Journal of Agricultural Science and Food Research
Open Access

Crop Management Peer Review Journals

Crop management begins with the sowing of seeds, continues with crop maintenance during growth and development, and ends with crop harvest, storage, and distribution (Tivy, 1990). During seed sowing, a mechanized planter often opens a furrow in the prepared soil seed bed, places the seed in the exposed moist soil, covers the planted seed, and then often packs the soil down to assure firm seed-soil contact. In no-till systems, the crop is planted (“drilled”) directly into the soil through residue from the previous crop.Soil fertilization is an essential component of crop management to assure nutritional sufficiency for plant growth. The selection of type, amount, timing, and method of fertilizer application is determined by a variety of considerations including the crop type, the nature of the fertilizer, soil conditions, and weather. A generalized listing of common fertilizer applications follows (after Briggs and Courtney, 1985): (1) broadcast [application of fertilizer (often pelletized) to the soil surface before the crop emerges]; (2) plowing in (application of fertilizer to the surface followed by mixing into the topsoil by plowing); (3) sideband (fertilizer application in bands adjacent to the seed); (4) contact placement (fertilizer application in direct contact with the seed); (5) side-dressing (fertilizer placement in narrow rows at the surface after crop emergence); and (6) top-dressing (general application of fertilizer to the crop after emergence).