Conservation tillage systems can increase soil organic matter, which has many benefits to agriculture in the Southeast. Changing management by moving from inversion to non-inversion tillage or no-till is a good first step, but to maximize soil organic matter content, a crop rotation with heavy-residue crops and cover crops needs to be employed. These practices leave more carbon in the soil in the form of organic matter than is lost through erosion or decomposition. Soils with greater amounts of organic matter resist compaction and have improved infiltration, water-holding capacity, fertility and disease resistance. All of these factors ultimately affect productivity.
A farm’s soil type, machinery, cash crops and other production factors will determine the best system for that farm. To achieve long-term sustainability and to enhance soil health for farms in the southeastern United States, focus on these principles:
• Reduce soil disturbance by using no-till or reduced tillage.
• Keep soil covered with cover crops and crop residues.
• Enhance biodiversity with crop rotations and integration of crop and livestock systems.
Download the tables from Chapter 3.
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