Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2017 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 5 Articles
Adaptation can be a key factor that will shape the future severity of climate change impacts\non food production. The objective of this study was to assess the suitability of an agro-ecological\napproach based on various techniques as potential adaptation strategy in organic horticultural\nsystems. A long-term field experiment was set up in Southern Italy, combining: (i) appropriate\nsoil surface shaping; (ii) cash crop rotation; (iii) agro-ecological service crops (ASC) introduction as\nliving mulch and complementary crops; (iv) tailored organic fertilization; and (v) alternative tillage\nstrategies. In this paper, the first two-year results on cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) and tomato\n(Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops, as well as energy consumptions through the Energy Analysis (EA)\nmethod are reported. Due to the climatic conditions that occurred, which were characterized by the\nabsence of extreme climatic events (particularly rainfall), it was not possible to verify if the designed\nexperimental device was able to mitigate the impact of climate change, whereas the EA indicated that\ntotal energy inputs were lower when ASC are introduced in cropping systems....
Aims: The aim of the study was to conduct an analysis of the potential, constraints and strategies\nfor development of Marirangwe Farm. Marirangwe Farm is a project of the Women�s University in\nAfrica (WUA) in Mashonaland East Province of Zimbabwe.\nPlace and Duration of Study: This case study was conducted in July 2014 in Zimbabwe.\nMethodology: The methodology involved administering a questionnaire with structured and openended\nquestions to key informants who are part of the management team at the farm.\nResults: The following constitute formidable constraints to crop production activities: market\navailability; availability of suitable land for expansion of crop enterprises; high labour requirements\nfor the crops cultivated; high cost of labour; poor soil structure and fertility; and shortage of rain at critical times of crop growth. The major constraints which inhibit the full realization of the potential\nfor improving animal enterprises at Marirangwe Farm include unsuitable climate and physical\nenvironment for livestock production; and high insect, parasite and disease risk of the animals. The\nfinancial analysis revealed a negative Whole Farm Gross Margin of -$800.00 and a huge negative\nWhole Farm Profit of -$32,400.00 in the 2013/14 farming season. Partial Budget Analysis revealed\nthat the viability of farm operations and proposed changes in the structure of enterprises depends\non the relative prices of dairy milk to other livestock products. An analysis of machinery costs\nbased on depreciation found that the farm manager has to put aside at least $9,100 towards the\nreplacement of farm machinery.\nConclusion: Several options can be pursued to improve the financial performance of the farm.\nSeveral options can be pursued. First of all, the potential and scope for implementing more\nintensive crop production should be considered. Implementation should include the resuscitation of\nboreholes and increasing irrigable area, resuscitating greenhouses and use of certified seed/\nmaterials, and conducting research to identify potential market outlets for produce. The lack of\nenough organic material to improve soil structure and fertility could be redressed by purchasing\norganic manure from surrounding farms. Alternatively and in addition, animal dung could be\nharvested from the pens and open veld and applied to the fields. The high cost of herbicides as an\nimpediment to effective weed control could be reduced by pursuing manual or mechanical methods\nof weed control. There also needs to be a move towards high-value crops such as tobacco and\nhorticultural flowers. The farm should also invest in product market development in order to identify\nmarket niches and market segments with relatively inelastic demand where the farm can charge\nhigher prices for its products. Measures to improve machinery efficiency include keeping engines\ntuned up, using machines at near capacity, performing operations that reduce the number of trips\nacross the field, avoiding driving machinery at excessive speeds, and sticking or adhering to the\nmanufacturers� maintenance schedule. In addition, adequate amounts of money need to be put\naside towards replacement of old machinery. Improvements in the management and operations of\nfarm machinery could be achieved by replacing all machines that are too old and proving\nuneconomical to maintain in terms of costs, or performing minor modifications on existing\nmachinery to enhance their operational efficiency. Since much of the farmland is rocky and forest,\nalternative land use practices could be introduced that generate additional income for the farm.\nThese could include game farming and apiculture (bee keeping).\nThe introduction of additional livestock enterprises such as goats (which are browsers) can turn the\nrocky shrub-lands into productive farmland. The problem of unsuitable climate and physical\nenvironment for the exotic dairy breeds and their high insect, parasite and disease risk could be\naddressed by cross breeding exotic breeds with indigenous breeds for particular strains such as\nsuch as high disease resistance, temperature, drought and heat tolerance, while maintaining the\nbasic traits of high productivity among the cross-bred animals....
Incredible accomplishments have been achieved in agricultural production in China, but many demanding challenges for ensuring food security and environmental sustainability remain. Field experiments were conducted from 2011ââ?¬â??2013 at three different sites, including Honghu, Shayang, and Jingzhou in China, to determine the effects of fertilization on enhancing crop productivity and indigenous nutrient-supplying capacity (INuS) in a rice (Oryza sativa L.)-rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) rotation. Four mineral fertilizer treatments (NPK, NP, NK and PK) were applied in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Crop yields were increased by 19ââ?¬â??41% (rice) and 61ââ?¬â??76% (rapeseed) during the two years of rice-rapeseed rotation under NPK fertilization compared to PK fertilization across the study sites. Yield responses to fertilization were ranked NPKââ?¬â?°>ââ?¬â?°NPââ?¬â?°>ââ?¬â?°NKââ?¬â?°>ââ?¬â?°PK, illustrating that N deficiency was the most limiting condition in a rice-rapeseed rotation, followed by P and K deficiencies. The highest and lowest N, P and K accumulations were observed under NPK and PK fertilization, respectively. The INuS of the soil decreased to a significant extent and affected rice-rapeseed rotation productivity at each site under NP, NK, and PK fertilization when compared to NPK. Based on the study results, a balanced nutrient application using NPK fertilization is a key management strategy for enhancing rice-rapeseed productivity and environmental safety....
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea cv. Carmel) was grown in a conventional glass greenhouse under\nthree different nutrient solution treatments. Lighting and temperature conditions were identical. Six\ngrowing systems were used to provide a duplicate trough system for each of these three treatments.\nSix trials were harvested from each system over a two month time period. Two treatments received\nhydroponic nutrient inputs, with one treatment at pH 7.0 (referred to as H7) and the other at pH 5.8\n(H5), and the third treatment was aquaponic (A7), receiving all of its nutrients from a single fish\ntank with koi (Cyprinus carpio) except for chelated iron. System pH was regulated by adding K2CO3\nto aquaponic systems and KOH to hydroponic systems. Comparisons made between treatments\nwere total yield, leaf surface area, tissue elemental content, and dry weight to fresh weight ratio.\nDry weight biomass yield values were not different in pairwise comparisons between treatments\n(A7 vs. H5: p = 0.59 fresh weight, p = 0.42 dry weight). Similarly, surface area results were not\ndifferent between treatments. The important comparison was that A7 achieved the same growth as\nH5, the conventional pH with a complete inorganic nutrient solution, despite unbalanced and less\nthan ââ?¬Å?idealââ?¬Â nutrient concentrations in the A7 condition....
Soybean field experiments were performed to investigate the weed-suppressing effects\nof different tillage systems and cover crop mulches at two locations in southwest Germany during\n2014 and 2015. The influence of three different tillage systems on weed control efficacy, soybean\nplant density, and crop yield was determined. In the no-till system (NT), two different cover crops,\n(rye and barley), were treated by a roller-crimper before soybean sowing. For the reduced tillage\nsystem (RT), shallow soil cultivation (7.5 cm depth) using a cultivator after cover crop harvest\nwas performed. The third system was conventional tillage (CT), which used a plow (25 cm depth)\nwithout any previous cover crop treatment. Finally, a CT system without weed control was used\nas a control treatment (C).Weed densities in the field experiments ranged from 1 to 164 plants mâË?â??2\nwith Chenopodium album (L.), Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv., and Sonchus arvensis (L.) as the\npredominant weed species. No difference in weed suppression was found between the two cover\ncrops. The highest cover crop soil coverage was measured in the NT treatment. The greatest weed\ndensity (164 plants mâË?â??2) was measured in the untreated control. CT, RT and NT reduced weed\ndensity up to 71%, 85%, and 61%, respectively, to C, across both locations and years. Soybean plant\ndensity was reduced in NT (âË?â??36%) and CT (âË?â??18%) based on aimed sown plant density. Highest crop\nyields up to 2.4 t haâË?â??1 were observed in RT, while NT resulted in lower yields (1.1 t haâË?â??1). Our work\nreveals the importance of cover crops for weed suppression in soybean cropping systems without\nherbicide application....
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