The effect of cover crop and crop rotation on soil water storage and on sorghum yield

Azevedo, D. M. P. de; Landivar, Juan; Vieira, Robson Macedo; Moseley, D

doi:10.1590/s0100-204x1999000300010

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The significantly lower yield of sorghum after sorghum compared with sorghum after wheat reported here is in agreement with previous reports (Azevedo et al, 1999;Holland and Herridge. 1992;Janzen et al, 1987;Williams et al, 2000).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 94%

Yield and Soil Water in Three Dryland Wheat and Grain Sorghum Rotations

et al. 2017

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Diverse crop rotations sustain crop productivity by increasing crop water productivity and improving soil structure. Th e objective of this study was to compare two 4-yr winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) rotations in terms of grain yield, available soil water, and water productivity along with continuous winter wheat. A fi eld study was conducted from 1996 through 2015 on a deep silt loam soil near Tribune, KS. Th e study consisted of three crop rotations: continuous annual wheat (WW), wheat-wheat-sorghumfallow (WWSF), and wheat-sorghum-sorghum-fallow (WSSF). Grain yield, biomass, water productivity, and soil water were all greater for sorghum aft er wheat compared with sorghum aft er sorghum. Similarly, grain yield, biomass, water productivity, and soil water were all greater for wheat aft er fallow compared with wheat aft er wheat. Th e yield of the second wheat crop was 80% of the fi rst wheat crop in WWSF, whereas the yield of a second sorghum was only 63% of the fi rst sorghum crop in WSSF. Th e average crop water productivity (7 kg ha -1 mm -1 ) of the WSSF rotation was greater than the other rotations. On average, the WSSF system produced 2.05 Mg ha -1 yr -1 wheat equivalent yield (WEY), which was similar to the 1.96 Mg ha -1 yr -1 WEY from the WWSF rotation and greater than WW, which produced 1.53 Mg ha -1 yr -1 of wheat grain. A WSF rotation would have produced 2.0 Mg ha -1 yr -1 WEY, so the 4-yr rotations were not more productive than a 3-yr WSF rotation.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 94%

Yield and Soil Water in Three Dryland Wheat and Grain Sorghum Rotations

et al. 2017

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“…Significantly lower yield and biomass of corn after corn or sorghum compared to after wheat reported here is in support of others finding of relative lower yield in continuous cropping versus rotation with other crops (Schneekloth et al, 1991;Porter et al, 1997;Erickson, 2008;Gentry et al, 2013). Also, significantly lower yield of sorghum after sorghum compared to after wheat was reported (Janzen et al, 1987;Holland and Herridge, 1992;Azevedo et al, 1999;Williams et al, 2000). However, we didn't find a significant difference between C-C and C-GS or GS-GS and C-GS rotation in both yield and biomass of corn and sorghum, respectively.…”

Section: Crop Yieldsupporting

confidence: 90%

Productivity and Profitability of Four Crop Rotations under Limited Irrigation

Schlegel¹,

Assefa²,

O’Brien³

2020

Applied Engineering in Agriculture

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Abstract. Selection of optimal crops and cropping systems for most efficient water use specific for local environments can improve global water security. Limited irrigation with ground water is one alternative to alleviate crops from low amount or unevenly distributed water in the growing seasons in semi-arid regions. The main objectives of this research were to quantify yield-water use relationships of three limited irrigated crops, determine effect of crop selection on profitability with limited irrigation, and identify profitable and alternative crop production systems. A field study was conducted at the Kansas State University Southwest Research-Extension Center near Tribune, Kansas, from 2012 through 2017. There were four treatments in the study, two 1-yr systems of continuous corn ( L.) (C-C) and continuous grain sorghum (L.) (GS-GS) and two 2-yr rotations of corn-grain sorghum (C-GS) and corn-winter wheat ( L.) (C-W). Overall corn yield after wheat (C-W) was about 1.4 Mg (ha)-1 greater than C-C. Corn and sorghum yields were similar grown as monoculture or in rotation with each other. Available soil water at corn planting and during the growing season were 20 to 40 mm (240 cm profile-1) less in the C-GS rotation compared with C-C and C-W rotations. Corn yield increased as water use (yield-water use) increased in C-W rotation but yield-water use relationships tended to be negative in C-C and C-GS rotations. Grain sorghum yield increased with water use in both rotations but at a greater rate in GS-GS compared with C-GS. Despite greater corn grain yield in C-W, our economic analysis showed that wheat was the least profitable of the three crops causing the C-W rotation to be least profitable. In this study, the most profitable limited irrigation crop rotation was corn-grain sorghum (C-GS). Keywords: Corn-sorghum-wheat, Crop rotation, Limited irrigation, Profitability, Supplementary irrigation, Sustainability.

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“…Additionally, in the mixture, more nitrogen was available for the cereal, which demonstrated complementarities of the cereal-legume mixture and intensive use of water and nutrients. These conditions of reduced soil water availability for a subsequent crop are aggravated further in areas with dry weather terms, irregular precipitation or on soils with a low water capacity [42]. The timely spring termination of a cover crop avoids the negative effects of opposite water conditions: excess residue holding in too much moisture for planting in wet years, or living plants drawing too much moisture from the soil in dry years [43].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Cover Crops on Soil Water Balance in Rain-Fed Conditions

et al. 2018

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Soil and water conservation benefits of cover crops have been hypothesized as a way to mitigate and adapt to changing climatic conditions, but they can also have detrimental effects if rainfall is limited. Our objective was to quantify effects of winter cover crops on soil water storage and yield of silage maize under the agro-ecological conditions within Vojvodina Province in Serbia. The experiment was conducted under rain-fed conditions at three locations and included a control (bare fallow) plus three cover crop and two N rate treatments. The cover crop treatments were common vetch (Vicia sativa L.), triticale (x Triticosecale Wittm. ex A. Camus) and a mixture of the two species. All were managed as green manure and subsequently fertilized with either 120 or 160 kg N ha −1 before planting silage maize (Zea mays L.). Cover crop effects on soil water storage were calculated for two periods, March-May and May-September/October. A Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) used to characterize drought severity for 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, showed values of 3 and 9, respectively, for the two periods. Soil water storage was reduced by all cover crop treatments, with the greatest deficiency occurring during the extremely dry year of 2012. Previous studies have shown cover crop growth reduced by soil water depletion during their growing season and negative effects on early-season growth and development of subsequent cash crops such as silage maize, but if rainfall is extremely low it can also reduce cash crop yield. This detrimental effect of cover crops on soil water balance was confirmed by correlations between soil water storage and maize silage yield.Atmosphere 2018, 9, 492 2 of 18 precipitation [8], which is more likely to be mitigated on fertile and well-structured soils. The level of soil organic matter, and therefore soil carbon content, positively influence the stability of soil aggregates and soil moisture retention under extreme precipitation or drought [9][10][11]. Several management practices can be the bond between the requirements to adapt to the weather changes and to stop the reduction or to increase soil fertility, such as by reducing or eliminating tillage, growing cover crops, and applying organic fertilisers.Because livestock production in Serbia and, therefore, the availability of organic fertilisers are low, research focuses on cover cropping. Additionally, reduced or no tillage is uncommon because of requirements for adequate machines, which significantly limit its application on small and medium farms. Cover crops have several uses, including preventing erosion, increasing organic matter content, improving nitrogen balance and soil properties, and suppressing weeds, among others [12,13]. Cover crops in crop rotations are not a common practice primarily because growing cover crops usually includes crops that do not result in economic return and often do not allow sufficient time for soil preparation for cash crops. Additionally, cover crops may reduce soil moisture for the subsequent crop in specifi...

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The effect of cover crop and crop rotation on soil water storage and on sorghum yield

Cited by 13 publications

References 16 publications

Yield and Soil Water in Three Dryland Wheat and Grain Sorghum Rotations

Yield and Soil Water in Three Dryland Wheat and Grain Sorghum Rotations

Productivity and Profitability of Four Crop Rotations under Limited Irrigation

The Effect of Cover Crops on Soil Water Balance in Rain-Fed Conditions

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