The low average grain yield (0.7 ton ha(-1)) of tef in Ethiopia is mainly attributed to low soil fertility, and inappropriate tillage and weeds control practices. Despite this, limited scientific information has been documented so far on their interaction effects on tef crop productivity in northern Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to assess the separate and interaction effects of till...

Post-Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land may provide an excellent opportunity to satisfy certified organic crop production requirements. However, conversion of CRP or long-term pastureland to certified organic production will require tillage because the use of herbicides is prohibited in organic production. Our objectives were to evaluate stand establishment, weed competition, yield, and gr...

Maintenance and improvement of soil quality in continuous cropping systems is critical to sustaining agricultural productivity and environmental quality for future generations. This review focuses on lessons learned from long-term continuous cropping experiments. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the most often reported attribute from long-term studies and is chosen as the most important indicator o...

The paper presents comparison of three soil tillage systems in maize, winter wheat and soybean growing on anthropogenic Albic Luvisol in north-west Slavonia, Croatia, during 1996-1999. Tillage systems and implements were: 1. conventional system (CT)-plough, disc-harrow and combined implement, 2. conservation system (RT)-chisel plough and multitiller, 3. no-till system (NT). The aim of testing w...

BACKGROUND A three-year field experiment was conducted to examine the responses of corn yield and soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emission to various management practices in middle Tennessee. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The management practices include no-tillage + regular applications of urea ammonium nitrate (NT-URAN); no-tillage + regular applications of URAN + denitrification inhibitor (NT-in...

In this study a comparison of the soil CO2 fluxes emitted from two maize (Zea mays L.) fields with the same soil type was performed. Each field was treated with a different tillage technique: conventional tillage (30 cm depth ploughing) and no-tillage. Measurements were performed in the Po Valley (Italy) from September to October 2012, covering both pre- and postharvesting conditions, by means ...

Roots may respond to restrictive soil physical conditions and send signals to shoots to control plant growth. Soil mechanical resistance and aeration can be managed to improve the soil physical conditions for plant growth by using different tillage systems. The objective of this study was to quantify the influence of no-tillage and conventional-tillage systems on plant response to soil mechanic...

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) production in the future aims to increase productivity every year with high input technology, including irrigated rice. However, practices of rice fields have a methane (CH4) potential. Soil tillage could affect CH4 emission conditions. Puddling and flooding through soil create reduction conditions that promote by methanogenic bacteria. The objective was determine effect ...

Agricultural productivity relies on a wide range of ecosystem services provided by the soil biota. Plowing is a fundamental component of conventional farming, but long-term detrimental effects such as soil erosion and loss of soil organic matter have been recognized. Moving towards more sustainable management practices such as reduced tillage or crop residue retention can reduce these detriment...

Decisions about reducing agricultural land tillage to offset global warming potential (GWP) are based on the evaluation of the agricultural eco-system and the profitability to local farms. Carbon sequestration and nitrous oxide emissions from winter wheat (WW) cropping were evaluated by modeling typical dryland cropping systems in eastern Washington. Variations in rainfall, tillage intensity an...