Cultivation of Crops in Strip-Till Technology and Microgranulated Fertilisers Containing a Gelling Agent as a Farming Response to Climate Change

Dariusz Jaskulski (), Iwona Jaskulska, Emilian Różniak, Maja Radziemska and Martin Brtnický
Additional contact information
Dariusz Jaskulski: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Prof. S. Kaliskiego 7, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Iwona Jaskulska: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Prof. S. Kaliskiego 7, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Emilian Różniak: Research & Development Centre Agro-Land Marek Różniak Śmielin, Kościelna 1, 89-110 Sadki, Poland
Maja Radziemska: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Martin Brtnický: Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-21

Abstract: Climatic and soil conditions are changing in response to the increasing human impact. This requires the introduction of low-cost, low-emission, but effective technologies in the field cultivation of crops, in turn requiring and justifying research in this area. In laboratory tests and field studies, the production and environmental effects of strip-till and the application of microgranular fertilisers with a gelling component were determined (and, in particular, their use in combination as a plant cultivation technology). These effects were measured in terms of soil properties, the biomass production, and the yields of maize ( Zea mays L.), spring barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.), and winter rape ( Brassica napus L.). Fertiliser microgranules with a gelling agent absorbed water in the amount of 118.6–124.7% of fertiliser mass and increased the volumetric moisture content of the soil in the layer in which they were applied (0–7.5 cm) by 3.0–3.9 percentage points compared to the soil moisture without fertiliser. Strip tillage with the application of fertilisers with a gelling agent significantly increased the amount of water in the soil during the sowing period for winter and spring plants and reduced the CO 2 emissions from the soil relative to the conventional tillage without microgranular fertiliser. The biomass of maize, spring barley, and winter rape before flowering, as well as the yields of these plants, were higher when cultivated using strip-till and fertilisers with gelling agents than when ploughed with a mouldboard plough without the use of microgranulated fertilisers. This technology also increased the number of microorganisms, including bacteria, actinobacteria, and filamentous fungi in the soil after harvesting compared to the unfertilised, ploughed soil. Strip tillage and microgranulated fertilisers containing a gelling agent can thus reduce the environmental pressure exerted by agriculture and reduce the risk of climate change, as well as being a way of adapting agriculture to climate change.

Keywords: strip tillage; starter fertiliser; soil moisture; CO 2 emission; microorganisms; plant productivity (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/10/1981/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/10/1981/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:10:p:1981-:d:1258533

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().