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Conservation Tillage for Soil Management and Crop Production

  • Chapter
Sustainable Agriculture Reviews

Part of the book series: Sustainable Agriculture Reviews ((SARV,volume 17))

Abstract

Conservation tillage affects chemical, biological, and physical properties of soil. The oxidation of organic matter is slow in conservation tillage which causes increase in organic matter of soil. Reduced tillage increases soil acidity in top layer of soil due to an accumulation of organic acids in the superficial layer. Soil microbial biomass and microbial activity were highly stratified under reduced tillage. Conservation tillage increased soil aggregate stability and improved soil structure due to increased labile organic matter, microbial biomass and microbial activity. Under conservation tillage, soil porosity improved as compared to conventional tillage due to beneficial effects of soil organic matter, microbial activity and residue cover. The gravimetric water content and infiltration rate are maximum under no-tillage as compared to conventional tillage. High concentration of immobile nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium resulted near the soil surface and decreasing with depth has been routinely observed with conservation tillage systems. The water-use efficiency is higher in no tillage as compared to conventional tillage. Under a wide range of environment conditions crop yield, net return and benefit: cost ratio obtained by no-till, reduced tillage, and stubble retention systems were equivalent or even a higher than those recorded under conventional tillage. Conservation tillage directly reduces carbon emissions by reducing fuel use and indirectly by sequestration of atmospheric C in the soil and biomass.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the scientists whose reviews are used to compile the manuscript.

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  1. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, 141004, India

    Surjeet S. Manhas, Ajab S. Sidhu & Khuswinder S. Brar

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  1. Surjeet S. Manhas
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    Eric Lichtfouse

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Manhas, S.S., Sidhu, A.S., Brar, K.S. (2015). Conservation Tillage for Soil Management and Crop Production. In: Lichtfouse, E. (eds) Sustainable Agriculture Reviews. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews, vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16742-8_3

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