The impact of a low humus level in arable soils on microbial properties, soil organic matter quality and crop yield

 In arable soils in Schleswig-Holstein (Northwest Germany) nearly 30% of the total organic C (TOC) stored in former times in the soil has been mineralized in the last 20 years. Microbial biomass, enzyme activities and the soil organic matter (SOM) composition were investigated in order to elucidate if a low TOC level affects microbial parameters, SOM quality and crop yield. Microbial biomass C (C_mic) and enzyme activities decreased in soils with a low TOC level compared to soils with a typical TOC level. The decrease in the C_mic/TOC ratio suggested low-level, steady-state microbial activity. The SOM quality changed with respect to an enrichment of initial litter compounds in the top soil layers with a low TOC level. Recent management of the soils had not maintained a desirable level of humic compounds. However, we found no significant decrease in crop yield. We suggest that microbial biomass and dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase activities are not necessarily indicators of soil fertility in soils with a high fertilization level without forage production and manure application. Received: 12 December 1997     

Induction of direct antimicrobial activity through mammalian toll-like receptors

The mammalian innate immune system retains from Drosophila a family of homologous Toll-like receptors (TLRs) that mediate responses to microbial ligands. Here, we show that TLR2 activation leads to killing of intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis in both mouse and human macrophages, through distinct mechanisms. In mouse macrophages, bacterial lipoprotein activation of TLR2 leads to a nitric oxide-dependent killing of intracellular tubercle bacilli, but in human monocytes and alveolar macrophages, this pathway was nitric oxide-independent. Thus, mammalian TLRs respond (as Drosophila Toll receptors do) to microbial ligands and also have the ability to activate antimicrobial effector pathways at the site of infection.     

The Effect of Different Preceding Crops on the Development, Growth and Yield of Winter Barley

Reliable estimations of the yield response of winter barley to different preceding crops are necessary for the design of crop rotations.
The grain yield and yield components of winter barley (cv. Tapir ) following either rapeseed, oats, wheat or barley were determined in five years of field experiments on a sandy loam (Luvisol) at the Hohenschulen experimental station near Kiel, Germany, F.R. The growth, development and incidence of take-all ( Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici ) was measured in a total of three years. On average over the five years barley grown after oats yielded 0.8 t per ha (11 %) more than barley following wheat which was mainly due to a higher number of ears per m². Barley following either oats or rapeseed produced a higher dry weight and a larger number of tillers per m² compared with barley grown after wheat or barley. This effect was already-present at the sampling date before winter. Take-all ratings were constantly higher in barley following a susceptible crop, but only reached a severe level late in the season and therefore could not explain the observed differences in growth, development and subsequently grain yield. Since no other pathogens affected the development other non-pathogenic causes must be considered as main causes for the described observations and yield differences.     

Crop rotation effects on yield of oilseed rape,wheat and barley and residual effects on the subsequent wheat

Economic conditions are forcing farmers to grow crops with high revenue leading to cereal-dominated crop rotations with increasing risk due to unfavourable preceding crops or preceding crop combinations. Based on a long-term field trial (1988–2001) with 15 different rotations including winter oilseed rape (OSR), winter wheat, winter barley, spring peas and spring oats, the effects of different preceding crops, pre-preceding crops and crop rotations on the grain yield of mainly OSR, winter wheat and winter barley were quantified. In the subsequent 2 years (2001/2002 and 2002/2003), winter wheat was grown on all plots in order to test the residual effects of the former crops (as preceding crops in 2002 and as pre-preceding crops in 2003) and crop rotations on growth, grain yield and yield components.

Unfavourable preceding crops significantly decreased yield of OSR, wheat and barley by 10% on average, however, with a large year-to-year variation. In addition, break-crop benefits in both crops, wheat and OSR, persisted to the second year. Wheat as preceding crop mainly decreased the thousand grain weight, and to a lesser extent, the ear density of the subsequent wheat crop. The amount of wheat yield decrease negatively correlated with the simple water balance (rainfall minus evapotranspiration) in May–July. In 2001/2002 and 2002/2003, the preceding crop superimposed the crop rotation effects, thus resulting in similar effects as observed in 1988–2001.

Our results clearly reveal the importance of a favourable preceding crop for the yield performance of a crop, especially wheat and OSR.