Effect of conservation agriculture on soil moisture content and biomass water productivity: Case study of crop residues as soil cover
Paper Details
Effect of conservation agriculture on soil moisture content and biomass water productivity: Case study of crop residues as soil cover
Abstract
One of the important principles of Conservation Agriculture is the permanent soil cover with crop residues which enhances soil and water productivity that leads to improved agricultural productivity. The effect of crop residues on soil moisture content, relative growth rate and biomass water productivity were examined in a completely randomized design at the University of Reading, Berkshire district, England. Straw treatment was significant on moisture content and water use efficiency at (p< 0.01) respectively while there is no significant difference on mean relative growth rate and dry final biomass weights. The study concluded that soil moisture content is conserved with increased use of crop residues as soil cover. The study therefore recommended that project based research on Conservation Agriculture should be carried out by governments and NGO’s that will involve farmers; also they should provide support for the knowledge diffusion of Conservation Agriculture to local farmers since it will improve yield and productivity. Extension agents and other agencies that work with farmers should also be properly trained to be able to disseminate this technology to farmers.
Bationo A, Kihara J, Vanlauwe B, Waswa B, Kinetu J. 2007. Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics, Functions and Management in West African Agro-ecosystems. Agricultural Systems 94,12-25.
Dumanski J, Peiretti R, Benetis J, McGarry D, Pieri C. 2006. The paradigm of conservation tillage. In: Proceedings of the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation P1-7, pp. 58–65. Beijing, P.R. China.
Gicheru PT. 1994. Effects of residue mulch and tillage on soil moisture conservation. SoilTechnology 7(3), 209-220.
Giller KE, Witter E, Corbeels M, Tittonell P. 2009. Conservation Agriculture and Small Holder Farming in Africa: The heretics view. Field Crops Research 144(1), 23-34
Hobbs PR, Sayre K, Gupta R. 2007. The role of conservation agriculture in sustainable agriculture. Phil. Trans. The Royal Society B. 363(1491), 543-555.
International Seed Testing Association. 2005. Germination Test. International rules for seed testing. The Seed Testing Association, Bassersdorf, CH-Switzerland.
Kassam A, Friedrich T, Shaxson F, Pretty J. 2009. The Spread of Conservation Agriculture: Justification, Sustainability and Uptake. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 7(4), 292-320. DOI: 10.3763/ijas.2009.0477
Klocke NL, Currie RS, Dumler TJ. 2006. The effects of crop residue on sprinkler irrigation management. In: Colby, K.S., (Edt) Central plains irrigation conference and exposition proceedings pp. 115-121.
Klocke NL, Schneekloth JP, Melvin SR, Clark RT, Payero JO. 2004. Field Scale Limited Irrigation Scenarios for Water Policy Strategies. J. of App. Eng. in Agric 20(5), 623-631.
Lal R. 1998. Mulching effects on runoff, soil erosion and crop response on alfisols in western Nigeria, Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 11, 135-154.
Ling-ling LI, Gao-bao H, Ren-zhi Z, Belloti B, Li G, Chan KY. 2011. Benefits of conservation agriculture on soil and water conservation and its progress in China. Agricultural Sciences in China 10(6), 850-859.
Muchow RC, Hammer GL, Vanderlip RL. 1994. Assessing climatic risk to sorghum production in water-limited subtropical environments II Effects of planting date, soil water at planting and cultivar phenology. Field Crop Research 36, 235-246.
Parry MAJ, Flexas J, Medrano H. 2005. Prospects for crop production under drought: research priorities and future directions. Annuals for Applied Biology 147, 211-226.
Powell JM, Unger PW. 1997. Alternatives to Crop Residues for SoilAmendment. In: Renard, C., (Edtr.) Crop Residue in sustainable Mixed Crop/Livestock Farming System. CAB international. Wallingford Oxon OX 10 8DE UK.
Sayre KD, Hobbs PR. 2004. The Raised-bed System of Cultivation for Irrigated Production Conditions. In: Lal, R., Hobbs, P., Uphoff, N. and Hansen, D.O., (Eds) Sustainable agriculture and rice-wheat system. Paper 20 2004 pp.337-355. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University.
Scopel E, Triomph B, Seguy L, dos Santos Ribeiro MF, Denardin JE, Kochhan RA. 2004. Direct Seeding Mulch-Based Cropping Systems (DMC) in Latin America. Communication presented at the 4th International crop science congress Brisbane, Australia. 26th September to 1st October 2004.
STOA. 2009. Conservation Agriculture: Final Report, Agricultural Technologies for Developing Countries, STOA project “Agricultural technologies for developing countries” April 2009. European Technology Assessment Group (ETAG). ITAS. DBT. Viwta. POST. Rathenau.
Verhulst N, Govaets B, Nelissen V, Sayre KD, Crossa J, Raes D, Deckers J. 2011. The Effect of Tillage, Crop Rotation and Residue Management on Maize and Wheat Growth and Development Evaluated with Optical Sensor. Field Crops Research 120(1), 58-67. DOI:10.1016/j.fcr.2010.08.012.
O. A. Akilapa, L. O. Adebisi, C. O. Farayola (2020), Effect of conservation agriculture on soil moisture content and biomass water productivity: Case study of crop residues as soil cover; IJAAR, V17, N2, August, P1-7
https://innspub.net/effect-of-conservation-agriculture-on-soil-moisture-content-and-biomass-water-productivity-case-study-of-crop-residues-as-soil-cover/
Copyright © 2020
By Authors and International
Network for Natural Sciences
(INNSPUB) https://innspub.net
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0