Beginning in the 1700s, farmers came to recognize that intensive production practices led to increased soil erosion, which threatened the land’s productivity. As a result, farmers and researchers gradually developed the practices that constitute today’s conservation tillage systems. One of the earliest strategies was to add winter crops to rotations, which took advantage of residues to protect the soil. Extension researchers developed the first conservation tillage method in the 1930s, with more advanced techniques arriving in subsequent decades. The adoption of no-till increased with the development of the herbicides atrazine and paraquat in the 1960s, and again with the development of glyphosate-resistant crops three decades later. The federal government introduced conservation subsidy programs in the 1980s and 90s to further promote adoption. Although new challenges with herbicide-resistant weeds are emerging, advocates of conservation tillage think that such systems will remain popular as new advancements are made, in particular in the areas of technology, crop rotation and the use of cover crops. The agricultural community now recognizes a range of benefits associated with conservation tillage systems, including environmental benefits (e.g., improved air, water and soil quality), economic benefits (e.g., reduced labor, greater flexibility in planting) and quality of life benefits (e.g., reduced labor and greater flexibility in planting).
Table of Contents
- Author and Contributor List
- Foreword
- Chapter 1: Introduction to Conservation Tillage Systems
- Chapter 2: Conservation Tillage Systems: History, the Future and Benefits
- Chapter 3: Benefits of Increasing Soil Organic Matter
- Chapter 4: The Calendar: Management Tasks by Season
- Chapter 5: Cover Crop Management
- Chapter 6: In-Row Subsoiling to Disrupt Soil Compaction
- Chapter 7: Cash Crop Selection and Rotation
- Chapter 8: Sod, Grazing and Row-Crop Rotation: Enhancing Conservation Tillage
- Chapter 9: Planting in Cover Crop Residue
- Chapter 10: Soil Fertility Management
- Chapter 11: Weed Management and Herbicide Resistance
- Chapter 12: Plant-Parasitic Nematode Management
- Chapter 13: Insect Pest Management
- Chapter 14: Water Management
- Chapter 15: Conservation Economics: Budgeting, Cover Crops and Government Programs
- Chapter 16: Biofuel Feedstock Production: Crop Residues and Dedicated Bioenergy Crops
- Chapter 17: Tennessee Valley and Sandstone Plateau Region Case Studies
- Chapter 18: Southern Coastal Plain and Atlantic Coast Flatwoods Case Studies
- Cash Crop Selection and Crop Rotations
- Specific Management Considerations
- Case Study Farms
- Producer Experiences
- Transition to No-Till
- Changes in Natural Resources
- Changes in Agricultural Production
- Specialty Crops
- Why Change to No-Till?
- Supporting Technologies and Practices
- The Future
- Research Case Study
- Summary
- Chapter 19: Alabama and Mississippi Blackland Prairie Case Studies
- Chapter 20: Southern Piedmont Case Studies
- Appendix
- Glossary
- References