Yield, soil Nitrogen content and weed control in six years of conservation agriculture on-farm field trials in Southwest Germany

Pekrun, Carola; Messelhäuser, Miriam; Finck, Margarete; Hartung, Karin; Möller, Kurt; Gerhards, Roland

doi:10.1016/j.still.2022.105615

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The positive correlation between crop yield and soil N, SWC and MBN changes observed when legumes were used as CCs (Figure 7) can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, the presence of legume cover crops reduces direct sunlight exposure to the soil, which can lead to reduced soil temperature and less soil moisture loss (Pekrun et al, 2023; Rasmussen, 1999). Moreover, the straw from CCs can serve as a source of nutrient input, while simultaneously reducing soil compaction and surface runoff, thereby minimizing N losses (Adetunji et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, our results indicated that corn yield, which is known to be influenced predominantly by N availability (Zhang et al, 2022), exhibited a positive correlations with total soil N (Figures 3, 4 and 5). Previous studies have shown that adopting leguminous CCs and tillage measures in corn production can enhance N availability and improve N use efficiency (Liebman et al, 2018; Pekrun et al, 2023). Additionally, our analysis identified a significant positive correlation between SOC and yield changes, although the correlation coefficients were relatively small ( R 2 < 0.25, Figures 3–7).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil properties affect crop yield changes under conservation agriculture: A systematic analysis

Ren,

Zou,

Jiao

et al. 2023

European J Soil Science

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Conservation agriculture (CA) has the potential to sustain soil productivity and benefit agroecosystems, yet it is not fully understood how yield responses of different cropping systems are affected by inherent soil characteristics, e.g., texture and dynamic soil properties, such as aggregation, nutrients, and erosion. In this study, we conducted a systematic review to compare crop yield from cropland with conventional management versus different CA practices, specifically reduced‐ or no‐tillage, agroforestry, organic farming, and cover crops. The data were first analyzed for different climatic regions, soil textures, and cash crop types. We then quantified how yield responses correlated with soil properties changes under different CA practices. The results showed that CA practices were associated with an overall mean crop yield increase of 12%. This response was primarily driven by corn, which had a mean yield increase of almost 41% after CA implementation, whereas other cash crops did not have significant yield responses or showed slight decreases, as rotation with mixtures of multiple cash crops had mean decrease of 6% when using CA. The increase in corn yield after CA may be related to the enhanced ability of that crop to absorb nutrient elements (e.g., nitrogen) and reduce nutrient leaching. Agroforestry increased crop yield by 66% and cover cropping increased yield by 11%, likely due to increases in soil water content and nutrient availability and decreases in erosion and surface runoff. However, other agricultural systems showed no significant increase after CA compared to conventional row cropping practices. Using CA practices had the greatest yield benefit in tropical climates and when farming in coarse‐textured soils. In addition, legumes and grass‐legume mixtures resulted in significant cash crop yield increases, possibly because legumes promoted the increase of soil nitrogen and depleted soil moisture less compared with other cover crops. The results provide new insight into how interactions between soil properties and CA practices affect crop yield, and at the same time can help guide the development of practical, evidence‐based guidelines for using conservation practices to improve yield in corn and other cash crops.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil properties affect crop yield changes under conservation agriculture: A systematic analysis

Ren,

Zou,

Jiao

et al. 2023

European J Soil Science

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Agricultural technology as a driver of sustainable intensification: insights from the diffusion and focus of patents

Li,

Herzog,

Levers

et al. 2024

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Sustainable intensification (SI) responds to the concurrent challenges of increasing food production while reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture. As an early disclosure of innovation, patents are a useful indicator of technology market potential. However, we lack understanding of the extent to which current agricultural technology patents relate to the goals of SI and which kinds of technologies can potentially address SI. Here, we analyzed the diffusion and focus of more than one million patents issued during the period 1970–2022. We explored the degree to which the patents relate to SI through the co-occurrence of efficiency and environmental friendliness targets. Our results reveal that while the rate of patent issuance has dramatically increased over the past five decades, the rate at which patents diffused to different countries had decreased over time. The USA was the biggest net exporter of patents and had produced by far the most high-impact patents (in the top 1% most-cited patents). Since 1970, only 4% of agricultural patents and 6% of high-impact patents were related to SI targets (i.e., promoting both agricultural efficiency and environmental friendliness), but the attention to SI has increased over time. The most highly cited SI-related patents had become more diverse over time, shifting from digital, machine, and energy technologies in 1980s to the current era of agroecology, information, and computer networking. Our results provide an early indication of promising technologies that may play a greater role for SI in the future, subject to the challenges of market transfer and farm adoption and complemented by non-technological innovations in farm management and institutional support.

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Cover Crops Control Weed and Improve Soil Qualities in Citrus Orchard

Li,

Wang,

et al. 2023

J Soil Sci Plant Nutr

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Yield, soil Nitrogen content and weed control in six years of conservation agriculture on-farm field trials in Southwest Germany

Cited by 6 publications

References 46 publications

Soil properties affect crop yield changes under conservation agriculture: A systematic analysis

Soil properties affect crop yield changes under conservation agriculture: A systematic analysis

Agricultural technology as a driver of sustainable intensification: insights from the diffusion and focus of patents

Cover Crops Control Weed and Improve Soil Qualities in Citrus Orchard

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