Continuous cropping systems without rotations or cover crops are perceived as unsustainable for long-term yield and soil health.

Continuous systems, defined as continually producing a crop on the same parcel of land for more than three years, is thought to reduce yields.

Given that crop rotations and soil amendments (cover crops and poultry litter) may alleviate issues associated with continuous cropping, research into their combined effects is necessary to make recommendations that improve soil quality and yield.

In an article recently published in Agronomy Journal, researchers studied combinations of cropping sequence (corn, soybean, and cotton) and soil amendment/cover crops (hairy vetch, Austrian winter pea, wheat, poultry litter and a fallow control) at two sites in Tennessee over a 12-yr study period.

Based on 12-yr yields, a moderate-to-no yield penalty existed for continuous soybean, whereas yield benefits (11%) arose from poultry litter compared to wheat cover crop.

This study determined that across all study years, incorporating corn once within a 4-yr cycle resulted in 8% greater yields than continuous soybean, whereas cotton (once or twice within a rotation) did not.

Consequently, including corn once within a 4-yr cropping rotation with poultry litter improved soybean yields, concurrent with increases in soil N, P, K, and soil organic carbon.

Adapted from Ashworth, A.J., F.L. Allen, A.M. Saxton, and D.D. Tyler. 2017. Impact of Crop Rotations and Soil Amendments on Long-Term No-Tilled Soybean Yield. Agron. J. 109.

Tweet

Plants call 911 to help their neighbors
Newark DE (SPX) May 18, 2017
When Harsh Bais, a botanist at the University of Delaware, emailed Connor Sweeney to tell the high school student he would be willing to mentor him on a research project, Sweeney, a competitive swimmer, was so ecstatic he could have swum another 200-meter butterfly at practice. "I knew I would have a lot to learn, but I was ready for that," says the 18-year-old from Wilmington, Delaware. ... read more

Related Links
American Society of Agronomy
Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only