An agronomic practice in Conservation Agriculture (CA) for annual crops, and is defined as a way to farm without disturbing the soil through tillage. Zero tillage must leave at least 30% of area covered by plant residues right after crop establishment, and crops are sown using machinery which is able to place seeds through plant [...]
The mechanical cultivation of a soil profile for any purpose. Tillage can be performed to accomplish a number of tasks including: breaking compactions, incorporation of crop residues, manures, fertilizers or weeds, seedbed preparation, weed control.
The process in which only a narrow strip of land needed for the crop row is tilled.
A tillage without inversion at a reduced depth (about 30% crop residues remaining on the surface), with specific machines (often with grubber/cultivator), more than once a year.
Plastic sheet covering the soil surface to increase the temperature, reduce evaporation or suppress weeds.
Leaving organic residues (or plastic sheet) on top of the soil or in the first few cm of soil.
Organic residues left on top of the soil or in the first few cm of soil.
A tillage system that limits tillage operations to those essential to crop production and prevention of soil damage, generally leaving about 30% crop residues on the surface, often executed with specific machines (e.g. harrow, cultivator with rigid tines or a rotavator), only once a year.
The most widely used agronomic practice in Conservation Agriculture (CA), whereby the soil surface between rows of annual or perennial crops remains protected against erosion. With this technique, at least 30% of the soil is protected either by sown cover crops, spontaneous vegetation or inert covers, such as pruning residues or tree leaves. For the [...]
Planting crops in a non-inverted soil without seedbed preparation (i.e. under no-tillage).
