scholarly journals Impact of Weed Control by Hand Tools on Soil Erosion under a No-Tillage System Cultivation

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 974
Author(s):  
Rafael Blanco-Sepúlveda ◽  
Amilcar Aguilar-Carrillo ◽  
Francisco Lima
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Tropical Mountains ◽  
Litter Cover ◽  
Vegetal Cover

In conservation agriculture, the no-tillage cultivation system and the retention of permanent vegetal cover are crucial to the control of soil erosion by water. This paper analyses the cultivation of maize under no-tillage, with particular reference to the effect produced on soil erosion when weed control is performed by a hand tool (machete), which disturbs the surface of the soil, and to the behavior of the soil cover in these circumstances. The study area is located in the humid tropical mountains of northern Nicaragua (Peñas Blancas Massif Nature Reserve). The results obtained show that 59.2% of the soil surface was affected by appreciable levels of sheet and splash erosion, although the vegetal cover of the soil was relatively high (with average weed and litter cover of 33.9% and 33.8%, respectively). The use of machetes for weed control provoked considerable soil disturbance, which explained the high rates of erosion observed. Moreover, this form of soil management disturbs the litter layer, making it less effective in preventing erosion. The litter remains loose on the soil surface, and so an increase in soil cover does not achieve a proportionate reduction in the area affected by erosion; thus, even with 80–100% weed and litter cover, 42% of the cultivated area continued to present soil erosion.

scholarly journals Challenging conservation agriculture on marginal slopes in Sehoul, Morocco

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Schwilch ◽  
A. Laouina ◽  
M. Chaker ◽  
N. Machouri ◽  
M. Sfa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Cover ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Degraded Land ◽  
Tillage Practices

AbstractIn Sehoul, Morocco, the use of marginal land for agriculture became a necessity for the local population due to increased poverty and the occupation of the best land by new owners. Desertification poses an additional threat to agricultural production on marginal slopes, which are often stony and degraded. In a participatory process embedded in the EU DESIRE research project, potential sustainable land management measures were selected to address land degradation and desertification. Promising experiences with no-tillage practices elsewhere in Morocco had motivated the Moroccan government to promote conservation agriculture throughout the country. This combination of crop rotation, minimal soil disturbance and soil cover maintenance, however, had not yet been tested on sloping degraded land. Field trials of grazing enclosure combined with no or minimum tillage were conducted on the plots of two farmers, and trial results were analyzed based on stakeholders’ criteria. Results suggest that increased soil cover with barley residues improved rainwater use efficiency and yields only slightly, although soil water was generally enhanced. Soil moisture measurements revealed that no-tillage was favorable mainly at soil depths of 5 cm and in connection with low-rainfall events (<20 mm); under these circumstances, moisture content was generally higher under no-tillage than under conventional tillage. Moreover, stakeholder discussion confirmed that farmers in Sehoul remain primarily interested in animal husbandry and are reluctant to change the current grazing system. Implementation of conservation agriculture is thus challenged both by the degraded, sloping and stony nature of the land, and by the socio-economic circumstances in Sehoul.

scholarly journals How organic farmers practice conservation agriculture in Europe

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joséphine Peigné ◽  
Marion Casagrande ◽  
Vincent Payet ◽  
Christophe David ◽  
F. Xavier Sans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Green Manures ◽  
Biological Regulation ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
Organic Farmers

AbstractThe interest of organic farmers in adopting conservation agriculture principles, including minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotation has been growing since the early 2000s. However, currently there is no network for organic farmers practicing conservation agriculture, and a lack of knowledge on how organic farmers implement conservation agriculture in practice. Consequently, few technical references are available for organic farmers when they start applying conservation agriculture practices, in particular on controlling weeds without the use of herbicides. The main objectives of this study were: (1) to explore the diversity of conservation agriculture techniques (i.e., reduced tillage, no-tillage and green manures) practiced among European farmers, and (2) to identify farmers’ main strategies for implementing conservation agriculture and the agronomic and environmental factors that determine these strategies. Strategies were identified by analyzing survey results on: (1) the type and degree of use of conservation agriculture practices by farmers, and (2) the effects it produces in terms of soil disturbance and soil cover (low, medium and high). We carried out a survey of 159 European organic farmers and collected 125 data sets on management of winter-sown crops. Among the conservation agriculture practices, reduced tillage was used by 89%, no-tillage by 27% and green manure by 74% of the 159 interviewed farmers. Green manures were more frequently used in northern Europe than in the south (below 45°N). Most of the farmers used crop rotations, with a mean duration of 6 years. A wide diversity of conservation agriculture practices were used, with farmers rarely using all three techniques (no-till, reduced till and green manures) within one system. The range of practices was grouped into five strategies ranging from intensive non-inversion tillage without soil cover to very innovative techniques with no-tillage and intercrops. The five strategies for conservation agriculture could be grouped into two larger categories based on weed control approach: (1) intensification of the mechanical work without soil inversion or (2) biological regulation of weeds with cover crops. The diversity of strategies identified in this study shows that organic farmers use innovative approaches to implement conservation agriculture without herbicides. This study's findings will help organic farmers to experiment with innovative practices based on conservation agriculture principles and also benefit conventional farmers who use conservation agriculture practices and would like to reduce or eliminate the use of herbicides.

scholarly journals Erosion Control in the Sustainable Cultivation of Maize (Zea mays L.) and Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) at Two Stages of the Agricultural Cycle in Southern Guatemala

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4654
Author(s):  
Rafael Blanco Sepúlveda ◽  
Francisco Enríquez Narváez
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Erosion Control ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Erosion Threshold ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Vegetal Cover

Agricultural intensification in the mountains of Central America has increased soil vulnerability to erosion by water. This study was undertaken to analyse the erosion that affects the mixed cultivation of maize and beans at two stages of the crop development cycle (at 3 and 6 months after sowing) in southern Guatemala, together with the influence of the ground and crop canopy vegetal cover on soil erosion. The main aim of this analysis is to establish the soil erosion threshold enabling sustainable agriculture. The results obtained show that the soil surface was severely eroded, with mean values of area affected of 88.4% and 73.5% at 3 and 6 months, respectively. In the 3-month plots, the erosion bore scant relation to the factors analysed. Conversely, the area affected by soil erosion in the 6-month plots was significantly related to the degree of ground cover by weeds and litter, and the erosion threshold was located at 80% of vegetal cover. However, plots with this level of cover did not achieve effective erosion control, due to the low level of plant litter cover (15.7%) compared to that of weeds (75.5%). We conclude that this low content of vegetal residue in the soil, together with the tillage practices employed, explains the large surface area affected by erosion and the impossibility of establishing an erosion threshold.

Effect of pH, Nitrogen, and Tillage on Weed Control and Corn (Zea mays) Yield

Weed Science ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 719-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Kells ◽  
R. L. Blevins ◽  
C. E. Rieck ◽  
W. M. Muir
Keyword(s):  
Zea Mays ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Corn Yield ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Linear Effect ◽  
Surface Soil Ph

Field studies were conducted to determine the effect of soil surface (upper 5 cm) pH and tillage on weed control and corn (Zea maysL.) yield using simazine [2-chloro-4,6-bis-(ethylamino)-s-triazine] as the herbicide for weed control. Soil pH, weed control, and corn yield were examined under no-tillage and conventional tillage systems with and without added lime and different rates of nitrogen. Increased soil pH significantly increased weed control as compared with added lime vs. no added lime, where the surface soil pH influenced the effectiveness of the applied simazine. Soil pH had a greater effect on weed control under no-tillage than under conventional tillage. Conventional tillage significantly (P<.01) increased weed control, yield, and soil pH over no-tillage. Additions of lime as compared to unlimed treatments resulted in significantly increased weed control (83% vs. 63%), yield (5,930 vs. 5,290 kg/ha) and soil pH (5.91 vs. 5.22). The poorest weed control was observed with no-tillage on unlimed plots. A significant tillage by linear effect of nitrogen interaction for all variables resulted from a greater decrease (P<.01) in weed control and soil pH and a greater increase in yield with increased nitrogen under no-tillage than with conventional tillage.

scholarly journals Emisi Gas Rumah Kaca dan Hasil Padi dari Cara Olah Tanah dan Pemberian Herbisida Di Lahan Sawah MK 2015

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranti Ariani ◽  
Hesti Yulianingrum ◽  
Prihasto Setyanto
Keyword(s):  
Rice Yield ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
N2o Emissions ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Zero Tillage ◽  
Deep Tillage ◽  
Tillage Treatment ◽  
Ch4 And N2o

Tanpa olah tanah (NT) telah banyak ditunjukkan sebagai praktik pengelolaan lahan sawah yang mampu mengurangi emisi gas rumah kaca (GRK) karena kemampuannya untuk menyerap karbon dalam tanah. Di luar negeri, bahkan juga oleh FAO, sekarang ini sedang banyak dikembangkan apa yang disebut dengan conservation agriculture, yaitu cara bercocok tanam dengan meminimalkan gangguan pada tanah atau dikenal juga dengan istilah No tillage/Zero Tillage (tanpa olah tanah). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memperoleh informasi emisi CH4 dan N2O dari lahan sawah di daerah tropis dengan perlakuan cara olah tanah. Percobaan disusun dengan rancangan faktorial acak kelompok 3 ulangan. Perlakuan yang dicobakan terdiri dari 2 faktor, yaitu faktor I cara olah tanah (1) Olah tanah sempurna, (2) tanpa olah tanah, dan faktor II adalah pemberian herbisida berupa (1) glifosat, (2) paraquat dan (3) tanpa herbisida. Jarak tanam adalah tegel 20 cm x 20 cm. Emisi CH4 pada MK 2015 yang terendah adalah pada perlakuan tanpa olah tanah (TOT) dan pemberian herbisida glifosat, yaitu sebesar 201 kg CH4/ha/musim dan yang tertinggi pada perlakuan olah tanah sempurna tanpa penambahan herbisida yaitu sebesar 353 kg CH4/ha/musim. Tanpa olah tanah menghasilkan rerata fluks harian CH4 yang lebih rendah dibanding perlakuan olah tanah sempurna. Emisi N2O terendah dihasilkan pada perlakuan olah tanah sempurna dengan penambahan herbisida glifosat, yaitu sebesar 0,34 kg N2O/ha/musim, dan tertinggi pada perlakuan tanpa olah tanah dengan penambahan herbisida paraquat yaitu sebesar 0,65 kg N2O/ha/musim. Hasil padi pada semua perlakuan menunjukkan nilai yang tidak berbeda nyata. Faktor emisi N2O langsung dari lahan padi sawah irigasi dengan perlakuan olah tanah dan herbisida berkisar antara 0,0008 – 0,0015 kg N2O-N/kg N dengan kisaran hasil padi sebesar 4,96 – 5,12 t/ha GKG. Secara total, yang dinyatakan dengan GWP, perlakuan tanpa olah tanah menimbulkan emisi GRK yang lebih kecil dibanding perlakuan olah tanah sempurnaKata kunci: olah tanah, herbisida, GWP, CH4, N2OABSTRACTNo-tillage (NT) management has been promoted as a practice capable of offsetting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions because of its ability to sequester carbon in soils. Even FAO and many countries, are now being widely developed what so called conservation agriculture, on how to grow crops with minimize soil disturbance or also known as No tillage/Zero tillage. This study aimed to obtain information CH4 and N2O emissions and grain yield from rice fields in the tropics with tillage treatments. The experiment was arranged in a randomized factorial design with 3 replications. The treatments tested consisted of two factors, namely the first factor was tillage (1) deep tillage, (2) zero tillage, and the second factor is application of herbicide in the form of (1) glyphosate, (2) paraquat and (3) without herbicides, using tiles row spacing (20 x 20 cm). In DS 2015, the lowest CH4 emissions resulted from no-tillage (TOT) treatment combined with the application of glyphosate, which amounted to 201 kg CH4/ha/ season and the highest resulted from deep tillage treatment combined with no herbicide, which amounted to 353 kg CH4/ha/season. Daily CH4 fluxes from No tillage treatment are lower than those from deep tillage treatments. The lowest N2O emissions resulted from deep tillage treatments combined with the application of glyphosate, which amounted to 0.34 kg N2O/ha/season, and the highest resulted from no-tillage treatment combined with paraquat, which amounted to 0.65 kg N2O/ha/season. Rice yield were not significantly different among treatments. Direct N2O factors emissions from irrigated rice field applied tillage and herbicide treatments ranged from 0.0008 to 0.0015 kg N2O-N/kg N with rice yield range of 4.96 to 5.12 t/ha. In total, expressed by GWP, no tillage treatment resulted lower GHG emissions than deep tillage treatments.Keywords: tillage, herbicide, GWP, CH4, N2OCitation: Ariani, M., Yulianingrum, H. dan Setyanto, P. (2017). Emisi Gas Rumah Kaca dan Hasil Padi dari Cara Olah Tanah dan Pemberian Herbisida Di Lahan Sawah MK 2015. Jurnal Ilmu Lingkungan, 15(2), 74-82, doi:10.14710/jil.15.2.74-82

scholarly journals Impact of Social and Institutional Factors on the Uptake of Conservation Agriculture: A Case of Zambia and Zimbabwe

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Putso Nyathi ◽  
Thinah Moyo ◽  
Helena Posthumus ◽  
Joe Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Social Influence ◽  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Social System ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Many

Conservation agriculture (CA) involves the practice of three interlinked principles of minimum soil disturbance, a permanent soil cover and crop rotation. Despite the many stated benefits of the technology, its uptake in Africa has been slow. This study applies the theory of planned behaviour to investigate the attitudes, the role of the social system (social influence, by-laws and customs) and the institutional environment in the decision to practice CA principles and on the area under CA in Choma, Zambia and Nkayi, Zimbabwe. The study finds differing attitudes between districts towards CA outcomes. Local by-laws have a positive correlation with the practice of minimum soil disturbance but negative correlations with the practice of soil cover and crop rotation. Social influence and customs have significant relationships with the area under CA. Institutional support is perceived to be necessary for the practice of minimum soil disturbance but not so for the practice of crop rotation or on the area under CA. We conclude that the attitudes towards CA depend on the performance of the CA options promoted to farmers while the effects of the social system components and institutional factors on the uptake of CA depends on how the particular CA principle fits into the social and institutional environment in which it is promoted. We recommend agriculture extension services and policymakers to pay more attention to these issues in the promotion of CA.

Nature and magnitude of soil erosion in sugarcane land on the wet tropical coast of north-eastern Queensland

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 641 ◽  
Author(s):  
BG Prove ◽  
VJ Doogan ◽  
PNV Truong
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Average Annual Loss ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Physical And Chemical

This paper reports measures of soil erosion in sloping sugarcane land under conventional cultivation and various no-tillage surface management techniques and explores the reasons for the differences measured. Soil erosion from conventionally cultivated ratoon cane lands was measured in the range 47-505 t/ha.year, with an average annual loss of 148 t/ha.year. No-tillage practices reduced this erosion to <15 t/ha.year. Groundcover did not affect soil erosion significantly. In the absence of hydrological data, it is anticipated that consolidation of the soil surface at harvest, rather than ground surface cover, is the dominant factor reducing soil erosion. The effect of groundcover on soil erosion is less than the accuracy of the measurement techniques employed (� 20 t/ha.year). Physical and chemical analyses of in situ and eroded soil indicate that sediment from the no-tillage practice may be transported further from the erosion site and carry a more mobile fraction of nutrients.

scholarly journals Innovative Pro-Smallholder Farmers’ Permanent Mulch for Better Soil Quality and Food Security Under Conservation Agriculture

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 605
Author(s):  
Sibongiseni Mgolozeli ◽  
Adornis D. Nciizah ◽  
Isaiah I. C. Wakindiki ◽  
Fhatuwani N. Mudau
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Security Challenge

Soil degradation is the greatest threat to agricultural production globally. The practice of applying or retaining crop residues in the field as mulch is imperative to prevent soil erosion, maintain soil quality and improve crop productivity. However, smallholder farmers resort to maximizing profit by removing crop residues after harvest to sell or use them as feed for livestock. Agrimats are innovative pro-smallholder farming mulching materials that are manufactured using cheap or freely available organic waste materials. These materials include forestry waste, grasses, etc., therefore allowing smallholder farmers to make more profit through improved crop productivity for better food security. The most notable attributes of agrimats include their ability to prevent soil erosion, increase and sustain soil organic matter, suppress weeds, and conserve soil moisture. Food security challenge can be addressed by adopting agrimat technology as a sustainable permanent soil cover to improve soil quality and crop productivity. Agrimat incorporation in conservation agriculture practice could produce more food from less input resources (chemical fertilizers, water, etc.) with minimal or no adverse effect on the environment. This study aims to advocate permanent soil cover using agrimat as an innovative pro-smallholder farmer technology to improve soil quality for better food security.

scholarly journals Conservation Agriculture for Rice-Based Intensive Cropping by Smallholders in the Eastern Gangetic Plain

Agriculture ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bell ◽  
Md. Haque ◽  
M. Jahiruddin ◽  
Md. Rahman ◽  
Mahfuza Begum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Rice Grain ◽  
Gross Margin ◽  
Gangetic Plain ◽  
Gas Emissions

We review the recent development of Conservation Agriculture (CA) for rice-based smallholder farms in the Eastern Gangetic Plain (EGP) and the underpinning research on agronomy, weed control, soil properties and greenhouse gas emissions being tested to accelerate its adoption in Bangladesh. The studies are based mostly on minimum soil disturbance planting in strip planting (SP) mode, using the Versatile Multi-crop Planter (VMP), powered by a two-wheel tractor (2WT). One-pass SP with the VMP decreased fuel costs for crop establishment by up to 85% and labour requirements by up to 50%. We developed strip-based non-puddled rice (Oryza sativa) transplanting (NPT) in minimally-disturbed soil and found that rice grain yield increased (by up to 12%) in longer-term practice of CA. On farms, 75% of NPT crops increased gross margin. For non-rice crops, relative yield increases ranged from 28% for lentil (Lens culinaris) to 6% for wheat (Triticum aestivum) on farms that adopted CA planting. Equivalent profit increases were from 47% for lentil to 560% for mustard (Brassica juncea). Moreover, VMP and CA adopting farms saved 34% of labour costs and lowered total cost by up to 10% for production of lentil, mustard, maize (Zea mays) and wheat. Effective weed control was obtained from the use of a range of pre-emergent and post-emergence herbicides and retention of increased crop residue. In summary, a substantial body of research has demonstrated the benefits of CA and mechanized planting for cost savings, yield increases in many cases, increased profit in most cases and substantial labour saving. Improvement in soil quality has been demonstrated in long-term experiments together with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

scholarly journals Agronomic performance of common bean in straw mulch systems and topdressing nitrogen rates in no-tillage

Revista CERES ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 489-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Pagan Loeiro da Cunha ◽  
Fábio Luiz Checchio Mingotte ◽  
Antonio Carlos de Almeida Carmeis Carmeis Filho ◽  
Fernando Marcelo Chiamolera ◽  
Leandro Borges Lemos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Common Bean ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Agronomic Performance ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Straw Mulch ◽  
Common Bean Cultivar ◽  
Bean Yield ◽  
The Common ◽  
Nitrogen Rates

ABSTRACTIn no-tillage systems, straw coverage on soil surface is the key to success, and the choice of crops for rotation is crucial to achieve the sustainability and quality that conservation agriculture requires. The objective of this study was to evaluate the agronomic performance of the common bean cultivar IAC Formoso sown in succession to three straw mulch systems (corn alone, corn/Urochloa ruziziensisintercrop and U. ruziziensisalone) and topdress nitrogen rates (0; 40; 80; 120 and 160 kg ha-1N), at the four-leaf stage, three years after the implementation of no-tillage. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block split plot design, with three replications. Common bean highest yields were achieved in succession to U. ruziziensisalone and intercropped with corn. The corn/U. ruziziensisintercrop provided both straw and seed production, allowing for quality no-tillage. Topdressed nitrogen influenced the common bean yield when in succession to corn alone, U. ruziziensisalone and corn/U. ruziziensisintercrop in no-tillage.

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