Identifying the position of the compacted layer by measuring soil penetration resistance in a dryland farming region in Northeast China

Topsoil is disturbed by ploughing, the effects of infiltration, the movement of fine particles from the topsoil to the subsoil, and direct pressure from agriculture machinery, all creating an abrupt delineation in the form of a compacted layer with very low permeability. Spatial variability of soil properties, such as soil structure and penetration resistance (PR), can help identify the compacted layer. However, there are no quantitative methods to describe this layer. In this study, PR was used to survey different soil types. A Mann–Kendall (M-K) test of PR data was used to identify the presence and position of the compacted layer in a dryland farming region of Northeast China. Our results demonstrated that PR was mainly affected by bulk density and soil water content. Compared with the topsoil, PR was more significantly affected by water content in deeper soil layers. An M-K test of the PR curve can provide a more reliable and objective assessment of the thickness of the plough layer and location of the compacted layer than field observation. Our data indicated that there was a compacted layer in the soil profile in the study areas and the spatial variability of the compacted layer was heterogeneous. The plough layer was shallow, and the compacted layer was thicker in areas with frequent use of agricultural machinery. Moreover, frequent use of agricultural machinery resulted in a PR of the plough and compacted layers that was greater than that in other areas. Information on identifying the position and thickness of the compacted layer and the factors influencing their spatial distribution can be used to create effective soil management options and improve conditions for the development of plant roots in dryland farming regions.     

Quantifying soil displacement and tillage erosion rate by different tillage systems in dryland northwestern Iran

Redistribution of soil particles by the force applied by tillage is a major factor in soil degradation of agricultural land. Decreasing tillage intensity can reduce the amount of soil displaced and the distance moved and hence may reduce rates of erosion. To understand the relative importance of erosion, we tabulated machine, soil and landform properties likely to be involved. We compared soil displacement and tillage erosion rates under different systems, including mouldboard ploughing (conventional tillage), chisel ploughing (reduced tillage), stubble cultivator (minimum tillage) and no‐tillage under dryland agriculture in northwestern Iran. The area was undulating and so all tillage took place along contours. Metallic tracers were buried in the soil at known locations and depths and their recovery after tillage provided a measure of soil displacement and tillage erosion. Conventional tillage along a contour line caused significantly greater soil displacement (≃57 cm) in the direction of tillage than reduced and minimum tillage systems (~20 and ~15 cm, respectively). Conventional tillage also caused more lateral soil displacement (downwards in the main direction of slope, the tillage erosion rate) than reduced or minimum tillage systems (48 cm or 152 kg/m vs. 5 and 4 cm or 16 and 7 kg/m, respectively). Although a range of factors contribute to the tillage systems used by farmers, our results suggest that under dryland conditions, similar to those found in our study area, adoption of noninversion, reduced tillage along the contour, for example by chisel ploughing can substantially limit tillage erosion relative to conventional tillage.     

毛竹林免耕施肥技术试验研究

在地形复杂、坡度较陡、大雨频繁的毛竹林区,采用免耕施肥技术,既不造成水土流失,又能达到增产的效果。经试验,每年施碳铵70～80kg/亩、尿素15kg/亩的试验区比对照区竹笋增产69.88％,竹材增产34.94％,毛料增产30.93％;每年施碳铵40kg/亩和尿素20kg/亩的示范区比示范前竹笋增产669.2％,竹材增产131.82％,毛料增产97.54％。本研究免耕施肥方法有:开水平沟、竹蒲头打洞和每竹眉形沟施三种,均有明显效果,但三种方法之间无显著差异。     

Biochemical and physiological parameters and estimated work output in draught horses pulling loads for long periods

A study was undertaken in five draught horses of 648±33 kg body weight to find the effects of continuously pulling loads on their cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic responses. A cart equipped with an odometer, for measuring distance, and a hydraulic dynamometer, for measuring draught force, was used. Heart and respiration rates and rectal temperatures were recorded. Blood samples for measuring arterial and venous pH and blood gases, haemoglobin, glucose and lactic acid concentrations and the serum activity of the enzymes creatine phosphokinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase were taken before exercise and immediately after each journey (morning and afternoon) of the daily work.Draught exercise, with loads which generated forces of between 0.57 and 0.59 kN, at speeds of 1.60 to 2.11 m/s, for 8 h daily for five consecutive days, with resting intervals of 10 min each hour, was well tolerated. Exercise tolerance was evaluated from the recovery from the changes observed in the biochemical and physiological parameters induced by the work. The analysis of these showed that, when the horses were subjected to prolonged periods of resting, their loss of fitness for work was shown by significant increases in the serum activity of muscle-derived enzymes and in blood lactate concentrations during the first day of work. However, over the following days the horses adapted to the work, so that the decreases in serum enzyme activities and blood lactate concentrations were reduced. Since similar observations have been described for racehorses, the determination of blood lactate concentrations and the serum activities of muscle-derived enzymes, specifically CK, seem to be good indicators of fitness in draught horses.     

Effects of crop management practices on Echinochloa crus-galli and Chenopodium album seed production in a maize/soyabean rotation

Seed production of residual weed populations needs to be taken into account when estimating the long-term impact of low-input agronomic practices. The objective of this study was to measure the effects and interactions of crop, weed control, tillage practice and nutrient source on the seed production of the dominant residual weed species in a maize/soyabean rotation at two sites: Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. on a Sainte-Rosalie clay and Chenopodium album L. on a Duravin clay loam. Seed production per unit area was estimated in each experimental unit. Weed seed production was greater under mechanical weed control compared with chemical weed control. In 1997, E. crus-galli seed production reached over 326 000 seeds m^–2 in mechanical weed control treatments, but averaged less than 500 seeds m^–2 in the chemical weed control treatments. Chenopodium album produced in the range of 766 000 and 73 000 seeds m^–2 in mechanical and chemical weed control treatments respectively. Very few or no weed seeds were produced in soyabean under chemical control. Tillage intensity and nutrient source did not affect seed production of either weed species, with the exception that E. crus-galli produced more seeds in chisel than in mouldboard plough tillage in soyabean. Weed control method had more impact on seed production than tillage intensity and nutrient source in a maize/soyabean rotation.     

Ergebnisse zur bodenverlagerung durch bearbeitungserosion in der jungmoränenlandschaft Nordostdeutschlands: Investigations of soil movement by tillage as a type of soil erosion in the young moraine soil landscape of Northeast Germany

Soil translocation by soil tillage can have a considerable importance on arable land. These results were published in the international literature. The aim of the experiments is to quantify the translocation of soil due to tillage with different typical tools. A mouldboard plough and a disc harrow were tested in field experiments on a slope (4° inclination) with sandy soil. The average movement of soil particles of the top soil was determined about the changed tracer concentration. The tracer coloured gravels were most suitable of all tested tracer. The comparison of the tools showed more soil translocation caused by mouldboard plough (145?kg) than by disc harrow (12?kg). The transport was also different: plough 0.50?m and disc harrow 0.11?m average distance.     

Tillage effect on C stocks of a clayey Oxisol under a soybean-based crop rotation in the Brazilian Cerrado region

A large area (180 Mha) of central Brazil is occupied by a savanna biome known as the Cerrado. Annual rainfall in this region varies from 1200 to 2000 mm, although there is a long (5 month) dry season with almost no rain. This region is regarded by Brazilians as their agricultural frontier and there is a steady growth in the area dedicated to permanent cropping in the region, which today is estimated to occupy 14 Mha. Owing to the dearth of long-term experiments, the impact of continuous cropping on soil carbon stocks remains unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different tillage systems (zero till (ZT) and conventional tillage (CT)) on the change in soil carbon stocks over a 20-year period of the same crop sequence compared to that under a neighbouring area of native vegetation (NV). Only approximately 10 Mg ha⁻¹ of soil carbon in the 0–100 cm depth interval was lost under continuous ZT. However, under CT systems losses were greater (up to 30 Mg C ha⁻¹) when the mouldboard plough was used and/or tillage was performed twice a year. We did not have access to instrumentation to accurately assess soil charcoal but the C/N data and peroxide and dichromate oxidative techniques suggested that 40% of soil C was in this form. The ¹³C natural abundance of soil profiles indicated that residues of crops (maize) and the spontaneous annual fallow of Brachiaria spp. resulted in integration of significant C₄ residues to a depth of at least 40 cm. It would appear that zero tillage, which is already widely adopted in the Cerrado region of Brazil, will have only a small negative long-term impact on soil C stocks, but ploughing, especially more than once a year, will lead to considerably larger soil C losses.     

Economic Contribution of Draught Animals to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mazahua</Emphasis> Smallholder <Emphasis Type="Italic">Campesino</Emphasis> Farming Systems in the Highlands of Central Mexico

The economic contribution of draught animals to smallholder Mazahua campesino systems in two mountain villages of San Felipe del Progreso, in the central highlands of Mexico, was assessed. Campesinos rely on draught animals for cultivation tasks, as pack animals, and as transport for agricultural and domestic activities. The villages were San Pablo Tlalchichilpa (SPT) and La Concepción Mayorazgo (LCM). Twelve households that possessed draught animals were monitored from July 1999 to June 2000, nine in SPT and three in LCM, in terms of animal inventories and income from their draught animals, in cash and opportunity values. Equines in SPT have substituted bulls, and are recognized for their multipurpose contribution, while in LCM bulls are still used for ploughing the land. Overall total mean gross income was US$490.78 per farm per year, plus US$56 as opportunity value of the fertilizer value of manure for both villages. Deducting estimated costs, owning draught animals leaves a mean net margin of US$412.50/year in SPT and of US$285.64/year in LCM. There is a significant correlation (p < 0.05) between ownership of draught animals and incomes, with a regression coefficient of US$279.16 per year per draught animal. Besides positive economic returns, having work animals alleviates drudgery for the campesino families.     

铧式犁犁体曲面研究现状与展望

犁耕作业是一种应用最为广泛的耕地方式,良好的犁体曲面不仅能使土壤达到理想的农艺作业要求,而且可以降低犁耕作业过程中的能量消耗,通过对犁体曲面的几何特征、性能参数、耕作过程和设计方法等方面进行阐述分析,总结基于犁耕作业过程中的土垡运动及受力的各类研究方法,分别从经验设计、几何形成线法、土迹线模拟法、基于犁耕工艺过程的犁体...     

甘蔗间作花生对不同耕层土壤微生态的影响

甘蔗间作花生是我国华南地区特有的高效种植模式。本文研究了甘蔗/花生间作不同耕层土壤养分、酶、微生物的变化特征及其相关性。结果表明,相比单作而言,0～20 cm间作花生土壤有效氮、有机质、微生物量氮含量、真菌、放线菌数量、蛋白酶活性及间作甘蔗土壤细菌、放线菌、总微生物数量、微生物量氮含量及蛋白酶活性均显著增加;20～40 cm间作甘蔗土壤全磷、全钾、蛋白酶活性及间作花生土壤放线菌、蛋白酶活性显著增加;40~ 60 cm间作花生土壤真菌、蔗糖酶、微生物量碳含量显著增加;相反,间作甘蔗土壤蔗糖酶活性均显著低于单作甘蔗处理;间作土壤有效氮磷钾、有机质含量、脲酶、酸性磷酸酶活性、微生物数量均随着土壤深度的增加而表现出降低的趋势;间作土壤有效养分与脲酶、酸性磷酸酶、微生物量氮及微生物数量呈显著或极显著正相关。表明甘蔗花生间作条件下土壤养分、酶、微生物相互作用,共同维持良好的土壤微生态环境。