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Lentil enhances agroecosystem productivity with increased residual soil water and nitrogen

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2016

Yantai Gan ,
Chantal Hamel ,
H. Randy Kutcher  and
Lee Poppy
Yantai Gan*
Affiliation:
Swift Current Research and Development Centre, Agricultural and Agri-Food Canada, Airport Road East, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, S9H 3X2, Canada.
Chantal Hamel
Affiliation:
Québec Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2560 Boul. Hochelaga, Québec city, QC G1V 2J3, Canada.
H. Randy Kutcher
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A8, Canada.
Lee Poppy
Affiliation:
Swift Current Research and Development Centre, Agricultural and Agri-Food Canada, Airport Road East, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, S9H 3X2, Canada.
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
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Abstract

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) may have a potential to enhance the productivity of agroecosystems in dry areas where water and nutrients are limited. This study quantified soil water, residual soil nitrogen (N), and crop yields in lentil-based systems in comparison with continuous cereal and conventional summerfallow systems. A 3-yr cropping sequence study was conducted for three cycles in Saskatchewan (50.28°N, 107.79°W) from 2007 to 2011. On average, soil retained 187, 196 and 337 mm of water in the 0–1.2 m depth at crop harvest in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. Summerfallow contained the same amounts of water as the cropped treatments at the harvest in 2009 and 2010. However, in 2008, summerfallow contained more soil water than the cropped treatments. The effect of lentil cultivar on soil water conservation varied with years; the cultivars Glamis, Laird and Sedley conserved highest amounts of soil water by the planting time of 2009 and 2010, but no differences were found among cultivars in 2011. Soil available N (NO3− + NH4+) at spring planting time was 50.4 kg ha−1 in the preceding lentil treatments, which was 44% higher compared with preceding barley or flax, but was 25% lower compared with preceding summerfallow. Lentil cultivars had a similar amount of soil residual N. Grain production in the 3-yr rotation averaged 6.3 t ha−1 per rotation for the wheat–lentil–durum system and 6.8 t ha−1 for the wheat–cereal–durum monoculture, averaging 36% greater compared with wheat–summerfallow–durum system. The lentil system increased total grain production through the access of residual soil water and biologically fixed N, whereas continuous cereal system relies on inorganic fertilizer input for yield. Summerfallow system relies on ‘mining’ the soil for nutrients. We conclude that the adoption of lentil systems will enhance grain production through the use of residual soil water and available N.

Keywords

crop diversificationN2 fixationrenewable Nwater use efficiencyrotational effectsymbiosis
Type
Research Papers
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 32 , Issue 4 , August 2017 , pp. 319 - 330
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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