances Grain Yields and Nitrogen Use Efficiency through Increased Tillering in an Intensive Double-Cropping Rice System in Southern China

“…Effects of cover crops on the succeeding crop yields have been studied in various cropping systems around the world [9,[15][16][17]. In most cases, leguminous cover crop species, such as alfalfa, red clover, and crimson clover, exhibit a positive effect on grain yield of subsequent corn or winter wheat in corn-cover crop and winter wheat-cover crop systems [18][19][20].…”

“…In our study, milk vetch and subsequent early and late rice crops constituted a temporal multicropping system that resulted in enhanced rice crop yields. As reviewed by a number of reports [9,12,15,16], biologically-fixed N from the leguminous cover crops is likely associated with the increase in the rice crop yields. Interestingly, we observed comparable rice yields for the treatments MN 100 and FN 200 (6.1 vs. 6.0 Mg ha −1 , 5.8 vs. 6.0 Mg ha −1 , and 11.9 vs. 12.0 Mg ha −1 for early rice, late rice, and total annual rice production, respectively).…”

“…To better evaluate the sustainability of the vetch-double-rice system, it is important to consider options that have the potential both to improve rice production and to decrease chemical N demand. AE N and RE N are commonly used to measure N cycling efficiency in ago-ecosystems [14,16,28]. As shown in Figure 3, the highest AE N values for early rice, late rice, and annual production were observed in vetch with 100 kg N ha −1 (16.7-18.2% for early rice, 7.7-14.6% for late rice, and 12.2-16.3% for annual cycle).…”

Inoculation and N Fertilization Affect the Dry Matter, N Fixation, and Bioactive Compounds in Sulla Leaves

“…The development of sustainable and alternative cropping systems may benefit from wider exploitation of legume crops, which supply high-quality food and feed and also deliver multiple services [1,2]. In fact, the symbiotic associations of legumes with compatible rhizobia fix the atmospheric nitrogen (N) saving of fossil energy inputs, release high-quality organic matter in the soil, contribute to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, and allow carbon sequestration in soils [3][4][5].…”