Conservation Tillage

Abstract

Conservation production systems combine tillage and planting practices to reduce soil erosion and loss of water from farmland. Successful conservation tillage practices depend on the ability of farm managers to integrate sound crop production practices with effective pest management systems. More scientific information is needed to determine the relations between tillage practices and physical, chemical, and biological soil factors that affect plant and pest ecology. There is a need to devise improved pest management strategies for conservation tillage and to better understand the impact of conservation tillage on water-quality, especially as it is related to use of agricultural chemicals. While savings in fuel, labor, and soil have induced many farmers to adopt conservation tillage, improved methods and equipment should increase adoption even more.

Tillage management effects on pesticide fate in soils. A review

“…The main objective of conservation tillage is to reduce runoff and soil erosion (Gebhardt et al, 1985).…”

Temporal and spatial variability of soil bulk density and near-saturated hydraulic conductivity under two contrasted tillage management systems

“…Generally, under tillage systems that include ploughing, which are conventional in Europe, the hydraulic conductivity (K) increases on tillage events and then decreases during the growing season due to the settling of the soil structure created by tillage (Angulo-Jaramillo et al, 1997;Azevedo et al, 1998;Bormann and Klaassen, 2008). Coquet et al (2005) showed that tillage, especially ploughing, creates macroporosity that temporarily increases saturated and near-saturated K. Under conservation practices, defined as those practices that keep at least 30% of the soil surface covered with residues (Gebhardt et al, 1985), soil disturbance by tillage is minimized but the structure of the surface soil is affected by the presence of organic residues which can enhance infiltration rates (Findeling et al, 2003). Crop residues absorb rainfall energy and prevent soil surface from crusting or sealing (Blevins and Frye, 1993;Baumhardt and Lascano, 1996), the splash effect of rain is reduced and aggregate stability is generally improved (Mamedov et al, 2000;Six et al, 2000;Baumhardt et al, 2004;Pinheiro et al, 2004).…”

Reverting Conservation Reserve Program Lands to Wheat and Livestock Production: Effects on Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Assemblages

“…Deep tillage of the soil, as is done with conventional methods, removes 2::70% of all vegetative residue from the ground surface, and consequently disrupts the life cycles of many species. Conservation tillage practices leave 2::30% plant residue on the soil surface after planting (Gebhardt et al 1985). One conservation practice is no tillage, which leaves 2::60% of plant residue on the soil surface after planting.…”