 APSIM(Agricultural Production Systems Simulator) is a software system which allows (a) models of crop and pasture production, residue decomposition, soil water and nutrient flow, and erosion to be readily reconfigured to simulate various production systems and (b) soil and crop management to be dynamically simulated using conditional rules.  A key innovation is change from a core concept of ...

Improvements in water productivity and yield arise from interactions between varieties (G) and their management (M). Most G×M interactions considered by breeders and physiologists focus on in-crop management (e.g. sowing time, plant density, N management). However, opportunities exist to capture more water and use it more effectively that involve judicious management of prior crops and fallows ...

The ability of tillage implements to maintain surface residue coverage is largely dependent on the implement’s main active component. Two categories of tillage implements were compared to determine their ability to maintain grain sorghum (non–fragile) surface residue coverage when operating at two different tillage depths for fall and spring tillage. Chisel–type implements were found to bury su...

containing about 1.90 million Mg of nutrients, are available in the IGP of India (Sarkar et al., 1999). In the Rice (Oryza sativa L.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) farmers in Indian Punjab alone, about 12 million Mg of rice straw India burn or remove residues to facilitate seedbed preparation. Incorare burned annually, which causes about 0.7 million Mg poration of residues before planting of the...

Crop residues on the soil surface protect the soil against erosion, increase water infiltration and reduce agrochemicals in runoff water. Crop residues and soils are spectrally different in the absorption features associated with cellulose and lignin. Our objectives were to: (1) assess the impact of water on the spectral indices for estimating crop residue cover (fR); (2) evaluate spectral wate...

Agricultural crop rotations have been shown to increase soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and microbial biomass. The mechanisms behind these increases remain unclear, but may be linked to the diversity of crop residue inputs to soil organic matter (SOM). We used a residue mixture incubation to examine how variation in longterm diversity of plant communities in agroecosystems influences decompositi...