Deep Tillage,Soil Moisture Regime,and Optimizing N Nutrition for Sustaining Soil Health and Sugarcane Yield in Subtropical India

A field experiment was conducted at ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, with three tillage practices (T₁: Control- two times ploughing with harrow and cultivator, each followed by planking before sugarcane planting; T₂: Deep tillage with disc plough (depth 25–30 cm) before planting followed by harrowing, cultivator, and planking; and T₃: Subsoiling at 45–50 cm and deep tillage with disc plough/moldboard plough (depth 25–30 cm) followed by harrowing, cultivator, and planking before planting, two soil moisture regimes (M₁: 0.5 irrigation water (IW)/cumulative pan evaporation (?CPE) ratio and M₂: 0.75 IW/CPE ratio) at 7.5 cm depth of IW, and four N levels (N₁- 0, N₂- 75, N₃- 150, and N₄-225 kg N ha^?1) in sugarcane plant crop. Deep tillage and subsoiling increased porosity and reduced bulk density in surface/subsurface soil. Further, these physical changes also improved soil biological and chemical properties responsible for higher crop growth and yield. Deep tillage and subsoiling reduced the compaction by 6.12% in 0–15 cm depth in sugarcane plant crop at maximum tillering stage. The highest N uptake (158.5 kg ha^?1) was analyzed with deep tillage and subsoiling compared to all other tillage practices. Maintaining suboptimal moisture regime with deep tillage and subsoiling showed the highest IW use efficiency (157.16 kg cane kg^?1 N applied). Mean soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) in ratoon crop was higher compared to plant crop. During initial tillering stage, ratoon crop showed higher SMBC with application of deep tillage and subsoiling (1209 mg CO₂-C g^?1 soil day^?1) at 0–15 cm depth and 1082.9 mg CO₂-C g^?1 soil day^?1 at 15–30 cm depth. Thus, it could be concluded that besides improving sugarcane yield, soil health could be sustained by adopting subsoiling (45–50 cm depth) and deep tillage (20–25 cm depth), with soil moisture regime of 0.75 IW/CPE and application of 150 kg N ha^?1 in sugarcane (plant crop).     

Tillage effects on soil aggregation and soil organic carbon profile distribution under Mediterranean semi‐arid conditions

In rainfed semi‐arid agroecosystems, soil organic carbon (SOC) may increase with the adoption of alternative tillage systems (e.g. no‐tillage, NT). This study evaluated the effect of two tillage systems (conventional tillage, CT vs. NT) on total SOC content, SOC concentration, water stable aggregate‐size distribution and aggregate carbon concentration from 0 to 40 cm soil depth. Three tillage experiments were chosen, all located in northeast Spain and using contrasting tillage types but with different lengths of time since their establishment (20, 17, and 1‐yr). In the two fields with mouldboard ploughing as CT, NT sequestered more SOC in the 0–5 cm layer compared with CT. However, despite there being no significant differences, SOC tended to accumulate under CT compared with NT in the 20–30 and 30–40 cm depths in the AG‐17 field with 25–50% higher SOC content in CT compared with NT. Greater amounts of large and small macroaggregates under NT compared with CT were measured at 0–5 cm depth in AG‐17 and at 5–10 cm in both AG‐1 and AG‐17. Differences in macroaggregate C concentration between tillage treatments were only found in the AG‐17 field at the soil surface with 19.5 and 11.6 g C/kg macroaggregates in NT and CT, respectively. After 17 yr of experiment, CT with mouldboard ploughing resulted in a greater total SOC concentration and macroaggregate C concentration below 20 cm depth, but similar macroaggregate content compared with NT. This study emphasizes the need for adopting whole‐soil profile approaches when studying the suitability of NT versus CT for SOC sequestration and CO₂ offsetting.     

Soil carbon improvement under long‐term (36 years) no‐till sorghum production in a sub‐tropical environment

Soil organic matter (SOM) is considered an important indicator of soil quality, which can be impacted by crop production practices such as tillage. In this study, two long‐term tillage regimes (conventional tillage [CT] and no tillage [NT], conducted for 36 years) were compared in continuous sorghum production in a sub‐tropical environment in southeast Texas. The positive effects of long‐term NT practice were more conspicuous at the soil surface compared with the deeper soil profiles. The SOC was greater (1.5 t C ha^?1 greater) in the NT system compared with the CT system. Results from an incubation study indicate that the rate of C‐min at 0–5 cm soil depth was significantly greater (164 μg of CO₂–C g^?1 of soil greater) in NT than that of CT, but this trend was reversed at 10–20 cm depth wherein the C‐min rates were 106 μg of CO₂–C g^?1 of soil greater in CT compared with NT, which is likely because of soil disturbance during the study. Soil cumulative CO₂‐C emissions were greater in the CT system (7.28 g m^?2) than in the NT system (5.19 g m^?2), which is primarily attributed to high soil temperature conditions in the CT system. Sorghum grain yield however was not influenced by the differences in SOC content in this long‐term experiment. Overall, the present study found that long‐term conservation tillage improved SOC stock and reduced carbon loss, thus had a positive impact on soil health and sustainability.     

Carbon dioxide fluxes following tillage from a mollisol in the Argentine Rolling Pampa

Carbon dioxide emission from soil plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. Short term losses of soil carbon due to tillage are of a variable magnitude. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of plowing the soil on CO₂-C emissions during summer in a coarse-loamy mixed thermic Typic Hapludoll from the Argentine Rolling Pampa. Temperature after tillage was higher in the plowed soil than under no-tillage, being higher the soil water content in the later treatment. Plowing the soil did not produce an immediately impact on soil surface CO₂-C emission, but induced an important CO₂-C flush few days later. A difference of 16 up to 25 kg C ha^–1 d^–1 in the CO₂-C emissions was observed from the second up to the fourth sampling dates after tillage. Difference in total CO₂-C emissions between the plowed soil and the no-tillage treatment was 580 kg C ha^–1, during the 40 days measurement period. This difference in CO₂-C emission was partitioned between residue decomposition and humus mineralization. Carbon mineralized from humus was 270 kg C ha^–1 higher under plow tillage than under no tillage. This figure represented an important extra loss of 0.48% of the soil organic carbon content from the 0–30 cm depth, as consequence of plowing in the warmest season of the year.     

不同耕作深度对红壤坡耕地耕层土壤特性的影响

红壤坡耕地不同耕作深度对耕层质量和作物产量具有重要影响。以江西红壤坡耕地示范区耕层为研究对象,从土壤属性角度,对红壤坡耕地不同耕作深度处理下垂直深度土壤水分、容重、孔隙度、土壤紧实度、土壤抗剪强度、土壤有机质、有效磷和速效钾等进行分析。结果表明:(1)不同耕作深度对土壤孔隙度、饱和含水量和田间持水量的影响为免耕翻耕20 cm翻耕10 cm常规耕作翻耕30 cm,对容重的影响为翻耕30 cm常规耕作翻耕10 cm免耕翻耕20 cm;与常规耕作比较,翻耕30 cm使土壤饱和含水量、田间持水量和土壤孔隙度分别提高了18.17%,12.67%,5.94%,土壤容重降低6.90%。(2)不同耕作深度下土壤紧实度表现为翻耕30 cm翻耕10 cm翻耕20 cm免耕常规耕作,土壤抗剪强度表现为翻耕30 cm常规耕作翻耕10 cm免耕翻耕20 cm;与常规耕作对照,翻耕30 cm使土壤紧实度和抗剪强度分别降低27.07%和24.82%。(3)土壤有机质含量以翻耕20 cm处理下最高(13.48 g/kg),免耕处理含量最低(9.39 g/kg),土壤速效养分主要集中分布在0-20 cm土层,但20-40 cm土层中翻耕处理较免耕处理有不同程度的增加,以翻耕20 cm和常规耕作表现显著。(4)主成分分析结果表明,翻耕30 cm处理对红壤坡耕地土壤的综合改善效果最好。研究结果可为红壤坡耕地耕层土壤改善和合理耕层构建提供技术参考。     

不同耕作条件下豆麦双序列轮作农田土壤温室气体的排放及影响因素研究

为了研究耕作措施对双序列轮作农田土壤温室气体的排放及影响, 采用CO₂分析仪、静态箱 气相色谱法在陇中黄土高原半干旱区对传统耕作不覆盖、免耕不覆盖、免耕秸秆覆盖和传统耕作+秸秆还田4种耕作措施下豆麦双序列轮作农田土壤温室气体(CO₂、N₂O和CH₄)的排放及影响因素进行了连续测定和分析。结果表明: 测定期内4种耕作措施下农田土壤均表现为CO₂源、N₂O源和CH₄净吸收汇; 除传统耕作不覆盖措施, 其他3种耕作措施不同程度地减少了2种轮作序列土壤的N₂O排放通量, 并显著增加了土壤对CH4的吸收。CO₂和N₂O的排放通量分别与地表、地下5 cm处、地下10 cm处的土壤温度呈极显著和显著正相关关系, 相关系数分别为0.92^**和0.89^**、0.95^**和0.91^**、0.77^*和0.62^*; 而CH₄吸收通量与不同地层的温度之间无明显的相关关系; CO₂和CH₄的通量与0~5 cm、5~10 cm的土壤含水量均呈显著正相关关系, 相关系数分别为0.69^*和0.72^*、0.77^*和0.64^*, 而与10~30 cm土壤含水量无明显相关关系; N₂O排放通量与各层次的土壤含水量之间均呈不显著负相关关系。对2种轮作序列各处理下土壤中排放的3种温室气体的增温潜势计算综合得出: 4种耕作措施中, 免耕不覆盖处理可相对减少土壤温室气体的排放量, 进而降低温室效应。     

Effects of reduced tillage,crop residue management and manure application practices on crop yields and soil carbon sequestration on an Andisol in northern Japan

Abstract

Soil carbon sequestration in agricultural lands has been deemed a sustainable option to mitigate rising atmospheric CO₂ levels. In this context, the effects of different tillage and C input management (residue management and manure application) practices on crop yields, residue C and annual changes in total soil organic C (SOC) (0–30 cm depth) were investigated over one cycle of a 4-year crop rotation (2003–2006) on a cropped Andisol in northern Japan. For tillage practices, the effects of reduced tillage (no deep plowing, a single shallow harrowing for seedbed preparation [RT]) and conventional deep moldboard plow tillage (CT) were compared. The combination of RT, residue return and manure application (20 Mg ha^?1 in each year) increased spring wheat and potato yields significantly; however, soybean and sugar beet yields were not influenced by tillage practices. For all crops studied, manure application enhanced the production of above-ground residue C. Thus, manure application served not only as a direct input of C to the soil, but the greater crop biomass production engendered enhanced subsequent C inputs to the soil from residues. The SOC contents in both the 0–5 cm and 5–10 cm layers of the soil profile were greater under RT than under CT treatments because the crop residue and manure were densely incorporated into the shallow soil layers. Comparatively, neither tillage nor C input management practices had significant effects on annual changes in SOC content in either the 10–20 cm or 20–30 cm layers of the soil profile. When soil C sequestration rates, as represented by annual changes in total SOC (0–30 cm), were assessed on a total soil mass basis, an anova showed that tillage practices had no significant effect on total C sequestration, but C input management practices had significant positive effects (P ≤ 0.05). These results indicate that continuous C input to the soil through crop residue return and manure application is a crucial practice for enhancing crop yields and soil C sequestration in the Andisol region of northern Japan.     

Short-term effects of tillage practices on soil aggregate fractions in a Chinese Mollisol

Abstract

Soil aggregate-size distribution and soil aggregate stability are used to characterize soil structure. Quantifying the changes of structural stability of soil is an important element in assessing soil and crop management practices. A 5-year tillage experiment consisting of no till (NT), moldboard plow (MP) and ridge tillage (RT), was used to study soil water-stable aggregate size distribution, aggregate stability and aggregate-associated soil organic carbon (SOC) at four soil depths (0–5, 5–10, 10–20 and 20–30 cm) of a clay loam soil in northeast China. Nonlinear fractal dimension (D_m) was used to characterize soil aggregate stability. No tillage led to a significantly greater aggregation for >1 mm aggregate and significant SOC changes in this fraction at 0–5 cm depth. There were significant positive relationships between SOC and >1 mm aggregate, SOC in each aggregate fraction, but there was no relationship between soil aggregate parameters (the proportion of soil aggregates, aggregate-associated SOC and soil stability) and soil bulk density. After 5 years, there was no difference in D_m of soil aggregate size distribution among tillage treatments, which suggested that D_m could not be used as an indicator to assess short-term effects of tillage practices on soil aggregation. In the short term, > 1 mm soil aggregate was a better indicator to characterize the impacts of tillage practices on quality of a Chinese Mollisol, particularly in the near-surface layer of the soil.     

Increased moisture and methanogenesis contribute to reduced methane oxidation in elevated CO2 soils

Awareness of global warming has stimulated research on environmental controls of soil methane (CH₄) consumption and the effects of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) on the terrestrial CH₄ sink. In this study, factors impacting soil CH₄ consumption were investigated using laboratory incubations of soils collected at the Free Air Carbon Transfer and Storage I site in the Duke Forest, NC, where plots have been exposed to ambient (370 μL L⁻¹) or elevated (ambient + 200 μL L⁻¹) CO₂ since August 1996. Over 1 year, nearly 90% of the 360 incubations showed net CH₄ consumption, confirming that CH₄-oxidizing (methanotrophic) bacteria were active. Soil moisture was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in the 25–30 cm layer of elevated CO₂ soils over the length of the study, but soil moisture was equal between CO₂ treatments in shallower soils. The increased soil moisture corresponded to decreased net CH₄ oxidation, as elevated CO₂ soils also oxidized 70% less CH₄ at the 25–30 cm depth compared to ambient CO₂ soils, while CH₄ consumption was equal between treatments in shallower soils. Soil moisture content predicted (p < 0.05) CH₄ consumption in upper layers of ambient CO₂ soils, but this relationship was not significant in elevated CO₂ soils at any depth, suggesting that environmental factors in addition to moisture were influencing net CH₄ oxidation under elevated CO₂. More than 6% of the activity assays showed net CH₄ production, and of these, 80% contained soils from elevated CO₂ plots. In addition, more than 50% of the CH₄-producing flasks from elevated CO₂ sites contained deeper (25–30 cm) soils. These results indicate that subsurface (25 cm+) CH₄ production contributes to decreased net CH₄ consumption under elevated CO₂ in otherwise aerobic soils.     

黑河流域保护性耕作对农田土壤微生物量碳、氮和有机质的调控

为了探讨黑河流域保护性耕作对土壤生产力的影响,设计20cm留茬(NS20),20cm留茬压倒(NPS20),40cm留茬(NS40),40cm留茬压倒(NPS40)和传统耕作(CT)5个处理,研究了黑河流域保护性耕作对农田土壤有机质、土壤微生物量C、土壤微生物量N以及作物产量和水分利用效率的影响。结果表明,保护性耕作农田0—20cm土层土壤有机质、土壤微生物量C和N的含量均高于传统耕作,且其在剖面中的变化趋势基本一致,即随土层深度增加下降;土壤微生物量N有明显的"表聚现象";相关分析表明土壤有机质和土壤微生物量C之间显著正相关(r=0.85,p0.05),与土壤微生物量N之间无明显的相关关系(r=0.47,p0.05);保护性耕作提高了春小麦的产量,NPS20和NPS40增产效果最好,较CT分别增产53.08%和46.59%,与CT之间差异达到极显著水平;保护性耕作提高了春小麦的水分利用效率(WUE),NPS20,NS40,NPS40,NS20分别较CT的WUE提高了58.02%,43.40%,47.27%,23.78%。     

Estimation of CO2 diffusion coefficient at 0–10 cm depth in undisturbed and tilled soils

Diffusion coefficients (D) of CO₂ at 0–10 cm layers in undisturbed and tilled soil conditions were estimated using the Penman (Penman HL. 1940. Gas and vapor movement in soil, 1. The diffusion of vapours through porous solids. J Agric Sci. 30:437–463), Millington–Quirk (Millington RJ, Quirk JP. 1960. Transport in porous media. In: Van Baren FA, editor. Transactions of the 7th International Congress of Soil Science. Vol. 1. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 97–106), Ridgwell et al. (Ridgwell AJ, Marshall SJ, Gregson K. 1999. Consumption of atmospheric methane by soils: A process-based model. Global Biogeochem Cy. 13:59–70), Troeh et al. (Troeh FR, Jabro JD, Kirkham D. 1982. Gaseous diffusion equations for porous materials. Geoderma. 27:239–258) and Moldrup et al. (Moldrup P, Kruse CW, Rolston DE, Yamaguchi T. 1996. Modeling diffusion and reaction in soils: III. Predicting gas diffusivity from the Campbell soil–water retention model. Soil Sci. 161:366–375) models. Soil bulk density and volumetric soil water content (θ_v) at 0–10 cm were measured on 14 April, 2 June and 12 July 2005 at 0–10 cm depth in no-till (NT) and conventional till (CT) malt barley and undisturbed soil grass–alfalfa (UGA) systems. Air-filled porosity (ε) was calculated from total soil porosity and θ_v measurements. Both soil air porosity and estimated CO₂ diffusivity at the 0–10 cm depth were significantly affected by tillage. Results of CO₂ diffusion coefficients in the soil followed trends similar to those for soil ε data. The CT tended to have significantly greater estimated soil CO₂ diffusion coefficients than the NT and UGA treatments. The relationship between D/D ₀, and air-filled porosity was well described by a power (R ² = 0.985) function. The model is useful for predicting CO₂ gas-diffusion coefficients in undisturbed and tilled soils at various ranges of ε where actual gas D measurements are time-consuming, costly and infeasible.     

耕作方式对双季稻田土壤有机碳储量的影响

Tillage practices can potentially afect soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation in agricultural soils. A 4-year experiment was conducted to identify the influence of tillage practices on SOC sequestration in a double-cropped rice (Oryza sativa L.) field in Hunan Province of China. Three tillage treatments, no-till (NT), conventional plow tillage(PT), and rotary tillage(RT), were laid in a randomized complete block design. Concentrations of SOC and bulk density(BD) of the 0-80 cm soil layer were measured, and SOC stocks of the 0-20 and 0-80 cm soil layers were calculated on an equivalent soil mass(ESM) basis and fixed depth (FD) basis.Soil carbon budget(SCB) under diferent tillage systems were assessed on the basis of emissions of methane(CH4) and CO2 and the amount of carbon (C) removed by the rice harvest. After four years of experiment, the NT treatment sequestrated more SOC than the other treatments. The SOC stocks in the 0-80 cm layer under NT (on an ESM basis) was as high as 129.32 Mg C ha 1,significantly higher than those under PT and RT (P < 0.05). The order of SOC stocks in the 0-80 cm soil layer was NT > PT > RT,and the same order was observed for SCB; however, in the 0-20 cm soil layer, the RT treatment had a higher SOC stock than the PT treatment. Therefore, when comparing SOC stocks, only considering the top 20 cm of soil would lead to an incomplete evaluation for the tillage-induced efects on SOC stocks and SOC sequestrated in the subsoil layers should also be taken into consideration. The estimation of SOC stocks using the ESM instead of FD method would better reflect the actual changes in SOC stocks in the paddy filed, as the FD method amplified the tillage efects on SOC stocks. This study also indicated that NT plus straw retention on the soil surface was a viable option to increase SOC stocks in paddy soils.     

Effects of compaction on soil hydraulic properties,penetration resistance and water flow patterns at the soil profile scale

The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of compaction on water flow patterns at the soil profile scale. Control and trafficked plots were established in field trials at two sites. The trafficked treatment was created by four passes track‐by‐track with a three‐axle dumper with a maximum wheel load of 5.8 Mg. One year later, dye‐tracing experiments were performed and several soil mechanical, physical and hydraulic properties were measured to help explain the dye patterns. Penetration resistance was measured to 50 cm depth, with saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s), bulk density, and macroporosity and mesoporosity being measured on undisturbed soil cores sampled from three depths (10, 30 and 50 cm). Significant effects of the traffic treatment on the structural pore space were found at 30 cm depth for large mesopores (0.3–0.06 mm diameter), but not small mesopores (0.06–0.03 mm) or macroporosity (pores > 0.3 mm). At one of the sites, ponding was observed during the dye‐tracing experiments, especially in the trafficked plots, because of the presence of a compacted layer at plough depth characterized by a larger bulk density and smaller structural porosity and K_s values. Ponding did not induce any preferential transport of the dye solution into the subsoil at this site. In contrast, despite the presence of a compacted layer at 25–30 cm depth, a better developed structural porosity in the subsoil was noted at the other site which allowed preferential flow to reach to at least 1 m depth in both treatments.     

Influence of cultivation on soil nitrogen pools

Abstract

Exchangeable NH₄, organic N, and fixed NH₄, were followed in three soil layers (0–25, 25–50, and 50–75 cm) of plots under conventional and minimum tillage in a 10—year field experiment. The main effect of both tillage treatments was a marked increase of fixed NH₄ during the first two years which was attributed to the heavy application of N fertilizers because soils were not fertilized prior to the experiment. Due to spatial variability of soil composition, a statistically significant increase over the 10—year was observed for total and fixed NH₄ only in the surface layer of conventionally tilled soils, probably due to thorough mixing caused by intense cultivation. In this layer the organic N pool did not appear to vary with the years, while the fixed NH₄ pool was influenced by N fertilization. A general trend was a uniform increase of the ratio between fixed NH₄ and total N. Under conventional tillage, the trend was similar for the three soil layers while the reduced amount of fixed NH₄ present in the upper soil layers (0—25 and 25–50 cm) was assumed to be caused by root absorption. Under minimum tillage, the increase of fixed NH₄ ratio was limited to the first 50 cm of soil, and was less pronounced in the top layer where maximum root accumulation is generally expected to be present. The data support the importance for crops of the fixed NH₄ pool.     

地中海地区保护性耕作对土壤碳素动力学特性的影响

Intensity of tillage practices can enhance organic matter decomposition, increasing CO2 emissions from soil to the atmosphere. Conservation tillage （CT） has been proposed as a means of counteracting potential damages to the environment. In this study the effects of two CT systems, reduced tillage in a long-term experiment （RTL） and no-tillage in a short-term experiment （NTs）, were compared to traditional tillage （TT） in the long （TTL） and short-term experiments （TTs）. CO2 fluxes, total soil organic carbon （SOC） and dehydrogenase activity （DHA） were evaluated at 0-5, 5-10 and 10-15 cm depths throughout the three years studied （Oct. 2006 Jul. 2009）. Traditional tillage increased C02 emissions compared to CT. The CT treatments （RTL and NTs） accumulated more SOC in the surface layer （0 5 cm） than the TT treatments （TTL and TTs）. SOC accumulation was moderate but DHA consistently increased in CT in the surface soil, especially with a legume crop included in the crop rotation. Values of stratification ratio of all parameters studied were higher in the CT treatments （RTL and NTs）. The agricultural and environmental benefits derived from CT make this system recommendable for semi-arid Mediterranean rain-fed agriculture.     

红壤区不同水土保持措施对土壤抗蚀性的影响

[目的] 研究南方红壤区不同水土保持措施下土壤抗蚀性的变化特征，为该地区的土壤抗蚀性研究和水土流失治理提供理论依据。 [方法] 以江西水土保持生态科技园内柑橘园试验区的裸地对照、柑橘净耕、柑橘+全园植草、柑橘+水平梯田处理为研究对象，通过野外采样和室内试验相结合的方法，研究不同处理、不同深度下土壤抗蚀性。 [结果] 0-20 cm土层，柑橘+全园植草的土壤抗蚀性最强，柑橘+水平梯田和柑橘净耕次之且二者无显著差异，裸地对照最差；20-40 cm土层，柑橘+全园植草和柑橘+水平梯田的土壤抗蚀性最强且二者无显著差异，柑橘净耕次之，裸地对照最差；相同处理下0-20 cm土层的土壤抗蚀性显著大于20-40 cm土层。 [结论] 水土保持措施能显著提高土壤抗蚀性，柑橘+全园植草的处理下土壤抗蚀性最强。建议在该区域采用林草复合的措施提高植被覆盖度，以加强土壤抗蚀性。     

Biodegradation of the herbicide mecoprop-p with soil depth and its relationship with class III tfdA genes

Mecoprop-p [(R)-2-(4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy) propanoic acid) is widely used in agriculture and poses an environmental concern because of its susceptibility to leach from soil to water. We investigated the effect of soil depth on mecoprop-p biodegradation and its relationship with the number and diversity of tfdA related genes, which are the most widely known genes involved in degradation of the phenoxyalkanoic acid group of herbicides by bacteria. Mecoprop-p half-life (DT₅₀) was approximately 12 days in soil sampled from <30 cm depth, and increased progressively with soil depth, reaching over 84 days at 70-80 cm. In sub-soil there was a lag period of between 23 and 34 days prior to a phase of rapid degradation. No lag phase occurred in top-soil samples prior to the onset of degradation. The maximum degradation rate was the same in top-soil and sub-soil samples. Although diverse tfdAα and tfdA genes were present prior to mecoprop-p degradation, real time PCR revealed that degradation was associated with proliferation of tfdA genes. The number of tfdA genes and the most probable number of mecoprop-p degrading organisms in soil prior to mecoprop-p addition were below the limit of quantification and detection respectively. Melting curves from the real time PCR analysis showed that prior to mecoprop-p degradation both class I and class III tfdA genes were present in top- and sub-soil samples. However at all soil depths only tfdA class III genes proliferated during degradation. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis confirmed that class III tfdA genes were associated with mecoprop-p degradation. Degradation was not associated with the induction of novel tfdA genes in top- or sub-soil samples, and there were no apparent differences in tfdA gene diversity with soil depth prior to or following degradation.     

Long-term effects of agronomic practices on the soil organic carbon sequestration in Chernozem

The study was based on data from selected long-term field trials established at the Experimental Fields of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad (Serbia). The effect of tillage systems on SOC concentration and SOC stock was most pronounced at 0–10 cm depth. In a 0–40 cm soil layer, in a 7-year period, no-till (NT) sequestrated 863 kg SOC ha^?1 yr^?1 more compared to moldboard plow tillage (PT), while the effects of disc tillage (DT) and chisel tillage (CT) were not significantly different. Unfertilized three-crop rotation (CSW) compared to two-crop rotation (CW) enhanced SOC storage in a 0–30 cm soil layer by 151 kg C ha^?1 yr^?1 in a 56-year period. Within fertilized treatments, SOC concentration was highest under continuous corn (CC). Mineral fertilization (F) non-significantly increased the SOC stock compared to no fertilization in corn monoculture in a 32-year period. The incorporation of mineral fertilizers and harvest residues (F + HR) and mineral fertilizers and farmyard manure (F + FYM) sequestered 195 and 435 kg C ha^?1 yr^?1 more than the unfertilized plot, respectively, in a 0–30 cm soil layer, in a 35-year period. Irrigation did not significantly affect SOC sequestration.     

Spatial distributions of soil chemical and physical properties prior to planting soybean in soil under ridge‐, no‐ and conventional‐tillage in a maize–soybean rotation

Detailed information on the profile distributions of agronomically important soil properties in the planting season can be used as criteria to select the best soil tillage practices. Soil cores (0–60 cm) were collected in May, 2012 (before soybean planting), from soil transects on a 30‐yr tillage experiment, including no‐tillage (NT), ridge tillage (RT) and mouldboard plough (MP) on a Brookston clay loam soil (mesic Typic Argiaquoll). Soil cores were taken every 19 cm across three corn rows and these were used to investigate the lateral and vertical profile characteristics of soil organic carbon (SOC), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil volumetric water content (SWC), bulk density (BD), and penetration resistance (PR). Compared to NT and MP, the RT system resulted in greater spatial heterogeneity of soil properties across the transect. Average SOC concentrations in the top 10 cm layer were significantly greater in RT than in NT and MP (P = 0.05). NT soil contained between 0.8 and 2.5% (vol/vol) more water in the top 0–30 cm than RT and MP, respectively. MP soil had lower PR and BD in the plough layer compared to NT and RT soils, with both soil properties increasing sharply with depth in MP. The RT had lower PR relative to NT in the upper 35 cm of soil on the crop rows. Overall, RT was a superior conservation tillage option than NT in this clay loam soil; however, MP had the most favourable soil conditions in upper soil layers for early crop development across all treatments.     

Physical and mechanical properties of a clayey soil as affected by tillage systems for wheat growth

Abstract

The effect of tillage systems on soil physical properties of a clayey soil was studied. Tillage systems consisting of conventional tillage I (CT₁), conventional tillage II (CT₂), reduced conventional tillage (RCT), reduced tillage (RT) and no tillage (NT) were carried out in autumn after harvest of sugar beet. Significant differences between tillage systems were recorded on the measured properties, apart from moisture content, at 15–30 cm soil layer. The CT₁, CT₂ and RCT systems resulted in similar penetration resistance and bulk density values below the 15 cm soil depth, while the RT and NT systems resulted in higher but similar values. The mean penetration resistance values were less than 1 MPa in the CT₁, CT₂ and RCT systems at the 0–15 cm depth, while they were 1.41, 1.84 MPa in RT and NT, respectively. The mean total porosity increased with tillage from 8.2 to 28% when compared with NT. The CT₁, CT₂ and RCT systems resulted in lower moisture content at the 0–15 cm depth. The lowest moisture content occurred in RCT (24.4%) and the highest in NT (30.9%), while it was 30.3% in RT system. The lowest and highest mean weight diameter values were reported for the RT (1.36 mm) and NT (2.37 mm) systems, respectively. The lowest wheat grain yield was obtained in NT (4.14) and the highest in CT₁ (5.24 Mg ha^?1). A significant difference occurred between only NT and the other systems. When both grain yield and advantages of reduced tillage are considered, the RT system is recommended.