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Interpretive Summaries:
2002 - Fertilizing Rice-Based Cropping Systems to Achieve Maximum Yields While Maintaining the Natural Resource Base
2001 - Fertilizing Rice-Based Cropping Systems to Achieve Maximum Yields while Maintaining the Natural Resource Base
2000 - Fertilizing Rice-Based Cropping Systems to Achieve Maximum Yields while Maintaining the Natural Resource Base
Fertilizing Rice-Based Cropping Systems to Achieve Maximum Yields While Maintaining the Natural Resource Base, 2002
A long-term cropping systems study was initiated in 1999 on a silt loam soil near Stuttgart, Arkansas. The field was leveled and 10 cropping systems (rice, corn, soybean, wheat in different combinations/rotations) were established using conventional tillage practices with four replications. In 2000, the plots within each cropping system were split into conventional tillage and no-tillage treatments. Each tillage treatment was split into two fertilizer treatments: 1) standard recommended fertilizer according to soil tests, and 2) an enhanced treatment, consisting of approximately 20% more N-P2O5-K2O than the standard.
There were visual differences between the two fertility treatments in 2000, but no significant effects on yield. Enhanced soil fertility caused rice yields to increase 6 bu/A and corn yields to increase by 5 bu/A in 2001, but provided no advantage for soybeans. In 2002, the overall grain yields for the higher fertility treatment, compared to the standard fertility treatment, were 9 bu/A greater for full-season rice, 15 to 20 bu/A higher for short-season rice, 4 bu/A higher for wheat, 3 bu/A greater for Group IV soybeans, and 6 bu/A higher for Group V soybeans. There was an overall 3 bu/A reduction in corn grain yields when comparing the enhanced fertility with standard fertility levels across tillage and hybrid variables. However, this loss was not consistent with tillage. There was a 10 bu/A gain in corn yield for the enhanced fertility treatment in the no-till plots and a 13 bu/A loss in grain yield for the same comparison in the conventional-till plots. Yield gains from increased fertility in the no-till plots were only for the variety DKC69-70, which did not perform well in the study. Soil samples were collected from each plot in 1999 before the study, and again in 2000 and March 2002. Large variations in some soil properties exist because of the initial land leveling. This study is providing a basis for evaluating nutrient requirements in different tillage and rotation systems for rice, corn, wheat, and soybeans in Arkansas. AR-20F
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