No-till Farming

[FarmTech]

Do you know that you can plant without having to spend money or energy tilling the soil? I was like “awww!” when I read about it. Is this really true? Have you ever seen where it was done and was the harvest ok?

[Hippo]

I've not seen but I've read about it. The idea is quite interesting and has been successfully applied in some places. Every time you turn your soil during tilling, you expose all your beneficial organisms to sunlight and the die. As this continues, you lose soil organic matter, structure and water holding capacity. And so to continue to grow crops on the land, you’ll have to increase the amount of fertilizer/manure. We need to practice sustainable agriculture.

[Manger]

It won’t be effective if the soil have been previously compacted by heavy machines. Also, root crops like carrots, onions, cassava, yam etc will not thrive.

[FarmTech]

Seem to be working for cassava.
Conservation tillage for cassava (Manihot esculenta crantz) production in
the tropics
Johnson Toyin Fasinmirin a,b,*, Jose´ Miguel Reichert a
a Centro de Cieˆncia Rurais, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
b Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

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Cassava (Manihot esculenta crantz) is often cultivated on tilled plots, traditionally on mounds and ridges with the use of hand hoes or tractor driven implements. These two conditions alter the soil structural parameters and most times increase the vulnerability of soil to erosion or compaction as a result of
frequent machine movement under the conventional tillage system. A review of the effects of tillage systems on soil bulk density, total porosity and penetration resistance was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of soil conservation for the optimum production of cassava in the tropics. Tillage treatments under review were: conventional tillage (CT), no-till (NT), minimum tillage (MT) and soil compaction (CP). Our review indicated that the bulk density (BD) in plots under CT was not significantly different (p < 0.05) from the value of BD in plots under minimum tillage (MT) within the 0–5 cm soil layer, but was highest in soils under compaction due to traffic passes of heavy duty equipment. Soils under no-till were characterized with lowest bulk density within the 0–5 cm layer, but gradually
increased in BD within the 10–20 cm soil layer, which offers the soil some structural stability. However, the difference in bulk densities between plots under NT and CP treatments were highly significant at p < 0.05, with CP plots having the highest bulk density within the 0–30 cm soil layer. Total porosity was
highest in soils under conventional tillage (CT) comparatively with other tillage systems. Organic matter accumulation in NT treatment resulted to higher total porosity compared with other systems except CT at the surface soil (0–5 cm) but with reduced porosity at the sub-surface soil. Total porosity was least in plots under traffic passes (compacted plots). Statistically, there were no significant differences in total porosity among plots under conventional tillage with mulch residues, conventional tillage without mulch residues and minimum tillage with mouldboard at the p < 0.05. However, plots under minimum tillage withoutmouldboard had lower total porosity. Penetration resistance was higher in NT plots when compared with plots under CT system, except from compacted plots (CP), which offered highest resistance to penetration. A long term experiment showed that cassava root yield was highest under NT with mulch residues, with or without fertilizer application. The reviewed work further confirmed that cassava can be grown successfully under no-till (NT) to give the optimum growth and yield required of the crop, while conserving the soil physical properties.

Source: http://fisicadosolo.ccr.ufsm.quoos.com.b...os/125.pdf.

[FarmTech]

No till create a more natural soil that better retain nutrients and water, prevent soil erosion and soil compaction. With no till, there is no need to use plows, cultivators and harrows. You just need a specially designed no till planter which can be pulled by a light tractor.

[Manger]

I don’t think no till is all that good because they make use of more herbicides to kill weeds. While in conventional farming method, weeds are controlled through plowing. The plough buries the weed.

[FarmKing]

Interesting topic.

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No-tillage
The no-till system is a specialized type of conservation tillage consisting of a one-pass planting and fertilizer operation in which the soil and the surface residues are minimally disturbed (Parr et al. 1990). The surface residues of such a system are of critical importance for soil and water conservation. Weed control is generally achieved with herbicides or in some cases with crop rotation. According to Lal (1983), no-tillage systems eliminate all preplanting mechanical seedbed preparation except for the opening of a narrow (2-3 cm wide) strip or small hole in the ground for seed placement to ensure adequate seed/soil contact. The entire soil surface is covered by crop residue mulch or killed sod. A review of tillage studies in Nigeria (Opara-Nadi 1990) shows that no-tillage with residue mulch is appropriate for Luvisols in the humid tropics. No-tillage is used in mechanized wheat farming in northern Tanzania and for some perennial crops, for example coffee plantations (Antapa and Angen 1990). Several studies (Smika and Unger 1986; Unger et al. 1988; Parr et al. 1990) have reported the success of no-tillage systems in many parts of the USA. Though the use of no-till is increasing, adoption has been slow. Parr et al. (1990) report that in the USA, no-till is practised on less than 10% of the farmland that is in some form of conservation tillage.

No-till fallow is a type of no-tillage system which is used in the dryland areas in the USA. No-till fallow has been most successful in summer rainfall areas (Parr et al. 1990). A major goal of fallowing is to recharge the soil profile with water so that the risk of failure for the next crop is greatly reduced (Unger et al. 1988). According to Parr et al. (1990), the potential benefits of no-till fallow, compared with other tillage systems, are more effective control of soil erosion, increased water storage, lower energy costs per unit of production and higher grain yields. A major disadvantage of no-till fallow (sometimes referred to as chemical fallow) is its heavy use of herbicides for weed control.

Source from my very good knowledge base: http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1696e/t1696e09.htm.

[FarmKing]

More:

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Like clean water and fresh air, fertile soil ensures our continued survival — and we're destroying it in mass quantities.

According to geologist David Montgomery, author of Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations, the world loses roughly 23 billion tons of good soil each year. At this rate, it will all be gone within 150 years. But a soil-based crisis could happen much sooner than that; we’ll need all available cropland to stave off an impending hunger crisis.

One of the biggest contributors to land degradation is the simple process of plowing fields. Plowing’s essential purpose is to bury crop residue, manure and weeds, while aerating and warming the soil. This method of agriculture has been practiced for thousands of years, and many farmers know no other way. But over time, the tilled soil will become ruined, infertile.

There is, of course, another way to farm. No-till farming is a practice that started to gain traction in the late ’70s, and has slowly picked up steam since then. Roger Claassen, agricultural economist with the USDA, says only 5 percent of U.S farmers were no-till in 1988. In 2008, that figure had jumped to 25 percent (and is likely higher now). But there are drawbacks to the no-till way — it’s not as simple as it seems. Here’s a short list of no-till pros and cons.

Pro: Savings
Over time, no-till can save significant money in labor and fuel, simply by cutting the added step of plowing each year.

Con: Special Equipment Costs
Specialized seeding equipment, including a “no-till drill,” can cost more than $100,000. Even if this cost is eventually absorbed into day-to-day operational savings, it’s a significant expense.

Pro: Water Conservation
No-till farming leaves crop residues on the surface, which absorb water and limits runoff. This water retention can be a boon to farmers in drought-stricken areas.

Con: Fungal Disease
Elevated moisture levels in the soil can promote fungal diseases that were previously kept in check.

Pro: Less Herbicide Runoff
The lack of water runoff prevents herbicides and other pollutants from getting into nearby water supplies.

Con: More Herbicides
Many no-till farmers report an increase in the usage of herbicides, as one of plowing’s main benefits was weed disruption. This in turn breeds a greater reliance on herbicide-resistant GM crops.

Pro: Higher Crop Yields
Especially in areas with low moisture levels, no-till farming can significantly increase crop yields. Lloyd, who farms wheat in Clay Center, Kansas, says he’s been getting up to 50 percent larger harvests since he stopped plowing.

Con: You Need Patience
These gains don’t happen overnight. It can take years or even decades to start reaping no-till’s rewards (Lloyd made the switch 15 years ago.)

Pro: Lots of Helpful Resources
The no-till movement is gaining steam, and there are many resources available to help you transition. Twenty years ago, many farmers had to wing it, using trial and error to learn the system’s quirks.

Con: It still won’t be easy.
Fifteen years after he began, Lloyd is still learning no-till’s do’s and don’ts.”It’s not like you just stop plowing and you’re done,” he says. “It’s a pretty major process.”

Source: http://modernfarmer.com/2013/08/7-facts-till-farming/.