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Green Manure/Cover Crops and Crop Rotation in Conservation Agriculture on Small Farms Green Manure/Cover Crops and Crop Rotation

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Green Manure/Cover Crops and Crop Rotation in Conservation Agriculture on Small Farms Green Manure/Cover Crops and Crop Rotation ISSN 1020-4555 Green manure/cover crops and crop rotation in Conservation Agriculture on small farms 12 I n t e g r a t e d C r o p M a n a g e m e n t Vol. 12– 2010 Green manure/cover crops and crop rotation in the no-tillage system on small farms Green manure/cover crops and crop rotation in Conservation Agriculture on small farms FAO in Conservation Agriculture rotation and crop crops manure/cover Green TheThe objectiveobjective ofof thisthis publicationpublication isis toto offeroffer aa referencereference materialmaterial forfor extensionists,extensionists, professors,professors, agronomyagronomy students,students, technicianstechnicians inin GreenGreen manure/covermanure/cover cropscrops andand cropcrop general,general, andand forfor farmersfarmers themselves.themselves. ThroughThrough informationinformation thatthat isis up-to-dateup-to-date andand richlyrichly illustrated,illustrated, itit strivesstrives toto facilitatefacilitate thethe rotationrotation inin ConservationConservation AgricultureAgriculture adoptionadoption andand diffusiondiffusion ofof No-Tillage,No-Tillage, thethe useuse ofof greengreen manures,manures, andand thethe practicepractice ofof cropcrop rotationrotation onon smallsmall farms.farms. onon smallsmall farmsfarms TheThe publicationpublication describesdescribes thethe principalprincipal speciesspecies ofof greengreen manuresmanures and,and, atat thethe samesame time,time, informsinforms inin detaildetail howhow toto insertinsert greengreen manuresmanures intointo smallsmall farmfarm productionproduction systemssystems accordingaccording toto soilsoil fertilityfertility andand majormajor crops.crops. ItIt alsoalso dealsdeals withwith thethe residualresidual effecteffect ofof greengreen manuresmanures onon mainmain cropscrops andand analyzesanalyzes thethe economiceconomic implicationsimplications ofof thesethese practices.practices. ISBN 978-92-5-106839-7 ISSN 1020-4555 9 7 8 9 2 5 1 0 6 8 3 9 7 I2160E/1/04.11 Integrated Crop Management Vol.12-2010 GREEN MANURE/COVER CROPS AND CROP ROTATION IN CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE ON SMALL FARMS Miguel Angel Florentín Marcos Peñalva Ademir Calegari Rolf Derpsch Translated by Melissa J. McDonald PLANT PRODUCTION AND PROTECTION DIVISION FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2011 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-106856-4 All rights reserved. FAO encourages reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Non-commercial uses will be authorized free of charge, upon request. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes, including educational purposes, may incur fees. Applications for permission to reproduce or disseminate FAO copyright materials, and all other queries on rights and licences, should be addressed by e-mail to [email protected] or to the Chief, Publishing Policy and Support Branch, Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and Extension, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy. © FAO 2011 PROLOGUE This publication is the result of activities developed within the framework of the “Soil Conservation Project MAG – GTZ”, implemented from 1993 to 2001. The executing institutions of the Soil Conservation Project were the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) of the Republic of Paraguay and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). The Spanish original has been published in Paraguay by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) of the Republic of Paraguay, the Directions of Agrarian Research and Extension (DIA/DEAG) and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). The present English version has been translated by Melissa J. McDonald under the review of the original authors and is published in the FAO-AGP integrated crop management series. The information utilized in this work is based on research done principally at the Choré Experimental Station of the Direction of Agricultural Research (DIA/MAG). Also used are experiences developed in pilot areas, especially in Paraguarí, Edelira, Minga Guazú, Caaguazú, Guairá, Caazapá, and San Pedro, among others. Diffusion and extension activities were carried out through the Direction of Agrarian Extension (DEAG), cooperatives, farmers’ associations, self-help groups, etc. The objective of this publication is to offer a reference material for extensionists, professors, agronomy students, technicians in general, and for farmers themselves. Through information that is up-to-date and richly illustrated, it strives to facilitate the adoption and diffusion of No-Tillage, the use of green manures, and the practice of crop rotation on small farms. The wealth of this work is that it brings together the experiences of farmers, extensionists, and researchers in a way that is simple, understandable, and practical. It describes the principal species of green manures and, at the same time, informs in detail how to insert green manures into small farm production systems according to soil fertility and major crops. It also deals with the residual effect of green manures on main crops and analyzes the economic implications of these practices. Furthermore, it describes the results obtained in the recuperation of extremely degraded soils. Finally, this work strives to show the way to achieve an agriculture that is more productive, profitable, competitive, and sustainable, with the objective of improving the quality of life of rural families. Rolf Derpsch Ken Moriya Principal Advisor, GTZ National Counterpart Soil Conservation Project MAG – GTZ San Lorenzo, Paraguay, 2001 Vol. 12–2010 iii GREEN MANURE/COVER CROPS AND CROP ROTATION IN Conservation Agriculture ON SMALL FARMS In this publication, the terms “green manure” and “cover crop” are used as synonyms. In Conservation Agriculture, the residues of green manure/cover crops (GMCCs) are always left on the soil surface, and are incorporated biologically rather than with tillage implements. Conservation Agriculture, with the use of green manure/cover crops and crop rotation, is the way to achieve agricultural sustainability on small farms. iv Integrated Crop Management CONTENTS CONTENTS ii Prologue CHAPTER 1 1 Introduction CHAPTER 2 3 Characterizacion of agricultural systems on small farms in paraguay according to climate and soils CHAPTER 3 9 Green manure/cover crops (GMCCS) 9 Objectives and benefits of green manure/cover crops 10 Importance of green manure/cover crops in small farm systems 10 Soil cover 13 Maintenance and/or accumulation of organic matter 14 Addition of nitrogen (biological fixation) and nutrient recycling 15 Weed control 17 Increase and maintenance of crop productivity and decrease in production costs 18 General qualifications that should be met by green manure/cover crops 19 Species of green manure/cover crops most adapted to small farming systems 19 Spring-Summer Species 34 Fall-winter species 45 Summary of characteristics and recommendations for use of green manure/cover crops on small farms 45 Association (mixtures) of green manure/cover crops 55 Ways to include green manure/cover crops in small farm production systems 55 Green manure/cover crops (GMCCs) associated with annual crops 57 Green manure/cover crops (GMCCs) in succession with annual crops 58 Green manure/cover crops (GMCCs) in association with perennial crops 59 Use of perennial and semi-perennial green manure/cover crops (GMCCs) to recuperate degraded soils Vol. 12–2010 v GREEN MANURE/COVER CROPS AND CROP ROTATION IN Conservation Agriculture ON SMALL FARMS 60 Alternative uses for green manure/cover crops 60 Animal and human nutrition 62 In beekeeping 63 Utilization for firewood 63 Residual effects of green manure/cover crops on main crops 64 Residual fertilizer effect of green manures on cotton 66 Residual fertilizer effect of green manures on corn 68 Residual fertilizer effect of green manures on tobacco 68 Residual fertilizer effect of green manures on cassava CHAPTER 4 71 Crop rotation 71 General considerations 72 Advantages of crop rotation 73 Aspects to take into account in order to establish crop rotations 74 Proposed production systems with crop rotations 74 Crop rotation in Conservation Agriculture for soils of moderate fertility 78 Crop rotation in Conservation Agriculture to recuperate extremely degraded soils 84 Other proposals CHAPTER 5 87 Advances and obstacles in the adoption of Conservation Agriculture on small farms 93 Annex 95 References vi Integrated Crop Management ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG in Spanish) and its Directions of Agrarian Extension (DEAG) and Agricultural Research (DIA), as well as the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), institutions that made this publication possible. We would especially like to thank the farmers who collaborated with their work on farms where experiments and demonstration plots were installed,
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