Crop and cattle production responses to tillage and cover crop management in an integrated crop–livestock system in the southeastern USA

Integrated crop–livestock systems can help achieve greater environmental quality from disparate crop and livestock systems by recycling nutrients and taking advantage of synergies between systems. We investigated crop and animal production responses in integrated crop–livestock systems with two types of winter cover cropping (legume-derived N and inorganic fertilizer N), two types of tillage [conventional disk (CT) and no tillage (NT)], and whether cover crops were grazed by cow/calf pairs or not. The 13-ha field study was a modification of a previous factorial experiment with four replications on Ultisols in Georgia, USA. Recurring summer drought severely limited corn and soybean production during all three years. Type of cover crop had little influence and grazing of cover crops had minor influence on crop production characteristics. Cattle gain from grazing of winter cover crops added a stable component to production. No-tillage management had large positive effects on corn grain (95 vs. 252 g m⁻² under CT and NT, respectively) and stover (305 vs. 385 g m⁻²) production, as well as on soybean grain (147 vs. 219 g m⁻²) and stover (253 vs. 375 g m⁻²) production, but little overall effect on winter wheat grain (292 g m⁻²) and stover (401 g m⁻²) production. Our results suggest that robust, diversified crop–livestock systems can be developed for impoverished soils of the southeastern USA, especially when managed under no tillage to control environmental quality and improve resistance of crops to drought.     

A trait-based characterization of cover plants to assess their potential to provide a set of ecological services in banana cropping systems

Cover plants are one of the means to increase the functional biodiversity of fields and to enhance the ecological functions of the communities. However, the design of cropping systems including cover plants relies largely on expert knowledge. There is a lack of methods to select the best suited cover plants according to their role in the agrosystem. We propose to use functional traits to select cover plants suited to sustain ecological services in the banana agrosystems of the French West Indies. Our objectives were (i) to characterize a collection of cover plants on a trait basis, according to their potential to provide the services expected in a banana agrosystem and (ii) to discuss the potential use of this characterization for the design of innovative multi-species banana cropping systems. In these systems, four main services are targeted, i.e. controlling weeds, controlling plant-parasitic nematodes, improving soil fertility and particularly N availability, and avoiding competition with banana for resource acquisition. Three experiments were conducted, under field and controlled conditions, to evaluate the potential of a collection of 28 tropical cover plants to achieve the functions related to these services. For each cover plant, a functional profile was constructed from a combination of plant traits that are easy to assess experimentally. It described plants’ potential to achieve the functions expected in a banana agrosystem. Functional profiles required for cover plant usages were also identified. The comparison of the plant functional profiles and the functional profiles required for their usages enabled us to select the best suited plants for each usage. However, these functional profiles rarely corresponded, meaning that a cover plant is rarely sufficient to achieve all the functions required for a usage. Functional complementarities obtained by the mixture of different species of cover plants are thus often required. Compared to classical approaches of innovative cropping system design based on the experimental testing of spatial and temporal plant combinations, such a trait-based approach saves time by focusing on a shortlist of cover plants best suited according to their functions in the agrosystem.     

芜湖市5所公园地被植物应用状况分析

为进一步明确地被植物在城市公园中的景观应用,采用实地调研的方法,记录并分析安徽省芜湖市内的赭山公园、镜湖公园、九莲塘公园、滨江公园（一期）和雕塑公园的地被植物应用状况。结果显示,5所公园常用地被植物共有94种,其中草本41种、木本53种,麦冬等7种草本及洒金桃叶珊瑚等32种木本地被植物应用最多;各公园的滨水区域地被植物应用各具特色,常应用迎春花、火棘等地被植物作为衔接。笔者就芜湖市公园地被植物应用方面提出了思考与建议,为城市公园地被植物应用提供参考。     

Clover cover crops under-sown in winter wheat increase yield of subsequent spring barley—Effect of N dose and companion grass

Four two-year field trials, arranged in randomised split-plots, were carried out in southern Sweden with the aim of determining whether reduced N fertiliser dose in winter wheat production with spring under-sown clover cover crops, with or without perennial ryegrass in the seed mixture, would increase the clover biomass and hence the benefits of the cover crops in terms of the effect on the wheat crop, on a subsequent barley crop and on the risk of N leaching. Four doses of nitrogen (0, 60, 120 or 180 kg N ha⁻¹) constituted the main plots and six cover crop treatments the sub-plots. The cover crop treatments were red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) in pure stands and in mixtures. The winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was harvested in August and the cover crops were ploughed under in November. The risk of N leaching was assessed in November by measuring the content of mineral N in the soil profile (0–30, 30–90 cm). In the following year, the residual effects of the cover crops were investigated in spring barley (Hordeum distichon L.) without additional N. Under-sowing of cover crops did not influence wheat yield, while reduced N fertiliser dose decreased yield and increased the clover content of the cover crops. When N was applied, the mixed cover crops were as effective in depleting soil mineral nitrogen as a pure ryegrass cover crop, while pure clover was less efficient. The clover content at wheat harvest as well as the amount of N incorporated with the cover crops had a positive correlation with barley yield. Spring barley in the unfertilised treatments yielded, on average, 1.9–2.4 Mg DM ha⁻¹ more in treatments with clover cover crops than in the treatment without cover crops. However, this positive effect decreased as the N dose to the preceding wheat crop increased, particularly when the clover was mixed with grass.     

Powdery mildew development is positively influenced by grapevine vegetative growth induced by different soil management strategies

In various crop species, high levels of powdery mildew infection and severity have been associated with high vegetative vigour. In grapevine this relationship has also been observed by vine growers, though it has not been quantified. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the development of powdery mildew on leaves and berries and canopy growth, and thus to quantify the relationship between the pathogen and its host. Over a two-year period (2005 and 2006), an experiment was carried out in a vineyard (cv. Aranel) near Montpellier, southern France. Several levels of canopy growth were generated by implementing four soil management strategies: i) perennial cover crop in the inter-row, ii) annual cover crop in the inter-row, iii) chemical weed control over the entire soil surface, iv) chemical weed control all over the soil surface and drip irrigation and fertilization in the row. Powdery mildew was artificially inoculated on experimental sub-plots with Erysiphe necator [Schw.] Burr. conidia. The most vigorous vines developed a larger number of diseased leaves and a higher percentage of mildewed berries compared to low-vigour vines. The major explanatory variable highlighted in these experiments was the shoot leaf number, mainly early in the season. A higher leaf population generated a larger number of powdery mildew colonies close to grapes and consequently a higher probability of berry infection. Our experimental results provide evidence of a positive relationship between powdery mildew development and grapevine vegetative development. These results provide an opportunity to develop new IPM strategies in vineyards.     

Single season effects of mixed-species cover crops on tomato health (cultivar Celebrity) in multi-state field trials

Cover crop use can help mitigate the deleterious effects of common cropping practices (e.g., tillage) and is, therefore, an important component of soil health maintenance. While known to be beneficial in the long-term, the short-term effects of cover crops, specifically mixed-species cover crops in organic systems are less clear. Cover crop effects on tomato productivity and disease severity were recorded over three field seasons (2010, 2011 and 2012) at sixteen field sites in three states, Maryland, New York and Ohio (MD, NY and OH), each with distinct soilborne disease pressure. Plots of five state-specific cover crop treatments were established the season prior to tomato production; the resulting plant residue was incorporated the following spring approximately four weeks before tomato planting. Total fruit yields along with early-season shoot height and fresh weight were used to compare treatment effects on productivity. Treatment disease severity ratings relied on natural inoculum. Interestingly, the effect of a single season of cover cropping on total yield was significant in no more than 25% of all site years. Similarly, cover crop effects on tomato disease levels were significant in 0–44% of the sixteen field sites. However, significant field-specific patterns were observed in every state across multiple years for some treatments. For example, in New York in 2010, tomato yields following all mixed cover crops were greater than the single rye cover crop in one field, but this pattern was reversed in the adjacent field. Thus, no general recommendation of a specific cover crop mixture can be made for near-term enhancement of tomato productivity or for reduction of disease. Therefore, growers should focus on location and operation-specific variables when choosing cover crops.     

Growth and weed suppression ability of common and new cover crops in Germany

Cover crops have a wide-ranging influence on the agroecosystem and create multiple benefits for farmers. A major benefit of cover crops is the suppression of weeds during fall and winter, which can help to reduce soil tillage and herbicide use. However, only a small number of cover crop species are currently grown in Germany. To enlarge this number, four new cover crop species including tartary buckwheat, forage radish, red oat and grain amaranth were tested in comparison with common cover crop species such as white mustard, oilseed radish and phacelia. Emergence, soil coverage, dry matter production and weed suppression ability was assessed for all cover crop species. White mustard emerged faster than all other cover crops and produced the highest amount of shoot dry matter at both locations in southwest Germany twelve weeks after planting (WAP). Oilseed radish was the only cover crop that reduced the weed dry matter in all experiments eight WAP. Phacelia was able to reduce weed density by 77% at Meiereihof twelve WAP. Tartary buckwheat offered the highest soil coverage four WAP, produced the greatest shoot dry matter eight WAP and reduced weed dry matter by more than 96% at Meiereihof and Ihinger Hof twelve WAP. Forage radish produced the highest root dry matter and reduced spring weed density by more than 81% in all experiments. Red oat and grain amaranth emerged slowly, produced less biomass than other cover crops and did not suppress weed growth. The results show that tartary buckwheat and forage radish are well suited as new cover crops in Germany due to their fast growth and good weed suppression ability.     

Subsequent nitrogen utilisation and soil water distribution as affected by forage radish cover crop and nitrogen fertiliser in a corn silage production system

Forage radish is a unique winter cover crop that is relatively new but becoming rapidly adopted in temperate, humid North America. Little is known about how the use of this cover crop may influence subsequent nitrogen availability, soil water accumulation in the soil profile in corn silage production system. In this present work, the average nitrogen uptake by silage corn increased significantly by 11.6% in cover plots compared with the no-cover control plots. The recovery efficiency and agronomic efficiency of applied nitrogen in silage corn declined in cover plots compared to no-cover plots. The average soil water storage in cover plots was significantly higher than in the control after corn sowing and at the harvest stage. With increasing nitrogen application level, the average corn grain yield increased significantly at 56 and 112 kg N ha^?1 by 13.1% and 39.8%, respectively. Planting a forage radish cover crop can facilitate growth of silage corn and markedly improve total nitrogen uptake of corn. Consideration should be given to nitrogen application rate and also to avoiding excessive nitrogen input in the subsequent crop following a cover crop, thereby truly improving subsequent fertiliser use efficiency.     

Responses of soil nematode community structure to soil carbon changes due to different tillage and cover crop management practices over a nine-year period in Kanto,Japan

The response of the soil food web structure to soil quality changes during long-term anthropogenic disturbance due to farming practices has not been well studied. We evaluated the effects of three tillage systems: moldboard plow/rotary harrow (MP), rotary cultivator (RC), and no-tillage (NT), three winter cover-crop types (fallow, FL; rye, RY; and hairy vetch, HV), and two nitrogen fertilization rates (0 and 100 kg N ha⁻¹ for upland rice, and 0 and 20 kg N ha⁻¹ for soybean production) on changes in nematode community structure. Sixty-nine taxa were counted, total nematode abundance (ALL), bacterial feeders (BAC), predators (PRD), omnivores (OMN), and obligatory root feeders (ORF) were more abundant in NT than in MP and RC, but fungal feeders and facultative root feeders (FFR) were more abundant in RC than in NT and MP. Cover crop also influenced nematode community structure; rye and hairy vetch were always higher in ALL, BAC, FFR, ORF, and OMN than fallow. Seasonal changes in nematode community structure were also significant; in particular, as soil carbon increased, nematode abundance also increased. The relationship between nematode indices and soil carbon was significant only in NT, but not in MP and RC. In NT, with increasing soil carbon, enrichment index and structure index (SI) were positive and significant and channel index was negative. Bulk density was significantly negatively correlated with FFR and ORF. Seasonal difference in nematode community between summer and autumn was larger in an upland rice rotation than in a soybean rotation. Over the nine-year experiment, SI increased not only in NT but also in MP and RC, suggesting that repeated similar tillage inversions in agroecosystems may develop nematode community structures adapted to specific soil environmental conditions. Because NT showed the highest values of both SI and soil carbon, the increase of soil carbon in NT is expected to have a great impact on developing a more diverse nematode community structure.     

The combined effects of cover crops and symbiotic microbes on phosphatase gene and organic phosphorus hydrolysis in subtropical orchard soils

P deficiency is a major obstacle for crop production in subtropical red soils in South China, and the hydrolysis of organic P (Po) is of great significance in these soils due to the immobilization of P by Fe and Al. Cover cropping in orchards and symbiotic microbial inoculation are considered to improve soil quality, including P status, however, their effects on the hydrolysis of Po is little known. In this study, five soil managements were established in a guava orchard in South China for two and a half years, including clean culture (CC), cover cropping with Paspalum natatu (PN), PN with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculation (PNA), cover cropping with Stylosanthes guianensis (SG), SG with rhizobial inoculation (SGR). Soil chemical, biochemical and microbial properties were analyzed. Results indicate that soil pH and SOM content tended to increase following cover cropping alone or with microbial inoculation. Po content was significantly elevated in PNA. Po fractionation revealed that cover cropping alone or with microbial inoculation significantly affected the contents of moderately labile Po (MLPo) and moderately resistant Po (FAPo). Enzyme assay indicated that cover cropping with microbial inoculation increased the activities of acidic phosphomonoesterase (ACP), neutral phosphomonoesterase (NP) and alkaline phosphomonoesterase (ALP), with ALP the most sensitive, although ACP activity dominated in red soils. Correlation analysis suggested a significantly positive relationship between ALP activity and MLPo or FAPo. PCR-DGGE profile of the alp-harboring bacterial community showed that cover cropping with S. guianensis and mycorrhizal inoculation to P. natatu promoted the bacterial diversity and/or species richness. For almost all the measured parameters, PN and SG were comparable, however, PNA was superior to SGR, indicating the stronger additive effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus than that of rhizobia. Cat-PCA indicated that MLPo was the most influential factor on phosphomonoesterase. In general, this study suggests that, in subtropical orchards with red soil, cover cropping with microbial inoculation can improve the Po hydrolysis via the promoted alp-harboring bacterial community and then ALP activity. Our results also suggest that the combination of P. natatu and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus is better than S. guianensis and rhizobia, which possesses practical significance for sustainable production in these orchards.