Introduction ............................................................................................................................2 Organic Farming & the Tillage Dilemma .........................................................................3 Mulch Tillage .........................................................................................................................5 Ridge Ti...

Corn acreage has increased in recent years in Louisiana. Much of this is on mixed to heavy Mississippi River alluvial soils and to a lesser extent on loessial silt loams of the Macon Ridge. Each of these soil groups are unique in their phys­ ical and chemical characteristics and different management strategies may be required to produce optimal yield. Research has indicated that corn performs b...

This study addresses the tillage effect on the distribution of bacterial biomass and their community structure in a subtropical purple rice soil ecosystem. Similar distribution patterns of soil bacterial biomass within water-stable aggregates (WSA) were observed under different tillage managements. Although the distribution pattern of soil microbial biomass was not changed by tillage practice, ...

Tillage influences N fate and transport by changing soil structure, aeration, macropore continuity, plantresidue placement, and organic-matter mineralization rates. Our objective was to use 15-year N budgets to compare four primary tillage treatments for continuous corn (Zea mays L.) production on tile-drained Aquic Hapludolls (FAO: Haplic Phaeozems) in northeastern Iowa, USA. A carbon-based N ...

A multi-year experiment was conducted to compare the effects of conservation tillage (no-till and ridge-till) with conventional plow tillage on organic C, N, and resin-extractable P in an alkaline semi-arid subtropical soil (Hidalgo sandy clay loam, a fine-loamy, mixed, hyperthermic Typic Calciustoll) at Weslaco, TX (26890N 978570W). Tillage comparisons were established on irrigated plots in 19...

Effects of agricultural practices on ecosystem carbon storage have acquired widespread concern due to its alleviation of rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Recently, combining of furrow-ridge with plastic film mulching in spring maize ecosystem was widely applied to boost crop water productivity in the semiarid regions of China. However, there is still limited information about the potentia...

The adoption of no tillage (NT) in crop production has been encouraged primarily due to its more significant benefits to the environment compared with other conservation tillage systems. There are nevertheless concerns about NT corn (Zea mays L.) performance from both shortand long-term perspectives. This study was conducted near Burlington, Nashua, Newell, Sutherland, and Crawfordsville in Iow...

Water and soil losses from sloping farmlands potentially contribute to water eutrophication land degradation. However, few studies explored the combined effects of ridge direction width on surface runoff farmlands. Twenty-seven experimental plots (8 m long 4 wide) with nine treatments (three direction: cross ridge, longitudinal oblique ridge; three width: 40, 60, 80 cm) were adopted under natur...

Numbers of plant-parasitic nematodes on corn growing under seven tillage regimes were monitored. Differences among treatments occurred for Helicotylenchus pseudorobustus, Pratylenchus spp., Xiphinema americanum, dorylaimids, and total numbers of nematodes. Except with members of the Tylenchinae, highest densities occurred in no-till ridge plots and lowest numbers occurred in spring- and fall-pl...