What improvements to crop varieties can be made to ensure that emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture and horticulture are significantly reduced?
The update technology is the use of electric tractors in Turkey
Breeding provides opportunities to reduce emissions through genetic improvements for new varieties with characteristics that mitigate climate change.
Such characteristics suggested for the sustainability of new varieties and their mitigations of the impacts on climate change include:
1. Early Vigour: Allows the crop to establish quickly, reducing competition from weeds and the need for herbicides (CO2). 2. Adaptation to later sowing: Greater flexibility of sowing allows weeds to be removed by cultivation prior to sowing (CO2). 3. Plant competitive ability: The ability to out-compete weeds for light, water & nutrients; less need for fertilizer or herbicides (N2O & CO2). 4. Fungal resistance: Reduce the need for fungicides (CO2). 5. Pest resistance: Reduce the need for pesticides (CO2). 6. 10% increase in yield: Help combat decreasing arable land available against an increasing world population, less need for fertilizer (CO2 and N2O). 7. Total aerial mass: The ability to smother weeds, reducing herbicide application (CO2). 8. Straw stiffness: Strong straw prevents lodging (CO2). 9. Sprouting and spreading resistance: Reduces the waste within the crop both pre and post-harvesting. 10. Reduced N requirement: Reduce the need for artificial fertilizer (CO2 and N2O). 11. Better efficiency of N: Crop is able to utilize more of the available N (N2O). 12. Uniform maturity: Shortens the harvesting window, allows more effective uptake of targeted inputs (N2O). 13. Drought resistance: Reduce irrigation needs and allows crops to be grown in more arid areas.
Prosser, H., Bowes, J., Thomas, B., Stebbings, K., Skates, J., LEROUX, C., Williams, S., Bevan, D. and Davies, V., 2008. Climate Change and Agriculture. Options for Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agricultural Activity in Wales.
https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-01/options-to-mitigate-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-agricultural-activity.pdf
In terms of the carbon signatures of our agriculture for our cereal grains nitrogen can be source of slightly over one half of that total.
Tillage is another big input and the use of reduced tillage systems are in order
Precision agriculture can be used to only apply an input where it is needed.
Rotation can greatly reduce nitrogen use for instance the use of soybean will maize will reduce the nitrogen use by half by using biological nitrogen from the soybean rotation.
When the farming system is measured on both the carbon foot print and also sequestration more opportunities is presented.
Ideally the system of measuring the soil state and practices can be basis of carbon credits which will help the environment economy and climate.
The industrial truth that what ever is measured can be improved is something we need to strive for.
For this consciousness we need more education and extension to our agricultural communites.
In terms of new varieties for the global warming environment drought and heat tolerance are needed.
In addition enhanced complex genetics to address the ability tolerate pests and diseases.
The defensive base of the plant is related to rooting and the architecture of plants should more rooted less super dwarfed and varieties might even be looked at that can sequester better.
A crop like sorghum can bred for ratooning and pernnial nature rather than for single harvest.
Lots of opportunites.
Many techniques can be mentioned; avoid any operations using fuel as energy source, be selective to promote vegetables or ornamental plant varieties with high CO2 sequestration, etc.
Thank you!
Cultivation of crops through conservation agriculture may reduce the green house gases. More over in rice field lots of green house gases are produced therefore if drip irrigation can be provided then the consequences of flooded condition may be reduced.
Sowing leguminous species on arable land would improve the fertility of the farm's agro-system. For cereal crops, this can be done by sowing protein crops.
Maybe hehe
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