Seasonal changes in the levels of soil microbial biomass C (MBC) and N (MBN), N-mineralization rate and available-N concentration were studied in rice±barley supporting tropical dryland (rainfed) agroecosystem under six combinations of tillage (conventional, minimum and zero tillage) and crop residue manipulation (retained or removed) conditions. Highest levels of soil MBC and MBN (368±503 and ...

energy consumption in iran is a subject of debate. some may think that oil is cheap in iran and thus no need for this kind of research. this simple minding is erroneous first because iran subsidizes billion dollars each year for the imported diesel fuel specially for agricultural use and second because energy studies reveal the degree of professionally using the technology. we can easily find t...

The pronoun “precision” has been used in recent years in many fields to indicate the use of modern electronics, computer and sensor technology in agriculture and related areas. Some examples are PrecisionAgriculture, Precision-Forestry, Precision-Tillage and it is probably only a matter of time until we see names like “Precision Fisheries” and “Precision Horticulture”. To bring all these terms ...

Crops that have been genetically modified (GM) to be tolerant to herbicides have been widely grown in the USA since 1996. The rapid and widespread adoption of this technology reflects the important economic and environmental benefits that farmers have derived from its use (equal to $21.7 billion additional farm income and a 225 million kg reduction in herbicide active ingredient use 1996-2012)....

Tillage practices and nitrogen (N) sources are important factors affecting rice production. Few studies, however, have examined the interactions between tillage practices and N fertilizer sources on NH3 volatilization, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and rice grain yield. This study aimed to investigate the effects of N fertilizer sources (no N fertilizer, inorganic N fertilizer, organic N ferti...

Recently tillage manufacturers have been promoting vertical tillage systems claiming that their use can overcome production limitations associated with no-till while maintaining sufficient residue cover to provide erosion protection. Vertical tillage refers to systems where soil disturbance is confined to soil movement mostly in the upward direction and/or confined to a slot or strip where the ...

Best nitrogen management practices are the pre-requisite to warrant high maize yield. Thus, experiments were conducted to study the “effect of tillage and split application of nitrogen on hybrid maize” under semi-arid conditions of Pakistan, during fall 2008 and 2009. The experiments were laid out in randomized complete block design with split-plot arrangement, replicated three times in a net p...