The Impact of Long-Term Fallowing on the Yield and Quality of Winter Rape and Winter and Spring Wheat

Stanisław Sienkiewicz, Piotr Jarosław Żarczyński, Jadwiga Wierzbowska and Sławomir Józef Krzebietke ()
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Stanisław Sienkiewicz: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 8, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Piotr Jarosław Żarczyński: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 8, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Jadwiga Wierzbowska: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 8, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Sławomir Józef Krzebietke: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 8, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: The proper fallowing of soil maintains or even improves its yield potential. The aim of this research was to compare five methods of soil protection with high production potential on the yield and quality of strategic plants. The tested methods consisted of five variants: bare fallow—BF; natural fallow—NF; fodder galega ( Galega orientalis Lam.)—FG; a mixture of fodder galega ( Galega orientalis Lam.) with smooth brome ( Bromus inermis )—FG+SB; and smooth brome ( Bromus inermis )—SB. The soil had been set aside for 9 years, after which time the fallows were terminated and the fields were cropped with winter oilseed rape, winter wheat, and spring wheat in three consecutive years. After the end of fallowing, the content of N og. and C tot. , pH, and forms of available macro- and microelements in the soil were determined. The influence of each type of fallow on the yield of seeds/grain, straw, total protein, crude fat, and the content of macronutrients in the seeds/grain and straw of the grown crops was determined. Regarding the yields of the crops, the best solution was long-term soil protection via sowing fodder galega or a mixture of fodder galega and smooth brome. A field previously maintained as a fallow with these plants (singly or in combination) could produce over twice-as-high yields of wheat and oilseed rape as those harvested from a field established on bare fallow. The yields of the cereals and oilseed rape obtained in this study prove that food security and environmental protection issues can be reconciled. The methods for protecting farmland temporarily excluded from agricultural production presented in this paper correspond perfectly to the framework of the Green Deal for Europe. Arable land excluded from cultivation can be used to overcome new challenges facing modern agriculture.

Keywords: fallow land; marginal land; natural fallow; fertility soil; fallow management; crop yield (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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