The Role of Forages in Sustainable Cropping Systems of Southern Australia

The historical context, recent trends, and possible future role of forages in cropping systems are reviewed. Three recent themes will be developed: 1) The successful exploitation of genetic diversity resulting in commercial development of new legume species as pasture cultivars with specific traits better suited to the needs of current farming systems. 2) Improved understanding of key soil processes under grazed pastures, particularly soil water and soil nitrogen, and how these processes impact on indicators of sustainability like deep drainage and nitrate leaching. 3) An emerging capacity for predicting the effect of pasture-crop sequences on soil processes, crop growth and grain yield. In response to changing economic pressures and threats to sustainability, new farming systems involving forages are continually evolving. Increasing cropping intensity has placed pressure on pasture-crop systems that rely on self-regeneration of annual legumes following crops. One response has been the emergence of phase cropping systems, where a sequence of pasture years is followed by a sequence of cropping years. Another response has been an expansion in the area of lucerne grown in rotation with crops. In the future, forages in cropping systems will continue to fulfil the traditional roles of diversifying farm income through livestock production and supporting the cropping enterprise through maintenance of soil fertility. But increasingly, forages will be utilised to maintain the sustainability of agricultural production systems. Examples include competitive forages as a component of integrated weed management and high water use forages for reducing recharge and the associated spread of dryland salinity

Evaluation with Simulation of Lucerne-Based Cropping Systems to Combat Dryland Salinity in Australia

Dryland salinity is one of the most significant forms of land degradation that farmers face in Australia. There are currently 2.5 million ha affected by dryland salinity in Australia, and this may rise to 15 million ha over the next 30 to 100 years if no action is taken. National field experiments suggest that adoption of cropping systems that integrate deep-rooted perennials, such as lucerne, are important to reduce dryland salinity. This paper reports simulation results with APSIM (The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator), that have been used to explore climate, soil and agronomic factors affecting effectiveness of lucerne-based phase and companion cropping systems in sustaining crop yield and reducing deep-water drainage in South Australia

Evolution of Integrated Crop-Livestock Production Systems

Many factors contribute to changes in the crop-livestock systems, but no logical end-point in the evolution process exists. While benefits of integrated crop-livestock systems over specialised crop and livestock systems are well documented, there has been a move to specialised crop and livestock production. Sustainability issues (manure nutrient concentration, soil quality maintenance, salinity, herbicide resistance, economic instability) have created a renewed interest in integrated crop-livestock systems. Farmer adaptability is as an important link in the evolution between ‘states of integration’

Evolution of Integrated Crop-Livestock Production Systems

Key points 1. Many factors contribute to changes in the crop-livestock systems, but no logical end-point in the evolution process exists. 2. While benefits of integrated crop-livestock systems over specialised crop and livestock systems are well documented, there has been a move to specialised crop and livestock production. 3. Sustainability issues (manure nutrient concentration, soil quality maintenance, salinity, herbicide resistance, economic instability) have created a renewed interest in integrated crop-livestock systems. 4. Farmer adaptability is as an important link in the evolution between ‘states of integration’

How we used APSIM to simulate conservation agriculture practices in the rice-wheat system of the Eastern Gangetic Plains

Examples of how to simulate performance of conservation agriculture (CA) and conventional tillage (CT) practices using cropping systems models are rare in the literature, and from the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP). Here we report a comprehensive evaluation of the capacity of APSIM for simulating the performance of CA and CT cropping practices under a diverse range of tillage (CT vs zero tillage (ZT)), crop establishment options (puddled transplanted rice vs unpuddled transplanted rice), residue, N rates, and irrigation practices from two sites in the EGP that differed in soil type, water table dynamics, and agro-climatic conditions. We followed a robust procedure of model parameterisation, calibration, and validation, then undertook statistical analyses to evaluate model performance. We have demonstrated that when different values for key model input parameters are employed (i.e. change in soil properties (Ks, BD)), crop rooting parameters (xf- root hospitality, kl- root extraction efficiency) and soil microorganism activity (Fbiom- fraction of soil organic matter present as microbial biomass and Finert- the inert fraction of soil organic matter), the model performed well in simulating the different performances of CA and CT management practices across the environments in the EGP. Model performance was markedly better in the full-N than in zero-N, but both are still considered acceptable. In addition to well-watered and fertilised treatments, the model was able to capture an observed crop failure in rainfed unpuddled transplanted rice accurately, illustrating an ability to capture crop response under a wide range of water stress environments. As demonstrated by robust statistical criteria, APSIM was able to capture the effect of cropping system, irrigation, tillage, residue, and N-application rate within the bounds of experimental uncertainty, hence is now deemed a suitable tool for scenario analyses around the relevant practices

Diversifying vegetable production systems for improving the livelihood of resource poor farmers on the East Indian Plateau

Failure of the rice crop, or low rice yield has dire consequences for rice-dependent households, including food insecurity and malnutrition, for India’s poorest farmers in the East Indian Plateau region. Crop diversification could reduce the risks of rice production from the vagaries of rainfall and provide cash income which is not generated from subsistence rice. Being the primary household laborers women bear the brunt of these difficult conditions in patriarchal societies. For this reason we engaged with the women farmers in Bokaro and West Singhbhum in the State of Jharkhand, and Purulia in West Bengal who participated in experiments conducted with vegetable crops and legumes in the upland and medium uplands where the traditional crop is broadcasted paddy rice. We explored four different vegetable systems, (i) cucurbits (rainy/kharif) (season—June to September), (ii) growing tomatoes in the “off season” (rainy season—July to October), (iii) growing legume crops in rotation with direct sown rice (dry/rabi season—November to January), and (iv) intercropping beans with maize (rainy season—June to September). The results showed that all the above crops proved much better in terms of income to the farmers, return per person day, although the input cost varied it was higher with the new systems explored. The research with the small-holding women farmers enabled them to try new options and make informed decisions about these opportunities. This study showed that farmers can increase crop diversity and expand the area sown to non-paddy crops. The farmers are now looking for new crops where the demand exceeds the supply. Importantly this study has demonstrated that the direct involvement of communities’ in research enables the farmers to sustainability explore solutions to the future problems with limited support from the external agencies

Latest results from the Pamela experiment

In this paper we present the latest results of the Pamela satellite experiment, focusing in particular on the p/p and the e +/(e+ +e-) ratios

Improving the productivity and sustainability of rainfed farming systems for the Loess Plateau of Gansu Province

The climate, soils and farming systems from Dingxi and Xifeng, two regional centers of eastern Gansu Province are described. Farm size is small (1 ha) and farm income is low ($A330 per person and year). Farmers grow a mixture of crops and livestock for subsistence and cash income. A feature of the environment is highly variable rainfall and an agricultural system that relies on stored soil water from the summer rain season (July to September) for use by crops and forages in the following spring. Research evaluating conservation tillage under local conditions has produced encouraging results with grain yields from an experimental no-tillage stubble retained treatment equal to or greater than grain yields from a conventional tillage and stubble removed treatment across a range of crops and seasons. This research will move from a “proof of concept” phase to an “on-farm research” phase where the focus will be on how farmers adapt conservation tillage to local conditions. The implications of integrating lucerne (Medicago sativa) into cereal cropping systems for soil water dynamics, soil nitrogen, and productivity of lucerne and wheat were also studied. Lucerne is highly productive in this environment and can minimize water “losses” through runoff and drainage. Productive lucerne / wheat rotations can be developed but the transition from the perennial forage to the annual crop needs to be managed carefully to avoid risks associated with dry soil and/or low soil inorganic nitrogen. The combination of field experimentation to create comprehensive databases, with simulation modeling, and on-farm research, has significantly contributed to a better understanding of the constraints and opportunities in these farming systems. Future research will focus on farmer adaptation of conservation tillage and integration of forages and crop residues for livestock production

Enhancing capacity of scientists and practitioners for promoting more sustainable and resilient food systems in Indonesia and the South Pacific

Three Resilient Food Systems training workshops were delivered in Bogor, Indonesia, Suva, Fiji, and Port Vila, Vanuatu. The workshops provided young and early-career professionals with the latest international thinking on food systems and resilience. The workshop teaching material was based on the IFSTAL (Interdisciplinary Food System Teaching and Learning; www.ifstal.ac.uk) programme initially developed in the United Kingdom. The intensive six-day workshop programme integrates learning across three connected themes: food systems and resilience concepts, soft system methodology, and personal skills and development. Each workshop is locally contextualised with field trips, local inspirational guest speakers, and local real-world food system case studies. Throughout the duration of the workshop, participants apply new concepts and methodologies to their case studies, thereby enhancing their understanding and learning. Participant evaluation of the workshops was overwhelmingly positive, and pleasingly, participants reported positive learning outcomes across all three learning themes. These workshops represent just the initial step in a necessarily long and sustained effort to establish a community of food system professionals across Indonesia and Pacific Island states