Abstract
Introducing agro-ecological techniques such as no-tillage systems with cover crops in rotations with soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) could provide more resilience to changing climatic conditions and, at the same time, reduce soil erosion, nitrate leaching, and weed density in the main crop. However, there are challenges in introducing no-tillage techniques in crop systems in Europe as there is little quantitative knowledge about the agro-economic impact. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the agronomic and economic impacts of three soybean cropping systems involving a rye (Secale cereal L.) cover crop prior to soybean, i.e., two no-tillage systems; either herbicide-free with crimping the rye or herbicide-based without rye crimping and one plough-based in which rye was cut as green silage. The impacts of these cropping strategies were compared in a three-year cropping system experiment at a research station in north-eastern Germany with and without irrigation. The following parameters were measured: (1) cover crop biomass; (2) weed biomass; (3) soybean plant density; (4) soybean grain yield; and (5) gross margin of the cropping system. The results showed that all three soybean cropping systems can effectively suppress weeds. System (C), the no-tillage herbicide-based system, produced the lowest rye biomass and highest soybean yield; system (B), the no-tillage herbicide-free/crimped rye system, produced the highest rye biomass and lowest soybean yield compared to system (A), the standard cutting/plough-based system. The differences in rye biomass and soybean yield observed between the three systems could be mainly attributed to the timing of the cover crop termination and the soybean sowing date. The gross margin was highest in system (C), due to the high soybean grain yield. The low soybean grain yield in system (B) resulted in lower revenues and gross margins compared to systems (A) and (C), although system (B) could be economically attractive in organic farming with higher prices for organic soybean. In the particularly dry year 2016, gross margins were higher when soybean was irrigated compared to the rainfed cultivation, due to significantly higher grain yields. Before recommending the application of the no-tillage with cover crop technique for the conditions tested in north-eastern Germany, more investigations on the benefits and risks of this technique are needed. Further research needs to focus on maintaining a high rye biomass as well as on ensuring an early soybean planting date. Optimizing the crimping and drilling equipment is still required in order to develop good management practices for no-tillage herbicide-free systems in European conditions.
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Claims 17
Claim · model-written summary
All three soybean systems suppressed weeds.
- Taxon
- soybean
Glycine maxe0 - Interactor
- weedse0weed
- Outcome
- suppress weedse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“all three soybean cropping systems can effectively suppress weeds”
Claim · model-written summary
Herbicide-based no-tillage system C produced the lowest rye biomass.
- Taxon
- rye
Secale cerealee0 - Treatment
- no-tillage herbicide-based systeme0
- Outcome
- rye biomasse0
- Direction
- loweste0
Not reportedMaterial
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“System (C), the no-tillage herbicide-based system, produced the lowest rye biomass”
Claim · model-written summary
Herbicide-based no-tillage system C produced the highest soybean yield.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxe0
- Treatment
- no-tillage herbicide-based systeme0
- Outcome
- soybean yielde0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Comparator
- standard cutting/plough-based systeme0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“System (C), the no-tillage herbicide-based system, produced the lowest rye biomass and highest soybean yield; system (B), the no-tillage herbicide-free/crimped rye system, produced the highest rye biomass and lowest soybean yield compared to system (A), the standard cutting/plough-based system.”
Claim · model-written summary
Herbicide-free no-tillage system B produced the highest rye biomass.
- Taxon
- ryeSecale cerealee0
- Treatment
- no-tillage herbicide-free/crimped rye systeme0
- Outcome
- rye biomasse0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Comparator
- standard cutting/plough-based systeme0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“system (B), the no-tillage herbicide-free/crimped rye system, produced the highest rye biomass and lowest soybean yield compared to system (A), the standard cutting/plough-based system”
Claim · model-written summary
Herbicide-free no-tillage system B produced the lowest soybean yield relative to system A.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxe0
- Treatment
- no-tillage herbicide-free/crimped rye systeme0
- Outcome
- soybean yielde0
- Direction
- loweste0
- Comparator
- standard cutting/plough-based systeme0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“system (B), the no-tillage herbicide-free/crimped rye system, produced the highest rye biomass and lowest soybean yield compared to system (A), the standard cutting/plough-based system”
Claim · model-written summary
Differences in rye biomass were attributed mainly to cover-crop termination timing and soybean sowing date.
- Taxon
- ryeSecale cerealee0
- Outcome
- rye biomasse0
- Qualifier
- timing of the cover crop termination and the soybean sowing datee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The differences in rye biomass and soybean yield observed between the three systems could be mainly attributed to the timing of the cover crop termination and the soybean sowing date.”
t0“Soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
Differences in soybean yield were attributed mainly to cover-crop termination timing and soybean sowing date.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Outcome
- soybean yielde0
- Qualifier
- timing of the cover crop termination and the soybean sowing datee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The differences in rye biomass and soybean yield observed between the three systems could be mainly attributed to the timing of the cover crop termination and the soybean sowing date.”
t0“Soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
System C had the highest gross margin, attributed to high soybean grain yield.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Outcome
- gross margine0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Qualifier
- high soybean grain yielde0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The gross margin was highest in system (C), due to the high soybean grain yield.”
t0“Soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
System B had lower revenues than systems A and C because of low soybean grain yield.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxe0
- Outcome
- revenuese0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Comparator
- systems (A) and (C)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The low soybean grain yield in system (B) resulted in lower revenues and gross margins compared to systems (A) and (C)”
Claim · model-written summary
System B had lower gross margins than systems A and C because of low soybean grain yield.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxe0
- Outcome
- gross marginse0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Comparator
- systems (A) and (C)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The low soybean grain yield in system (B) resulted in lower revenues and gross margins compared to systems (A) and (C)”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest system B could be economically attractive under higher organic soybean prices.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxe0
- Outcome
- economically attractivee0
- Qualifier
- organic farming with higher prices for organic soybeane0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“system (B) could be economically attractive in organic farming with higher prices for organic soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
In dry 2016, irrigation increased soybean gross margins relative to rainfed cultivation.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxe0
- Treatment
- irrigatede0
- Outcome
- gross marginse0
- Direction
- highere0
- Qualifier
- particularly dry year 2016e0
- Comparator
- rainfed cultivatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In the particularly dry year 2016, gross margins were higher when soybean was irrigated compared to the rainfed cultivation, due to significantly higher grain yields.”
Claim · model-written summary
In dry 2016, irrigation significantly increased soybean grain yield relative to rainfed cultivation.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxe0
- Treatment
- irrigatede0
- Outcome
- grain yieldse0
- Direction
- highere0
- Qualifier
- particularly dry year 2016e0
- Comparator
- rainfed cultivatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In the particularly dry year 2016, gross margins were higher when soybean was irrigated compared to the rainfed cultivation, due to significantly higher grain yields.”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors call for more investigation of no-tillage cover crops before recommending them in north-eastern Germany.
- Taxon
- SoybeanGlycine maxt0
- Outcome
- more investigations on the benefits and riskse0
- Setting
- north-eastern Germanye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Before recommending the application of the no-tillage with cover crop technique for the conditions tested in north-eastern Germany, more investigations on the benefits and risks of this technique are needed.”
t0“Soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend focusing research on maintaining high rye biomass.
- Taxon
- ryeSecale cerealee0
- Outcome
- maintaining a high rye biomasse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Further research needs to focus on maintaining a high rye biomass”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend focusing research on early soybean planting.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxe0
- Outcome
- early soybean planting datee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“ensuring an early soybean planting date”
t0“Soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend optimizing crimping and drilling equipment for herbicide-free no-tillage systems.
- Taxon
- SoybeanGlycine maxt0
- Outcome
- Optimizing the crimping and drilling equipmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Optimizing the crimping and drilling equipment is still required in order to develop good management practices for no-tillage herbicide-free systems in European conditions.”
t0“Soybean”
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