Cropping Systems for Sustainable Wheat Production

Cropping Systems for Sustainable Wheat Production
Author: Jennifer Laffan
Publisher: NSW Agriculture
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2022-12-19
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1760586668

This is the second edition of Cropping Systems for Sustainable Wheat Production, attractively produced with 132 full colour images providing up-to-date information for producers or anyone interested in the industry. The importance of worker and environmental safety and hazard reduction is emphasised and a sample risk assessment template is included. There is a description of the precautions to take for the range of enterprise activities: from tractor work to handling and storing grain. The advantages of technology such as Global positioning by satellite (GPS) and Differential GPS (DGPS) and Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) for the broadacre enterprise are explained. GPS allows for “straight line” or tramline or controlled traffic farming (CTF) or the ability to geo-reference boundaries and points in a farm or paddock. DGPS is an even more accurate measurement of row spacing, as accurate as 10 cm and often used for CTF and RTK down to 2 cm and makes CTF easier to implement with inter-row sowing. GPS also has other advantages such as mapping the changes in yield throughout your paddock and so identifying areas where it is economic to apply more (or less) inputs such as ameliorants, seed, fertiliser or pesticides. The application of variable rate technology delivers fertiliser or herbicide in quantities as required by different sections of the paddock. This saves money and also protects the environment from unnecessarily heavy rates of product. This technology can also be used to gather paddock data using remote sensing technologies such as from satellites or UAVs (Drones). Sensitivity of imagery collected this way can help identify problems occurring before the human eye can see them and can direct the grower to issues before they become too advanced and impact on productivity. It can direct you to issues in a particular paddock that need your attention before they become too advanced and impact on productivity. Other technology described includes Green on brown weed sprays which use computers on sprayers to spray plants (weeds) on bare ground. It also includes the more sophisticated green on green technology where artificial intelligence fitted to cameras on sprayers allows herbicide application to specific weeds in a crop. Cameras scan the paddocks to recognise the weeds and then control the spraying in real time to spray only weeds and the dose required and not the whole paddock. This helps save money and protects the environment. Information from remote sensing devices locates the weed populations so that you know which paddocks to scan. The advantages and issues with minimum or no-till, controlled traffic farming (CTF) and stubble retention are also discussed.

Sustainable Cropping Systems

Sustainable Cropping Systems
Author: Jeffrey A. Coulter
Publisher: MDPI
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2020-05-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3039289071

Global crop production must substantially increase to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. This is constrained by the availability of nutrients, water, and land. There is also an urgent need to reduce the negative environmental impacts of crop production. Collectively, these issues represent one of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century. Sustainable cropping systems based on ecological principles are the core of integrated approaches to solve this critical challenge. This special issue provides an international basis for revealing the underlying mechanisms of sustainable cropping systems to drive agronomic innovations. It includes review and original research articles that report novel scientific findings on improvement in cropping systems related to crop yields and their resistance to biotic and abiotic stressors, resource use efficiency, environmental impact, sustainability, and ecosystem services.

Cropping Systems

Cropping Systems
Author: Anil Shrestha
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 740
Release: 2004-02-13
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781560221074

Learn the fundamentals as well as in-depth details of agricultural cropping systems from around the globe! Cropping Systems: Trends and Advances is a comprehensive review of past and present research efforts in North America and other parts of the world. It brings together biological, economic, sociological, and technical aspects of cropping systems in a single source to provide a reference unlike any other on the subject that is available today. This valuable book also points to future directions that cropping systems research needs to take in order to increase sustainable agriculture and feed the growing world population. Charts, tables, and illustrations make the information easy to access and understand. An ideal textbook for graduate and undergraduate courses in agronomy as well as a comprehensive reference for professionals involved in cropping systems research, Cropping Systems: Trends and Advances is a book you’ll refer to again and again. Topics covered in this well-referenced and thoughtfully indexed book include: emerging trends in cropping systems research designing resource-efficient cropping systems soil quality and fertility tillage root dynamics water quality concerns nitrogen use efficiency precision agriculture agricultural biotechnology weed biology and management integrated pest management the important role that cover crops can play key indicators for assessing nitrogen use efficiency in cereal-based agroecosystems the implications of elevated carbon dioxide-induced changes in agroecosystem productivity and a great deal more!

Cropping Systems In The Tropics (Principles And Management)

Cropping Systems In The Tropics (Principles And Management)
Author: Sp Palaniappan
Publisher: New Age International
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2006
Genre: Agriculture
ISBN: 9788122406672

Land And Soil Are Non-Renewable Natural Resources. The Nature Has Taken Thousands Of Years To Create An Inch Of Fertile Soil. Mismanagement Of This Precious Resource Is A Sin Against Nature And Will Play Havoc With The Fortunes Of The Country. Many Parts Of The Country Have Already Come To The Brink Of Devastation Through Injudicious Usages, Over Exploitation Of Natural Resources Resulting In Unsustainable Productivity Of Crops.Modern Concept Of Cropping System Is Based On The Principle Of Effective Utilization Of Soil Water, Nutrients And Light For Sustainable Crop Productivity. This Book Gives The Basic Principles And Broadly Accepted Definitions Terms Frequently Used In The Literature. A Short-Review Of The Cropping Systems Work Done In The Tropics, Particularly In India Is Presented.In This Revised Edition, Contents Of All The Chapters Have Been Revised To Give Orientation Towards Management Of Sustainable Crop Production Systems. A New Chapter On Farming System Is Also Added In Tune With The Latest Trends. Information Available On Perennial Crop-Based Cropping Systems, For Example High Density Multi Species Cropping Systems Involving Coconut And Arecanut Is Updated. The Various Management Aspects Of Sustainable Cropping Systems Are Discussed And The Research Methodology That Could Be Adopted Is Elucidated. Possible Future Lines Of Work Are Given In The Final Chapter.This Book Will Prove To Be Of Immense Value Not Only To The Research Workers But Also To The Teachers And Students And Above All Farmers And Individuals Who Are Desirous Of Improving Sustainable Crop Production Systems.

Sustainable Intensification

Sustainable Intensification
Author: Jules N. Pretty
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2012-06-25
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1136529276

Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

Building Soils for Better Crops

Building Soils for Better Crops
Author: Fred Magdoff
Publisher: Sare
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2009
Genre: Humus
ISBN: 9781888626131

"'Published by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, with funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture."

Sustainable Cropping Systems for the Northern Great Plains

Sustainable Cropping Systems for the Northern Great Plains
Author: Macdonald Hugh Burgess
Publisher:
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2012
Genre: Cropping systems
ISBN:

Reliance on non-renewable resources is among the fundamental challenges to agricultural sustainability. Quantification of inputs in units of embodied fossil energy offers insight into sustainable use of these resources. Metrics of intensity, efficiency of non-renewable energy inputs to agriculture have been proposed for optimization in search of sustainability in the face of energy scarcity. Such analyses have found controversial results however, and further theoretical understanding is necessary. The research presented here focuses on approaches to sustainability targeting the semiarid northern Great Plains of North America. The 4 million ha of cropland fallowed in this region every year represent both a challenge to sustainability and an opportunity to address that challenge. Long identified as unsustainable when accomplished by tillage and without fertilizer input, the summerfallow-wheat crop production system is also energy-efficient by definitions that do not account for changes in soil fertility. It is shown here that accounting for lost soil N as an energy input to crop production partially resolves this paradox, but no strategy for energetic valuation of systems that build soil quality is apparent. Alternatives to summerfallow considered here include pulse crops (e.g. pea and lentil) grown for grain, forage, or as cover crops. In research conducted on farms already growing pulses, the largest effect on cropping system energy productivity was due to increased wheat yield rather than a reduction of inputs. In plot-scale research addressing a wider variety of production practices, neither system-level energy intensity nor productivity provided more insight into energy price exposure than basic economic analyses.

Save and Grow in practice: maize, rice, wheat

Save and Grow in practice: maize, rice, wheat
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2018-06-21
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9251085196

FAO’s best-selling 2011 publication, Save and Grow, proposed a new paradigm of agriculture, one that is both highly productive and environmentally sustainable. This new book looks at the application of “Save and Grow” practices and technologies to production of the world’s key food security crops – maize, rice and wheat. With examples drawn from developing countries worldwide, it shows how eco-friendly farming systems are helping smallholder producers to boost cereal yields, improve their incomes and livelihoods, conserve natural resources, reduce negative impacts on the environment, and build resilience to climate change. The book will be a valuable reference for policymakers and development practitioners guiding the transition to sustainable food and agriculture.