Excerpt
CONSERVATION tillage uses plant residue and a rough soil surface to conserve soil and water. Equipment designed for use on smooth, clean-tilled land usually must be modified to function satisfactorily in conservation tillage systems.
Plant residue on the soil surface adversely affects most soil-engaging tools and the placement of chemicals and seed on or into the soil. The amount of plant residue remaining in the soil surface depends upon the previous crop, the way in which the residue has been handled, and the tillage operations that have been performed (1, 2). With clean-tilled systems, plant residue is buried, removed, or burned, and the operation of machines for tillage, chemical application, planting, and cultivation is not hindered by plant residue. With no-till, all plant residue remains on the surface, and the soil is left undisturbed until planting. Other conservation tillage systems leave residue mixed with the top layer of soil. They may also leave the soil surface rough and uneven. A rough soil surface limits travel speed and interferes with implement depth control and uniform application of chemicals.
Plant residue on the soil surface and little soil disturbance produces a soil environment different than that with clean …
Footnotes
D. C. Erbach, J. E. Morrison, and D. E. Wilkins are agricultural engineers with the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture at Ames, Iowa, Temple, Texas, and Pendleton, Oregon, respectively. Journal Paper J-11013 of the Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station. Project 2450.
- Copyright 1983 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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