Rye Production under Acid Soils and Drought Conditions: An Alternative for the Sustainability of High Andean Livestock Farming in Peru

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

line 82: why treatment 1 has different N level (50) from the other treatments

line 148: please mention the variables that did not follow normal distribution so it needs Kruskal-Wallis test 

because the assumption that define our use of parametric or non parametric analysis is the normality test not the nature of the variable

because some discrete variables may follow normal distribution and some continuous variables may not follow normal distribution.

table 2: please provide explanation of cal(calcium)

table 3:  I think there is a problem in the statistical analysis in table 3, the use of Kruskal-Wallis test is not appropriate because Plant height,  GreenForage, DM ,Biomass, and Hay are following normal distribution so parametric analysis such as ANOVA should be used. Density and Tillers# may not follow normal distribution

and if so they need transformation. the problem is clear in the parameter "GreenForage" where no significant difference 

was found between 32.35 t/ha for CJS-001 and 53.62 t/ha for CBI-001 (it is not logic to have such difference without significancy). the other reason that may cause the same problem is the noise data where the replicates are very dispersed or not close enough to each other but here this is not the case because standard error (SE) is representing about 8% of the grand mean and this is acceptable. So, the problem came from use of unsuitable statistical test such as the non parametric Kruskal-Wallis test.

tables 3 and 4: use standard error for each treatment not single value for each parameter.

caption of figure 2:please use superscript in ha-1

table 4: it would be helpful to include the p value of the interaction in the table

tables 4,5, and 6 use superscript of the significance letters

 

line 24: please provide a reference

line 31: I think this sentence may be written as : its forage production came from several cuts after sowing

line 38: please write t ha-1 after 2.9-5.2 and its prefer to say grain not seed

line 45: please write were added not are added

line 48: please write were achieved not are achieved

line 53: please write it achieved not it achieves

line 58: please use superscript in ha-1

line 62: please write of the rye not in the rye

line 62-64: please rewrite the sentence before the reference number [28] to be more clear

line 68: delete the word above as you mention 3000 masl because masl include abbreviation of the word above

line 104: please write were carried not was carried

line 105: please write p of pH in small letter

line 110: please delete the word needs as you mention it in the line 109

line 181: please use superscript in ha-1

line 187: use the word between when comparing two things and use among when comparing more than two things

line 212: close the brackets of Table 2

line 238 and 239: use superscript for K+ and Ca2+

Author Response

Comments are welcome.
The corrections are in the attached document. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The study presented in the manuscript explores the potential of rye (Secale cereale L.) cultivation as a means to enhance the sustainability of high Andean livestock farming in Peru. The authors investigate the production of green forage, hay, and grain from rye crops grown in acid soils, focusing on four local rye ecotypes (CBI-001, CSM-001, CJS-001, and CCE-001). The effects of phosphorus and potassium fertilization at varying levels on crop performance are also examined. Overall, the study provides valuable insights into the suitability of rye as a dual-purpose crop under challenging agroclimatic conditions.

The manuscript reports significant findings regarding the yield and nutritional composition of rye crops grown in acid soils. The results indicate that the green forage yield (FV) ranged from 32.35 to 53.62 t ha-1, dry matter from 6.05 to 8.56 t ha-1, and hay from 7.0 to 10.36 t ha-1. The nutritional levels of protein and ash content varied between 9.02% and 13.56% and between 6.50% and 7.75%, respectively. It is noteworthy that these variations were observed among the different rye ecotypes, highlighting the importance of ecotype selection in acid soil conditions (p<0.05).

The manuscript also examines the influence of fertilization levels on various parameters, such as the number of stems per plant, flowering stems per plant, and grains per ear. The authors find no significant differences between fertilization levels for these parameters (p>0.05). However, it is important to note that the ecotypes CBI-001 and CCE-001 exhibited superior grain yields of 1868.4 kg ha-1 and 1797.8 kg ha-1, respectively (p=0.0072). This finding suggests that the use of 60 kg ha-1 of Nitrogen, 120 kg ha-1 of P2O5, and 80 kg ha-1 of K2O can enhance grain and residue yields.

The manuscript concludes that rye cultivation in acid soils without irrigation can be a viable alternative for livestock feeding and grain production during the rainy season in the Andes. This dual-purpose crop offers high nutritional value and yield, making it a promising option for sustainable high Andean livestock farming.

In general, the study is well-conducted, provides valuable insights into rye production under challenging agroclimatic conditions, and presents important findings and contributes to the understanding of rye production in acid soils and drought conditions. Therefore I recommend the manuscript for publication after some minor revisions that would further improve the manuscript.

For instance, consider including the nutritional requirements of livestock and how the rye crop meets these requirements in the introduction or discussion.

Change 'to collaborate in the sustainability' to 'to contribute to the sustainability' in the abstract.

In the abstract, '..hay, and grain of the rye crop' should be revised to '..hay, and grain from the rye crop'.

..of P2O5, and 80 kg

…tems per plant, flowering stems

The value -1 should be superscripted in ha-1 throughout the text

The letter of significance (p) should be italicized throughout the text.

Discussion

Line 257

..as the four ecotypes have their own productive…

Line 258…composition and grain yield, demonstrating…

Line 260-261…for the above mentioned, it can be said that dual-purpose rye can…

 

These are simply a few instances of grammatical problems. Indeed, the entire work has some grammatical and structural errors. That's because a native speaker should review the entire work. 

The entire work has some grammatical and structural errors. That's because a native speaker should review the entire work. 

Author Response

Comments are welcome.
The corrections are in the attached document. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf