An Overview Of No-till Farming

Producers around the world are actively looking for new answers to increase production and find more reliable and effective techniques for the maintenance of natural sources. If some producers are using green sheds to protect water from vaporising and chemical elements, others are practising no-till farming to make the best use of the soil’s initial state and using chemicals to kill weeds.


An Overview Of No-till Farming


The “no-till” technology is used because it’s credited with shielding the soil from erosion caused by ploughing. The main speciality of this technology is that there is no ploughing; the soil tampers with devices with disks or teeth or a mixture of discs and teeth. At the ground, when the works are continuous year after year at the same effective depth, a thick layer at the depth of ploughing of 30-35 cm is created. This layer is called hardpan.


History of No-Till Farming


The concept of current no-till farming began in the 1940s, one of the richest promoters of this technology being Edward H. Faulkner, but the concept was widely utilised by producers all across the USA only after the WW2, when the addition of chemicals for farming allowed them to try it out. No-till farming is now used on a large scale in the USA and other countries essentially because of the reduction in costs related to tillage and because the crop residue develops water infiltration into the soil, stopping the rapid drying of rainfall. In the 1970s it grew harder for producers to afford the tools and time necessary to do primary tillage on wide fields. With no-till agriculture allowed producers to use minimal, steeper lands, claiming less fuel, energy, agricultural machinery and time.


Pros of no-till farming


One of the main benefits is the decreased cost for labour, machinery and fuel. This points to higher labour productivity because it conserves time and capital in the methods needed to prepare the soil for seeding.


Another main advantage is the fact that soil formation is improved. Tillage upsets the natural construction of the soil, especially when it’s done regularly. Through this interruption, some of the carbon from the soil is loosened, but carbon is fundamental for the improvement of soil organisms. The soil building is important to ensure that the crops have the inevitable nutrients and water.


By dropping more crops debris on the soil’s exterior during the years in which no crops are developing, it’s potential to conquer the erosion that might happen. The same debris allows water from rains and snow goes to infiltrate the soil healthy, instead of dissipating at the surface, moving away from important nutrients and the topsoil layer. Thus, the no-till technology decreases the amount of material used; hence soil compaction is significantly degraded.


Cons of no-till farming


The main problem of the no-till technology is the producers have no automatic control over weeds, by not using tillage. Hence, most producers are using a growing number of substances in order to eliminate weeds. 

Another hazard of no-till agriculture is that diseases may be carried out by crops debris since they are not fully incorporated into the soil after the season. Infected crops residues may serve as a host for the disease that can damage the following crops. The most simple solution is to alternate crops that are not responsive to the same diseases, but this can cause hassles for producers who want to grow some main crops like monocultures.


In the case of producers switching from tillage to no-till farming, further purchases in the machine will most likely be necessary, because this technology demands proper seeding & plantation equipment, able to insert crop residues and dirt in custom to sow the seeds.

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