crop productivity, water use efficiency (wue), and microbial biomass c and n in rainfed dry area are influenced by tillage, rotation, and crop residue management. field experiments were conducted during 2005-08 to study the effect of tillage, crop rotation, and crop residue retention on oat fodder yield, water use efficiency, and microbial biomass c (mbc) and n (mbn) under semi-arid conditions ...

As the demand for food and fiber grew during the past 300 years, because of the Earth’s expanding human population and rising per capita incomes, society met this demand first by increasing the land area under cultivation and later by improving crops so that their yields were higher. Before 1900, land was abundant almost everywhere, and in the United States, new lands were brought into producti...

Long-term yield performance and yield stability of common cropping systems needs to be simultaneously assessed at various fertility regimes. Based on a consecutive 19-year field trial, including eight fertilization treatments with different combinations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and recycled manure (RM), the effects of fertilization and crop rotation on corn (Zea mays L.) y...

This paper analyzes the effect of landowner risk preferences and land quality on the optimal mix of vertically integrated production and contracted production of an energy crop in a region characterized by heterogeneity in landowners’ risk preferences and land quality and with riskiness of returns from both energy crop and conventional crop production. We examine the determinants of the decisio...

Weeds are a serious problem of chickpea cultivation in rain-fed areas of Iran and economic feasibility of crop production is mostly challenged by the method of control. In this study, two types of weed control strategies which are common in the country, including hand removing and hand removing + mechanical application, were compared with application of general herbicide (Glyphosite) using a sp...

Two contrasting strategies have been proposed for conserving biological diversity while meeting the increasing demand for agricultural products: land sparing and land sharing production systems. Land sparing involves increasing yield to reduce the amount of land needed for agriculture, whereas land-sharing agricultural practices incorporate elements of native ecosystems into the production syst...

This paper develops a model to examine the impacts of uncertainty about crop production and irreversibility of program participation on determining land rental payments and least-cost land retirement targeting in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. Results show that under risk aversion only, the marginal cost of abatement and the average land rental payment are less than those under r...