Organic agricultural systems are often assumed to be more sustainable than conventional farming, yet there has been little work comparing surface water quality from organic and conventional production, especially under the same cropping sequence. Our objective was to compare nutrient and sediment losses, as well as sweet corn ( L. var. ) yield, from organic and conventional production with conv...

A major challenge for agriculture is to enhance productivity with minimum impact on the environment. Several studies indicate that cover crops could replace anthropogenic inputs and enhance crop productivity. However, so far, it is unclear if cover crop effects vary between different cropping systems, and direct comparisons among major arable production systems are rare. Here we compared the sh...

The cultivation of agricultural soils has until recently predominantly been achieved by inverting the soil using tools such as the plough. Soil tillage is one of the basic and important components of agricultural production technology. Various forms of tillage are practised throughout the world, ranging from the use of simple stick or jab to the sophisticated para-plough. The practices develope...

A microplot experiment was conducted in soybean–wheat cropping system at New Delhi during 2010-11 and 2011-12 to study the effect of continuous or cyclic tillage, viz., conventional tillage (CT) and zero-tillage (ZT) and residue management of either soybean (SR) and/or wheat (WR) on yield performance and soil physico-chemical properties. The experiment was laid out in randomized block desi...

ern Tennessee (Stevens et al., 1992; Bradley, 1993; Triplett et al., 1996), conservation tillage practiced on silty clay Yield reductions from no-tillage cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) soils in northern Alabama resulted in 8 to 15% yield jeopardized adoption of conservation systems in the Tennessee Valley region of north Alabama in the early 1990s. We conducted a study from reductions compared ...

ABSTRACT The population density of the reniform nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis, was monitored at depths of 0 to 30, 30 to 60, 60 to 90, and 90 to 120 cm in a tillage and crop sequence trial in south Texas in 2000 and 2001. Main plots were subjected to three different tillage systems: conventional tillage (moldboard plowing and disking), ridge tillage, and no-tillage. Subplots were planted w...

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 ...

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...

Soil nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) data arranged on a three-dimensional grid were analyzed to compare tillage effect on the spatial distribution of residual NO3-N in the soil profile of agricultural plots drained by subsurface tiles. A three-dimensional median-based resistant (to outlier(s)) approach was developed to polish the spatially located data on soil NO3-N affected by directional trends (non...