Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica. Section B, Soil and Plant Science (Jan 2018)

Relationship between spring barley productivity and growing management in Lithuania’s lowland

  • Virmantas Povilaitis,
  • Sigitas Lazauskas,
  • Šarūnas Antanaitis,
  • Dalia Feizienė,
  • Virginijus Feiza,
  • Vita Tilvikienė

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2017.1367834
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 68, no. 1
pp. 86 – 95

Abstract

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Purpose: The current study was aimed to analyse the occurrence of water and nitrogen stress in spring barley and estimate their effects on the crop performance under low-input and conventional management. Materials and methods: Field experiments were conducted during 2007–2009 at the Institute of Agriculture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry on a sandy-loam soil. The management systems were: (a) conventional, with the application of fertilizers and pesticides adjusted to target 5 t ha−1 grain yield; and (b) low-input, without fertilizers and pesticides. Biomass and nitrogen concentration, leaf area index, soil moisture, drainage water runoff and ground water table were measured periodically during the growing season. Results: In all three experimental years, the annual precipitation was close or above the climate normal, but a large part of the rainfall (up to 310 mm) was lost through drainage contributing to the occurrence of temporary moisture deficit in late spring or summer. Water stress resulted in a lower spring barley biomass accumulation rate and lower biomass yield in the years characterized by sub-optimal rainfall distribution. Direct measurements of water retention in the soil and DSSAT model simulations gave relatively good indication of water stress occurrence. Under the low-input management, nitrogen nutrition level was a major constraint for spring barley biomass and grain yield formation. Conclusions: Under Central Lithuania’s conditions, spring barley frequently experiences temporary water stress, because a relatively high proportion of annual precipitation is lost during the non-growing period. This crop can benefit from anticipated increased precipitation and carbon dioxide levels if adequately provided with nitrogen.

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