Agricultural production in the Midwestern US is highly concentrated with 85% percent of cropland acreage planted to only corn and soybeans (NASS, 2006). Crop specialization has improved the productivity and market efficiency of grain based commodity crops, but maintaining profitability has become increasingly difficult as input prices continue to rise while grain prices fluctuate substantially ...

The adoption of no tillage (NT) in crop production has been encouraged primarily due to its more significant benefits to the environment compared with other conservation tillage systems. There are nevertheless concerns about NT corn (Zea mays L.) performance from both shortand long-term perspectives. This study was conducted near Burlington, Nashua, Newell, Sutherland, and Crawfordsville in Iow...

The presence of deep-burrowing earthworms can affect soil structure and in®ltration, therefore in ̄uencing agricultural productivity. We investigated the effects of deep-burrowing earthworm species on soil structure at the surface of chisel-plowed or ridge-tilled cropping systems in Pike County, OH, planted to corn (Zea mays L.). Earthworm populations were experimentally manipulated in ®eld encl...

Increases in agricultural commodity price triggered by ethanol production and other socioeconomic conditions have dramatically affected land uses and agronomic practices in the U.S. This study used crop-specific land cover data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to analyze agricultural expansion and crop rotation pattern from 2006 to 2013 in the Midwest Corn Belt (MWCB): nine states...

Several newly released crop varieties, including the perennial intermediate wheatgrass (grain marketed as Kernza®), and winter hardy oilseed camelina, have been developed to provide both economic return for farmers reduced nutrient losses from agricultural fields. Though studies indicated that these crops could reduce nitrate-nitrogen (N) leaching, little research has done determine their effec...

A paired watershed study consisting of agroforestry (trees plus grass buffer strips), contour strips (grass buffer strips), and control treatments with a corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation was used to examine treatment effects on runoff, sediment, and nutrient losses. During the (1991-1997) calibration and subsequent three-year treatment periods, runoff was measured in...

Soil porosity estimated conventionally cannot provide the spatial distribution and geometrical properties of pore networks. This on-farm study assessed impacts grassland–cropland conversion on soil characteristics. aimed to quantify microscale changes in pores near surface (0–10 cm) under grasslands converted croplands managed with a rotation corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] ...

ABSTRACT Analyses of multiple field experiments indicated that the incidence and relative abundance of root-colonizing phlD+ Pseudomonas spp. were influenced by crop rotation, tillage, organic amendments, and chemical seed treatments in subtle but reproducible ways. In no-till corn plots, 2-year rotations with soybean resulted in plants with approximately twofold fewer phlD+ pseudomonads per gr...

The biology of the pentatomid Dichelops melacanthus (Dallas) feeding on cultivated and non-cultivated plants was studied in the laboratory. Nymph mortality varied from approximately 60 on corn (seed mature) to 77% on wheat (ear immature); no nymphs survived on seedlings of corn or wheat. Nymph developmental time on soybean, corn or wheat (seed, pod or ear) varied from 25.5 to 32.8 days. Body we...