Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog

Managing soils for both ecological services and crop yield

05/20/2016 by ASD

Industrial agriculture has degraded soils worldwide, leading to loss of fertility and poisoning food and water. There is therefore a need for sustainable soil management, that is keeping both soil qualities and crop yield. Stavi et al. reviewed ecosystem services provided by soils and compared the various soil management options, e.g. conventional, conservation, and integrated management. They found that moderate-intensity systems are the best to keep both soil qualities and crop yield. Conservation agriculture gave the best ecosystem services, whereas integrated agriculture showed the best crop yield scores.

Forage grasses adapted to future drought

05/18/2016 by ASD

Perennial forage grasses are major species for agriculture and food security. Production of grasses is threatened by increasing drought periods in the context of climate change. Norton et al. review the knowledge of factors influencing plant drought survival. They propose solutions such as increasing the depth and density of grass root systems to strengthen dehydration avoidance, and identifying non-toxic endophyte strains compatible with summer-dormant cultivars of tall fescue to enhance drought survival.

Climate-friendly direct-seeded rice in Central China

05/17/2016 by ASD

Labor shortage, water scarcity and climate change threaten the sustainability and profitability of traditional transplanted rice. Tao et al. show that wet direct-seeded rice has higher grain yield, higher water productivity and lower global warming potential than traditional transplanted rice.

Less plough same yield in organic farms

05/12/2016 by ASD

Conservation agriculture embraces the three principles of minimal soil disturbance, maximum residue cover and diverse crop rotations. However, organic farmers are reluctant to give up their ploughs due to concerns about weeds, crop disease and nutrient supply. Agronomists Cooper et al. review data from organic experiments and found that yields were not as negatively affected by reduced tillage intensity as expected.

Toward less environmental impact of oil palm plantations

05/10/2016 by ASD

Nitrogen fertilizers used for growing oil palms are costly and are a source of pollution by nitrates and gases. Therefore there is a need to optimize nitrogen management. Pardon et al. review the literature to identify the key unknowns of nitrogen fluxes in oil palm plantations.

Biochar to host plant-fertilizing bacteria

05/04/2016 by ASD

Microorganisms such as bacteria are used to help food crops by providing plant nutrients such as phosphorous. Peat moss is presently the most common carrier used to add bacterial inoculants to the soil. However peat moss is a limited natural resource. Therefore Glodowska et al. show that biochar is an alternative inoculant carrier for bacteria. They tested corn growth using the phosphorous-solubilizing bacterium Pseudomonas libanensis.

Calculating optimal cropping conditions for sustainable agriculture

04/29/2016 by ASD

As for weather forecasting, agronomists use mathematical models to calculate the best cropping conditions suitable to local fields. Actually two kind of models are available, biophysical models and decision models. Bergez et al. have developed a new plugin that merges the two model types, thus allowing to calculate the impact of agricultural practices on the biophysical system, e.g. soil and plants.

Farming without irrigation

04/28/2016 by ASD

Rainfed agriculture refers to farming that relies solely on rainfall for crop growth, versus irrigated agriculture that use extra water. Rainfed agriculture accounts for 60-95% of farmlands in developed countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Agronomists Anderson et al. review recent research on rainfed agriculture and suggest that conservation agriculture should improve soil water content and, in turn, crop yields.

Is urban agriculture socially acceptable ?

04/25/2016 by ASD

Urban agriculture is developing fast and attracting entrepreneurs. However little is known about the social acceptance of such businesses. Specht et al. surveyed citizen perception of agriculture in Berlin. They found that not all forms of agriculture are acceptable by citizens.

How to increase the sustainability of dairy farms under climate change?

04/20/2016 by ASD

Dairy farms could improve their environmental footprint by feeding more homegrown forage by reducing imports of feed and enhancing the use of fertilizers. Long and Ketterings analyzed 14 years of yield data from a 1000-cow dairy farm to identify highly productive fields that are stable under changing climate. They found that increasing soil organic matter, impoving drainage and optimizing soil fertility should decrease the impact of weather extremes.