According to the nonprofit Conservation Technology Information Center , this refers to any tillage and planting system that leaves at least 30 percent of the soil surface covered by “crop residue.†Conservation tillage results in less soil disturbance than traditional cultivation, reducing soil loss and energy use while maintaining crop yields and quality. Once considered a form of alternative agriculture, conservation tillage is now mainstream: Nearly 37 percent of the nation’s crop acres were managed under conservation tillage systems (minimum tillage, mulch tillage, ridge tillage, and no-till) in 2002. An additional 23 percent of crop acres use what is known as “reduced tillage,†which leaves 15 to 30 percent of the ground covered by crop residue.
A tillage system that does not invert the soil and that leaves a protective amount of crop residue on the surface throughout the year.
Any tillage and planting system that leaves at least 30% of the soil surface covered by residue after planting. Conservation tillage maintains a ground cover with less soil disturbance than traditional cultivation, thereby reducing soil loss and energy use while maintaining crop yields and quality. Conservation tillage techniques include minimum tillage, mulch tillage, ridge tillage, and no-till.
plowing and cultivating practices designed to reduce soil erosion.
An agricultural system using tillage techniques designed to reduce soil erosion and overland flow. Most conservation tillage techniques involve less manipulation of the soil than conventional techniques, leaving more plant matter on the soil surface.
Any sequence of tillage that reduces loss of water or soil relative to conventional tillage.
A process that uses tillage equipment to seed the crop directly into the vegetative cover or crop residue on the surface, with minimal soil disturbance.
the practice of leaving vegetation on fields during idle periods to protect the soil from erosion and trap moisture.
Any tillage and planting system that maintains at least 30% of the soil surface covered by residue after planting for the purpose of reducing soil erosion by water.
Any tillage and planting system that covers 30 percent or more of the soil surface with crop residue, after planting, to reduce soil erosion by water. Where soil erosion by wind is the primary concern, any system that maintains at least 1,000 pounds per acre of flat, small grain residue equivalent on the surface throughout the critical wind erosion period.
Crop production methods that de-emphasize use of the plow for weed removal and encompass a range of new farming production practices like reduced tillage, or no tillage. In general, these methods all include reduced use of the plow and increased use of crop mulch and cover on the fields.
any tillage and planting system that maintains at least 30 percent of the soil surface covered by residue after planting to reduce soil erosion by water
agricultural practices intended to reduce erosion and retain water on land.
The U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service defines conservation tillage as any tillage system that leaves at least 30% of the surface covered by plant residues for control of erosion by water; for controlling erosion by wind, it means leaving at least 1120 kg/ha (1000 lb/a) of small-grained-straw-equivalent during the critical wind erosion period. The amount of residue needed depends on the kind of residue and whether it is standing or flat.
A broad term for any type of tillage system that leaves 30% or more of the soil surface covered with crop residue after planting.