3. What is conservational tillage?
• According to the Conservation Technology Information Center
in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, conservation tillage is
defined as: “any tillage or planting system in which at least
30% of the soil surface is covered by plant residue after
planting to reduce erosion by water”
• No-till crop production systems leave the most residue and
often prove to be the most profitable methods of crop
production.
4. What is no-till farming?
• no-tillage can be defined as a system of planting (seeding)
crops into untilled soil by opening a narrow slot or trench only
of sufficient width and depth to obtain proper seed coverage.
No other soil tillage is done (Phillips and Young 1973).
5. Why no-till farming?
• Prevent soil erosion
They significantly reduce soil erosion, helping
preserve the long-term productive capacity of the
managed fields
• Increase farm profit
The practices can increase farm profits by reducing
tillage costs without reducing crop productivity.
6. Why no-till farming is important
than conventional farming?
• Hydrological characteristics
- water infiltration
no till farming filter more water than of conventional
farming.
-moisture of the soil
moisture is much conversed in no till farming
7. • Micro climate
- soil temperature
Soil temperature and diurnal fluctuations thereof are usually
observed to be lower under no- till(Lal,1975)
- airification of the soil
This improves air quality by reducing dust and emissions from
equipment operation. No-till also improves air quality by releasing
less carbon from the soil into the atmosphere than traditional
plowing practices.
8. No till farming: The technique
• The basic principles of no till farming
- planting of seeds in a narrow slit or hole
- using chemicals to control weeds
- application of inorganic fertilizers over the crop residue
mulch
9. Pre-plant herbicide weed control
-A good kill of weeds before seeding or planting is an
essential pre-requisite to successful no-till farming.
-In the no till system, preplant weed killing by the application
of a total weed killer is more equivalent to the laborious
tasks of the conventional farming.
- commonly used herbicides: glyphosate,paraquat
10. Injection planting
After a good preplant weed kill has been achieved, the seeds to
be sown are injected planted though the mulch into the soil.
Here the surface mulch should be left undisturbed after
planting.
No till planters,
The stick punch planter rolling injection
planter
11. Post-plant herbicide weed control
In no-till farming ,selective,pre-or post emergence herbicides
are applied soon after seeding and prior to crop emergence
are exclusively used for post-plant weed control.
They are designed to kill weed seeds as they germinate but
are selectively non-toxic to crop seedlings
13. Mulching
Mulch
This differ from crop to crop. A thicker mulch will help
smoother weeds, but also impede emergence of the crop
being seeded.
Stubble
the stubble should be as short as possible, and if long, should
be grazed or burned before herbicide application.
14. Advantages of no-till farming
• Soil conservation
The mulch helps in the development and maintenance of
surface aggregates and ensures rapid infiltration of water.
• Soil amelioration
The no till system, with a residue mulch and cover crop,
improves and restores soil conditions degraded by
mechanized land clearing.
15. • Moisture conservation and water use erosion
The decrease in water runoff and surface evaporation, and an
increase in the available water holding and retention capacity
of untilled soil makes more water available for crop use in no
till system than in tilled soil.
Source (Totis de Zeljcovich 1984).
16. • Soil temperature
In no-till farming the residue of old crops left on the surface
and within the soil helps to protect the soil from the sun .thus
conserve the soil temperature.
17. • Root growth and development
The total root mass in no tillage soil is generally more than with
conventional ploughing.
The lateral root spread is greater in no tillage than in ploughed
soil.
18. • Soil biological activity
• High earthworm activity contribute highly to the mixing of
nutrients and organic matter in the soil and also they improve
soil structure and porosity.
• No-tillage soils support a greater number of beneficial
insects and a higher microbial population .
19. • Nutrient status
The no tilled soil has a high concentration of organic carbon,
total nitrogen available prosperous and exchangeable calcium
and potassium in the surface layer than ploughed soil.
• Weed control
The application of the mulch suppress the weed growth and
this is much effective.
20. • Less work, more money
By the elimination of ploughing,harrowng,and other
operations ,the fuel is much saved in no till farming system.
As well as the labour requirement is low and different types
of farm machinery are no longer required with the no till
farming.
21. Disadvantages of no till farming
• Special machinery are needed.
• Some conservation tillage practices are not successful
in certain situations and soil types
• Depending on site-specific circumstances and costs,
additional herbicides may be applied to a field.
• Crop damage from disease outbreak and nuisance
insects can be higher where conservation tillage
practices are used.
• additional application of fertilizers like nitrogen may be
necessary based on the condition of crop residue present.
22. So,
No till farming is an easy and a
successful way of farming which increase
farm profit while reducing costs….