Why do we need to standardize no-tillage research?

Abstract No-tillage is looked upon by many as a way to enable sustainable cropping intensification to meet future agricultural demands. Although no-tillage suggests merely the absence of tillage, in reality several components need to be applied to a conservation agriculture system to guarantee equal or higher yields and better environmental performance than with conventional tillage systems. No-tillage/conservation agriculture systems research has now been performed for more than half a century in many countries around the world, primarily for economic reasons, but also to reduce labour and energy consumption and improve environmental outcomes. However, an integrated approach to understanding this system requires standardized research methodology based on site-specific conditions. We contend that broad understanding is lacking of what conservation agriculture systems research means. This has led to a situation of conflicting research results because different technologies, methodologies, and definitions of conservation agriculture systems have been applied. The term no-tillage has been used despite considerable soil movement in the previous crop, to inject fertilizer or to establish the current crop. Similarly, the term no-tillage has been used for systems with very little or no crop mulch cover, extended fallow periods, alternating tillage and no-tillage, or crops grown in monoculture. By not performing no-tillage research in a systems approach, many problems can be encountered such as reduced yields, high erosion, low infiltration, elevated fertilizer and high pesticide use. Materials and methods in an experiment are often not descriptive enough to unveil peculiarities. By analysing the function of components of conservation agriculture systems in monofactorial experiments, synergetic interactions among components can be overlooked. In this editorial, we discuss the need to thoroughly describe materials and methods to avoid confusing interpretations of results. We contend that standardization of research methodologies in no-tillage/conservation agriculture systems is needed based on a thorough description of the whole system so that results from different researchers and regions of the world can be logically compared.

[1]  Rattan Lal,et al.  No-tillage and soil-profile carbon sequestration : An on-farm assessment , 2008 .

[2]  Sjoerd W. Duiker,et al.  Tillage × Maize Hybrid Interactions , 2006 .

[3]  Rattan Lal,et al.  Stratification ratio of soil organic matter pools as an indicator of carbon sequestration in a tillage chronosequence on a Brazilian Oxisol , 2009 .

[4]  Ademir de Oliveira Ferreira,et al.  Desempenho de genótipos de milho cultivados com diferentes quantidades de palha de aveia-preta e doses de nitrogênio , 2009 .

[5]  R. Lal,et al.  Aggregate C depletion by plowing and its restoration by diverse biomass-C inputs under no-till in sub-tropical and tropical regions of Brazil , 2013 .

[6]  E. Fereres,et al.  Evaluating the impact of soil management on soil loss in olive orchards , 2003 .

[7]  Mark G. Johnson,et al.  Conservation Tillage Impacts on National Soil and Atmospheric Carbon Levels , 1993 .

[8]  Li Hongwen,et al.  Current status of adoption of no-till farming in the world and some of its main benefits. , 2010 .

[9]  R. Lal,et al.  Carbon Depletion by Plowing and its Restoration by No‐Till Cropping Systems in Oxisols of Subtropical and Tropical Agro‐Ecoregions in Brazil , 2015 .

[10]  W. Post,et al.  Soil organic carbon sequestration rates by tillage and crop rotation : A global data analysis , 2002 .

[11]  M. F. Guimarães,et al.  Impact of Long‐Term No‐Tillage and Cropping System Management on Soil Organic Carbon in an Oxisol: A Model for Sustainability , 2008 .

[12]  O. R. Jones,et al.  Residue management and tillage effects on soil-water storage and grain yield of dryland wheat and sorghum for a clay loam in Texas , 2002 .

[13]  E. E. Minor,et al.  Technology Information Center , 1980 .

[14]  R. Carbonell-Bojollo,et al.  Meta-analysis on atmospheric carbon capture in Spain through the use of conservation agriculture , 2012 .

[15]  R. Lal,et al.  Regional Study of No‐Till Effects on Carbon Sequestration in the Midwestern United States , 2009 .

[16]  P. E. Rasmussen,et al.  Crop Residue Influences on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen in a Wheat‐Fallow System , 1980 .

[17]  J. Lampurlanés,et al.  Tillage effects on water storage during fallow, and on barley root growth and yield in two contrasting soils of the semi-arid Segarra region in Spain , 2002 .

[18]  A. Franzluebbers,et al.  Crop and cattle responses to tillage systems for integrated crop–livestock production in the Southern Piedmont, USA , 2007, Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems.

[19]  A. Franzluebbers.  Soil organic carbon sequestration and agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in the southeastern USA , 2005 .

[20]  T. Ochsner,et al.  Tillage and soil carbon sequestration—What do we really know? , 2007 .

[21]  P. Carter,et al.  Influence of Tillage on Corn and Soybean Yield in the United States and Canada , 2006 .

[22]  K. Köller,et al.  Techniques of Soil Tillage , 2006 .

[23]  J. Deckers,et al.  Infiltration, soil moisture, root rot and nematode populations after 12 years of different tillage, residue and crop rotation managements , 2007 .

[24]  S. H. Phillips,et al.  No-tillage farming. , 1973 .

[25]  Alan J. Franzluebbers,et al.  Achieving soil organic carbon sequestration with conservation agricultural systems in the southeastern United States. , 2010 .

[26]  E. C. Berry,et al.  Long-term tillage effects on soil quality , 1994 .

[27]  A. L. Black,et al.  Tillage, Nitrogen, and Cropping System Effects on Soil Carbon Sequestration , 2002 .