A field experiment was conducted to observe the influence of a cover crop (winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L.), and a perennial weed (dandelion, Taraxacum officinale Weber ex Wigg.), on vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) inoculum potential, soil aggregation, and maize yield after one season. Mycorrhizal colonization of maize roots was higher following the autumn planting of either winter whe...

An intensified farming system can significantly increase crop productivity but also cause major groundwater overdraft for irrigation and the loss of diversity. It is imperative to develop alternative rotations beyond simplified conventional winter wheat–summer maize (W–M) rotation alleviating over-extraction in China’s Huang-Huai Plain. This study systematically quantified water requirement (ET...

The North China Plain (NCP) is a major grain production zone that plays a critical role in ensuring China's food supply. Irrigation is commonly used during grain production; however, the high annual water deficit [precipitation (P) minus evapotranspiration (ET)] in typical irrigated cropland does not support double cropping systems (such as maize and wheat) and this has resulted in the steep de...

An experiment with five different tillage systems and their influence on fuel consumption, labour requirement and yield of tested crops was carried out on Albic Luvisol in northwest Slavonia in the period of 1996.-2000. The compared tillage systems were: 1. conventional tillage system (CT), 2. reduced tillage system (RT), 3. conservation tillage system I (CP), 4. conservation tillage system II ...

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grows in dry season but summer maize (Zea mays L.) coincides with rainfall in the North China Plain (NCP). Increasing rainfall use efficiency and harmonizing its utilization between the two species is an effective way to mitigate impact on groundwater deriving from wheat irrigation. One to four times water supply (W1, to W4) were employed in wheat, three wate...

Exceedance of the US Environmental Protection Agency national ambient air quality standard for PM10 (particulate matter ≤10 μm in aerodynamic diameter) within the Columbia Plateau region of the Pacific Northwest US is largely caused by wind erosion of agricultural lands managed in a winter wheat–summer fallow rotation. Land management practices, therefore, are sought that will reduce erosion an...

A systematic understanding of nitrous oxide (N2O) emission and grain yield in winter wheat–summer maize rotation, one the most important cereal cropping systems China, is still lacking. The primary aim this study was to quantify N2O emissions yield, as well responses mitigation strategies, intensively managed agroecosystem. We conducted a pairwise meta-analysis by compiling comprehensive datase...

BACKGROUND Lower Saxony (Germany) has the highest installed electric capacity from biogas in Germany. Most of this electricity is generated with maize. Reasons for this are the high yields and the economic incentive. In parts of Lower Saxony, an expansion of maize cultivation has led to ecological problems and a negative image of bioenergy as such. Winter triticale and cup plant have both shown...

Heterodera avenae is widely distributed in the western United States, where most wheat is grown in non-irrigated winter wheat/summer fallow rotations in low rainfall regions. Economic and social pressures have motivated growers to pursue a transition from winter wheat/summer fallow rotation to no-till annual spring cereals. Annual cereals are also planted in some irrigated fields. The impact of...