Sorghum production under reduced tillage in a semiarid environment /
Water deficits limit crop yields in the Texas Northern High
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1996.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=743267371&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | Water deficits limit crop yields in the Texas Northern High Plains. Cultural and management practices are needed to reduce runoff and capture rainwater to increase yields of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. Furrow diking (FD) and no-tillage with residues (NT+) treatments were more effective than conventional tillage (CT) and notillage without residues (NT-) treatments for improving precipitation storage as soil water by reducing and even preventing runoff. Average yield with the FD treatment was 4840 kg ha-1, which was about 800 kg ha-1 more than with the CT and NT- treatments. Grain yield with the NT+ treatment was 15 % greater than with CT and 17 % greater than with NTtreatments. The greater rooting depth, at all growth stages, that occurred under FD and NT+ treatments was associated with higher soil moisture contents throughout the soil profile and particularly in the surface layers. Furrow diking resulted in greater (P < 0.05) soil N03-N at the 30to 60-cm depth at half bloom. No significant differences for soil N03-N were observed at the 0- to 7.5-cm depth in FD, CT, and NT+ plots. Concentrations of N in leaf, stover, and grain were greater in plants with FD than with other treatments. Available soil water, soil N03-N, sorghum leaf N composition, and grain and stover yields were noticeably responsive to tillage and wheat residue management. In water deficit areas, like the Texas Northern High Plains, the water conserved with FD and NT+ systems can result in greater crop yields; thus increasing financial returns for the region. In any effort to encourage rooting depth of crops in the Northern High Plains of Texas, consideration must be given to the possible influence of tillage and residue management on root growth and water extraction and consequently plant growth and yield. In the semi-arid environment of the U.S. Southern Great Plains, either the FD or the NT+ treatment is most suitable for grain sorghum production in a wheat-sorghum-fallow (WSF) system where all the crops are grown on unfertilized fields. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Soil Science". |
| Physical Description: | xx, 152 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilms Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |