crop rotation is one of the essential practices in sustainable agricultural systems, be-cause of its effects on soil fertility and other benefits including a reduction in weed compe-tition. a field experiment was conducted at chaparsar rice research station, tonekabon, iran, from 2002 to 2003 to assess the influence of crop rotation, time of planting, and till-age depth on rice (oryza sativa l....

Smallholder farmers in southern Africa have reported on increased labour requirements for hoe weeding due to high weed infestations in conservation farming (CF) fields. However, CF proponents claim that weed pressure and labour requirements for weeding decrease within the first three years under the recommended CF practices. An observational study was carried out during the 2008/09 cropping sea...

Soil organic matter (SOM) is essential for sustaining soil health and crop productivity. However, changes in SOM stocks in response to agronomic practices are slow and show years later when it is too late for adjustments in management. Identifying early indicators of SOM dynamics will allow early management decisions and quick remedial action. The objectives of this study were to evaluate long-...

rotation is also more effective in preventing deep leaching of nitrate N than continuous corn (Katupitiya et al., Reduced tillage, including no-till, and crop rotation are common 1997; Varvel and Peterson, 1990). Reduced stress from practices for corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] production in the Midwest. Benefits of no-till vary with latitude pests may be one of the reas...

Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils has the capacity to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to improve soil biological, physical, and chemical properties. The review of literature pertaining to soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics within Australian grain farming systems does not enable us to conclude on the best farming practices to increase or maintain SOC for a specific combina...

The organic industry continues to expand in the United States (U.S.), with 14,093 organic farms in 2014. The upper Midwestern U.S. has emerged as a hub for organic row crop production; however, the management of these organic row crop hectares heavily relies on tillage and cultivation for weed control. Faced with the soil quality challenges related to these practices, and cognizant of the benef...

The USDA established the National Organic Program (NOP) to develop national standards for organically produced agricultural products and establish an organic certification program as required by the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) passed by Congress in 1990. Organic crop production excludes conventional pesticides, petroleum – based fertilizers, and sewage sludge based fertilizers with some...

background and objectives: suitable tillage methods and planting cover crops are such factors in sustainable agricultural systems, which play an important role in the sustainability of agricultural production systems. minimum and no-tillage systems methods that leave instead of usually more than 30 percent of crop residue on the soil surface, are used to reduce soil erosion, improve soil physic...

Information on the long-term effect of management practices on soil C and N stocks is lacking. An experiment was conducted from 2004 to 2011 in the northern Great Plains, USA to examine the effects of tillage, crop rotation, and cultural practice on annualized crop residue (stems + leaves) returned to the soil and grain yield, and soil total C (STC) and total N (STN) stocks at the 0-120 cm dept...

reduce the amount of water used, resulting in savings Low-pressure sprinkler irrigation systems have the potential to of both water and energy. save energy, but also may aggravate soiland water-management Center-pivot systems with high pressure nozzles reproblems. The objective of this research was to determine the influquire relatively large amounts of energy to develop ence of center-pivot sp...