Early assessment of ecological services provided by forage legumes in relay intercropping

In organic agriculture, weeds and nitrogen deficiency are the main factors that limit crop production. The use of relay-intercropped forage legumes may be a way of providing ecological services such as weed control, increasing N availability in the cropping system thanks to N fixation, reducing N leaching and supplying nitrogen to the following crop. However, these ecological services can vary considerably depending on the growing conditions. The aim of this study was to identify early indicators to assess these two ecological services, thereby giving farmers time to adjust the management of both the cover crop and of the following crop.Nine field experiments were conducted over a period of three years. In each experiment, winter wheat was grown as sole crop or intercropped with one of two species of forage legumes; Trifolium repens L. or Trifolium pratense L. Two levels of fertilization were also tested (0 and 100 kg N ha⁻¹). After the intercropping stage, the cover crop was maintained until the end of winter and then destroyed by plowing before maize was sown. Legume and weed biomass, nitrogen content and accumulation were monitored from legume sowing to cover destruction.Our results showed that a minimum threshold of about 2 t ha⁻¹ biomass in the aboveground parts of the cover crop was needed to decrease weed infestation by 90% in early September and to ensure weed control up to December. The increase in nitrogen in the following maize crop was also correlated with the legume biomass in early September. The gain in nitrogen in maize (the following crop) was correlated with legume biomass in early September, with a minimum gain of 60 kg N ha⁻¹ as soon as legume biomass reached more than 2 t ha⁻¹.Legume biomass in early September thus appears to be a good indicator to predict weed control in December as well as the nitrogen released to the following crop. The indicator can be used by farmers as a management tool for both the cover crop and following cash crop. Early estimation of available nitrogen after the destruction of the forage legume can be used to adjust the supply of nitrogen fertilizer to the following crop.     

Evaluation of monocropped and intercropped grain legumes for cover cropping in no-tillage and reduced tillage organic agriculture

Intensive tillage by means of mouldboard ploughing can be highly effective for weed control in organic farming, but it also carries an elevated risk for rapid humus decomposition and soil erosion. To develop organic systems that are less dependent on tillage, a two-year study at Reinhardtsgrimma and Köllitsch, Germany was conducted to determine whether certain legume cover crops could be equally successfully grown in a no-till compared with a reduced tillage system. The summer annual legumes faba bean (Vicia faba L.), normal leafed field pea (Pisum sativum L.), narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.), grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.), and common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) were examined with and without sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) as a companion crop for biomass and nitrogen accumulation, symbiotic nitrogen fixation (N₂ fixation) and weed suppression. Total cover crop biomass, shoot N accumulation and N₂ fixation differed with year, location, tillage system and species due to variations in weather, inorganic soil N resources and weed competition. Biomass production reached up to 1.65 and 2.19 Mg ha⁻¹ (both intercropped field peas), and N₂ fixation up to 53.7 and 60.5 kg ha⁻¹ (both common vetches) in the no-till and reduced tillage system, respectively. In the no-till system consistently low sunflower performance compared with the legumes prevented significant intercropping effects. Under central European conditions no-till cover cropping appears to be practicable if weed density is low at seeding. The interactions between year, location, tillage system and species demonstrate the difficulties in cover crop species selection for organic conservation tillage systems.     

Intercropping corn with soybean, lupin and forages: weed control by intercrops combined with interrow cultivation

Intercropping corn with legumes is an alternative to corn monocropping and is a possible way to reduce the use of inputs, such as herbicides, while maintaining current weed control levels. Two experiments were carried out at each of two sites in both 1993 and 1994. The first experiment investigated the effects of seeding soybean or lupin alone or in combination with one of three forages (annual ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum Lam.; perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne L.; and red clover, Trifolium pratense L.) on weed control. The second experiment examined the effects of seeding date (simultaneous with corn or 3 weeks later) and number of rows of large-seeded legumes (one or two) seeded between the corn rows, on weed control. Whenever seeding of legumes/forages was delayed, weekly interrow tillage operations were used to control weeds until legume/forage seeding. The density and biomasses of monocot weeds, either on or between the corn rows, were not affected by cultivation or intercropping. The density and biomass of dicot weeds on corn rows were reduced by some intercrop systems. For the various cropping systems tested, the dicot weed biomass and density between corn rows were most affected (in some cases reduced by 73-100% of the weedy control). A more effective dicot weed control was observed in delay seeded treatments, which allowed extra interrow cultivations. Intercrops that included soybean were also more successful at reducing weed populations than those containing lupin. Underseeded forages did not reduce weed biomass or density.     

Effects of organic farming on weed flora composition in a long term perspective

In 1987, the Ekhaga Experimental Farm in Sweden was established on a site that previously had been subjected to conventional farming, and has been managed since then as an organic farm. To study the effects of organic farming on weed population development and crop yields, two different crop rotations were designed, one adapted for animals (six fields) and one without animals (six fields). Each field contained a fixed 1 m² reference plot in which all the weed observations were done each year. During the period 1988–2002, number of weed plants in spring and weed biomass at harvest were recorded in the reference plots. No differences in these two parameters were observed between the crop rotations. Number of weed plants in spring did not differ between annual crops and did not increase over the 15-year period. Neither did weed biomass at harvest nor weed species diversity change over the 15 years. The two crop rotations kept weed pressure at the same level as under the previous conventional farming practice. General field observations suggest that invasion of Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. is occurring along the field borders. Competitive ability of the crop showed to be important in weed regulation. Peas, a weak competitor, had significantly higher weed biomass at harvest compared with oats and winter wheat. Weather conditions during the period from April to September caused weed occurrence and development through the season to vary between years. To improve weed management in organic farming, advisors and farmers should recognise the importance of individual field and farm analyses to design location-specific, farm-adapted crop rotations.     

Effects of biogas digestion of clover/grass-leys, cover crops and crop residues on nitrogen cycle and crop yield in organic stockless farming systems

The trend towards specialization in conventional farming led to large agricultural areas in Germany and in Europe lacking livestock. Also stockless organic farming has increased during recent years. In organic farming clover/grass-ley (CG) provides nitrogen (N) to the whole cropping system via symbiotic N₂ fixation and also controls certain weeds. A common practice in organic farming, when ruminants are not present, is to leave the biomass from CG in the field for their residual fertility effect. CG biomass, crop residues (CR) and cover crops (CC) represent a large unexploited energy potential. It could be used by anaerobic digestion to produce biogas. A field experiment was carried out by implementing a whole cropping system with a typical crop rotation for such farming systems on the research station Gladbacherhof from 2002 to 2005. The crop rotation consisted of six crops (two legumes and four non-legume crops). The aim was to evaluate whether the use of N could be improved by processing biomass from CG, CR and CC in a biogas digester and using the effluents as a fertilizer, compared to common practice. In the control treatment, represented by the usual stockless system, the CG, CR and CC biomass were left on the ground for green manure purposes. In the biogas systems these substrates were harvested for digestion in a biogas plant. The effluents of digestion were used to manure the non-legumes in the same crop rotation. Results indicate that digestion of CG, CR and CC can increase the crop dry matter and N yields and the N content of wheat grains in organic stockless systems. Harvesting and digestion of residues and their reallocation after digestion resulted in a better and more even allocation of N within the whole crop rotation, in a higher N input via N₂ fixation and lower N losses due to emissions and probably in a higher N availability of digested manures in comparison to the same amounts of undigested biomass.     

Field scale functional agrobiodiversity in organic wheat: Effects on weed reduction,disease susceptibility and yield

Deployment of diversity at the species and at the genetic levels can improve the ability of crops to withstand a wide range of biotic and abiotic stressors in organic and low-input cropping systems, where the response to stresses through external input is limited or restricted in comparison with conventional systems. Although there are several strategies to use agrobiodiversity in wheat-based systems, their implementation is limited by the lack of a clear relationship between agrobiodiversity and provision of key agroecosystem services. In a three-year field trial in Central Italy we compared common wheat Italian and Hungarian pure lines, Italian old cultivars and Hungarian and British Composite Cross Populations (CCPs), grown with or without a contemporarily sown Subterranean clover living mulch. We aimed at linking crop performance, in terms of yield, weed reduction and disease susceptibility, to three categories of functional diversity: (1) functional identity, represented by the identifying traits of cultivars, (2) functional diversity, represented by the genetic heterogeneity of wheat crop population, and (3) functional composition, represented by the co-presence of wheat and the living mulch.Concerning cultivars, effects of functional identity were predominant for weed reduction and grain yield. Old cultivars tended to better suppress weeds but to be less yielding. Italian cultivars were more advantaged than cultivars of foreign origin, thanks to a better matching of their growth cycle into local climate. Functional diversity effects on yield and weed reduction were confounded with identity effects, given that all the CCPs were of foreign origin. In fact, the performance of CCPs was generally aligned with a central-European pure line. However, differences in yield components suggest that CCPs can evolve peculiar yield formation strategies. Moreover, CCPs were less susceptible than pure lines to foliar diseases. For functional composition, the living mulch was able to reduce dicotyledonous weed abundance and weed biomass without reducing wheat yield unless wheat was poorly established. Despite the strong morphological and phenological differences among the tested cultivars, no interactions were found between cultivar and living mulch presence, suggesting that, in conditions similar to our experiments, there is room to freely combine elements of crop diversity. Crop diversification strategies in wheat should be further explored and optimized, especially by constituting CCPs from locally adapted germplasms and by improving the feasibility and efficacy of legume living mulches.     

Effect of temperature and precipitation on nitrate leaching from organic cereal cropping systems in Denmark

The effect of variation in seasonal temperature and precipitation on soil water nitrate (NO₃N) concentration and leaching from winter and spring cereals cropping systems was investigated over three consecutive four-year crop rotation cycles from 1997 to 2008 in an organic farming crop rotation experiment in Denmark. Three experimental sites, varying in climate and soil type from coarse sand to sandy loam, were investigated. The experiment included experimental treatments with different rotations, manure rate and cover crop, and soil nitrate concentrations was monitored using suction cups. The effects of climate, soil and management were examined in a linear mixed model, and only parameters with significant effect (P < 0.05) were included in the final model. The model explained 61% and 47% of the variation in the square root transform of flow-weighted annual NO₃N concentration for winter and spring cereals, respectively, and 68% and 77% of the variation in the square root transform of annual NO₃N leaching for winter and spring cereals, respectively. Nitrate concentration and leaching were shown to be site specific and driven by climatic factors and crop management. There were significant effects on annual N concentration and NO₃N leaching of location, rotation, previous crop and crop cover during autumn and winter. The relative effects of temperature and precipitation differed between seasons and cropping systems. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the predicted N concentration and leaching increased with increases in temperature and precipitation.     

Phenological response of spring wheat to timing of photoperiod perception: The effect of sowing depth on final leaf number in spring wheat

Wheat phenological modelling literature suggests final leaf number (FLN) targets of wheat (Triticum aestivum) will be set only once daylight is perceived and will be based upon environmental and cultivar-specific genetics at that time. Development is thought to proceed relative to thermal time regardless of light perception prior to emergence. Modelled predictions of final leaf number (FLN) and thence anthesis are based on this mechanism. Results did not support this hypothesis, and we suggest and alternative hypothesis based on molecular interactions between vernalization genes Vrn1, Vrn2 and Vrn3.     

小麦与不同作物间作模式对麦蚜及主要捕食性天敌群落的影响

应用群落生态学结构变化特征的研究方法,研究了小麦与油菜、荷兰豆间作和单作麦田3种栽培模式条件下对麦田麦蚜及主要天敌群落的影响。结果表明,捕食性天敌的丰盛度和昆虫群落的稳定性,麦套荷兰豆最高,其次为麦套油菜田、单作麦田最低;麦套荷兰豆田麦蚜亚群落稳定性较好,单作麦田捕食性天敌亚群落的稳定性较好。麦蚜亚群落主要特征值分析表明,多样性指数和均匀度为:麦套荷兰豆>单作麦田>麦套油菜,优势度和优势集中性指数为:麦套油菜>单作麦田>麦套荷兰豆;主要捕食性天敌亚群落的多样性指数和均匀度为:单作麦田>麦套油菜>麦套荷兰豆,优势度和优势集中性指数为:麦套荷兰豆田>麦套油菜田>单作麦田。     

有机肥对旱地莜麦生长发育的影响

经过3年的研究表明,合理施用有机肥料,不仅能提高旱地莜麦产量,获得高产和稳产,而且能有效地提高土壤肥力,增加土壤养分。只增施化肥,不施或少施有机肥,不仅莜麦产量较低,而且导致土壤养分逐渐减少,土壤有机质逐年下降,土壤板结。     

春小麦花粉植株的壮苗及染色体加倍技术研究

研究了春小麦花粉植株的壮苗及染色体加倍技术。结果表明：延长低温处理时间可大幅度提高春小麦花粉植株的自然加倍率;用1/2 MS培养基取代MS培养基、并控制每日光照12h,可将无根苗控制在3%以下,弱苗控制在5%以下。     

Effect of density,cultivar and irrigation on spring sown monocrops and intercrops of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and faba beans (Vicia faba L.)

Spring-sown intercrops of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and faba beans (Vicia faba L.) were grown in three experiments at the University of Reading, UK. One wheat cultivar, Axona, and one (experiment 1) or two bean cultivars (experiments 2 and 3) Scirocco and Maris Bead, were grown as sole crops and intercrops at 50%, 75% and 100% recommended density. Experiments were rainfed but irrigation was an additional treatment in experiment 3. Biomass and seed yields of both wheat and faba beans were greater when monocropped than when intercropped. There was no evidence that radiation use efficiency (RUE) of intercrops was significantly different from sole crops. In all intercrops there was no significant effect of density on biomass, RUE or seed yield, though there were compensating changes in yield components. Seed yields of Maris Bead were significantly greater than Scirocco in experiment 3 but not experiment 2. There was no significant effect of irrigation on RUE or on wheat biomass and seed yield, but there was a trend for irrigation to increase faba bean biomass (P = 0.07) and seed yield (P = 0.06). With later sowing in experiments 2 and 3, time to harvest was shorter and wheat and bean biomass, seed yield and RUE were reduced. All land equivalent ratio (LER) values for both biomass (maximum 1.23) and seed yield (maximum 1.44) were greater than 1, with one exception in experiment 3, indicating that intercrops of wheat and faba beans make more effective use of land than equivalent sole crops. Partial LERs for faba beans were always lower than those of wheat. The tendency was for highest LERs to occur at 75% recommended density.     

小麦春季管理肥水联合效应

在北京郊区平原轻壤质潮土类土壤上研究了氮，磷，水三因素的交互作用，结果表明，氮，磷，水对小麦增产的作用顺序为水－氮－磷。肥水之间存在交互任用，但肥料对水的影响较小，而对肥料的影响则料大。在氮磷两种肥料之间，不和磷的交互作用大于水和氮。     

Selection of cereals for weed suppression in organic agriculture: a method based on cultivar sensitivity to weed growth

Cereal cultivars conferring a high degree of crop competitive ability, especially against aggressive weeds, are highly beneficial in organic farming as well as other farming systems that aim to limit the use of herbicides. In this study, thirteen winter wheat cultivars, plus one spring wheat and one winter oat were assessed for their competitive ability at key growth stages, across three seasons. The natural population of weed species was allowed develop without agronomic intervention. Weed suppression ability for each cultivar (S _var) was calculated as the difference between weed growth in plots for each cultivar and the maximal weed growth (W _max) from adjacent uncropped areas. The sensitivity of S _var in response to changes in weed growth (S _var^W) was derived from the linear regression coefficient of S _var plotted against W _max. There was significant variation in S _var between cultivars and strong evidence for cultivars to vary in S _var^W. Amongst groups of cultivars with similar levels of S _var some could be defined as being of higher or lower sensitivity to changes in weed growth. Some cultivars also had relatively good S _var at high levels of weed growth. The use of both weed suppression ability and sensitivity across different levels of weed growth or weed populations has considerable potential for selecting new cultivars suitable for organic agriculture. Ideally new cultivars will be selected on the basis of high S _var and/or low S _var^W. This analysis provides the means to measure sensitivity of cultivar performance across a range of favourable and unfavourable conditions.     

肥料对小麦生长发育及产量的影响

选用陕253小麦品种,研究了不同肥料对其群体、干物质积累、叶片光合性能及产量的影响,结果表明：在不同肥料配比情况下,增施肥料能显著提高群体数量和成穗数,单株干物质积累显著增加。但单株光合性能在灌浆期与施肥量关系不明显,处理间叶片净光合速率、蒸腾速率和气孔导度变化不大。N、P肥与生物肥配合施用能显著提高小麦单产,较常规投肥水平增产493.95 kg/hm2。     

Evolutionary changes of weed competitive traits in winter wheat composite cross populations in organic and conventional farming systems

Seedling root and shoot growth in hydroponics and allelopathic activity using a bioassay have been studied in very diverse populations of winter wheat grown under either organic or conventional conditions for a number of generations and subjected only to natural selection. The study was conducted on seeds from generation 6 (F₆) and 11 (F₁₁) from three composite cross populations (CCPs) produced by the Organic Research Centre in the UK. Since the F₅ the populations were maintained under organic and conventional conditions in Germany. Two parallel populations were created from each CC, resulting in a total of six organic and six conventional CCPs. The sets of parallel populations showed similar evolutionary trends indicating that the observed changes are related to differences in management rather than chance. Seedling root length and seedling root and shoot weight in the F₁₁ of the organically-managed CCPs were significantly greater than in the organic F₆ CCPs. In the conventionally-managed CCPs no such differences were observed. Both organic and conventional CCPs produced for quality showed higher early root and shoot growth than those produced for yield pointing to genetic differences among population types and highlighting the importance of early vigour for NUE. There were no significant differences in the allelopathic activity of the populations and between generations. The Shannon-Weaver diversity indices were similar for the studied traits in organic and conventional CCPs and hence no major changes in diversity had occurred between F₆ to F₁₁. As changes in plant height were small and weed pressure in the fields low it is concluded that the observed differences are more related to NUE, rather than intra-specific competition for light or the direct effect of increased weed pressure in the organic system.     

Effects of row spacing and liquid manure on directly drilled winter wheat in organic farming

In the optimisation of grain yield and quality of wheat, plant distribution is a key factor. In contrast to high yield levels, at moderate levels, widening the row space did not decrease grain yield. To gain information about changes in the quality and yield with changing in row spacings in organic farming systems, experiments were conducted at two locations in the Swiss midlands in 2001/2002. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Titlis) was directly drilled in rows 0.1875 and 0.3750 m apart at the same seeding rate per area. An unfertilised treatment and the usual application of 60 m³ ha⁻¹ liquid farmyard manure were compared. While the grain yield was not decreased by the wider row spacing, the thousand kernel weight (TKW), and grain protein content were increased from 42.6 to 43.5 g and from 11.7 to 12.7%, respectively, compared to the narrow row spacing. Liquid manure, on average of both experimental sites, increased the yield (from 3.725 to 4.765 Mg ha⁻¹) and the grain protein content (from 12.0 to 12.5%). Doubling the space between the rows from 0.1875 to 0.3750 m seemed to be a suitable strategy for managing directly drilled winter wheat in organic farming systems.     

西南地区不同套种模式对土壤肥力及经济效益的影响

为探讨不同作物组合的种植模式对土壤肥力及经济效益的影响,寻找作物搭配合理、低投入高产出的套作模式。采用单因素随机区组试验,研究比较了4种套作模式(小麦/玉米/大豆、小麦/玉米/甘薯、小麦/高粱/大豆、马铃薯/玉米/大豆)的土壤肥力、产量及经济效益的差异。连续种植3年后,各种植模式的土壤养分含量基本维持或得到提升(速效钾除外)。甘薯茬口对全钾、速效钾消耗均较大,需适当提高钾肥用量。小麦/玉米/甘薯的总产量最高,小麦/玉米/大豆模式的大豆单产量最高,小麦的单产各模式无显著差异。不同模式收益表现为,小麦/玉米/大豆马铃薯/玉米/大豆小麦/玉米/甘薯小麦/高粱/大豆;产投比表现为,小麦/玉米/大豆马铃薯/玉米/大豆小麦/玉米/甘薯小麦/高粱/大豆。小麦/玉米/大豆收益为14196.41元/hm~2,产投比为3.69:1,均为所有模式中最高,加之大豆茬口可以活化土壤养分,是相对理想的套作模式。     

水肥耦合对小麦产量及根际土壤环境的影响

以郑麦9023为材料,通过不同水肥耦合处理,研究了水肥耦合下小麦产量及根际土壤环境变化的差异。结果表明:在同一水分条件下,增施氮肥显著增加单位面积穗数,最终产量表现为N2>N3>N1;同一氮肥处理下,灌水处理增加了穗粒数及千粒重,平均增加4.2%与2.9%,最终产量提高9.3%;从耦合效益看,W2N2处理下产量最高;W2N2处理提高土壤有机酸含量、土壤酶活性及土壤全氮含量;与N2相比,N3处理土壤有机酸总量、脲酶、过氧化氢酶及土壤全氮含量平均下降13.7%、3.9%、5.6%及2.1%;土壤有机酸及全氮含量与脲酶及过氧化氢酶活性呈极显著正相关,与碱性磷酸酶呈显著正相关。对不同肥水处理下产量形成及根际土壤环境的差异进行了讨论。