Sustainability and productivity of different crop sequences under two technological management practices in the Pampean Region of Argentina

• Autores: Silvina Ines Golik, Adriana Mabel Chamorro, Rodolfo Bezus, Andrea E. Pellegrini, María Constanza Fleitas, Axel Iván Voisin
• Localización: Chilean Journal of Agricultural & Animal Sciences, ISSN-e 0719-3890, ISSN 0719-3882, Vol. 38, Nº. 1, 2022, págs. 26-42
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • According to FAO estimates, global food production needs to increase by 60% to feed the world's population in 2050. This increasing demand for food has led to agricultural intensification, which has strongly affected the structure and function of agroecosystems. The objective of this study was to evaluate productivity and sustainability of different crop sequences based on different indicators under two technological management practices (medium and high levels) in the Pampean Region, Argentina. The following indicators were evaluated: balances of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), carbon (C), and water use efficiency (WUE). Canola/ soybean (late-sown)-corn-sorghum-wheat was the sequence with the highest annual mean values of productivity (234 GJ ha-1), C balance (923 kg ha-1), and water use efficiency (9.60 kg ha-1 mm-1). However, it recorded the lowest negative annual balances of N (-138 kg ha-1) and P (-20 kg ha-1). Oat/soybean (late-sown)-corn-sunflower sequence had the lowest annual nutrient extractions, and thus the least negative annual nutrient balances of N (-81.75 kg ha-1) and P (-8.67 kg ha-1), also recording the lowest annual productivity (172 GJ ha-1) and WUE (7.99 kg ha-1 mm-1). Barley/soybean (late-sown)-corn-soybean- wheat and wheat/soybean (late-sown)-corn-soybean-wheat sequences had high productivity and contributed C to the soil, but they also caused high nutrient extraction. High technological level resulted in higher levels of productivity (194 GJ ha-1), balance of C (602 kg ha-1), N (-97.5 kg ha-1) and P (13.7 kg ha-1), as well as increased water use efficiency (8.95 kg ha-1 mm-1) compared to the medium technological level. The increasing demand for food and the search for resilient agricultural practices that combine productive and ecological aspects highlight the importance of diversified production based on indicators, allowing for sustainable food production systems.