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Transitional no‐till: What is it and how does it differ from ‘true’ no‐till?
Author(s) -
Grigar Jerry,
Hatfield Jerry L.,
Reeder Randall
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
crops and soils
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2325-3606
pISSN - 0162-5098
DOI - 10.2134/cs2018.51.0603
Subject(s) - no till farming , tillage , environmental science , soil science , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , soil water , agronomy , geotechnical engineering , biology , soil fertility
No‐till is not really no‐till until the soil achieves a physical, biological, and chemical balance typical after several years of continuous no‐till. Early years of no‐till research must be identified as “transitional no‐till.” Any interruption of continuous no‐till with a tillage operation resets the soil clock, and the changes are not realized and may even be reversed. In this overview, we present the case for why no‐till systems achieve the positive results on soil properties and why not disturbing the soil is necessary to restore soil functionality. Earn 1.5 CEUs in Soil & Water Management by reading this article and taking the quiz at www.certifiedcropadviser.org/education/classroom/classes/612 .