C I M M Y TMR International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center

Conservation Agriculture Adoption in Kazakhstan

Prof. M.Karabayev (CIMMYT) Dr.P.Wall (CIMMYT)

Dr.K.Sayre (CIMMYT) Dr.T.Friedrich (FAO)

Dr.T.Bachmann (FAO) Dr.A.Baitassov (CIMMYT) Dr.R.Zhapayev (CIMMYT)

Dr.N.Yushenko (NARS) Dr.A. Morgounnov (CIMMYT)

2011, Kathmandu, Nepal

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CIMMYT-Kazakhstan Program on Wheat Improvement

I. Wheat germplasm enhancement: Spring high latitude wheat and winter wheat breeding

II. Efficient soil and water management: Conservation Agriculture for wheat production and crop diversification III. Strengthening NARS capacity

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Average Wheat Yield, t/ha

< 2 2-2.5 2.5 -3 3-4 4-6 6-8 >8 < 1.5

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Wheat production and annual rainfall distribution

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250-300 mm, rainfed

250-300 mm, rainfed

250 mm, rainfed

350-400 mm, rainfed

300-350 mm, irrigated, rainfed

Wheat Growing Regions in Kazakhstan

The territory of Kazakhstan is of 270 mln ha. Ranks 9 place all over the world in the area extent. Around 20 mln ha is used for crop production, mainly for wheat – 14 mln ha

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Kazakhstan. Country Statistics

Rainfed Irrigated Wheat area, ha 14.1 mln 0.8 mln

Yield, t/ha 1.2 2.2

Major diseases Leaf rust, Stem rust, Septoriosis

Yellow rust, Leaf rust

Major abiotic stresses

Drought Low temperatures, Drought

Major varieties Omskaya 18, Pamyati Aziyeva, Akmola 2

Steklovidnaya 24, Almaly, Progress

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Wheat area and yield in Kazakhstan

Years Area, mln ha Yield, t/ha Up to 1990 14.1 1.00 1991-95 13.1 0.80 1996-2000 10.7 0.85 2001 10.7 1.18 2002 11.6 1.08 2003 11.3 1.02 2004 11.8 0.84 2005 12.6 0.87 2006 12.4 1.09 2007 13.7 1.07 2009 14.9 1.20 2010 14.9 1.02

Sources: MoA RK

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Ploughing up of the virgin lands in the mid of 1950s had led to the dramatic loss of soil fertility in Kazakhstan

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Conservation tillage practice developed in 1960s reduced soil erosion in Kazakhstan but failed to control it efficiently

Conventional Tillage Practices and Rotation :

• Multiple tillage trips with blades and sweeps, at 15-25 cm depth. • 3 years spring wheat, 1 year spring barley and 1 year summer fallow. • Most erosion occurs during the fallow period.

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Conservation Agriculture for Wheat Production in Kazakhstan

In the beginning of 2000s FAO, CIMMYT, MoA, NARS initiated large scale Conservation Agriculture activities in North Kazakhstan. Due to these efforts, the area under CA-based practices has been increasing from: 0 ha in 2001 to: 500,000 ha in 2007 1,200,000 ha in 2008 1,600,000 ha in 2011 with continued increases in area according to a recent assessment conducted by CIMMYT. The utilization of CA-based technologies has become an official state policy in agriculture in Kazakhstan. Since 2008, the government of Kazakhstan has been subsidizing farmers who are adopting CA-based technologies. With this Kazakhstan is now included among the top 10 countries with the largest areas under No-tillage in the world (Source: R.Derpsch & T.Friedrich. Global Overview of Conservation Agriculture Adoption, 2008, FAO)

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Key Locations of CA practices

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The local seeder SZS-2,1 with the Brazilian disk furrow openers and cutting discs

Direct seeders locally developed in Kazakhstan

CA equipment used in Kazakhstan

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CA equipment used in Kazakhstan

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CA equipment used in Kazakhstan

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Adoption of Conservation Agriculture in Northern Kazakhstan

CA for wheat production and crop diversification

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CA in Kazakhstan - the way to improve soil moisture storage in the field due to high stubble. Snow capturing differences between conventional and no-till technologies

Conventional

No-till

No-till

No-till

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GEF Small Grants Program (GEF/SGP) Spring wheat yield and yield components under no-till and traditional technologies, Akmola province, North Kazakhstan, 2007

CA for wheat production and crop diversification

Technology Yield, t/ha

Total tillering

Produc- tive tillering

Plant height, cm

Top inter-node length, cm

Length from flag leaf to spike, cm

Spike length, cm

N of spiklets per spike

N of grains in spike

N of grains in spiklet

No-till 1.83 2.2 1.8 84.1 43.4 30.4 6.9 12.4 22.5 1.8

Traditional 1.26 2.0 1.7 80.2 33.9 23.6 6.5 10.2 20.1 1.9

CIMMYT on-farm Trials and Demonstrations on Conservation Agriculture

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World Bank “Drylands Management Project” in Central Kazakhstan

The Project Component “Validation and Demonstration of New Technologies for Restoration of Degraded Lands and Forage Crop”

Objective:

Demonstration of different methods of sowing perennial and annual crops with low costs resulting in sustainable and profitable crop yields

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World Bank “Drylands Management Project”

To convert abandoned land…

…into perennial grassland

Chemical field treatment combined with direct sowing of crops is the most efficient way of land rehabilitation

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World Bank “Drylands Management Project”

The effect of abandoned land restoration methods on agropyron-sainfoin hay mix yields. Shetsky region, Central Kazakhstan, 2006-2007

Type of fallow (2005) Yield, t/ha 2006 2007 Total for 2

years Average for 2 years

Moldboard plow fallow, traditional seeding

0.88 1.23 2.11 1.06

Sweep tillage fallow, traditional seeding

0.78 1.32 2.10 1.05

Chemical fallow, direct seeding

0.97 1.47 2.44 1.22

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Winter Wheat in North Kazakhstan

The cold and severe climate of Northern Kazakhstan is not favorable for growing winter wheat. However, breeding wheat varieties adapted for these conditions, in combination with zero tillage technologies (including leaving the straw and crop residue on the field, direct sowing) can be a good alternative for wheat production and diversification in the northern parts of the country. In the recent years, the global climate change leads to softer winters, and the option to grow winter wheat in the Northern Kazakhstan is being more realistic and reachable objective.

Direct Seeded Winter Wheat. North Kazakhstan province. May, 2004

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Crop Rotation Alternatives. Diversification Canola Sunflowers Field Peas Lentils Chickpeas Buckwheat Winter Wheat Flax

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Conservation Agriculture for Irrigated Area of Kazakhstan and Central Asia

PERMANENT BEDS PLANTING SYSTEMS FOR CROP PRODUCTION IN CENTRAL ASIA

FAO-TIIM Project on CA, Tashkent province, Uzbekistan, 2005-2006

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Direct seeding of winter wheat into cotton. Autumn

CA practices for irrigated agricultural systems

Direct seeded winter wheat into cotton. Spring

# Technology Number of rows Yield, t/ha

1 Conventional Continuous/dense 3.1

2 No-till direct seeding

8 rows on the beds

4.0

3 No-till direct seeding

4 rows on the beds

4.5

Average yields of conventionally and directly seeded winter wheat into cotton. Tashkent province, Uzbekistan, 2005-2006

FAO-TIIM Project on CA, Tashkent province, Uzbekistan, 2005-2006

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CA practices for irrigated agricultural systems. South Kazakhstan, 2005 -2007

Locally developed direct seeder for bed-planting

Direct seeded winter wheat on permanent beds

Direct seeded wheat on permanent beds

Direct seeded soybean on permanent beds

CA technologies enable to grow two crops in one year in South Kazakhstan!

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Тechnological operations Conventional technology: 1 Dehulling of stubbles 2. Application of fertilizers 3. Moldboard ploughing 4. Grinding 5. Cutting of irrigating

furrows 6. Irrigation 7. Pre-seeding soil treatment 8. Sowing 9. Rolling 10. Early-spring dressing by nitrogen fertilizer 11. Harrowing 12. Herbicides application 13. Cutting of irrigation networks 14. Irrigation 15. Closing of irrigation networks 16. Harvesting

Bed-planting: 1. Ploughing 2. Levelling 3. Crop seeding with cutting of furrows 4. Irrigation 5. Early-spring fertilizing 6. Herbicides application 7. Irrigation 8. Harvesting

Permanent bed-planting: 1. Direct seeding with fertilizer

application 2. Irrigation 3. Early-spring extra dressing

by fertilizer 4. Herbicides application 5. Irrigation 6. Harvesting

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Economic efficiency of crops production under conventional and direct seeding technologies. Irrigated system, South Kazakhstan, 2004-2007

Crop Technology Yield, t/ha

Grain costs,

$ USD/ha

Expenses, $USD/ha

Net profit, $USD/ha

Prime cost,

$USD/t Winter wheat

Conven-tional

4.6 1160 356.7 803.3 77.5

Direct seeding

4.6 1148 164.2 983.3 35.0

Maize Conven-tional

10.0 1672 634.2 1037.5 63.3

Direct seeding

13.7 2283 237.5 2045.8 16.7

Soy-bean

Conven-tional

2.7 1138 603.3 534.2 216.7

Direct seeding

3.1 1296 228.3 1067.5 73.3

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Crops lands areas under different technologies in Kazakhstan (World Bank & Kazakhstan “Agricultural Competitiveness Project”,

CIMMYT-Kaz subproject “CA areas assessment in North Kazakhstan”, 2011-2012)

Techno-logy

Area, mln ha Operations

2007 2008 2011

Conven-tional

13.7 11.6 8.5 Multiple tillage trips with blades and sweeps, (mostly monocropping system)

Minimal-tillage

4.6 6.2 8.9 Direct seeding with V-shaped openers or with narrow chisels regularly combined with shallow harrowing/cultivation, (few diversification)

No-tillage 0.6 1.2

1.6 Direct seeding with narrow chisels or double discs openers (diversification)

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International traveling seminars on Conservation Agriculture. 2008-2011, Central, North, North-West, South, South-West Kazakhstan

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Field Day at “Svetlana” Farm. 20 May, 2010

Meeting with Dr. Pannkuk, WSU. 28 May, 2010

Field Day at Bereke Farm. 29 June, 2010

Meeting with farmers. 27 July, 2010

Field Days, Seminars, Meetings…

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Conservation Agriculture for wheat production and crop diversification

Main issues to be addressed:

Weed control. This is one of the major issues that needs further research. Options for weed control with different weed spectra and these different conditions must be available. Crop rotations. The development and adoption of functional and economic crop rotations and the general diversification of the production system remain as a big challenge to the successful development of CA in Kazakhstan. Fertilization strategies. New recommendations based on extensive and thorough research of fertilization aspects, balance and dynamics of mineral nutrients in soil under CA need to be developed. Training and awareness. There is still a need for much effort in farmer and researcher awareness and training

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Country Страна

Area under No-tillage (ha) 2007/2008 Площади под нулевыми технологиями (га) 2007-08

1 USA 26.593.000 2 BRAZIL 25.502.000 3 ARGENTINA 19.719.000 4 CANADA 13.481.000 5 AUSTRALIA 12.000.000 6 PARAGUAY 2.400.000 7 CHINA 1.330.000 8 KAZAKHSTAN 1.200.000 9 BOLIVIA 706.000 10 URUGUAY 672.000 11 SPAIN 650.000 12 SOUTH AFRICA 368.000 13 VENEZUELA 300.000 14 FRANCE 200.000 15 FINLAND 200.000 16 CHILE 180.000 17 NEW ZEALAND 162.000 18 COLOMBIA 100.000 19 UKRAINE 100.000 20 RUSSIA ? Others (Estimate) Остальные 1.000.000 Total Всего 105.863.000

Source: Derpsch, R. and Friedrich, T., 2008

General overview of Conservation Agriculture/No-tillage adoption Распространение нулевой технологии в мире

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DUST STORM. North Kazakhstan, 2007, 2009.

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