Tillage and mulch effects on soil physical environment, root growth, nutrient uptake and yield of maize and wheat on an Alfisol in north-west India

Field experiments were conducted for 6 years on a silty clay loam to study the effect of soil management on soil physical properties, root growth, nutrient uptake and yield of rainfed maize (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in a sequence. Treatments were: no-tillage (NT), NT+pine needle mulch at a rate of 10 t ha⁻¹ (NT+M), conventional tillage (CT), CT+pine needle mulch at a rate of 10 t ha⁻¹ (CT+M) and deep tillage (DT). The soil is classified as a Typic Hapludalf and has compact sub-surface layers. The NT treatment increased the bulk density of the surface layer but this problem was not observed in the no-tilled treatment having mulch at the surface (NT+M). The CT+M and NT+M treatments favourably moderated the hydro-theregime resulting in greater root growth, nutrient uptake and grain yields of maize and wheat. The DT treatment, imposed only once, at the beginning of the study, also enhanced root growth and grain yields. The yields were similar to the mulched treatments for maize and somewhat less than the mulched treatments for wheat. Mulched treatments generally showed significantly greater total uptake of N, P and K than corresponding unmulched ones. Since NT+M was comparable to CT for maize and superior for wheat, the latter is preferable since it does not require ellaborate tillage.     

Influence of tillage and crop residue on soil physical properties and yields of rice and wheat under shallow water table conditions

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of tillage and residue incorporation on soil properties and yields of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in rotation for 4 years on a silty clay loam of an Aquic Hapludoll with natural water table fluctuating between 0.05 and 0.97 m depth The rice experiment was laid out in split plot design with four levels of tillage, viz. conventional puddling (CP), puddling by four passes of rotavator (PR), reduced puddling by two passes of rotavator (ReP), and direct seeding without puddling (DSWP) and two levels of residue, viz. residue incorporation (RI) and residue removal (RR) in four replications. The treatments for wheat were zero tillage (ZT) and conventional tillage (CT) with RI and RR superimposed over the plots of rice. Tillage for rice increased puddling index and bulk density (BD) over the years. The increase was significantly higher in CP and PR than in ReP. In wheat season, BD was higher under ZT than under CT but the differences were not significant. Puddling decreased saturated hydraulic conductivity with time, which became significantly lower in CP and PR in the fourth year than in ReP in the first year. Infiltration rate (IR) also decreased with time and was lowest in CP and PR. In wheat season, IR was at par under ZT and CT. Rice yield in PR was maximum and at par with that in ReP. But wheat yield was lowest in PR and highest in DSWP, and was at par in DSWP and ReP. Thus, rice yields were optimum under ReP, in which changes in soil properties were least, and wheat yields were optimum both under ZT and CT in the DSWP and ReP plots of rice under shallow water table conditions of the silty clay loam.     

Effect of tillage and residue management on enzyme activities in soils

Recent interest in soil tillage and residue management has focused on low-input sustainable agriculture. In this study we investigated the effect of three tillage systems (no-till, chisel plow, and moldboard plow) and four residue placements (bare, normal, mulch, and double mulch) on the activities of four amidohydrolases (amidase, L-asparaginase, L-glutaminase, and urease) in soils from four replicated field-plots. Correlation coefficients (r) for linear regressions between the activities of each of the enzymes and organic C or pH and between all possible paired amidohydrolases were also calculated. The results showed that the effects of tillage and residue management on pH in the 28 surface soil (0–15 cm) samples were not significant. The organic C content, however, was affected significantly by the different tillage and residue-management practices studied, being the greatest in soils with notill/double mulch treatment, and the least with no-till/bare and moldboard/normal treatments. Within the same tillage system, mulch treatment resulted in greater organic C content compared with normal or bare treatment. The activities of the amidohydrolases studied were generally greater in mulch-treated plots than in non-treated plots, and were significantly correlated with organic C contents of soils, with r values ranging from 0.70^*** to 0.90^***. Linear regression analyses of enzyme activities on pH values (in 0.01 M CaCl₂) of the 28 surface soils showed significant correlations for L-asparaginase, L-glutaminase, and urease, with r values of 0.74^***, 0.77^***, and 0.72^***, respectively, but not for amidase (r=0.24). The activities of the four amidohydrolases studied in the 40 soil samples tested were significantly intercorrelated, with r values ranging from 0.72^*** to 0.92^***. The activities of the four amidohydrolases decreased with increasing soil depth of the plow layer, and were accompanied by a decrease in organic C content.     

Tillage and land use effects on soil microporosity in Ohio, USA and Kolombangara, Solomon Islands

Micropores are important to soil moisture retention and plant growth. Microporosity and pore size distribution were evaluated using mercury intrusion porosimetery on aggregates from 35-year-old experiments started in 1962 at Wooster (40.5 °N, 82 °W) and South Charleston (39.8 °N, 84 °W) in Ohio, USA and from three land use practices on Kolombangara (8 °S, 157 °E) in Solomon Islands. Tillage treatments in Ohio included: moldboard plowing (MP), chisel plowing (CP), and no-till (NT) with continuous corn. The land use treatments in Kolombangara included: natural forest (NF), traditional farming (TF) and topsoil removal (TR). Pore size measured in aggregates ranged from 0.2 to 100 μm in diameter. Median pore radius was significantly (P < 0.05) larger for NT than for MP and CP treatments at Wooster, but not at South Charleston. Tillage treatments had significant effect on the volume of both storage and residual pores for both sites in Ohio. Volume of storage and residual pores were higher for Wooster than South Charleston soil. At Kolombangara, the NF treatment had significantly larger median and peak pore radii, and microporosity than TF and TR treatments. There was, however, no significant difference among treatments in the volume of pore size distribution. These data support a recommendation for adoption of no-till or conservation tillage in soils of the temperate region, and of minimal disturbance and effective erosion control in soils of the tropics.     

Influence of spring preparation date and soil water content on seedbed physical conditions of a clayey soil in Sweden

Secondary tillage performed under inadequate soil water contents usually leads to a poor seedbed. Under normal Swedish weather conditions, clayey soils ploughed during autumn form a very dry top layer in spring, which acts as an evaporation barrier so that deeper layers remain wet. Thus, the conventional approach considering soil workability in relation to a single value of soil water content is difficult to apply. Hence, a field experiment was carried out to study the effect of seedbed preparation date, the associated soil water contents and traffic consequences on the physical properties of a spring seedbed. The field was autumn ploughed and the experiment started as soon as the field was trafficable after winter thawing. The seedbed preparation consisted of three harrowing operations on plots 8 m×8 m (three replications) with a spring tined harrow and a tractor mounted with dual tyres and was performed on 10 occasions from the beginning of April to the middle of May. With the exception of some short periods after rain, the soil had a clear water stratification during the experiment, with a very dry superficial layer (5–20 mm thick) contrasting to water contents over 300 g kg⁻¹ from only 40 mm depth. After the harrowing operation, the seedbed aggregate fraction less than 2 mm increased from about 40% at the beginning of April to about 60% for the last four treatments in May. Contributing factors to the rise were attributed to the lower water contents of the top layer (<40 mm) and the drying–wetting and freezing–thawing cycles that occurred in the surface layer during April. There were no significant differences in bulk density after harrowing between the treatments but an increase in penetration resistance up to a depth of 180 mm in the harrowed plots was statistically significant (P<0.001). In the non-harrowed soil, penetration resistance also increased, including in those soil layers where water contents kept nearly constant.

In conclusion, the seedbed preparation dates had only a minor effect on soil compaction, as measured by bulk density and penetration resistance, due to the slow drying beneath the dry top layer. The fraction of fine aggregates in the seedbed increased with time. Thus, the optimal time for seedbed preparation depended mainly on soil friability and not on the risk of compaction.     

A nonlinear 3D finite element analysis of the soil forces acting on a disk plow

This study aimed to compare predicted soil forces on a disk plow with measured forces within the tillage depth of clay (90 g kg⁻¹ sand, 210 g kg⁻¹ silt, 700 g kg⁻¹ clay) and sandy loam (770 g kg⁻¹ sand, 40 g kg⁻¹ silt, 190 g kg⁻¹ clay) soils. The model assumed the effects of both tilt angle and plowing speed. Two plowing speeds (4 and 10 km/h) at three tilt angles (15°, 20° and 25°) were compared and the draft, vertical, and side forces determined. A 3D nonlinear finite element model was used to predict the soil forces while a dynamometer was used to measure them on a disk plow in the field. An incremental method was used to deal with material nonlinearity and the Trapezoidal rule method was used to analyze the dynamic response of soil during tillage. Field tillage experiments were conducted to verify the results of the finite element model. It was found that increasing the tilt angle of the plow increased the draft and vertical forces and decreased the side force. Increasing plowing speed increased the draft and side forces and decreased the vertical force. Generally, the results from the finite element model were found to be compatible with the experimental results in clay soil, while in sandy loam the differences between predicted and measured data were probably due to problems of measuring soil mechanical characteristics in the triaxial test.     

Tillage effects on microbial biomass and nutrient distribution in soils under rain-fed corn production in central-western Mexico

Quantifying how tillage systems affect soil microbial biomass and nutrient cycling by manipulating crop residue placement is important for understanding how production systems can be managed to sustain long-term soil productivity. Our objective was to characterize soil microbial biomass, potential N mineralization and nutrient distribution in soils (Vertisols, Andisols, and Alfisols) under rain-fed corn (Zea mays L.) production from four mid-term (6 years) tillage experiments located in central-western, Mexico. Treatments were three tillage systems: conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and no tillage (NT). Soil was collected at four locations (Casas Blancas, Morelia, Apatzingán and Tepatitlán) before corn planting, at depths of 0–50, 50–100 and 100–150 mm. Conservation tillage treatments (MT and NT) significantly increased crop residue accumulation on the soil surface. Soil organic C, microbial biomass C and N, potential N mineralization, total N, and extractable P were highest in the surface layer of NT and decreased with depth. Soil organic C, microbial biomass C and N, total N and extractable P of plowed soil were generally more evenly distributed throughout the 0–150 mm depth. Potential N mineralization was closely associated with organic C and microbial biomass. Higher levels of soil organic C, microbial biomass C and N, potential N mineralization, total N, and extractable P were directly related to surface accumulation of crop residues promoted by conservation tillage management. Quality and productivity of soils could be maintained or improved with the use of conservation tillage.     

重庆市城乡要素流动赋能乡村多元价值实现机制

准确认知城乡要素流动赋能乡村多元价值实现机制，既能激发乡村内生动力又能确保农民持续增收，对于建设宜居宜业和美乡村具有重要的理论价值和现实意义。该研究以城乡界面间要素流动的吸纳、融合和冲突作用为介质，解析城乡要素流动与乡村多元价值实现的逻辑关联，以重庆市为研究区，分别构建指标体系测度城乡要素流动和乡村多元价值实现，进而解析其相关关系以理清其赋能过程与实现机制，结果表明：1）城乡要素人口流动、资源转移和社会互动综合作用赋能乡村多元价值，表征为供给价值、调节价值、传承价值和服务价值的实现，其中人口流动是核心，资源转移是重点，社会互动是动力；2）重庆市乡村多元价值实现程度总体上呈正态分布，其中，人口流动对供给价值和调节价值具有正向促进作用、对传承价值具有反向抑制作用，相关系数分别为0.40、0.37、-0.56；资源转移对供给价值、调节价值和服务价值具有正向促进作用，相关系数分别为0.31、0.37、0.39；社会互动对调节价值、服务价值具有正向促进作用、对传承价值具有反向抑制作用，相关系数分别为0.42、0.46、-0.57；3）针对重庆市城乡人口流动频繁、资源转移和社会互动较少的现实情景，从以县域为重要载体构建新型城乡关系、全要素流动为核心的要素自由流动制度性通道、高质量提升乡村价值实现能力3个层次提出了加快乡村价值实现的路径。     

内浮顶罐下沉浮盘的改造

为提高内浮顶罐浮盘的抗沉能力，将钢制浮盘改造为铝质浮盘，叙述了具体的施工步骤及实际应用中应注意的事项。实践证明此改造方案效果较佳，可供借鉴。     

2000年以来中国城市化水平的空间分异研究——以市域为单元的分析

在城市化内涵界定的基础上,选取城市化的三个基本方面,以人口城市化、经济城市化和空间城市化复合而成综合城市化水平,以此对2000年、2008年中国各城市的综合城市化水平进行测度,借助Arcgis对综合城市化水平的空间分布特征及其变动进行分析;并通过泰尔指数(Theil),进一步揭示综合城市化水平的空间差异;最后依据2000年以来综合城市化水平的提升速度,将全国城市划分为快速城市化地区、城市化稳步提升地区、低速城市化地区、城市化停滞地区四种类型.