Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T02:09:18.789Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reduced tillage in temperate organic farming: Effects on soil nutrients, nutrient content and yield of barley, rye and associated weeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 February 2014

Christina Vakali ,
Johann G. Zaller  and
Ulrich Köpke
Christina Vakali*
Affiliation:
Institute of Organic Agriculture, University of Bonn, Katzenburgweg 3, D-53115 Bonn, Germany.
Johann G. Zaller
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Gregor-Mendel Straße 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria.
Ulrich Köpke
Affiliation:
Institute of Organic Agriculture, University of Bonn, Katzenburgweg 3, D-53115 Bonn, Germany.
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In temperate regions, reduced tillage is still not broadly accepted in organic farming although the guidelines often recommend the reduction of tillage intensity. During the years 5–7 of a long-term experiment, we studied the effects of the three tillage systems moldboard plowing (MP, soil inversion to 30 cm depth), two-layer plowing (TP, inversion to 15 cm, loosening to 30 cm) and layer cultivation (LC, loosening to 30 cm) on soil nutrients, nutrient content of barley, rye and associated weeds, and yield on a clay loam soil. Crops were cultivated within a five-course crop rotation consisting of green fallow, winter wheat, field peas, winter rye and spring barley; no additional fertilizers were applied. Tillage affected only soil nitrate under barley, which decreased with decreasing tillage intensity. Soil humus, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) were unaffected by tillage under both crops. Barley shoot nitrogen content was significantly influenced by tillage, with, across years, 38 and 83% higher values under MP than under TP or LC, respectively. Weeds in barley had a higher P and K content at LC than at MP or TP. This resulted, across years, in 73% higher barley yields in MP than in LC. The TP showed a 29% higher barley yield than the LC. Tillage methods had no effect on rye nutrient contents, rye yields or on weeds associated with rye. The significant interaction between tillage and year for rye yield suggests that weather conditions in a given year (e.g., amount of rainfall) can considerably alter the effect of reduced tillage.

Keywords

conservation tillagelayer cultivatortwo-layer ploworganic farmingsoil nutrientsnitrogen content
Type
Research Papers
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , June 2015 , pp. 270 - 279
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Fuentes, M., Govaerts, B., De Leon, F., Hidalgoa, C., Dendoovend, L., Sayreb, D.K., and Etcheversa, J. 2009. Fourteen years of applying zero and conventional tillage, crop rotation and residue management systems and its effect on physical and chemical soil quality. European Journal of Agronomy 30:228–237.Google Scholar
2Kassam, A., Friedrich, T., Shaxson, F., and Pretty, J. 2009. The spread of conservation agriculture: Justification, sustainability and uptake. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 7:292–320.Google Scholar
3Melero, S., López-Garrido, R., Madejón, E., Manuel Murillo, J., Vanderlinden, K., Ordóñez, R., and Moreno, F. 2009. Long-term effects of conservation tillage on organic fractions in two soils in southwest of Spain. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 133:68–74.Google Scholar
4von Lützow, M., Leifeld, J., Kainz, M., Kögel-Knabner, I., and Munch, J.C. 2002. Indications for soil organic matter quality in soils under different management. Geoderma 105:243–258.Google Scholar
5Franzluebbers, A.J. 2004. Tillage and residue management effects on soil organic matter. In Magdoffand, F. and Weil, R.R. (eds). Soil Organic Matter in Sustainable Agriculture. CRC Press, New York. p. 286–343.Google Scholar
6Rasmussen, K.J. 1999. Impact of ploughless soil tillage on yield and quality: A Scandinavian review. Soil and Tillage Research 53:3–14.Google Scholar
7Ingram, J. 2010. Technical and social dimensions of farmer learning: An analysis of the emergence of Reduced Tillage Systems in England. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 34:183–201.Google Scholar
8Lahmar, R. 2010. Adoption of conservation agriculture in Europe. Lessons of the KASSA project. Land Use Policy 27:4–10.Google Scholar
9De Souza Andrade, D., Colozzi-Filho, A., Balota, E.L., and Hungria, M. 2003. Long-term effects of agricultural practices on microbial community. In García-Torres, L. (ed.). Conservation Agriculture. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands. p. 301–306.Google Scholar
10Tebrügge, F. and Düring, A. 1999. Reducing tillage intensity – a review of results from long-term study in Germany. Soil and Tillage Research 53:15–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11Šíp, V., Růžek, P., Chrpová, J., Vavera, R., and Kusá, H. 2009. The effect of tillage practice, input level and environment on the grain yield of winter wheat in the Czech Republic. Field Crops Research 113:131–137.Google Scholar
12den Putte, A.V., Govers, G., Diels, J., Gillijns, K., and Demuzere, M. 2010. Assessing the effect of soil tillage on crop growth: A meta-regression analysis on European crop yields under conservation agriculture. European Journal of Agronomy 33:231–241.Google Scholar
13Mäder, P. and Berner, A. 2011. Development of reduced tillage systems in organic farming in Europe. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 27:7–11.Google Scholar
14Köpke, U. 2003. Conservation agriculture with and without use of agrochemicals. Proceedings of the Second World Congress on Conservation Agriculture, August 11–15, 2003, Iguassu Falls, Parana, Brazil, p. 13.Google Scholar
15Malhi, S.S., Grant, C.A., Johnston, A.M., and Gill, K.S. 2001. Nitrogen fertilization management for no-till cereal production in the Canadian Great Plains: A review. Soil and Tillage Research 60:101–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16Vian, J.F., Peigne, J., Chaussod, R., and Roger-Estrade, J. 2009. Effects of four tillage systems on soil structure and soil microbial biomass in organic farming. Soil Use and Management 25:1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17Stockdale, E.A., Shepherd, M.A., Fortune, S., and Cuttle, S.P. 2002. Soil fertility in organic farming systems – fundamentally different? Soil Use and Management 18:301–308.Google Scholar
18Zaller, J.G. and Köpke, U. 2004. Effects of traditional and biodynamic farmyard manure amendment on yields, soil chemical, biochemical and biological properties in a long-term field experiment. Biology and Fertility of Soils 40:222–229.Google Scholar
19Rieger, S., Richner, W., Streit, B., Frossar, E., and Liedgens, M. 2008. Growth, yield, and yield components of winter wheat and the effects of tillage intensity, preceding crops, and N fertilization. European Journal of Agronomy 28:405–411.Google Scholar
20Krauss, M., Berner, A., Burger, D., Wiemken, A., Niggli, U., and Mäder, P. 2010. Reduced tillage in temperate organic farming: Implications for crop management and forage production. Soil Use and Management 25:1–10.Google Scholar
21Sans, X.F., Berner, A., Armengot, A., and Mäder, P. 2011. Tillage effects on weed communities in an organic winter wheat–sunflower–spelt cropping sequence. Weed Research 51:413–421.Google Scholar
22Peignè, J., Ball, B.C., Roger-Estrade, J., and David, C. 2007. Is conservation tillage suitable for organic farming? A review. Soil Use and Management 23:129–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23Gadermaier, F., Berner, A., Fließbach, A., Friedel, J.K., and Mäder, P. 2011. Impact of reduced tillage on soil organic carbon and nutrient budgets under organic farming. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 27:68–80.Google Scholar
24Vakali, C., Zaller, J.G., and Köpke, U. 2011. Reduced tillage effects on soil properties and growth of cereals and associated weeds under organic farming. Soil and Tillage Research 111:133–141.Google Scholar
25Eurostat. 2010. Organic farming, newsrelease. Available at Web site http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu (accessed February 6, 2014).Google Scholar
26Freyer, B. 2003. Fruchtfolgen. Ulmer Eugen Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.Google Scholar
27Buckman, H.O. and Brady, N.C. (eds). 1960. The Nature and Properties of Soils. Macmillan, New York.Google Scholar
28Skalar Analytical, B.V. 1993. Soil and Plant Analysis, Breda, Publ. no. 0640693.Google Scholar
29VDLUFA. 1991. Methodenhandbuch, Band I und 1988: Methodenbuch, Band III. VDLUFA Verlag, Darmstadt.Google Scholar
30Zadoks, J.C., Chang, T.T., and Konzak, C.F. 1974. A decimal code for the growth stages of cereals. Weed Research 14:415–421.Google Scholar
31Falbe, J. and Regitz, M. (eds). 1990. Roempp Chemie Lexikon, Band 2. Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.Google Scholar
32Zar, J.H. (ed.). 1996. Biostatistical Analysis. 3rd ed. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, USA.Google Scholar
33David, C., Jeuffroy, M.H., Henning, J., and Meynard, J.M. 2005. Yield variation in organic winter wheat – a diagnostic study in the South-East of France. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 25:213–223.Google Scholar
34Sainju, U.M., Caesar-Tonthat, T., Lenssen, A.W., Evans, R.G., and Kolberg, R. 2009. Tillage and cropping sequence impacts on nitrogen cycling in dryland farming in eastern Montana, USA. Soil and Tillage Research 103:332–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35Emmerling, C. 2007. Reduced and conservation tillage effects on soil ecological properties in an organic farming system. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 24:363–377.Google Scholar
36Stockfish, N., Forstreuter, T., and Ehlers, W. 1999. Ploughing effects on soil organic matter after twenty years of conservation tillage on Lower Saxony, Germany. Soil and Tillage Research 52:91–101.Google Scholar
37Moreno, F., Murillo, J.M., Pelegrin, F., and Giron, I.F. 2006. Long-term impact of conservation tillage on stratification ratio of soil organic carbon and loss of total and active CaCO3. Soil and Tillage Research 85:86–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38Crozier, C.R. 1999. Nutrient and pH stratification with conventional and no-till management. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 30:65–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
39Chatskikh, D. and Olesen, J.E. 2007. Soil tillage enhanced CO2 and N2O emissions from loamy sand soil under spring barley. Soil and Tillage Research 97:5–18.Google Scholar
40Gruber, S. and Claupein, W. 2009. Effect of tillage intensity on weed infestation in organic farming. Soil and Tillage Research 105:104–111.Google Scholar
41Kouwenhoven, J.K., Perdok, U.D., Boer, J., and Oomen, G.J.M. 2002. Soil management by shallow mouldboard ploughing in The Netherlands. Soil and Tillage Research 65:125–139.Google Scholar
42McCloskey, M., Firbank, L.G., Watkinson, A.R., and Webb, D.J. 1996. The dynamics of experimental arable weed communities under different management practices. Journal of Vegetation Science 7:799–808.Google Scholar
43Köpke, U. 1995. Nutrient management in organic farming: The case of nitrogen. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 11:15–29.Google Scholar
44Berner, A., Hildermann, I., Fliessbach, A., Pfiffner, L., Niggli, U., and Mäder, P. 2008. Crop yield and soil fertility response to reduced tillage under organic management. Soil and Tillage Research 101:89–96.Google Scholar
45Głab, T. and Kulig, B. 2008. Effect of mulch and tillage system on soil porosity under wheat (Triticum aestivum). Soil and Tillage Research 99:169–178.Google Scholar
46Schulz, F., Brock, C., and Leithold, G. 2008. Effects of farm type and different intensities of soil tillage on cash crop yields and soil organic matter. In Cultivating the Future Based on Science. Proceedings of the Second Scientific Conference of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), Modena, Italy. p. 580–583.Google Scholar