A meta-analysis of long-term effects of conservation agriculture on maize grain yield under rain-fed conditions

Conservation agriculture involves reduced tillage, permanent soil cover and crop rotations to enhance soil fertility and to supply food from a dwindling land resource. Recently, conservation agriculture has been promoted in Southern Africa, mainly for maize-based farming systems. However, maize yields under rain-fed conditions are often variable. There is therefore a need to identify factors that influence crop yield under conservation agriculture and rain-fed conditions. Here, we studied maize grain yield data from experiments lasting 5 years and more under rain-fed conditions. We assessed the effect of long-term tillage and residue retention on maize grain yield under contrasting soil textures, nitrogen input and climate. Yield variability was measured by stability analysis. Our results show an increase in maize yield over time with conservation agriculture practices that include rotation and high input use in low rainfall areas. But we observed no difference in system stability under those conditions. We observed a strong relationship between maize grain yield and annual rainfall. Our meta-analysis gave the following findings: (1) 92% of the data show that mulch cover in high rainfall areas leads to lower yields due to waterlogging; (2) 85% of data show that soil texture is important in the temporal development of conservation agriculture effects, improved yields are likely on well-drained soils; (3) 73% of the data show that conservation agriculture practices require high inputs especially N for improved yield; (4) 63% of data show that increased yields are obtained with rotation but calculations often do not include the variations in rainfall within and between seasons; (5) 56% of the data show that reduced tillage with no mulch cover leads to lower yields in semi-arid areas; and (6) when adequate fertiliser is available, rainfall is the most important determinant of yield in southern Africa. It is clear from our results that conservation agriculture needs to be targeted and adapted to specific biophysical conditions for improved impact

Delayed puberty and response to testosterone in a rat model of colitis

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Growth failure occurs through a decrease in insulin-like growth factor 1 which is independent of undernutrition in a rat model of colitis

BACKGROUND—Linear growth retardation is a frequent complication of inflammatory bowel disease in children. The precise mechanisms causing growth failure are not known.
AIMS—To determine the relative contribution of reduced calorie intake and inflammation to linear growth delay and to determine the effect of inflammation on the hypothalamic-pituitary-growth axis.
METHODS—Linear growth was assessed in prepubertal rats with trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS) induced colitis, in healthy free feeding controls, and in a pair-fed group (i.e. healthy animals whose daily food intake was matched to the colitic group thereby distinguishing between the effects of undernutrition and inflammation).
RESULTS—Changes in length over five days in the TNBS colitis and pair-fed groups were 30% and 56%, respectively, of healthy free feeding controls. Linear growth was significantly reduced in the colitic group compared with the pair-fed group. Nutritional supplementation in the colitic group increased weight gain to control values but did not completely reverse the growth deficit. Plasma interleukin 6 (IL-6) concentrations were sixfold higher in the colitic group compared with controls. Plasma concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) but not growth hormone (GH) were significantly lower in the colitic compared with the pair-fed group. Administration of IGF-1 to the colitic group increased plasma IGF-1 concentrations and linear growth by approximately 44-60%.
CONCLUSIONS—It seems likely that approximately 30-40% of linear growth impairment in experimental colitis occurs as a direct result of the inflammatory process which is independent of undernutrition. Inflammation acts principally at the hepatocyte/IGF-1 level to impair linear growth. Optimal growth in intestinal inflammation may only be achieved by a combination of nutritional intervention and anticytokine treatment.


Keywords: inflammatory bowel disease; TNBS colitis; growth retardation; insulin-like growth factor 1; interleukin

Intestinal inflammation-induced growth retardation acts through IL-6 in rats and depends on the –174 IL-6 G/C polymorphism in children

Inflammatory diseases frequently impair linear growth. Crohn's disease inhibits growth in up to one third of affected children. In rats with trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid-induced colitis, 40% of growth impairment is attributable to inflammation, with the rest being due to undernutrition. In transgenic mice without inflammation, raised IL-6 retards growth, suppressing insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I. We hypothesized that IL-6, induced by intestinal inflammation, suppresses growth and inhibits IGF-I expression. Therefore, an anti-IL-6 Ab was given to rats with trinitrobenzene-sulphonic acid colitis. The Ab did not improve nutrient intake or decrease inflammation compared with untreated disease controls, but it significantly restored linear growth (P = 0.023) and increased IGF-I (P = 0.05). In humans, the IL-6 -174 G/C promoter polymorphism affects IL-6 transcription, with the GG genotype inducing the greatest IL-6 levels. Because IL-6 is increased in Crohn's disease, we further hypothesized that growth failure would vary with the IL-6 -174 genotype. At diagnosis, among 153 children with Crohn's disease, those with the IL-6 GG genotype were more growth-retarded than those with the GC or CC genotypes (height SD score, -0.51 vs. -0.10; P = 0.031). Also, the patients with the IL-6 GG genotype had higher circulating levels of C-reactive protein, an IL-6-induced product (36 vs. 18 mg/dl, P = 0.028). However, their risk of developing Crohn's disease was similar to other genotypes when compared with 351 healthy controls (P = 0.7). Thus, the IL-6 -174 genotype mediates growth failure in children with Crohn's disease

Retenção da água em solo sob diferentes usos no ecossistema tabuleiros costeiros Water retention in a tableland ecosystem soil under different land use

Avaliaram-se as alterações na quantidade e qualidade dos poros de um Latossolo-Amarelo álico coeso, do ecossistema Tabuleiros Costeiros, em função do uso (citros, mandioca e mata) com base nas curvas de retenção do solo, determinadas com 10 repetições em amostras de solo com estrutura indeformada, coletadas aleatoriamente na profundidade de 0,10 e 0,30 m, em cada tratamento. As tensões aplicadas foram de 0,5; 1; 2 e 5 kPa em funil de placa porosa e 30, 70, 100, 500 e 1500 kPa em câmara de pressão, também com placa porosa. Os resultados de cada tensão foram avaliados pelo teste de Tukey, a nível de 5% de probabilidade e, para fins de cálculo da condutividade hidráulica relativa, os valores de umidade versus tensão foram ajustados à equação de van Genuchten. Verificou-se que houve redução da macroporosidade do solo com o cultivo e o manejo na cultura de citros; além disso, constatou-se, ainda, que o uso do solo com mandioca aumentou a capacidade de água disponível do solo a 0,10 m de profundidade, em relação ao citros. Também relevante e que depreende dos resultados, é o fato de que, no citros, o manejo compactou o solo de maneira mais intensa que na mandioca, levando o solo, com esse cultivo (citros) a reter menos água que a mata a baixas tensões e mais água que a mata a altas tensões. A condutividade hidráulica relativa foi sempre inferior para o citros, fato que, aliado à macroporosidade inferior, faz com que se conclua que o solo com citros apresenta valores de condutividade hidráulica sempre inferiores que os da mata e mandioca.<br>Modifications in the quantity and quality of soil pores of a "Latossolo Amarelo alico" located in the Brazilian tableland ecosystem under three circumstances (natural forestry, cropped to citrus and cropped to cassava) were evaluated through analysis of water retention curves. These were determined with 10 replications using undisturbed soil samples (randomly collected in each treatment) submitted to tensions of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 kPa (porous plate funnels) and 30.0, 70.0, 100.0, 500.0 and 1500.0 kPa (porous plate pressure chambers). After the application of the Tukey test at the level of 5% of probability to the results, it was possible to verify that there was a decrease of the soil macroporosity in the soil cropped under citrus. This fact, in association with the determination of the relative soil hydraulic conductivity, leads to a strong tendency that the soil with citrus presents hydraulic conductivity values always smaller than those for the soil with forestry and cassava. It was also verified that the soil, when cropped to cassava, increased its soil water holding capacity at the 0.10 m soil depth, in comparison with the soil cropped to citrus. A fact also relevant from the results was that the citrus soil management compacted more intensively the soil than the cassava one; this caused a lesser water retention in the soil under citrus than the soil under forestry at lower soil water tensions and more water retention than the forestry at higher tensions