Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T17:52:22.067Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

BARLEY AND VETCH YIELDS FROM DRYLAND ROTATIONS WITH VARYING TILLAGE AND RESIDUE MANAGEMENT UNDER MEDITERRANEAN CONDITIONS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2008

M. PALA ,
J. RYAN ,
J. DIEKMANN  and
M. SINGH
M. PALA*
Affiliation:
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
J. RYAN
Affiliation:
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
J. DIEKMANN
Affiliation:
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
M. SINGH
Affiliation:
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
*
†Corresponding author: j.ryan@cgiar.org
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

With increasing land-use pressure in semi-arid, dryland Middle Eastern agriculture, fallow-based cereal production has given way to cropping intensification, including legume-based rotations along with conservation tillage and on-farm straw disposal. Such agronomic developments can only be biologically and economically assessed in multi-year trials. Thus, this 10-year study examined the influence of tillage systems (conventional and shallow or conservation) and variable stubble management, including compost application, on yields of barley and vetch grown in rotation. Barley yielded higher with compost applied every two or four years than with burning or soil-incorporating the straw and stubble. Barley straw and grain yields were generally higher with the mouldboard plough. Similarly with vetch, treatments involving compost application yielded significantly higher than burning or incorporating the straw and stubble. Despite yearly differences between crop yields, the pattern of treatment differences was consistent. Thus, the cereal–vetch rotation system is sustainable, while excess straw could be used as compost with benefit to the crop. Though there was no clear advantage of the shallow conservation-type tillage, the energy costs are less, thus indicating its possible advantage over conventional deep tillage in such rotational cropping systems

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , October 2008 , pp. 559 - 570
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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

REFERENCES

Christiansen, S., Bounejmate, M., Bahhady, F., Thomson, E., Mawlawi, B. and Singh, M. (2000). On-farm trials with forage legume-barley compared to fallow-barley rotations and continuous barley in north-west Syria. Experimental Agriculture. 36:195–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, P. J. M., Gregory, P. J., Tully, D. and Harris, H. C. (1987). Improving water use efficiency of annual crops in the rainfed cropping systems of West Asia and North Africa. Experimental Agriculture 23:113–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, P. J. M. and Gregory, P. J. (1987). Soil water management in the rainfed farming systems of the Mediterranean region. Soil Use and Management 3:57–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, H. (1995). Long-term trial on soil and crops management at ICARDA. Advances in Soil Science 19:447–469.Google Scholar
Jones, M. S. and Singh, M. (1995). Yields of crop dry matter and nitrogen in long-term barley rotation trials at two sites in northern Syria. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 124:389–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, M. (2000). Comparison of conservation tillage system in barley-based cropping systems in northern Syria. Experimental Agriculture 36:15–26.Google Scholar
Jones, M. J. and Singh, M. (2000a). Long-term yield patterns in barley-based cropping systems in northern Syria. 1. Comparison of rotations. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 135:223–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, M. J. and Singh, M. (2000b). Long-term yield patterns in barley-based cropping systems in northern Syria. 3. Barley monocropping. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 135: 251–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karlen, D. L. (1994). Crop rotations for the 21st century. Advances in Agronomy 53:1–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kassam, A. (1981). Climate, soil and land resources in North Africa and West Asia. Plant and Soil 58:1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keatinge, J. D. H., Dennett, M. D. and Rodgers, J. (1986). The influence of precipitation regime on the crop management of dry areas in northern Syria. Field Crops Research 13:239–249.Google Scholar
Keatinge, J. D. H., Chapanian, N. and Saxena, M. C. (1988). Effect of improved management of legumes in a legume-cereal rotation on field estimates of crop nitrogen uptake and symbiotic nitrogen fixation in northern Syria. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 110:651–659.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lal, R. (2002). Carbon sequestration in dryland agro ecosystems of West Asia and North Africa. Land Degradation and Development 13:45–59.Google Scholar
Lopez-Bellido, L., Lopez-Bellido, R. J., Castillo, J. E. and Lopez-Bellido, F. J. (2000). Effects of tillage, crop rotation, and nitrogen fertilization of in wheat under rainfed Mediterranean conditions. Agronomy Journal 92:1054–1063.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masri, Z. and Ryan, J. (2006). Soil organic matter and related physical properties in a Mediterranean wheat-based rotation trial. Soil and Tillage Research. 87:146–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mrabet, R. (2000). Differential responses of wheat to tillage management systems in a semi-arid area of Morocco. Field Crops Research 66:165–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pala, M., Matar, A. and Mazid, A. (1996). Assessment of the effects of environmental factors on the response of wheat to fertilizer in on-farm trials in a Mediterranean-type environment. Experimental Agriculture 32:329–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pala, M., Harris, H. C., Ryan, J., Makboul, R. and Dozom, S. (2000). Tillage systems and stubble management in a Mediterranean-type environment in relation to crop yield and soil moisture. Experimental Agriculture 36:223–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papastylianou, I. (1993). Productivity requirements of barley in rotations systems in rainfed Mediterranean conditions. European Journal of Agronomy 2:119–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, H. D. (1964). The theory of cyclic rotation experiments. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B 26:1–45.Google Scholar
Payne, R. W. (2000). The Guide to GenStat. Part 2: Statistics. Lawes Agricultural Trust (Rothamsted Experimental Station), Harpenden, Herts, UK.Google Scholar
Ryan, J., Masri, S., Garabet, S., Diekmann, J. and Habib, H. (1997). Soils of ICARDA's Agricultural Experiment Stations and Sites: Climate, Classification, Physical, Chemical Properties and Land Use. ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria. Technical Bulletin.Google Scholar
Ryan, J., Masri, S., Diekmann, J. and Pala, M. (2003) Organic matter and nutrient distribution following conservation tillage and compost application under Middle Eastern cropping conditions. Agronomy Abstracts, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI, USA.Google Scholar
Ryan, J., De Pauw, E., Gomez, H. and Mrabet, R. (2006). Drylands of the Mediterranean zone: biophysical resources and cropping systems. In Dryland Agriculture 577–624 (Eds Peterson, G. A., Unger, P. W., and Payne, W. A.), Agronomy Monograph No. 23, 2nd edn, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI, USA.Google Scholar
Yau, S. K., Bounejmate, M., Ryan, J., Baalbaki, R., Nassar, A. and Maccaroun, R. (2003). Barley-legume rotations for semi-arid areas of Lebanon. European Journal of Agronomy 19:599–610.Google Scholar