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Improving resource-use-efficiency with no-till and crop diversity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2016

Randy L. Anderson
Randy L. Anderson*
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS, Brookings South Dakota, South Dakota 57006, USA.
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
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Abstract

Recently, we conducted a case study that showed a no-till, diverse cropping system increasing corn yields in a semiarid climate compared with a tilled, corn–soybean rotation. Further analysis showed that the no-till system improved resource-use-efficiency of corn; inputs were reduced 42% averaged across five resources. The largest reduction with inputs involved nitrogen fertilizer and fuel. Reduced fertilizer input was attributed to greater soil microbial activity. A surprising trend was that cost of weed management in corn was 45% lower in the no-till system, due to resistant weeds being present only in the tilled, corn–soybean system. Crop diversity in the no-till system suppressed development of weed resistance. Integrating a diversity of crops with no-till can improve efficient use of resources.

Keywords

farming systems designreduced inputssoil microbial communityweed resistance
Type
Commentary
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , April 2017 , pp. 105 - 108
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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