Soil management practices, such as tillage method or straw return, could alter soil organic carbon (C) contents. However, the effects of tillage method or straw return on soil organic C (SOC) have showed inconsistent results in different soil/climate/cropping systems. The Yangtze River Delta of China is the main production region of rice and wheat, and rice-wheat rotation is the most important ...

Increased yields with conservation tillage have been attributed to the conservation of soil water (Rao and Sustainable cropping systems are essential for agronomic, ecoDao, 1996; Papendick and Miller, 1977) due to decreased nomic, and environmental reasons. Data from a winter wheat (Tritievaporation and cooler soil temperatures (Gauer et al., cum aestivum L.)/summer fallow rotation experiment, ...

Investigating microbial metabolic characteristics and soil organic carbon (SOC) within aggregates and their relationships under conservation tillage may be useful in revealing the mechanism of SOC sequestration in conservation tillage systems. However, limited studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between SOC and microbial metabolic characteristics within aggregate fractio...

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is well-adapted for the Central Great Plains and could be planted in a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-millet-fallow rotation, resulting in two crops in 3 yr. To determine the most suitable tillage system for proso millet production within this rotation, seven tillage management systems were evaluated over a 6-yr period (1972-1977). The research was condu...

This study examines the effects of tillage, residue management and cropping system intensification through the inclusion of green gram on the performance of the rice-wheat (RW) system in NW India. We hypothesized that zero tillage (ZT) with residue retention provides a means of sustainably intensifying the RW system through lower production costs and higher economic profitability, whilst at the...

In the semi-arid tropics (SAT), 33% areas are occupied by Alfisols and related soils. In SAT these soils have low structural stability and thereby tend to form seal and crusts at the surface. Due to this a large proportion of the rain that falls on Alfisols during the early part of the rainy season, is normally lost as runoff thus causing high soil loss as well as moisture stress to crops. Two ...

No-tillage cultivation offers significant advantages over con­ ventional tillage in terms of water, energy, and particularly soil conservation (Francis et al., 1987). However, continuous no-tillage farming on sandy Ultisols may lead to high bulk density that has a pronounced effect on soil strength due to traffic compaction and lack of plowing (NeSmith et al., 1987). This increase in soil stren...

In arable cropping systems, reduced or conservation tillage practices are linked with improved soil quality, C retention and higher microbial biomass, but most long-term studies rarely focus on depths greater than 15 cm nor allow comparison of microbial community responses to agricultural practices. We investigated microbial community structure in a long-term field trial (12-years, Lincoln, New...

could be optimized using modified NT systems (including ST) and starter fertilizer. In Iowa Mallarino et al. (1999) Utilizing conservation tillage practices and increasing fertilizer N found that ST frequently increased early growth but seluse efficiency for corn (Zea mays L.) are necessary for optimizing dom increased corn grain yields compared with NT. growers’ profits and for minimizing loss...

the objective of this study was to determine the quicker response of subsoil or surface soil to minimum tillage (mt) and conventional tillage (ct) and biofertilizers (bacillus coagulans, b), phosphorus fertilization (p) and integrated p and b (pb) under the wheat (triticum aestivum l vr. sardari) growing season. the experimental design was split plot laid out in randomized complete block design...