Effects of management on relationships between corn,wheat, and soybean grain yields and field topography

Huang, X., A. Kravchenko, k. Thelen, and G.P. Robertson.

Presented at the All Scientist Poster Reception (2006-05-09 )

There is only limited information on how interaction between agronomic management and topography influences yield variability. The objective of this study is to analyze the effects of management practices on relationship between grain yields and field topography in corn-soybean-wheat rotation system. We used crop yield and topographic data collected from a one-factor randomized complete block design (RCBD) experiment with 6 replications at the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site in southwest Michigan. The strength and directions of the relationships between topographical features and crop yields varied among treatments and crops. Relative elevation was the topographical characteristic that significantly interacted with management practice in affecting crop yields. In particular, the differences in crop yields between managements with no or low chemical inputs and managements with regular chemical inputs were greater in areas with lower elevation than in areas with medium elevation. The possible reason is that nutrient supply from organic-based input favors depression area. Nutrients distribution is not heavily affected in conventional input system.

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