Effects of Conservation Tillage on Soil Physicochemical Properties and Crop Yield in an Arid Loess Plateau, China.

Conservation tillage can improve soil physical structure and water storage, protect moisture, and increase crop yield. However, the long-term adoption of a single tillage method may have some adverse effects on soil and ecological environment, although crop yields have increased. Through informed allocation of soil tillage techniques, the combination and configuration of soil tillage measures, such as rotary tillage, subsoiling, and no tillage may reduce the shortcomings of traditional long-term farming.

[Evaluation of nitrogen loss way in summer maize system under different fertilizer N managements].

The objective of this study was to investigate nitrogen (N) loss from soil-crop systems under different fertilizer N managements, and to provide some suggestions on optimizing fertilizer management practices. The experiment was carried in high yield production area of Huantai county in Shandong province in 2009. Four kinds of fertilizer N application practices were designed, including CK, farmer practice (FP), optimizing fertilizer application (OPT) and controlled release fertilizer (CRT) for studying the fate of N during the maize growth season in 2009.