Cover - Explore On-Farm

Explore On-Farm

ON-FARM TRIALS FOR ADAPTING AND ADOPTING GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES
   
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 2003
   
 
Table of Contents

Cover photographs:
R. FAIDUTTI/FAO/19418
H. ZHANG/FAO/20046

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ISBN 92-5-105078-3

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© FAO 2003

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

List of authors

Preface

Constraints to cereal-based rainfed cropping in Mediterranean environments and methods to measure and minimize their effects

Crop growth and development
Growing season - understanding the environment of the region and farm
Harvesting and how to measure and use yield components
Measurements of water and how to estimate crop water use and water use efficiency
Diagnosing crop problems with WUE and HI
On-farm trials to identify and overcome yield constraints in a region
Adapting the guidelines
Field sheets. A guide to recording your observations

Why do any of your research on-farm?

When are local trials needed?
What is a trial?
Is a trial worth the effort?
About the design of your trial
Defining some characteristics of the farm
What to include in your trial
How to discuss the results when the trial is finished
Publishing results
Further reading

Optimizing variety x sowing date for the farm

Which farms could benefit from these trials?
The best variety
How are sowing date and anthesis date related? A model trial
Designing and doing your trial
Working with numbers in a trial
Further reading

Optimizing plant population, crop emergence and establishment

Which farms could benefit from these trials?
About establishing a wheat crop
A trial to work out optimum seed rate
Further reading

Suitable methods of tillage for the farm

Which farms would benefit from this tillage experiment?
Tillage practices: some background
The no-tillage option
Definitions used in this chapter
Issues to consider before deciding on the design of the trial
Designing and doing your trial to compare three tillage systems
Working with the results
The best tillage system for the farm
Further reading

Optimizing Nitrogen use on the farm

Which farms could benefit from these nitrogen trials?
Too little nitrogen and low yield
Too much nitrogen and haying-off
Balancing nitrogen to water availability
Crop management to maximize the benefit of supplementary nitrogen
Setting up a high yield potential by splitting N applications
Interpreting the effects of N fertilizer applied at sowing: A Case Study
Setting up your on-farm trials
Measurements during your study
When you have the numbers, how do you interpret them?
Some conclusions
Further reading

What is the best cropping sequence for the farm?

Which farms could benefit from these trials?
Terminology: sequences versus rotations
Background to cropping sequencing
What influences a crop’s response to preceding break crops?
How break crops alter wheat yield - an example case study
Your on-farm trial
Further reading

Back Cover


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