Academic literature on the topic 'Green manure crops Asia'

While maintaining adequate levels of soil fertility can be a challenge on any farm, maintaining those levels on the resource-limited smallholder farms of the tropics requires options that are also affordable, practical, and appropriate in such challenging conditions. This research endeavor was designed to compare the adaptability and potential of four legume species promoted as Green Manure/Cover Crops (GMCC’s) in Southeast Asia. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), Jackbean (Canavalia ensiformis), Lablab (Lablab purpureus), and Ricebean (Vigna umbellata) were planted in field trials in five diverse countries across Southeast Asia in 2016, including Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. Data was collected to assess the production of above-ground biomass, percentage of ground cover, and timing of growth cycles at each site. Although results varied from country to country based on soil-type, climatic conditions, and growing degree days, Jackbean consistently outperformed other GMCC species in terms of biomass production, yielding up to 12 t ha-1 on a dry-weight basis in Bangladesh and the Philippines. Of the four crops compared, cowpea consistently delivered the shortest growth cycle, reaching the pod formation stage in the fewest number of days across all five sites. These results provide informative answers regarding the growth habits and life cycles of these four crops across five diverse sites, and serve to enhance the capability of smallholders in Southeast Asia to select appropriate species needed for soil improvement purposes in a wide-ranging set of cropping systems.

Green manuring is considered an important agronomic practice for smallholder farming systems in the tropics. Different species of legumes and non-legumes are applied either as ex situ or in situ green manures. Thus a field study conducted under rainfed conditions in Sri Lanka compared the effect of in situ and ex situ green manuring using two popular green manures ( Crotolaria juncea — a legume and Tithonia diversifolia — a non-legume) on the growth, seed yield and N use pattern of maize ( Zea mays ), the most popular upland cereal in the Asian tropics, grown with high and low N rates, in the two seasons that correspond to the monsoonal rains. In situ green manuring, especially with crotolaria, increased the growth, seed yield and N use efficiency of maize when compared to the ex situ addition of similar quantities of the green manure. The impact was also greater in the minor season, when the crop was subjected to moisture stress conditions. The benefits of in situ green manuring with tithonia were lower than those due to crotolaria. In situ green manuring with tithonia also led to a greater increase in growth, seed yield and N use efficiency in maize compared to ex situ green manuring with this species. The green manures, especially in situ application, also increased the benefits of enhanced rates of N fertilizer to the crops in both seasons, with greater use efficiency in the major season. The study showed the benefits of green manuring (both in and ex situ ) for obtaining higher yields of maize in the growing seasons of the Asian tropics, especially the in situ application of legume species.

A series of experiments were conducted on the Agronomy farm and laboratory of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University to demonstrated a promising way of increasing soil organic matter, total N in pre sown and postharvest land by green manure cultivation and reducing the inorganic fertilizer inputs in rice production and finally observed the quality of grown T. aman seed in laboratory condition. Several green manures were found more potential in two years regarding their plant height, dry biomass production and better performance concerning organic matter, nitrogen and potassium contribution to soil and increased rice yield. Morphological characteristics of eight green manure crops were studied and incorporated at 45DAS for decomposition. One month after decomposition of green manure, rice (BRRI dhan66) plant was transplanted with 100% NPK (F1) and 50% NPK (F2) and pre sown rice soil, post-harvest soil nutrient statuses were studied. Result showed that Pre shown rice soil increased 0.5 to 0.6% SOM (2nd year), 0.04% soil N (both year) and 0.04% soil K (1st year) which ultimately increase rice yield 62% to 68% (with F1) and 10% to 42% in 1st and 2nd year. Post-harvest soil nutrient status shown the positive balance of (0.1% to 1%) organic matter and total N (0.04% to 0.7%) in the 1st years and 2nd years and P was found drastically increased in 2nd year, respectively. Germination%, germination energy%, seedling length, fresh and dry weight of six month stored rice seedling also found highest from S. rostataand S. aculeataunder laboratory condition. Incorporation of Sesbaniaaculeata, S. rostrata, V. unguiculataand Crotalaria junceaas GM with N significantly influenced the grain yield of rice and pre and post-harvest soil. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. 2021, 7 (4), 298-311

SL-306 (formerly SS-AGR-96), a 4-page illustrated fact sheet by Yuncong Li, Qingren Wang, Waldemar Klassen, Edward A. Hanlon, Jr., describes this green manure crop that has been grown for centuries in Southeast Asia — origin and distribution, description, uses, production and harvest, and seed production. Includes references. Updated with title change by the UF Department of Soil and Water Sciences, September 2015. Minor revision October 2018. Previous version: Li, Yuncong, Qingren Wang, Waldemar Klassen, and Edward Hanlon. 2009. “Sunn Hemp - A Cover Crop in Florida”. EDIS 2009 (8). https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/118084.

Basmati (aromatic) rice is premier rice grown in north-western India and Pakistan. This rice is preferred for their long and slender kernels which expand 3-4 times in length and remain fluffy and are well known all over the world, especially in the Middle East and South Asia for their long fluffy grains on cooking. Paddy soils are usually deficient in organic matter because of high temperature and moisture, which causes rapid decomposition of organic matter. The importance of leguminous green manure crops in improving soil fertility, and soil physical properties received increasing attention. Also, the zinc (Zn) deficiency in soils is prevalent worldwide, especially in high pH calcareous soils. No reports were available on combining green manuring crops and Zn fertilization on productivity, Zn content and kernel quality of Basmati rice. Therefore, the current investigation was undertaken to quantify the combined effects of summer green manuring crops and zinc fertilization on productivity, Zn content and kernel quality of Basmati rice in summer green manuring-Basmati rice cropping system. A field study was therefore conducted for two years (2009 and 2010) on a sandy clay-loam soil (typic Ustochrept) at the research farm of the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. The experiments were conducted in split plot design, keeping three green manuring crops viz. Sesbania aculeata (Dhaincha), Crotalaria juncea (Sunhemp), and Vigna unguiculata (Cowpea) and one summer fallow treatment as main-plot treatments and six Zn sources viz. control (no Zn application), ZnSO4∙7H2O (21% Zn), ZnSO4∙H2O (33% Zn), ZnO (82% Zn), ZnSO4∙7H2O + ZnO (50% + 50%) and EDTA-chelated Zn (12% Zn) in sub-plots and was replicated thrice. The experiments in both the years were conducted with a fixed lay-out plan on the same site. The results showed that incorporation of green manures along with zinc (Zn) fertilization increased grain and straw yield, enhanced Zn concentrations and improved the kernel quality before and after cooking in Basmati rice ‘Pusa Basmati 1’. The application of EDTA-chelated Zn (12% Zn) was the best in terms of grain and straw yield and Zn concentrations in grain and straw and kernel quality before and after cooking Basmati rice. Application of ZnSO4∙7H2O (21% Zn) was the second-best treatment followed by ZnSO4∙H2O (33% Zn) and ZnSO4∙7H2O + ZnO (50% + 50%). Application of ZnO (82% Zn) had least effect in increasing the studied parameters. The lowest values were observed with control (no Zn application). Among the summer green manuring crops, incorporation of Sesbania aculeata (Dhaincha) was found to be the best over Crotalaria juncea (Sunhemp), Vigna unguiculata (Cowpea) and summer fallow in terms of grain and straw yield, Zn concentrations in grain and straw and kernel quality before and after cooking in Basmati rice. Zn fertilization with EDTA-chelated Zn (12% Zn) lead to 25.91 and 21.26% higher grain yield; 60.66 and 82.14% Zn-denser grains; with 13.33 and 10.92% increase in head rice recovery in Basmati rice over control (no Zn application) during 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Improved fallows are considered an easy, low cost and suitable method of increasing the productivity and sustainability of smallholder tropical rainfed cropping systems, although most farmers allow weeds to grow when the environmental conditions are not conductive for crop production. Field studies were carried out over the minor and major seasons, to evaluate the impact of a preceding improved fallow using Crotalaria or Tithonia , two popular tropical green manures, on selected soil properties, and on the growth and yield of maize. Improved fallows enhanced chemical soil properties significantly and the impact was most prominent at the onset of the minor maize season. Thus, the growth and yield of maize was also increased to a greater extent in this season, when yields are generally lower due to the suboptimal climatic conditions of lower rainfall and higher temperatures. However, fallows in the minor season also improved soil characteristics and maize yields in the major season, the most significant impact being increased seed yields and harvest indices. Although farmers may not grow fallow crops in major seasons, the potential of these green manure fallows in increasing maize yields in minor seasons and possible strategies to include the fallows in the cropping sequences of tropical rainfed upland cropping systems are discussed on the basis of this field study.

Greenhouse and field experiments were initiated to evaluate rapeseed and mustard species as green manure crops for weed suppression. Under greenhouse conditions incorporating 20 g fresh wt leaf and stem tissue of rapeseed, two white mustards, and brown mustard into 450 g Sharpsburg, silty clay loam soil resulted in significant reductions in weed emergence, biomass, and height. Kochia, shepherd's-purse, and green foxtail emergences were reduced by all green manure crops. Redroot pigweed emergence was reduced by all green manure crops except brown mustard, and velvetleaf emergence was reduced by white mustards only. Kochia and shepherd's-purse fresh weights were reduced by all green manure crops, while redroot pigweed and velvetleaf fresh weights were reduced by brown mustard and white mustard var. Salvo. Green foxtail fresh weight was reduced by all green manure crops except rapeseed. With the exception of shepherd's-purse, no relationship between glucosinolate content of the incorporated green manure and suppression of weed growth was found. Under field conditions, early spring-planted green manure crops reduced early season weed biomass in soybean at one of the two locations. Mustard species as green manure crops reduced total weed biomass in soybean by 40% 4 weeks after emergence (WAE) and 49% 6 WAE. Soybean biomass and yield were sometimes reduced by the incorporation of green manure crops in treatments containing weeds; however, hand-weeded plots with green manure treatments yielded similar to hand-weeded plots without green manure.

Green manure crops may have a role to play in the development of sustainable agricultural systems in the semiarid northern Great Plains of North America. This study determined the benefits of different green manure crops, seeding dates, and termination methods on soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and moisture, as well as the performance of durum wheat following green manures the following year. Field experiments were conducted at Swift Current, Saskatchewan, from 2006 to 2009. Three green manure crops [forage pea (Pisum sativum L.), chickling vetch (Lathyrus sativus L.), and black lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)] were seeded in May, June, and July, and terminated at full bloom using glyphosate, rototilling or by frost. Other treatments included summerfallow and stubble of selected crops harvested for grain or silage. Different green manure crops, seeding dates or termination methods had similar effects on soil moisture, available N, and exchangeable P at termination or the following spring. These effects of green manure management on soil residual characteristics were comparable to those observed under summerfallow, but higher than those on grain or silage stubble. Therefore, green manure is a viable alternative to summerfallowing and could be seeded any time during the growing season. If seeded late, green manure could be terminated by frost, thus saving on costs.

Using a smother crop is thought to suppress weed density and to add other beneficial effects in sustainable agricultural systems. Weed suppression ought to be considered an essential component of integrated weed management. However, very little is known about the effects of green manure plants on weeds. This study evaluated the influence of three green manure species on weed suppression and selectivity of herbicides. A field experiment was designed to determine the effect of the green manure species Crotalaria juncea, Arachis pintoi and pigeon pea on the weeds Brachiaria decumbens, guineagrass and hairy beggarticks, and on the natural weed infestation in the inter rows area of an avocado orchard. The weed species were suppressed differently by each green manure species. Soil samples collected from the field experiment presented a residual effect, of at least 30 d, in suppressing weed seed bank recruitment; this residual effect was caused by the residues of the green manure present in the soil. When the green manure was incorporated into the top 5 cm of soil or left on the surface, in a greenhouse experiment, the emergence of weed seeds was significantly inhibited, depending on the species, and on the amount and depth of green manure incorporation. Greenhouse experiments indicate that pre-emergence herbicides cause lower phytotoxicity than post-emergence Arachis pintoi. Smother crops using green manure species, when well established in an area, provide additional weed control to the cropping system and are effective and valuable tools in integrated weed management.

Maintaining phosphorus (P) fertility in northern Great Plains (NGP) dryland organic cropping systems is a challenge due to high pH, calcareous soils that limit P bioavailability. Organic P fertilizers, including rock phosphate (RP) and bone meal (BM) are sparingly soluble in higher pH soils. Certain crops species have demonstrated an ability to mobilize sparingly soluble P sources. Objectives of this project were to 1) evaluate the effect of green manure (GM) crops and organic P fertilizers on the P nutrition of subsequent crops, and 2) investigate P fertility differences between organic and non-organic cropping systems. A two-year cropping sequence was conducted on an organic farm in north-central Montana (mean pH=6.6; Olsen P=16 mg kg⁻¹). Spring pea (Pisum sativum L), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum L.), yellow mustard (Sinapis alba L.) and tilled fallow were fertilized with 0, 3.1 and 7.7 kg P ha⁻¹ as RP, grown to flat pod stage and terminated with tillage. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was grown on these plots in year two. Phosphorus uptake of winter wheat was enhanced (P>0.05) by RP following buckwheat only (P=0.02) at 7.7 kg P ha⁻¹ compared to 0 P. Results indicate buckwheat can enhance P in a subsequent crop. A greenhouse pot experiment in a low P soil (Olsen P=4 mg kg⁻¹) consisted of four green manures; buckwheat, spring pea, wheat, and a non-crop control fertilized with 7.0 and 17.5 kg available P ha⁻¹ as RP, 13.0 and 32.5 kg available P ha⁻¹ as BM and 10 and 25 kg available P ha⁻¹ as monocalcium phosphate (MCP). Green manures were harvested, dried, analyzed for nutrient content, and returned to pots. Pots were seeded with wheat. Phosphorus uptake in wheat following all crops was enhanced by MCP (P<0.05). Phosphorus uptake of wheat following buckwheat was enhanced by all P sources over the control. Buckwheat demonstrates the capacity to increase the availability of organic P fertilizers. Soil sampling of organic and non-organic no-tillage (NT) cropping systems was conducted in two separate studies to determine differences in P availability between management systems. Soil analysis determined available P tends to be lower in non-fertilized systems.

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Cap. I The aim of this work is to evaluate the agronomic behavior of different legume species under cerrado conditions in Mato Grosso do Sul. Seven experiments were carried out, all of them in the experimental field of the (Ag?ncia de Desenvolvimento Agr?rio e Extens?o Rural de MS), (Agency of rural development and extension of MS). Two of these experiments referred to the performance of legumes evaluation. The first experiment was carried out during the Spring- Summer period, and the second one during the Fall- Winter period. The treatments were constituted by the legume species (Crotalaria juncea, Crotalaria ochroleuca, Crotalaria mucronata, Crotalaria reviflora, Mucuna pruriens, Mucuna aterrima, Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp Cv Fava larga and Cv IAPAR Arat? 43 an?o, Canavalia ensiformes and Canavalia brasiliensis). The third experiment was carried out to determine the dry phytomass decomposition rate and the nitrogen release of the species that were evaluated; this happened during the Fall-Winter period, and the treatments were the mulching of the legumes cited above, except C. breviflora, which was severely attacked by Fusarium sp. The experimental design adopted was randomized blocks, with eleven treatments and nine harvest dates disposed with four replicates. The forth and the fifth experiments were carried out in the subsequent year, their aim was qualifying the Biological Nitrogen Fixation (hereinafter called BNF) and determining the isotope discrimination value ?B value?; their treatments were seven legume species previously selected due to their performances on the former experimental actions and three checks, Brachiaria decumbens, Helianthus annuus, and Zea mays cv BR 106, disposed in randomized blocks with four replicates. The sixth and the seventh experiments were carried out to evaluate the performance of the cabbage cv Astrus under organic management in no-tillage system. The treatments of the sixth experiment were maize-velvet bean intercrop. The later was sown in five different times after maize germination, mucuna alone, maize alone, spontaneous vegetation, and cultivation with conventional tillage of the soil. The treatments of the seventh experiment were maize intercropped with Crotalaria juncea, the latter was slashed, slashed and pruned, maize with basic fertilizer, maize with basic and dressing fertilizers, crotalaria alone, maize alone, spontaneous vegetation, and cultivation with conventional tillage of the soil. The experimental design adopted for both experiments was randomized blocks. The evaluation of the aerial phytomass production was determined when the legume species flowered and when the non-legume ones underwent the grain filling process. The quantification of BNF and the determination of the B value were estimated by using natural abundance 15N and the 15N dilution technique. Functional growth analyses were also carried out as well as soil cover rates, digestion time of the plant tissues, and the phytosociology were determined. On the sixth and seventh experiments the green manure contributions on the agronomic behavior of the cabbage cultivated in no-tillage system under organic management were evaluated. The results obtained have demonstrated the viability for the cultivations of these legume species at the Cerrado Biome, with the contribution of the BNF varying between 75 and 85% of the nitrogen found in the plant tissue originating from the air. They have also demonstrated the viability of using C. juncea and velvet bean when both are intercropped with maize in the mulching formation to the organic cultivation of the cabbage in no-tillage system Cap. II Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the agronomic behavior of legume species in which several components of plant growth were evaluated, such as aerial phytomass production, soil cover rate, seed production, besides phytosociology and in situ decomposition rate under cerrado conditions in Mato Grosso do Sul in two periods of the year. One experiment was carried out during the Spring-Summer period and the other one was carried out during the Fall-Winter period. Both experiments were carried out at the Centro de Pesquisa da Ag?ncia de Desenvolvimento Rural e Extens?o Rural de Mato Grosso do Sul (Mato Grosso do Sul Research center of the Agency of rural development and extension), in Campo Grande ? MS. The experimental design adopted for both was randomized blocks, formed by eleven treatments made up by the species C. juncea, C. ochroleuca, C. mucronata, C. spectabilis, C. breviflora, Mucuna aterrima, Mucuna pruriens, Canavalia brasiliensis, Canavalia ensiformis, Cajanus Cajans cv ?IAPAR an?o?, and Cajanus Cajans cv. giant broad bean. The agronomic behavior of the species that were studied was evaluated by the analysis of the stem and the leaf separately. It was observed that the aerial phytomass productions differed significantly with the species of the genus Crotalaria, showing the best results. Crotalaria juncea stands out with 14.16 Mg ha-1, followed by the Cajanus cajan cv. Fava larga with 11.58 Mg ha-1; there were no significant differences among the species of prostrate habit, mucunas and Brazilian jackbean (Canavalia brasiliensis). The later obtained 3.56 Mg ha-1 and the former did 2.85 Mg ha-1. Regarding seed production, the best performances were obtained during the Fall-Winter period for all legume species, except jack bean and feij?o-bravo (Capparis flexuosa), both obtained similar performances on the two periods of sowing, probably because they might be more tolerant to the drought stress. Regarding the decomposition rate, the results have revealed that the decomposition constants and the residue half-lives had different behaviors on the species that were studied; the Crotalaria species obtained higher decomposition rates when compared to the other species, differentiated behaviors were also noticed on the stem and on the leaf. The C. juncea, jack bean, and the two species of mucuna obtained higher soil cover rate, which reflected a higher suppression of spontaneous plants Cap. III Two experiments related to the quantification of BNF and the determination of the isotope discrimination, ?B value?, in legume species previously selected were simultaneously carried out in the experimental field of the AGRAER-MS, in Campo Grande-MS, during the Spring/Summer period in the 2005/2006 year of production. The experimental design adopted was randomized blocks, formed by ten treatments made up by the species C. juncea, C. ochroleuca, C. mucronata, C. spectabilis, velvet bean, Brazilian jackbean, and Pigeon pea; there have been also, as checks, Sunflower, Maize, and Brachiaria species. The aerial phytomass productions were determined when each legume species flowered and when the non-legume ones underwent the grain filling process. With the samples of legumes and check plants, the quantities of N and the BNF were estimated by using the 15N dilution technique. Afterwards, when the BNF values were known, they were applied to the equation used in natural abundance 15N with the aim of estimating the B value. Regarding the aerial phytomass production, the Pigeon pea had the best performance, followed by the C. ochroleuca, reaching averages of 16.24 Mg ha-1 against 14.44 Mg ha-1. The legume species behaved similarly to the amount of accumulated nitrogen; the Pigeon pea, C. ohcroleuca, and C. mucronata reached values of 346.57 kg ha-1, 333.25 kg ha-1, and 277.35 kg ha- 1 respectively, and they deserve a distinction. Regarding the %BNF, it was observed that the 15N dilution technique could not be applied in all the species that were studied since the cycle of most legumes species was different from the checks; in this way, the checks were not appropriate because the technique demands that legumes and checks grow simultaneously and under the same conditions. However, to the varieties which were more precocious that the checks, the BNF value must be at least between 73 to 87%. Just on the specie C. mucronata it was possible to estimate the BNF and the B value with the rigor that the applied isotopic methodologies demand. The B value of this specie was -3.69. Cap. IV The aim of this study is to evaluate the agronomic behavior of the cabbage in no-tillage system under organic management and the contribution of the prior cultivation of two legumes with different growing habits intercropping with maize in the mulching formation. Both experiments were carried out in the experimental field of AGRAER-MS, in Campo Grande-MS. The first experiment was the maize-C. juncea intercrop, the latter was managed, slashed, pruned, and slashed afterwards; besides the cultivation of single maize, single C. juncea, cultivation with conventional tillage of the soil with and without fertilization with equivalent amounts of 100 Kg N ha-1 at planting and sidressed 30 days after the maize cultivation, making up eight treatments with four replications in randomized blocks. The dry matter productions in the aerial part of the cover crops and the spontaneous vegetation were evaluated. Agronomic characteristics that were evaluated on the cabbage: productivity, commercial standard, fresh and dry weight, besides the dry phytomass of the prior cultivation. On this experiment it was possible to verify better yields regarding the fresh weight and head diameter when we used single, pruned C. juncea maize with basic fertilizer, and maize with base and dressing fertilizers, reaching a fresh weight over 1.0 Kg and heads diameter over 10 cm. Regarding maize and cabbage productivity, they were not influenced by the different kinds of intercrop systems; there were no significant statistic difference of treatments, which also reflected on the dry matter production of the prior cultivations. On the second experiment, the experimental design which was adopted was randomized blocks, with nine treatments and four replicates. The treatments were: maize-velvet bean intercrop, the later was planted in five different times: after the maize germination, maize alone, mucuna alone, cultivation with conventional tillage of the soil, and fallow with spontaneous vegetation, making up a total number of nine treatments. The parameters that were evaluated were similar to the ones of the former experiment.The cabbage production showed the most promising yield 2.06 Kg of head average weight and when cultivated as a sequential crop to the maize-velvet bean intercrop sown 15 days after the maize germination, differing significantly from the other treatments. When we analyzed the maize productivities, we noticed fall of productivity around 29% when it was intercropped with velvet bean at 15 and 30 days after its germination when it was compared to the other prior cultivations in which the intercrop system was used.
Cap. I O presente trabalho teve como finalidade avaliar o comportamento agron?mico de diferentes esp?cies de leguminosas nas condi??es do cerrado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Foram conduzidos sete experimentos, todos no campo experimental da Ag?ncia de Desenvolvimento Agr?rio e Extens?o Rural de MS, sendo que dois deles foram referentes ? avalia??o do desempenho das leguminosas. O primeiro foi instalado no per?odo de primavera-ver?o e o segundo no outonoinverno. Os tratamentos foram constitu?dos das esp?cies de leguminosas Crotal?ria juncea, Crotal?ria ochroleuca, Crotal?ria mucronata, Crotal?ria reviflora, Mucuna pruriens, Mucuna aterrima, Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp cv Fava larga e Cv IAPAR Arat? 43 an?o, Canavalia ensiformes e Canavalia brasiliensis. O terceiro experimento foi realizado para determinar a taxa de decomposi??o da fitomassa seca e libera??o de nitrog?nio das esp?cies avaliadas, realizado no per?odo de outono-inverno, com os tratamentos constituindo-se da palhada das leguminosas descrita acima, exceto C. breviflora, pois a leguminosa sofreu ataque severo de Fusarium sp. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso, com onze tratamentos e nove ?pocas de coleta distribu?dos em quatro repeti??es. O quarto e o quinto experimentos foram realizados no ano subsequente e tiveram como finalidade quantificar a Fixa??o Biol?gica de Nitrog?nio (FBN) e determinar o valor de discrimina??o isot?pica ?Valor B?, tendo como tratamentos sete esp?cies de leguminosas previamente selecionadas pelos seus desempenhos nas a??es experimentais anteriores e tr?s testemunhas, Brachiaria decumbens, Helianthus annuus e Zea mays cv BR 106, dispostos em blocos ao acaso com quatro repeti??es. O sexto e o s?timo experimentos foram conduzidos para avaliar o desempenho do repolho cv Astrus sob manejo org?nico em sistema plantio direto, sendo que o sexto experimento teve como tratamentos cons?rcio milho x mucuna cinza, sendo esta semeada em cinco ?pocas diferentes, ap?s germina??o do milho, mucuna em monocultivo, milho em monocultivo, vegeta??o espont?nea e cultivo com preparo convencional do solo. O s?timo experimento teve como tratamentos milho consorciado com Crotal?ria juncea, sendo esta ro?ada, ro?ada e podada, milho com aduba??o de base, milho com aduba??o de base e cobertura, crotal?ria em monocultivo, milho em monocultivo, vegeta??o espont?nea e cultivo com preparo convencional do solo. O delineamento experimental adotado em ambos os experimentos foi o de blocos ao acaso. A avalia??o da produ??o de fitomassa a?rea foi determinada por ocasi?o do florescimento para as esp?cies de leguminosas e de enchimento de gr?os para as n?o-leguminosas. A quantifica??o da FBN e determina??o do valor ?B? foram estimadas utilizando-se a t?cnica de abund?ncia natural 15N e da dilui??o isot?pica de 15N. Foram tamb?m realizadas an?lises funcionais de crescimento, bem como determinadas as taxas de cobertura do solo, tempo de decomposi??o dos tecidos vegetais e a fitossociologia. No sexto e no s?timo experimentos, foram avaliadas as contribui??es da aduba??o verde no desempenho agron?mico do repolho cultivado em sistema de plantio direto, sob manejo org?nico. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram a viabilidade do cultivo destas leguminosas no bioma cerrado, com a contribui??o da FBN, variando entre 75 e 85% do nitrog?nio encontrado no tecido vegetal proveniente do ar. Tamb?m, demonstraram a viabilidade do uso da C. juncea e M. cinza quando cultivadas em cons?rcio com milho para obten??o de palhada ao cultivo org?nico do repolho em sistema plantio direto. Cap. II Dois experimentos foram conduzidos para avaliar o comportamento agron?mico de esp?cies de leguminosas, onde foram avaliados diferentes componentes do crescimento vegetal, como produ??o fitomassa a?rea, taxa de cobertura de solo, produ??o de sementes, al?m da fitossociologia e taxa de decomposi??o ?in situ?, nas condi??es do cerrado de Mato Grosso do Sul, em duas ?pocas do ano. Os experimentos foram conduzidos no Centro de Pesquisa da Ag?ncia de Desenvolvimento Agr?rio e Extens?o Rural de Mato Grosso do Sul, localizado em Campo Grande - MS, sendo um no per?odo de primavera-ver?o e outro no outono-inverno. Em ambos, o delineamento experimental adotado foi o de blocos ao acaso, formado de onze tratamentos constitu?dos das esp?cies C. juncea, C. ochroleuca, C. mucronata, C. spectabilis, C. breviflora, Mucuna aterrima, Mucuna pruriens, Canavalia brasiliensis, Canavalia ensiformis, Cajanus Cajans cv. IAPAR an?o e Cajanus Cajans cv. fava larga gigante. O comportamento agron?mico das esp?cies estudadas foi avaliado analisando-se separadamente haste e folha. Observou-se que as produ??es de fitomassa a?rea diferiram de forma significativa com as esp?cies do g?nero crotal?ria, obtendo-se melhores desempenhos. Destacam-se a Crotal?ria juncea com 14,16 Mg ha-1, seguida do Guandu cv fava-larga com 11,58 Mg ha-1; entre as esp?cies de h?bito prostrado, n?o houve diferen?as significativas, mucunas e o feij?o-bravo-do Cear?, sendo que esse obteve 3,56 Mg ha-1 contra 2,85 Mg ha-1 da M. preta. Com rela??o ? produ??o de sementes, os melhores desempenhos foram obtidos no per?odo de outono-inverno para todas as leguminosas, com exce??o do feij?o-de-porco e feij?o-bravo, que obtiveram desempenhos semelhantes nas duas ?pocas de semeadura, provavelmente, por serem mais tolerantes ao estresse h?drico. No tocante ? taxa de decomposi??o, os resultados revelaram que as constantes de decomposi??o e tempo de meia-vida tiveram comportamentos diferentes para as esp?cies estudadas, com esp?cies de crotal?ria obtendo maiores velocidades de decomposi??o quando comparadas ?s demais esp?cies, notou-se tamb?m comportamentos diferenciados para haste e folha. A C. juncea, feij?o de porco e as duas esp?cies de mucuna obtiveram maior taxa de cobertura de solo, o que refletiu em uma maior supress?o da vegeta??o de ocorr?ncia espont?nea Cap III Foram conduzidos simultaneamente dois experimentos relacionados ? quantifica??o da FBN e determina??o do valor de discrimina??o isot?pica, valor ?B?, em esp?cies de leguminosas previamente selecionadas. Os experimentos foram conduzidos no campo experimental da AGRAER-MS, localizado em Campo Grande-MS, no per?odo de primavera-ver?o, no ano agr?cola 2005/06. O delineamento estat?stico utilizado foi o de blocos ao acaso, constitu?dos de dez tratamentos, sendo este compostos pelas esp?cies C. juncea, C. ochroleuca, C. mucronata, C. spectabilis, Mucuna cinza, Feij?o-bravo-do-cear? e Guandu fava larga; e como testemunhas as esp?cies Girassol, Milho e Braqui?ria. Por ocasi?o do florescimento de cada esp?cie de leguminosa e enchimento de gr?os das n?o-leguminosas, foram determinadas as produ??es de fitomassa a?rea. A partir das amostras de leguminosas e plantas testemunhas, estimaram-se as quantidades de N e a FBN, para tanto usando a t?cnica de dilui??o isot?pica de 15N . Posteriormente, conhecendo-se os valores de FBN, aplicou-se aos mesmos a equa??o utilizada na t?cnica de abund?ncia natural de 15N com a finalidade de estimar o valor B. Com rela??o ? produ??o de fitomassa a?rea, o Guandu fava larga obteve melhor desempenho seguido da C. ochroleuca, atingindo m?dias de 16,24 Mg ha -1 contra 14,44 Mg ha-1. Para a quantidade de nitrog?nio acumulada as esp?cies de leguminosas se comportaram de maneira semelhante, com destaque para o Guandu fava larga, C. ohcroleuca e C. Mucronata, atingido valores de 346,57 kg ha-1, 333,25 kg ha-1 e 277,35 kg ha-1 respectivamente. No tocante ? %FBN, observou-se que a t?cnica de dilui??o isot?pica de 15N n?o poderia ser aplicada para todas as esp?cies estudadas, uma vez que a maioria das esp?cies de leguminosas teve ciclo diferenciado das testemunhas, desta forma, as testemunhas n?o foram apropriadas, visto que a t?cnica exige que tanto as leguminosas como as testemunhas cres?am nas mesmas condi??es e de forma simult?nea. Contudo, para as variedades mais precoces que as testemunhas, o valor de FBN deve estar no m?nimo entre 73 a 87%. Somente na esp?cie C. Mucronata, foi poss?vel estimar a FBN e o valor B com o rigor que exigem as metodologias isot?picas aplicadas. O valor B para esta esp?cie foi de -3,69. Cap. IV O presente estudo teve o objetivo de avaliar o desempenho agron?mico do repolho em sistema plantio direto, sob manejo org?nico, e a contribui??o do pr?-cultivo de duas leguminosas de h?bitos de crescimento distintos em cons?rcio com milho, na forma??o de palhada. Ambos experimentos foram implantados no Campo Experimental da AGRAER, em Campo Grande-MS. O primeiro experimento consistiu no cons?rcio entre milho e C. juncea, sendo esta manejada, somente com ro?ada (taratamento 6), podada e posteriormente ro?ada (tratamento 5), al?m do cultivo do milho solteiro, C. juncea solteira, cultivo com preparo convencional do solo, com aus?ncia e presen?a de aduba??o, em quantidades equivalentes a 100 Kg N ha-1 no plantio e em cobertura 30 dias ap?s plantio do milho, perfazendo oito tratamentos com quatro repeti??es, dispostos em blocos ao acaso. Avaliaram-se as produ??es de mat?ria seca na parte a?rea das plantas de cobertura e da vegeta??o espont?nea. As caracter?sticas agron?micas avaliadas no repolho foram: produtividade, padr?o comercial, peso fresco e seco, al?m da fitomassa seca do pr?-cultivo. Neste experimento, verificaram-se melhores rendimentos quanto ao peso m?dio e di?metro da cabe?a quando se utilizaram C. juncea solteira, C.juncea ro?ada, milho com aduba??o de base e milho com aduba??o de base e cobertura, alcan?ando peso m?dio acima de 1,0 kg e di?metro das cabe?as acima de 10 cm. Quanto ? produtividade do milho e do repolho, estes n?o foram influenciados pelos diferentes tipos de cons?rcios, n?o havendo diferen?a estat?stica significativa entre os tratamentos, o que refletiu tamb?m na produ??o de mat?ria seca dos pr?-cultivos. No segundo experimento, o delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos ao acaso com nove tratamentos e quatro repeti??es. Os tratamentos foram: o cons?rcio entre milho e mucuna cinza, sendo esta plantada em cinco ?pocas diferentes - ap?s a germina??o do milho, monocultivo do milho, monocultivo da mucuna, cultivo com preparo convencional do solo e pousio com vegeta??o espont?nea -, perfazendo um total de nove tratamentos. Os par?metros avaliados foram semelhantes aos do experimento anterior. A produ??o do repolho alcan?ou melhores rendimentos, 2,06 kg de peso m?dio da cabe?a; e, quando cultivado em sucess?o ao cons?rcio milho x M. Cinza, semeada aos 15 dias ap?s germina??o do milho, diferiu significativamente dos demais tratamentos. Ao se analisarem as produtividades do milho, notouse uma queda de rendimento em torno de 29% quando este foi consorciado com M. Cinza, aos 15 e 30 dias ap?s sua germina??o, ao comparar-lo aos demais pr?-cultivos utilizando-se cons?rcios

Abstract This chapter discusses cover crops, green manures and herbal leys. Cover crops comprise a range of plant species, preferably a mix that includes legumes, brassicas and grasses. Green manures have an emphasis on adding organic matter and nitrogen to the soil, especially where there are no animals to add manure. Herbal leys comprise a seed mixture of fast-growing grasses, legumes and other herbaceous plants, which can aid livestock health, provide grazing and improve soil fertility. The plant species used in cover crops, green manures and herbal leys are also presented in this chapter.

Abstract Climate change and soil fertility decline are threatening food security in southern Africa and efforts have been made to adapt current cropping systems to the needs of smallholder farmers. Conservation Agriculture (CA) based on minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention and crop diversification has been proposed as a strategy to address the challenges smallholder farmers face. Here we analyse the potential contributions of CA towards adaptation to the effects of climate change by summarizing data on infiltration, soil moisture dynamics and crop productivity under heat and drought stress. The data were taken in the main from CIMMYT's on-farm and on-station trial network. Data show that CA systems maintain 0.7-7.9 times higher water infiltration than the conventional tilled system depending on soil type, which increases soil moisture during the cropping season by 11%-31% between CA treatments and the conventional control treatment. This leads to greater adaptive capacity of CA systems during in-season dry spells and under heat stress. A supporting regional maize productivity assessment, analysing the results of numerous on-farm and on-station experiments, showed that CA systems will outperform conventional tillage practices (CP), especially on light-textured soils, under heat and drought stress. With higher rainfall and low heat stress, this relation was more positive towards CP and on clay soil there was no benefit of practising CA when rainfall was high. The long dry season and limited biomass production of CA systems in southern Africa require complementary good agricultural practices to increase other soil quality parameters (e.g. increased soil carbon) to maintain higher productivity and sustainability over time. This can be addressed by combinations of improved stress-tolerant seed, targeted fertilization, inclusion of tree-based components or green manure cover crops in the farming system, scale-appropriate mechanization and improved weed control strategies.

This chapter is concerned with a set of optimization problems associated to crop rotation scheduling in the context of vegetable crop production according to some ecological criteria: no crop of the same botanic family is planted in sequence, green manure and fallow periods must be present in any schedule. A core mathematical model called the crop rotation scheduling model is proposed to represent these ecological criteria together with specific technical constraints associated to the growing of vegetable crops. Three optimization problems based on crop rotation schedules are written in detail in this chapter. For each problem, the authors present a general modeling framework and a solution methodology based on a technique known as column generation, which iteratively builds crop rotation plans for a number of plots. Some extensions are also presented, with the aim of incorporating additional characteristics found in production field conditions. This chapter ends with a brief discussion on a set of computational experiments and some suggestions for future research.

The reclamation of new areas and distant lands with limited energy and material resources demands using resource- and energy-saving technologies. One of such technologies can be magnetic treatment of irrigating water and artificial manure solutions, and presowing treatment of seeds of agricultural crops in magnetic field. The authors found that magnetic field accelerates the velocity of chemical reactions, enhances salts and fertilizers solvability, and increases oxygen concentration in a solution. Magnetic field improves membrane cells permeability which accelerates molecules and ions diffusion through it. This process improves the ability of a seed to absorb water and increases the concentration of oxygen in a cell. Presowing treatment of seeds increases their ability of germination by 26–50%, sprouting by 20–30%. The best regime of water solutions and seeds of agricultural crops treatment in magnetic field is when magnetic induction is 0.065 Tl and the velocity of a solution is 0.4 m/s.

The aim of our research was to determine the influence of different green manure crops on the process of organic matter entry into the soil, changes in physical and chemical properties of soil, etc. The yields of green mass of sweet clover and sainfoin were the highest – 29.1 and 27.1 t/ha, respectively. Triticale and rye surpassed these crops in the dry matter yield by 0.10-0.30 t/ha and in the organic matter entry into the soil by 0.16-0.36 t/ha. Incorporation of green manures into a farming system contributed to the increase in the amount of nitrogen that is available to the succeeding crop from 0.17 to 1.73 mg/100 g, or 10.4 times. The most considerable increase in the amount of nitrogen was after sainfoin (13.5 times more) and vetch (12.3 times higher). The higher Р2О5 and К2О content in the soil was observed after phacelia used for green manure (3.27 and 32.7, respectively).

The intensification of agricultural production, which involves the use of highly productive plant varieties, high-performance equipment, high doses of mineral fertilizers and pesticides leads to soil degradation and environmental contamination. In this regard, alternative methods of agricultural production replace agricultural intensification. To increase the sustainability and environmental friendliness of garden agrocenoses it is necessary to reduce the chemical load and intensify biological processes by planting green manure crops and perennial herbs, as well as increase microbial diversity through application of microbial fertilizers. We offer the use of various methods of gardening biologization: sod-humus or green manure row spacing systems with different grasses and microbial fertilizers. We conducted comprehensive studies of the effect of MP on the growth and productivity of seedlings of stone fruit plants. The most effective MPs, their doses and methods of application for growing grafted annual seedlings of peach, cherry, apricot and cherry plum, as well as their effect on soil properties, have been determined. A joint positive effect of soil sodding with a mixture of cereal-bean perennial herbs and the use of MP on soil properties and ampelocenosis state in the foothill Crimea was established. In general, the use of biologization elements can increase soil fertility and fruit plants and grapes productivity by 10- 20 %.

Under conditions of East Siberia, the positive effect of sainfoin on the fertility of gray forest soil and the introduction of this crop into fodder five-course rotations have been studied. In Siberia the Hungarian sainfoin (Onobrychis arenaria) is well-spread. As a control variant the crop rotation without perennial legume crops (sainfoin-free) was taken. Our research on the introduction of a new legume crop — sainfoin has shown that the content of mobile phosphorus, on the average in crop rotations, varies from 15.3 to 17.1 mg per 100 g of soil, the value of the nitrate nitrogen indicator — from 21.5 to 25.3 mg/kg. The intake of organic matter into the soil, due to a green manure — sainfoin — increases the humus content to 4.8–4.9 %. The rise in the yield of cultivated grain-forage crops after perennial legumes has been proved. Thus, the yield of pea-oats amounted 2.0–2.4 t/ha feed units. Among the crops harvested for green mass corn was more productive. It provided 1.8–2.2 t/ha of feed units. Pea-oats gave less productivity — from 1.5 t/ha of feed units in a control variant to 1.8 t/ha of feed units in the variants with sainfoin. The yielding capacity of sainfoin was 2.1–2.2 t/ha of feed units. The average yield for crop rotations with sainfoin was higher than the control by 16.6 %. Taking the obtained data into account, it may be concluded that all three five-course crop rotations are productive, the best, according to all criteria, is the variant with two fields of sainfoin providing the decline in cost price up to 3529.9 rub. one feed unit, the high level of pure income 11848 rub./ha and the biggest coefficient of energy efficiency — 3.0

Biogas is a renewable resource which comes from numerous sources, such as biomass, manure, sewage, municipal waste, green waste and energy crops. It is a variable mixture of CH4, CO2, N2 and other gases. Ni-YSZ cermet is commonly used as the anode of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) because it has excellent electrochemical performance and is cost effective. It can utilize not only hydrogen fuel, but also a clean synthesized biogas mixture of varying CH4 and CO2 concentrations with steam (H2O) and air (O2). However, trace impurities, such as H2S, Cl2, and F2 in biogas may cause degradation of cell performance. In this work, Ni-CeO2 coated Ni-YSZ anode-supported cells were exposed to two different compositions of synthesized biogases (biogas) with 100 ppm Cl2 under a constant current load at 850°C. The electrochemical performance was evaluated periodically using standard electrochemical methods. 20 ppm H2S impurity was also added to the fuel stream during the Cl2 impurity testing and its effect was noted. Post-mortem analyses of the SOFC anode were performed using XRD, SEM and XPS. The results show that Cl2 did not cause any electrochemical degradation of the cell during the 200 h test. However, after adding 20 ppm H2S, the cell started to degrade and eventually lost all its performance. The experimental data showed that 100 ppm Cl2 impurity in the fuel gas can postpone the degradation caused by addition of the H2S impurity.