Precision farming, precision agriculture or site-specific management (SSM) is a management system where crop production practices and inputs such as seed, fertilizers and pesticides are variably applied within a field. Input rates are based on the needs for optimum production at each within-field location. Since over-application and under-application of agrochemicals are both minimized, this st...

Climate changes are occurring rapidly at both regional and global scales. Farmers are faced with the challenge of developing new agricultural practices to help them to cope with unpredictable changes in environmental, social, and economic conditions. Under these conditions, adaptive management requires a farmer to learn by monitoring provisional strategies and changing conditions, and then incr...

Grain legumes convert atmospheric N2 to reactive N through symbiosis with N2-fixing rhizobia. Biological N2 fixation associated with legumes and the subsequent decomposition of legume residues are the primary processes that replenish N removed by harvest in agroecosystems without the addition of fertilizer N (Galloway et al., 1995, Peoples et al., 1995). Therefore, legumes are often included in...

The problem of concern in this project is that in the dry season following a lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop, yields of post-rice crops are generally low, despite adequate water commonly being available in the soil pro®le to grow a potentially high yielding dry season (DS) crop without irrigation. Maize (Zea mays L.) yields are as low as 1 Mg haÿ1 or less, soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) and...

introduction integrated nutrient management involving crop residue/green manures and chemical fertilizer is potential alternative to provide a balanced supply of nutrients, enhance soil quality and thereby sustain higher productivity. the present experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effect of different crop residue management practices and npk levels on yield components and yield of wheat....

Soils perform many essential functions for plant growth, water storage, and water and air quality. Future generations depend on our crop and soil management practices to maintain or improve the soil’s ability to perform these essential functions while providing the food and fiber needed by society. Unfortunately, many soils have been degraded because we either did not understand the negative ef...

local information about tillage intensity and ground residue coverage is useful for policies in agricultural extension, tillage implement design and upgrading management methods. the current methods for assessing crop residue coverage and tillage intensity such as residue weighing methods, line-transect and photo comparison methods are tedious and time-consuming. the present study was devoted t...

Two watermelon pest management practices, a squash trap crop and a standard recommendation using soil-applied carbofuran, were compared using large-scale field plots to assess trap crop suitability as a replacement for the standard in 2000, 2001, and 2002. In both systems, foliar insecticide applications were used to control squash bugs when populations exceeded threshold levels. During 2001 an...