Book ChapterDOI
Conservation agriculture, improving soil quality for sustainable production systems?
Nele Verhulst,Bram Govaerts,Els Verachtert,A. Castellanos-Navarrete,Monica Mezzalama,Patrick C. Wall,A. Chocobar,Jozef Deckers,Ken D. Sayre +8 more
- pp 137-208
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TLDR
In this article, a comparative soil quality evaluation is performed in which the performance of the system is determined in relation to alternatives, and the results show that the effect of a reduction in tillage on the variation in total porosity with depth may be related to differences in traffic on different sites, or on soil quality at the time tillage was reduced or stopped.Abstract:
Conservation agriculture has been proposed as a widely adapted set of management principles that can assure more sustainable agricultural production. Conservation agriculture removes the emphasis from the tillage component alone and addresses a more enhanced concept of the complete agricultural system. Applying conservation agriculture essentially means altering literally generations of traditional farming practices and implement use. Within the framework of agricultural production, high soil quality equates to the ability of the soil to maintain a high productivity without significant soil or environmental degradation. A comparative soil quality evaluation is one in which the performance of the system is determined in relation to alternatives. Inconsistent effects of a reduction in tillage on the variation in total porosity with depth may be related to differences in traffic on different sites, or on soil quality at the time tillage was reduced or stopped.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Conservation agriculture and ecosystem services: An overview
TL;DR: The potential and limitations of conservation agriculture for low productivity, small-scale farming systems in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia is discussed in this article. But, the authors highlight some research priorities for ecosystem services in conservational agriculture.
Journal ArticleDOI
Limited potential of no-till agriculture for climate change mitigation
David S. Powlson,Clare M. Stirling,Mangi L. Jat,Bruno Gérard,Cheryl A. Palm,Pedro A. Sanchez,Kenneth G. Cassman +6 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the potential for climate change mitigation through soil carbon sequestration that is possible from a change to no-till agriculture has been widely overstated, arguing that the potential of climate adaptation through carbon sequestering is limited.
Journal ArticleDOI
When does no-till yield more? A global meta-analysis
Cameron M. Pittelkow,Bruce A. Linquist,Mark E. Lundy,X. Q. Liang,Kees Jan van Groenigen,Juhwan Lee,Natasja van Gestel,Johan Six,Rodney T. Venterea,Rodney T. Venterea,Chris van Kessel +10 more
TL;DR: The authors conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the influence of various crop and environmental variables on no-till relative to conventional tillage yields using data obtained from peer-reviewed publications (678 studies with 6005 paired observations, representing 50 crops and 63 countries).
Journal ArticleDOI
Achieving yield gains in wheat.
Matthew P. Reynolds,John Foulkes,Robert T. Furbank,Simon Griffiths,Julie King,Erik H. Murchie,Martin A. J. Parry,Gustavo A. Slafer +7 more
TL;DR: Crop development should favour spike fertility to maximize harvest index so phenology must be tailored to different photoperiods, and sensitivity to unpredictable weather must be modulated to reduce conservative responses that reduce harvest index.
Journal ArticleDOI
Crop residue management and soil health: A systems analysis
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed crop residue management practices, mainly surface retention, incorporation or removal, describing their advantages and limitations in cereal-based agroecosystems in developing countries.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Decline in root rot (Rhizoctonia solani AG-8) in wheat in a tillage and rotation experiment at Avon, South Australia
TL;DR: Studies of a tillage x rotation field experiment begun in 1978 at Avon, South Australia, have demonstrated a decline in rhizoctonia root rot of wheat, although there were significant differences in root damage and patch area between rotations.
Journal ArticleDOI
Earthworm community response to tillage and residue management on different soil types in southern Finland
TL;DR: In this article, a factorial experiment was conducted in which spring cereals were grown in autumn mouldboard ploughed, autumn stubble cultivated and spring stubble planted soils where straw residue was either chopped and left or removed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Effect of tillage and stubble management on chemical and microbiological properties and the development of suppression towards cereal root disease in soils from two sites in NSW, Australia
TL;DR: The results showed that the DD practice augmented a build-up of organic C and microbial biomass in the surface soil and increased its suppressiveness towards two introduced fungal pathogens.
Journal ArticleDOI
Diseases under conservation tillage systems
TL;DR: Disease and yield loss were higher with monoculture than with more diverse rotations, and some crops may pose a greater risk to succeeding susceptible crops that share common disease problems, such as Sclerotinia on peas and canola.
Journal ArticleDOI
Changes in total, mineralizable and light fraction soil organic matter with cropping and tillage intensities in semiarid southern Alberta, Canada
TL;DR: In this article, the authors quantify the changes in total, mineralizable and light fraction organic carbon and nitrogen due to the adoption of continuous cropping and conservation tillage practices in the semi-arid region of the Canadian prairies.