Should spring wheat breeding for organically managed systems be conducted on organically managed land?

Organic spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) producers in the northern Great Plains use cultivars which have been bred for conventional management systems or heritage cultivars released before the widespread use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. To investigate the feasibility of organic wheat breeding and to determine common genetic parameters for each system, we used a random population of 79 F₆-derived recombinant inbred sister lines from a cross between the Canadian hard red spring wheat cultivar AC Barrie and the CIMMYT derived cultivar Attila. The population, including the parents, was grown on conventionally and organically managed land for 3 years. Heritability estimates differed between systems for 6 of the 14 traits measured, including spikes m⁻², plant height, test weight, 1,000 kernel weight, grain protein, and days to anthesis. Direct selection in each management system (10% selection intensity) resulted in 50% or fewer lines selected in common for nine traits, including grain yield, grain protein, spikes m⁻², and grain fill duration. The results of this study suggest that indirect selection (in conventionally managed trials) of spring wheat destined for organically managed production would not result in the advance of the best possible lines in a breeding program. This implies that breeding spring wheat specific to organic agriculture should be conducted on organically managed land.     

不同有机质含量土壤对烤烟生长发育和氮素积累及上部叶化学成分的影响

（1凉山州烟草分公司,四川西昌 615000;2三明烟草分公司,福建三明 365001; 3长沙卷烟厂技术中心,湖南长沙 410014;4河南农业大学农学院,河南郑州 450002）     

周年耕作方式对砂姜黑土农田土壤养分及作物产量的影响

为探明适宜于砂姜黑土农田的周年耕作方式, 提升砂姜黑土农田地力及作物产量, 在冬小麦?夏玉米一年两熟种植制度下, 设置多年定位夏玉米季?冬小麦季免耕?旋耕(对照)、免耕?深耕、深松?旋耕、深松?免耕、免耕?免耕5种周年耕作方式田间试验, 在定位处理的第4个周年研究耕作方式对砂姜黑土农田土壤有机碳含量、土壤养分及其对作物产量的影响。结果表明, 在秸秆全量还田条件下, 与试验开始前相比, 各处理0~20 cm土层土壤有机碳、全氮、速效钾含量均有所增加。与对照相比, 其他处理均增加周年内0~20 cm土层土壤有机碳和全氮含量。免耕?深耕、深松?旋耕、免耕?免耕处理显著增加周年内0~20 cm土层土壤有效磷含量, 而深松?免耕处理显著增加冬小麦开花期和收获期0~20 cm土层土壤有效磷含量, 整个周年内对照在20~40 cm土层土壤的有效磷含量均最低。深松?免耕处理增加周年内0~20 cm土层土壤速效钾含量, 而深松?免耕、免耕?免耕处理20~40 cm土层土壤速效钾含量在夏玉米苗期、大口期、开花期和灌浆期显著高于对照处理。深松?旋耕和深松?免耕处理显著增加夏玉米?冬小麦周年籽粒产量, 增幅分别为7.67%和10.21%。综上所述, 在秸秆全量还田基础上, 深松?旋耕和深松?免耕能够改善土壤有机碳和养分状况, 显著提高周年作物产量, 可作为黄淮区砂姜黑土农田相对适宜的周年耕作方式。     

Effect of spring fertilization on ecosystem services of organic wheat and clover relay intercrops

Nitrogen (N) deficiency and weed infestation are main factors limiting yield and yield stability in organic wheat. Organic fertilizers may be used to improve crop performance but off-farm input costs tend to limit profitability. Instead, forage legumes may be inserted into the crop rotation to improve the N balance and to control weed infestation. In opposition to simultaneous cropping, relay intercropping of legumes in organic winter wheat limits resource competition for the legume cover crop, without decreasing the performance of the associated wheat.The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of spring organic fertilization on the performance of intercropped legumes and wheat, and on services provided by the legume cover.Two species of forage legumes (Trifolium pratense L. and Trifolium repens L.) were undersown in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv Lona) in five organic fields during two consecutive crop seasons. Organic fertilizer was composed of feather meal and applied on wheat at legume sowing. The cover crop was maintained after the wheat harvest and destroyed just before sowing maize.Spring organic nitrogen fertilization increased wheat biomass (+35%), nitrogen (+49%), grain yield (+40%) and protein content (+7%) whatever the intercropping treatment. At wheat harvest, red clover biomass was significantly higher than white clover one (1.4 vs. 0.7 t ha⁻¹). Nitrogen fertilization decreased forage legume above-ground biomass at wheat harvest, at approximately 0.5 t ha⁻¹ whatever the specie. No significant difference in forage legume biomass production was observed at cover killing. Nitrogen accumulation in legume above-ground tissues was significantly higher for white clover than for red clover. Both red and white clover species significantly decreased weed infestation at this date. Nitrogen fertilization significantly increased weed biomass whatever the intercropping treatment and decreased nitrogen accumulation in both clover species (−12%).We demonstrated that nitrogen fertilization increased yield of wheat intercropped with forage legume while the performance of legumes was decreased. Legume growth was modified by spring fertilization whatever the species.     

不同有机肥料对番茄生长及品质的影响

在有机生产条件下布置小区试验,研究了有机肥料对番茄生长、养分平衡和果实品质的影响,研究中采用农家堆肥、精制有机肥、沼渣为供试有机肥料,进行等氮投入,其中精制有机肥在此基础上额外设置了3个施肥水平。结果表明：有机肥适量施用能显著促进番茄生长发育,株高、茎粗、开花数、叶绿素含量等指标均好于不施肥对照,增产效果显著。等氮条件下不同有机肥料增产幅度在9.2%-14.4%之间。肥料氮磷钾养分平衡指数分别波动于3.06~3.35、7.77~23.65、1.66~2.88之间,而氮磷钾的利用率则分别波动在7.37%~9.51%、1.49%~4.39%、9.10%~15.32%之间。有机肥投入量的增加并未显著促进作物对氮磷钾的吸收,肥料利用率随施肥量的增加而急剧下降,养分平衡指数上升。适量施用有机肥料增加了番茄可溶性糖、固形物、Vc含量以及糖酸比,降低了硝酸盐含量,从而提高了番茄果实品质。研究揭示,有机废弃物的资源化利用,可以促进作物产量的提高和品质的改善,但过多的有机肥投入无济于产量和品质的进一步增长,相反还可能存在着环境污染风险。     

Organic input quality is more important than its quantity: C turnover coefficients in different cropping systems

Annual C input to soil is a major factor affecting soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. However different types of C-sources can have different behaviour, in relation to their chemical characteristics and how they interact with soil. Root-derived C, in particular, should be more efficient than other organic materials as a result of the physicochemical and biological characteristics of the surrounding environment, leading to a reduction in the C decomposition rate.To test this hypothesis, we considered a long-term experiment underway in Northern Italy since 1962, comparing permanent meadow and 6 different crop rotations over a wide range of nutrient inputs, in both organic and inorganic forms. C inputs from amendments were measured and those from crops were calculated using allometric functions and crop and residues yields. The time evolution of SOC was studied through a single-pool, first-order kinetic model, allowing the estimation of humification coefficients for residues, roots, farmyard manure and cattle slurries.The highest value of the humification coefficient was estimated for farmyard manure, which confirmed its high efficiency in stabilising SOC content. Root C presented a humification coefficient 1.9 times higher than above-ground plant materials while slurries were intermediate, with a humification coefficient roughly half that of farmyard manure and even lower that of roots.The quality of C input thus seems of fundamental importance for evaluating the sustainability of different cropping systems in terms of SOC dynamics.     

过量施用磷肥和有机肥对土壤磷渗漏的影响

采用土柱培养的模拟试验方法,研究在不同磷水平土壤上大量施用磷肥和有机肥对土壤测试磷、土壤磷渗漏的影响及机理。结果表明,不同磷水平土壤施用磷肥和有机肥后,土壤CaCl2-P、Olsen-P和土壤渗漏液中可溶性磷均显著增加;单位量磷肥或有机肥所增加土壤各形态磷量随土壤磷水平的增加而增大;随着磷肥和有机肥用量的增加,单位量磷肥或有机肥所增加各形态磷量也逐渐增大,差异均达到显著和极显著水平;施用磷肥和有机肥土壤磷的最大吸磷量（Qm）和土壤磷吸持指数（PSI）逐渐减少,土壤磷的吸附饱和度（DPS）逐渐增加;单位量磷肥或有机肥所增加的土壤磷的吸附饱和度随着土壤磷水平的增加而增加。随磷肥和有机肥用量的增加,不同磷水平土壤磷的吸附饱和度逐渐增加、土壤磷的吸持指数下降、土壤磷的渗漏量逐渐增大;土壤磷渗漏量与土壤测试磷呈显著正相关;单位量磷肥或有机肥所增加的土壤测试磷随着磷肥或有机肥用量以及土壤磷水平的增加而增加。     

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.     

Conversion to organic arable farming in The Netherlands: A dynamic linear programming analysis

Several studies show that organic farming is more profitable than conventional farming. However, in reality not many farmers convert to organic farming. Policy makers and farmers do not have clear insight into factors which hamper or stimulate the conversion to organic farming. The objective of this paper is to develop a dynamic linear programming model to analyse the effects of different limiting factors on the conversion process of farms over time. The model is developed for a typical arable farm in The Netherlands central clay region, and is based on two static liner programming models (conventional and organic). The objective of the model is to maximise the net present value over a 10-year planning horizon. The results of the analysis of a basic scenario show that conversion to organic farming is more profitable than staying conventional. In order to arrive at the actual profitable phase of organic farming, the farmer has to pass through the economically difficult 2-year conversion period. Sensitivity analysis shows that if depreciation is 25% higher than conventional fixed costs due to machinery made superfluous by conversion, conversion is less profitable than staying conventional. Also the availability of hired labour, which can be constrained in peak periods, has a strong effect on the cropping plan and the amount of area converted. Further analysis shows that a slight drop (2%) in organic prices lowers the labour income of the farmer and makes conversion less profitable than conventional farming. For farmers, a minimum labour income can be required to ‘survive’. The analysis shows that constraint on minimum labour income makes stepwise conversion the best way for farmers to overcome economic difficulties during conversion.     

浙江省森林土壤有机碳密度空间变异特征及其影响因素

基于Moran’s I指数和GIS地统计插值方法研究浙江省森林土壤有机碳密度(SOCD)的空间自相关性及其分布特征,并采用线性回归方程分析影响因素对SOCD的作用。结果表明:浙江省森林土壤0～30 cm层次SOCD为71.2 t hm-2,较全国土壤平均碳密度低;全局Moran’s I=0.176,显示显著空间自相关性;浙江省森林SOCD呈现自西南向东北梯级递减趋势,表现为三条平行的带状分布;优势树种、坡位、龄组、海拔、灌木覆盖度、灌木平均高、平均年龄与SOCD呈极显著正相关关系,坡向与SOCD呈显著正相关关系,草本覆盖度与SOCD呈极显著负相关关系,草本平均高影响不显著;影响因素作用于SOCD14.9%的变异。