Trends in soil organic carbon (SOC) were analyzed in the soils from the oldest Czech long-term field experiment, the Prague-Ruzyně Long-Term Fertilizer Experiment, conducted on Haplic Luvisol since 1955. The aim of the work was to compare the long-term dynamics of SOC in contrasting crop rotations and different fertilization regimes. The trial design includes two crop rotations (CR): simple CR with two-year rotation of sugar beet and spring wheat, and multi-crop rotation (MCR) with nine crops. Four fertilization treatments were chosen for SOC analysis: unfertilized control, only mineral fertilization (NPK), farmyard manure application (FYM), as well as FYM and NPK application. SOC content was significantly affected by both fertilization and crop rotation practices. In the simple CR, both the unfertilized control and the NPK treatment exhibited a consistent decline in SOC content over the study period, with percentages decreasing from an initial 1.33% in 1955 to 1.15% and 1.14%, respectively. Although the FYM and FYM + NPK treatments showed an increase in SOC content in the 1990s, a gradual decline was recorded in the last two decades. This decrease was not observed in MCR: positive C balances were recorded in all treatments within MCR, with the largest increase in SOC stock occurring when NPK was combined with FYM. In contrast, over the last decade, C balances have decreased in simple CR for all treatments except FYM. This trend coincides with changes in the local climate, particularly rising temperatures. The results indicate that diversified crop rotations and FYM fertilization are effective in mitigating the negative impacts of changing environmental conditions on SOC stocks.

After 1989, the use of potassium (K) mineral fertilizers in the Czech Republic dropped from ∼55 kg K ha⁻¹ to a mean rate of ∼6.5 kg in the last decade. In order to test alternative solutions for K fertilization, the trioctahedral mica mineral zinnwaldite (8% K), orthoclase (10% K) and waste mica from Cínovec (Krušné Hory Mts/Erzgebirge, Czech Republic), consisting primarily of zinnwaldite, were applied as the only K sources for spring barley. The minerals were treated in three different types of high-energy mills under different working conditions. Application rates in the range 139–820 mg K kg⁻¹ were tested in quartz sand cultures. In all treatments, plant growth, total plant biomass and the K content in the plant tissues increased in the order zinnwaldite > waste mica > orthoclase. K fractionation and K plant uptake were significantly influenced by the milling method used. The effect of 195 mg K kg⁻¹ as zinnwaldite on K uptake from K-depleted soils was positive; however, it was smaller than in sand cultures because of the relatively high content of non-exchangeable K in the soils. Direct use of waste mica as a K fertilizer is limited by the increased fluorine and heavy metal content.

Effects of selective herbicide treatment on weed community in cereal crop rotation | Markéta Mayerová, Jan Mikulka, Josef Soukup | Agricultural Journals

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