Knowra Conservation tillage Conservation tillage Conservation tillage comprises farming practices that reduce soil disturbance and retain crop residues on the surface. These practices help limit erosion and conserve soil moisture.
Crop residue : Plant material left in a field after harvest, including stalks, leaves, and roots. Residue left on the surface shields soil from raindrop impact and wind.
Strip-till : A tillage system that disturbs narrow planting strips while leaving the soil between rows largely undisturbed. It warms and prepares seed rows while retaining residue between them.
Conventional tillage : A farming system that uses intensive soil disturbance, often including plowing, to prepare fields for planting. Its greater disturbance and residue burial contrast with conservation tillage's soil-cover goals.
Wind erosion : The detachment and transport of soil particles by wind. Surface residues reduce wind speed at the soil and help keep particles in place.
Soil erosion : The removal of soil by water, wind, or other forces. Reducing exposed, disturbed soil lowers erosion risk.
Ridge-till : A tillage system that plants crops on permanent raised ridges and manages weeds between rows. It maintains residue in furrows while concentrating seedbed preparation on ridges.
Moldboard plow : A plow that turns soil over with a curved blade, typically burying surface residues. Its residue-burying action exemplifies the disturbance conservation tillage seeks to reduce.
Water erosion : The detachment and transport of soil by rainfall, runoff, and flowing water. Residue cover slows runoff and reduces soil loss from rain and water flow.
Soil moisture : Water held in soil pores and available to plants or soil processes. Surface residues can reduce evaporation and help conserve water in the soil.
Reduced tillage : Tillage that uses fewer or less intensive soil-disturbing operations than conventional tillage. It describes the broader range of practices that reduce disturbance without eliminating tillage.
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