Increased demand for barley has changed the proportion of crops grown in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic USA. Winter wheat is the predominant small grain crop, but barley can be a direct substitute, although much less of it is grown. Soybean is grown full-season and double-cropped after both small grains. Historically, wheat was the primary small grain in the soybean double-crop rotation because of its greater profitability. The barley-soybean cropping system is not a new concept in the region, but the literature is outdated. New agronomic and economic data that directly compares full-season soybean, barley-soybean, and wheat-soybean systems using modern cultivars and management practices is needed. The objectives of this research were to: i) determine soybean yield and compare cropping system profitability of the three cropping systems; ii) perform a breakeven sensitivity analysis of the three cropping systems; and iii) determine the effect of planting date and previous winter crop on soybean yield and yield components. Soybean grown after barley yielded more than full-season soybean in two of six locations and more than soybean double-cropped after wheat in three of six locations. Net returns for the barley-soybean system were the greatest. These data indicate that soybean double-cropped after barley has the potential to yield equal to or greater than full-season soybean or double-cropped soybean following wheat, but its relative yield is very dependent on growing conditions. The profitability comparison indicated that the barley-soybean cropping system was generally more profitable than the full-season soybean and double-cropped wheat-soybean systems. This conclusion was supported by the breakeven sensitivity analysis, but remains dependent on prices that have been extremely volatile in recent years. In another study, soybean yields declined with planting date at two of four locations in 2009, a year that late-season rainfall enabled later-planted soybean to yield more than expected. In 2010, soybean yield decline was affected by the delay in planting date at both locations. Winter grain did not affect soybean yield in either year. Yield component data reinforced these results and indicated that the lower seed yield in the later planting dates was due primarily to a decrease in the number of pods. / Master of Science

Studies have shown that significant amounts of nitrate-N is leached beyond root zones of annual crops while small amounts of nitrate-N is leached beyond the root zones of perennial forage grasses. This study investigated short-term ammonium-N persistence and root nitrogen content of annual crop and perennial forage grasses following application of pig manure to a sandy loam soil at Carman, Manitoba. Results showed that ammonium-N in liquid pig manure (LPM) amended treatment peaked four days after manure application (DAM) in perennial cropping system (PCS; 50 - 74 kg ha-1) and annual cropping system (ACS; 18 - 29 kg ha-1) in 2014 and 2015. Ammonium-N persisted up to 7 DAM in LPM amended PCS, but did not persist beyond 4 DAM in LPM amended ACS. Ammonium-N measured in solid pig manure (SPM) amended ACS and PCS was low throughout the sampling days in both years. There was a greater percentage increase in accumulation of nitrate-N at 15 - 30 cm soil depth of LPM and SPM amended ACS than PCS. In both years, dry weight below-ground plant biomass ranged from 5,258 to 9,627 kg ha-1 at 0 - 60 cm depth in PCS while that of ACS ranged from 1,088 to 1,456 kg ha-1. Also, root N content in PCS ranged from 43 to 118 kg N ha-1 in both years while that of ACS ranged from 9 to 20 kg N ha-1. In conclusion, ammonium-N persisted longer in PCS than ACS in the short-term and total plant N was greater in PCS than ACS. Greater total plant N in PCS than ACS was mainly due to its greater root N content rather than above-ground N uptake. The order of magnitude of the difference in root N content (34 to 98 kg N ha-1) between ACS and PCS was sufficient to account for the 20 to 60 kg N/ha of nitrate-N leached in ACS in previous study at the same site. / October 2016

System of Rice Intensification (SRI) has been introduced and practiced throughout Thailand. However, the conventional transplanting system is well-accepted among Thai farmers over the country. This paper quantifies and compares costs and benefits of SRI and the conventional system of rice cultivation in Thailand to find the best system for a farmer, the environment and a society. The scope of this paper includes a farmer’s profit, the environmental damages and a society’s net benefits categorized in clay soil and sandy loam conditions. The farmer’s profit consists of a production cost and income. The amount of fertilizer application, level of lethal dose and climate change cost are regarded as environmental damage components. The society has concerned over the farmer’s profit and the environmental cost in a decision. The study uses cost-benefit analysis to investigate mean and variation of profit and cost in monetary term. Monte Carlo simulation is utilized for quantifying risk in each scenario. The study finds that SRI saves the production input and increases yield gain significantly. The most impressive results are a reduction in water consumption and number of seeds. Also, the environmental damage caused by this system is lower due to less amount of chemical fertilizer and pesticide applications as well as a low rate of methane gas emission. Sensitivity analysis shows that SRI has better performance under best and worst case scenarios for both types of soil (clay soil and sandy loam). However, the system contains the highest risk of the farmer’s profit. In conclusion, SRI is more beneficial and efficient than conventional system. Still, risk aspects should be considered in decision making. This study can be employed as a framework for government or any parties, who are interested or have willingness to conduct a field study of SRI and the conventional rice cropping system or for the further study about the integrated system (a combination between SRI and conventional system).

Face aux besoins croissants pour une production agricole durable, les systems de culture évoluent vers des systèmes qui accomplissent des objectifs environnementaux et agricoles multiples. La recherche en conception de systèmes de cultures (CSC) s'intéresse à l'effet des pratiques et de l'environnement sur les systèmes de culture et leur performance. L'interaction entre production et services ecosystémiques, et la quantification de ces relations, sont un aspect clé de ce domaine de recherche. Une variété d'approches ont été théorisées, tels que l'utilisation de modèles et la mobilisation de connaissances expertes. Les modèles permettent de tester rapidement et à faible coût l'effet de pratiques agricoles dans une variété de conditions, mais l'application de conclusions théoriques à la parcelle peut être limitée par des contraintes locales ainsi que des obstacles à la communication chercheur-agriculteur. Mobiliser les agriculteurs et autres acteurs pertinents pour la CSC peut aider à surmonter ces obstacles ; cependant, cela limite l'innovation au cadre des connaissances expertes.L'objectif de cette thèse est de combiner la modélisation et des méthodes participatives pour une méthode de CSC qui exploite le potentiel de la modélisation numérique tout en s'assurant que les solutions proposées prennent en compte les contraintes environnementales et socioéconomiques. Après avoir revu l'état d'avancement de la recherche en prototypage et en CSC, nous proposons un cadre méthodologique divisé en quatre parties ; a) combiner une typologie des pratiques et un modèle conceptuel pour évaluer la diversité des pratiques, contraintes et trade-offs dans une zone de production ; b) acquérir des données de terrain pour quantifier les trade-offs pertinents entre production et services écosystémiques ; c) sélectionner et préparer un modèle numérique approprié pour simuler les effets des pratiques sur la production et l'apport de services ; et d) évaluer si l'interaction d'agriculteurs avec le modèle numérique peut générer des systèmes de culture potentiels qui répondraient aux objectifs agro-environnementaux posées (apport d'un service écosystémique) ainsi qu'être acceptables pour les agriculteurs qui les adapteraient à l'expérimentation dans leurs parcelles.The systèmes agroforestiers à base de café (cafés/arbres d'ombrage) du Costa Rica central ont étés le système de culture choisi pour répondre à ces questions. Les systèmes agroforestiers offrent de nombreuses occasions d'étudier et évaluer les services écosystémiques apportés, en plus de la production principale. L'association de deux cultures pérennes place l'évaluation de la performance à long terme et de la durabilité des systèmes au centre de la question. La culture du café au Costa Rica fait vivre une part importante de la population, et est aussi basée sur la gestion intensive d'une culture à haute valeur d'exportation, vulnérable aux fluctuations des prix sur le marché mondial ainsi qu'au changements climatiques. Des pentes raides et une saison des pluies importante créent des problèmes d'érosion significatifs ; cependant, certaines pratiques de contrôle de l'érosion (utilisation d'arbres d'ombrage et d'adventices) impactent la production de café. La réconciliation de ces deux aspects nous offrent l'occasion de tester notre cadre méthodologique dans une situation où une solide argumentation technique serait nécessaire pour encourager les expérimentations dans les parcelles. Enfin, le dernier chapitre porte une réflexion d'ensemble sur l'importance de choisir et préparer correctement un modèle agronomomique adéquat, les application potentielles de cette méthodologie, ainsi que les recommandations que nous avons pu effectuer en termes de pratiques de contrôle de l'érosion dans la zone d'étude. / In the face of increasing concerns about sustainability of agricultural production, cropping systemsare evolving towards systems that fulfill multiple agronomic and environmental objectives. Researchin cropping systems design (CSD) is concerned with studying the effect of farming practices oncropping systems and their performance. The interaction between production and ecosystemservices, and quantification of trade-offs between the two, is a key aspect of this research. A varietyof approaches have been theorized, such as use of models and mobilization of expert knowledge.Models allows fast and low-cost testing of the effect of farming practices under a variety ofconditions, but the application of theoretical outcomes to on-farm changes can be limited by localconstraints and researcher-farmer communication. Mobilizing farmers and other relevantstakeholders for CSD can help overcome these obstacles; however this limits innovation to the scopeof expert knowledge.The objective of this thesis is to combine modeling and participatory methods for a CSD frameworkthat harnesses the potential of numerical modeling while ensuring the proposed solutions take intoaccount socioeconomic and environmental constraints. After an overview of current advances inprototyping and CSD, we propose an methodological framework divided into four parts; a) combininga typology of farming practices and a conceptual model to appraise the diversity of farming practices,constraints and trade-offs at the plot scale in a defined production area; b) collection of field data forquantifying relevant trade-offs between production and ecosystem services; c) selecting andpreparing an appropriate numerical model for simulating the effects of farming practices onproduction and provision of ecosystem services; and d) evaluating whether the interaction of farmerswith a numerical model can generate candidate cropping systems that fulfill our agro-environmentalobjectives (provision of ecosystem service) as well as being suitable for the farmers who will adaptthem for on-farm experimentation.The coffee-based agroforestry systems (coffee/shade trees) of central Costa Rica were the chosenproduction system for answering these questions. Agroforestry systems offer plentiful opportunitiesfor valuing ecosystem services in addition to crop production; the combination of two perennialcrops brings long-term performance assessment and sustainability of the system to the heart of thequestion. Coffee cultivation in central Costa Rica concerns a large amount of livelihoods, but is alsobased on intensive management of a highly valued cash crop vulnerable to price fluctuations on theglobal market as well as climate change. Steep slopes and heavy rainfall also cause high levels of soilerosion; yet certain indirect erosion control practices (such as the use of shade trees of weeds) alsohave an impact on coffee production. The reconciliation of these two aspects offers the opportunityto test our methodological framework in situations where precise discussions onproduction/environment trade-offs are needed.Finally, in the last chapter we reflect on the importance of correctly choosing and preparing the rightmodel for the job, potential application of this methodology, as well as the recommendations wereable to make in terms of erosion control practices in the study area.

Le changement climatique menacera probablement la durabilité de la plupart des systèmes agricoles en région méditerranéenne et notamment au sud de la méditerranée. Le comportement des systèmes agricoles sera différent selon les régions sur la base de contextes biophysique, socio-économique, institutionnel et politique. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'analyser la résilience et la capacité d'adaptation au changement climatique des exploitations agricoles en prenant comme référence celles de la Basse Vallée de Medjerda (Nord de la Tunisie). Pour répondre à cet objectif, trois questions principales sont successivement abordées. Le premier chapitre décrit, en se basant sur une large revue de littérature, les effets agri environnementaux du changement climatique en région méditerranéenne et particulièrement en Tunisie. Le deuxième chapitre analyse les effets potentiels du changement climatique sur la résilience des exploitations agricoles de la Basse Vallée de Medjerda (BVM). Pour faire bref, la résilience d'une exploitation est sa capacité à assurer par elle-même sa viabilité économique et par conséquent sa pérennité. Pour ce faire, un cadre conceptuel a été construit. Ce cadre est basé sur trois étapes impliquant la définition de l'échelle spatiale, les forces exogènes, les indicateurs et les seuils de persistance. A cet effet, une chaîne de modèles biophysique-socioéconomique au niveau régional a été utilisée pour simuler l'effet du changement climatique d'une part sur les rendements des cultures et sur la salinité du sol à l'échelle de la parcelle, et d'autre part sur la résilience et la capacité d'adaptation des exploitations agricoles. Cette approche quantitative permet la simulation de stratégie d'adaptation agricole système en calculant trois indicateurs : le stock de terres, le stock de main-d'œuvre et le flux des revenus, en réponse au changement climatique. Le troisième chapitre évalue les stratégies d'adaptation possibles permettant de faire face aux effets du changement climatique. Ces stratégies ont été identifiées dans le cadre d'une approche participative, en concertation avec les agriculteurs et les experts locaux au niveau de la BVM et simulées en utilisant la chaîne de modèles. Les résultats de cette étude montrent une hétérogénéité des comportements des exploitations agricoles en fonction de la diversité et du degré d‘intensification des activités de production agricoles (végétale et animale). Les exploitations agricoles les plus diversifiées et les moins intensifiées avec une activité animale importante semblent être plus résilientes au changement climatique que les exploitations spécialisées ayant un système de production intensif. Nous constatons que les stratégies d'adaptation basées sur l'augmentation des doses d'irrigation pour satisfaire les besoins croissants en eau des cultures, l'irrigation de complément des céréales, et l'amélioration de l'efficience des systèmes d'irrigation améliorent la résilience des exploitations agricoles de la Basse Vallée de Medjerda. Ces stratégies ont un effet plus important sur la profitabilité des exploitations agricoles si elles sont accompagnées par une tarification d'eau binôme. Les résultats de cette étude montrent que les systèmes agricoles peuvent s'adapter au changement climatique de différentes façons. La méthodologie utilisée peut être adaptée à d'autres régions de la Méditerranée et permettra d'aider les experts et les décideurs politiques à proposer et tester des stratégies d'adaptation au changement climatique dans ces régions. / Climate change would impact sustainability of most agricultural systems in the Mediterranean region and particularly in the south of the Mediterranean. It is expected that agricultural systems react differently depending on biophysical, socioeconomic and political contexts of each agriculture. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change of the farming systems of the Low Valley of Medjerda (Northern Tunisia). To meet this objective, three main steps are developed. The first chapter describes, based on a literature review, the agri-environmental effects of climate change in the Mediterranean region and particularly in Tunisia. The second chapter analyzes the potential impact of climate change on the resilience of the farming systems in the Low Valley of Medjerda (LVM). To do this, an operational Framework was built. The third chapter assesses the possible adaptive strategies to cope with the effects of climate change. These strategies have been identified through a participatory approach, in consultation with farmers and local experts in the LVM watershed. For this purpose, a chain of regional biophysical-socio-economic models was used to simulate the effect of climate change, on crop yields and soil salinity at field scale, and on the resilience and adaptability of farming systems. The results of this study show heterogeneous behaviors of farming systems depending on the diversity and the degree of intensification of agricultural production (crop and livestock). More diversified and less intensified farming systems with a large animal activity seem to be more resilient than specialized farms with intensive production system. In addition, as expected, we find that adaptation strategies based on the increasing of irrigation doses to meet the increased crop water requirements (SIrr.am), supplemental irrigation of cereal (SIrr.c) and the improvement of the efficiency of irrigation systems (SIrr.sys)improve the resilience of farming systems in the LVM watershed. These strategies have a greater effect on the profitability of farming systems if they are accompanied by a binominal water tariff. The methodology used in this research can be adapted for other Mediterranean regions and assist experts and policy makers to propose and test strategies for adapting to climate change in these regions.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agriculture)) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / Maize is a dominant crop in smallholder farming systems in the Limpopo province of South Africa, generally cultivated as intercrop with grain legumes. The major constraint in this cropping system is inadequate soil moisture during the growing season, which also limits nutrient availability to the component crops. The minimum tillage system has been reported to improve soil moisture availability on farmers’ fields but this has not yet been verified in an intercropping system in the province. The objective of this study was to quantify grain yield and chlorophyll production of intercropped maize, and to assess seasonal moisture availability under minimum tillage (MT) and conventional tillage (CT) systems. Dryland field experiments were conducted at two locations in the province namely, farmer’s field at Dalmada in 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 growing seasons and at the University of Limpopo Experimental farm at Syferkuil during the 2003/2004. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in split plot arrangement at all locations and seasons. Tillage systems consisting of conventional tillage and minimum tillage were the main plot treatments, whereas five different cropping systems namely, sole maize, and maize intercrop with cowpea (variety, Bechuana White), cowpea (variety, Agripers), Lablab bean (variety, Rongai) and Velvet bean were assigned as sub-plot treatments. Maize grain yield in 2002/2003 at Dalmada was significantly lower (357 kg/ha) under CT relative to 755kg/ha under MT. In 2003/2004 at Dalmada, grain yields under the two systems were similar, where as at Syferkuil, 15% higher grain yield results was obtained under MT. Minimum tillage systems resulted in higher number of maize cobs per plant at Dalmada in both growing seasons and weight per cob was higher under MT at both locations and seasons. At Dalmada, significantly higher soil moisture was recorded under the MT relative to the CT depending on depth and sampling dates. Chlorophyll content of the youngest fully expanded leaves of maize was generally higher under MT than CT, but this was observed only at the later stages of plant growth. The results also showed that the rate of senescence (reduced chlorophyll content in older leaves) was higher in maize plants grown under CT relative to those under MT. The minimum tillage system has shown the potential of being a superior system for dryland maize production, but further research involving additional locations is required to ascertain this fact.

Face à un contexte croissant d'incertitude, les systèmes agricoles doivent être performants, non seulement dans des conditions moyennes, mais aussi quand les perturbations sont plus importantes. Récemment, de nombreux concepts ont été développés pour étudier la durabilité des systèmes dans des environnements changeants, dont celui de robustesse. Néanmoins, son transfert aux systèmes de grandes cultures reste limité. L'objectif de la thèse est alors de proposer un cadre d'évaluation de la robustesse qui soit opérationnel en conditions de grandes cultures. Nous nous sommes focalisés sur la culture du blé tendre et avons défini la robustesse comme la capacité d'un système agricole à maintenir ses performances de rendement malgré l'apparition de perturbations. Un modèle économétrique défini à l'échelle du système de culture a été développé pour évaluer cette robustesse face à des conditions météorologiques et des niveaux de pression maladies changeants. Il a été appliqué sur 145 exploitations agricoles françaises et 2300 parcelles de blé enquêtées sur la période 2011-2014. Les résultats montrent que la robustesse aux perturbations abiotiques et biotiques varie d'un système de culture à l'autre. Les systèmes les plus robustes (respectivement, les moins robustes) ont pu être identifiés, en tenant compte des niveaux de rendement atteints en conditions moyennes et de la sensibilité de ces rendements à des variations climatiques. Alors que les situations de rendements "élevés" versus "faibles" s'expliquent surtout par des pratiques agronomiques dites d'intensification, ce sont surtout des variables dites de flexibilité qui expliquent la robustesse versus la sensibilité aux perturbations abiotiques. Au-delà de l'intérêt de cette approche pour mieux appréhender la robustesse des systèmes agricoles, la méthodologie développée présente l'avantage de pouvoir être appliquée à d'autres performances et/ou d'autres aléas. / Given increasing uncertainties surrounding the future of agriculture, farming systems need to perform well both in average conditions and in situations presenting substantial variations. Different concepts have been developed in recent years to assess the sustainability of agricultural systems within a context of global change, including the concept of robustness. But its empirical operationalization remains a challenge, particularly with regard to arable cropping systems. The aim of this thesis is to propose a methodological framework for assessing robustness which is operational for arable conditions. Focusing on wheat production, the robustness is defined as the ability of a cropping system to maintain yield performances despite the presence of perturbations. An econometric model defined at the cropping system level is used to assess yield robustness in the face of changing weather conditions and fungal disease pressures. It is then applied to data from 145 French wheat-growing farms and 2,300 wheat plots surveyed over the period 2011-2014. The results show that yield robustness varies widely from one cropping system to another. Cropping systems showing the most and the least robustness to abiotic perturbations were identified on the basis of yield performances under both normal and changing weather conditions. While several management intensification and crop rotation practices differentiate high versus low wheat yield cropping systems, it appears to be flexibility practices that distinguish robust versus sensitive cropping systems. Beyond the interest of this approach per se to understand and improve the robustness of agricultural systems, this methodological framework could also be used to assess other performances and/or risks.

The oat is a worldwide importance of winter cereal and Brazil stands out in the southern region as an alternative culture of winter. The cultivation of oats has several purposes, whether in crop rotation, soil cover, food and feed. Nitrogen fertilization is essential in the oat crop, since it has direct effects on yield components, working in the issuance and maintenance of fertile tillers. In order to evaluate the seeds of productivity in the agricultural harvest, the physiological seed quality and quality of oat seedlings after eight months of storage, depending on the application of nitrogen in coverage, in different farming systems, was We developed this study, conducted in two stages, the field and another laboratory. The field experiment was conducted in two cropping systems. Thus it was formed a ground cover plant residue with system with high C / N ratio (maize / oat) and other low C / N ratio (soybean / oat). The experimental design was a randomized block with four replications, following a factorial 4 x 2 x 2 for the factors nitrogen, cultivars and year, respectively. The levels were formed as follows: i) nitrogen rates (0, 30, 60 and 120 kg ha-1) applied 30 days after emergence; ii) oat cultivars (Barbarasul and Brisasul) and iii) agricultural year (2011 and 2012). The evaluated traits were seed yield, thousand grain weight, germination, vigor and root dry weight, dry weight of shoot and total dry mass of seedlings. It was observed that the system soy / oats, the main effects (nitrogen dose and genotype) promoted changes in characters. The results show that oat seeds when stored without temperature and humidity control can be used as a seed crop in the following year, provided that the management of nitrogen and other agronomic practices are properly carried out. Seedlings grown from seeds stored under controlled conditions do not show that the system soy / oats for development of seedlings with larger root dry matter, dry matter of shoot and total dry matter. Furthermore, this system had a higher stability in character when compared to the corn seedling system / oats. / A aveia branca é um cereal de inverno de importância mundial e no Brasil destaca-se na região sul como cultura alternativa de inverno. O cultivo da aveia tem diversos fins, seja na rotação de culturas, cobertura de solo, alimentação humana e animal. A adubação nitrogenada é fundamental na cultura da aveia branca, visto que tem efeitos diretos nos componentes de rendimento, atuando na emissão e manutenção de afilhos férteis. Com o objetivo de avaliar a produtividade de sementes na safra agrícola, a qualidade fisiológica de sementes e a qualidade de plântulas de aveia branca após oito meses de armazenamento, em função da aplicação de doses de nitrogênio em cobertura, em distintos sistemas de cultivo, foi desenvolvido este estudo, conduzido em duas fases, uma de campo e outra de laboratório. O experimento de campo foi desenvolvido em dois sistemas de cultivo. Dessa forma, foi constituído um sistema com cobertura de solo com resíduo vegetal de elevada relação C/N (milho/aveia) e outro de reduzida relação C/N (soja/aveia). O delineamento experimental adotado foi o de blocos casualizados com quatro repetições, seguindo um esquema fatorial 4 x 2 x 2 para os fatores doses de nitrogênio, cultivares e ano, respectivamente. Os níveis foram assim constituídos: i) doses de nitrogênio (0, 30, 60 e 120 kg ha-1) aplicadas em 30 dias após a emergência; ii) cultivares de aveia (Barbarasul e Brisasul) e iii) ano agrícola (2011 e 2012). Os caracteres avaliados foram produtividade de sementes, massa de mil grãos, germinação, vigor e massa seca de raiz, massa seca de parte aérea e massa seca total de plântulas. Foi observado que no sistema soja/aveia, os efeitos principais (dose de nitrogênio e genótipo) promoveram alterações nos caracteres. Os resultados evidenciam que sementes de aveia branca quando armazenadas sem controle de temperatura e umidade, podem ser empregada como semente na lavoura do ano posterior, desde que, o manejo do nitrogênio e outras práticas agronômicas sejam adequadamente realizadas. As plântulas oriundas de sementes armazenadas em condições não controladas mostram que no sistema soja/aveia há desenvolvimento de plântulas com maior matéria seca de raiz, matéria seca de parte aérea e matéria seca total. Além disso, este sistema obteve maior estabilidade nos caracteres de plântula quando comparado ao sistema milho/aveia.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:33:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-02-21Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:45:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 rezende_bla_dr_jabo.pdf: 838612 bytes, checksum: 6bbd1a4cc21f9f39b0f4f306d9a47d92 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Com o objetivo de avaliar a produtividade e rentabilidade dos consórcios de pepino, em duas densidades populacionais, com dois grupos de alface (crespa e americana), em ambiente protegido, realizados em duas épocas de cultivo, agosto a novembro de 2005 e fevereiro a maio de 2006, foram realizados oito experimentos na Unesp, Campus de Jaboticabal-SP. Cada experimento constou de nove tratamentos, resultante de quatro cultivos consorciados (estabelecidos em quatro épocas de transplante da alface em relação ao pepino: O, 10, 20 e 30 dias) e cinco monoculturas, sendo quatro com alface estabelecida nestas mesmas épocas de transplante e um com o pepino, instalado sob delineamento experimental de blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições. As cultivares utilizadas nos experimentos foram o híbrido de pepino japonês 'Hokushin', e 'Lucy Brown' e 'Verônica', respectivamente, para alface americana e crespa. A determinação do custo de produção do cultivo consorciado foi realizada com base na metodologia do custo operacional de produção, no mês de agosto de 2006. A produtividade e a classificação dos frutos de pepino em cultivo consorciado, independente da cultivar de alface, não diferem das obtidas em monocultura. As maiores produtividades comerciais e totais de pepino são obtidas nos cultivos consorciados de alface crespa, sendo indiferente a densidade populacional, e de americana com 1,11 planta m-2 de pepino, todos em cultivos na segunda época. A produtividade das plantas de alface é afetada pela época de estabelecimento do consórcio, definido pelo transplante da alface em relação ao transplante do pepino. As plantas de alface crespa e americana cultivadas em consórcio, na segunda época de cultivo, não apresentam qualidade comercial. O índice de eficiência... / In order to analyze the yield and profitability of cucumber intercropping, in two plant population densities, with two groups of lettuce (crisp and crisphead), in a protected environment, for two cultivation periods, from August to November 2005, and from February to May 2006, eight experiments were conducted at the Unesp Campus in Jaboticabal, SP. Each experiment consisted of nine treatments, resultant of four intercropping cropping (established in four times of transplant of lettuce in relation to the cucumber: O, 10, 20 and 30 days) and five monocultures, being four with established lettuce in these same transplant times and one with the cucumber, and was arranged in a randomized block design, with four replications. 'Hokushin', a hybrid of Japanese cucumber, 'Lucy Brown' and 'Veronica', for crisphead and crisp lettuce, respectively, were the cultivars used in the experiments. The operating cost of production method was used for calculating the production cost of the intercropping cultivation in August 2006. The yield and grade of cucumber fruits under intercropping cultivation, regardless of the lettuce cultivar, do not differ from those obtained through single cropping cultivation. The highest total market yields of cucumber are obtained through the intercropping cultivation with crisphead lettuce, regardless of the population density, and with crisphead lettuCe at 1.11 plant m-2 of cucumber, ali in the second cultivation period. The yield of lettuce plants is affected by the date the intercropping is established, establishment which is determined by the transplanting of lettuce in relation to the transplanting of cucumber. Crisp and crisphead lettuce plants, under intercropping and grown in the second cultivation period, do not have any market quality. The land equivalent ratio is... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Thesis (M. Sc. Agriculture (Agronomy)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp.) is an important grain legume crop in tropical and subtropical countries, where it provides a cheap source of protein. Smallholder farmers in Limpopo Province cultivate landraces of pigeonpea, which are characterised with late maturity, low grain yield and being sensitive to photoperiod. To increase the productivity of the cropping system involving pigeonpea, several earlymedium maturity varieties have been introduced. However, performance of the varieties has not been tested in strip intercropping in Limpopo Province. Farmers plant these landraces by using mixed intercropping without definite row arrangement. This practice does not optimise plant density; it hinders farm inputs application and is characterised producing low yields. Therefore, the inclusion of early maturing varieties of pigeonpea in an intercrop will enable farmers to select the best variety for planting in future and thus enhance their output as well as their productivity. The objectives of this study were to assess the agronomic performance of five pigeonpea varieties in pigeonpea-maize strip intercropping, to determine the effect of strip intercropping on maize yield and establish the effect of location and season variations on the performance of both component crops under the intercropping system. Experiments were conducted at the University of Limpopo Experimental Farm (UL Farm) and Ga-Thaba village during the 2015/16 and 2016/17 season. Five improved early-medium maturing pigeonpea varieties (ICEAP 001284, ICEAP 00604, ICEAP 87091, ICEAP 00661 and ICEAP 01101-2) from ICRISAT were evaluated under strip intercropping with maize cultivar PAN 6479. The varieties were selected as earlymedium maturing varieties from previous pigeonpea trials. The trials were laid in a split plot design. The main plot comprised cropping systems (intercrop and monocrop), while the subplot comprised the varieties with three replications. Data collected on pigeonpea were number of days to 50% flowering and 90% maturity number of primary branches; plant height (cm); number of pods per plant; pod length (cm); number of seed per pod; hundred seed weight (g); and grain yield (kg ha-1), whereas on maize, number of days to 50% tasselling and silking; plant height (cm); cob length (cm); cob per plant; grain yields (kg ha-1); and stover (kg ha-1) were recorded. LER was calculated to determine intercropping productivity. Data analysis was done using Statistic 10.0; and Least Significance Difference (LSD) was used to separate the means that showed significant differences at an alpha level of 0.05. The results revealed significant differences in nearly all pigeonpea variables expect (pod length, number of seed per pod and hundred seed weight). Variables that showed significant differences in maize were plant height, cob length, grain yields and stover. Number of days to 50% flowering and 90% physiological maturity differed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) among varieties at the UL Farm and Ga-Thaba. Varieties (ICEAP 001284 and ICEAP 00604) exhibited the shortest number of days to 50% flowering and 90% maturity in both locations during both seasons. The interaction between variety x season (V x S) showed significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences in pigeonpea grain yield. The top yielders during 2015/16 at the UL Farm were ICEAP 01101-2 (1555 kg ha-1) and ICEAP 001284 (1280 kg ha-1), while during the 2016/17 season, they were ICEAP 001284 (937 kg ha-1) and ICEAP 01101-2 (912 kg ha-1). High yielder at Ga-Thaba during the 2016/17 season were ICEAP 001284 and ICEAP 01101-2 with grain yields of 671 kg ha-1 and 627 kg ha-1, respectively. Furthermore, varieties that obtained high yields during the 2015/16 season were ICEAP 001284 (504 kg ha-1) and ICEAP 00604 (541 kg ha-1). Most of the varieties during both seasons at the UL Farm and Ga-Thaba yielded more than 500 kg ha-1 under strip intercropping as compared to mixed intercropping, which obtained yields averages of below 400 kg ha-1. The highest maize grain yields of 1450 kg ha-1 were recorded during 2015/16 as compared to 958 kg ha1 during the 2016/17 season at the UL Farm. The calculated total Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) for the two crops in both locations gave positive and higher than 1 values, which suggests a favourable grain yield advantage for maize-pigeonpea strip intercrop over mixed intercropping. Key words: Cajanus cajan, maize, cropping system, maturity, grain yields, land equivalent ratio