CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE

PRESENTED BY

PREM BABOO
RESEARCHER
www.researchGate.net
A forest litter of leaves and twigs - even of Eucalyptus, as here -
which affords a protective cover to the surface, food for soil
organisms and ultimately is a source of soil organic matter
within the profile (with plant roots themselves)
Disk tillage not only buries much of the crop residues
but also can pulverize the soil and induce serious
compaction immediately beneath the tilled layer
Both surface soil and seeds have been moved by runoff from an
earlier storm and deposited in the channel of a broad-based
conservation bank
Broad-based conservation banks are supposed to
control runoff and soil erosion
Oil palm under won with a creeping legume
Soil conditions in a no-till system
A dense growth of nitrogen-fixing vetch within a zero
tillage rotation
Development of porous soil architecture beneath
a grass crop in rotation
Scarifying the soil with tines to a depth of about 30 cm
to break-up a subsurface compacted layer and let in
more of the rainwater
Inter planting maize in furrows drawn through
a young cover of a low-growing vetch; in the
foreground is soil which has been scarified
Zero-till maize planted in a narrow slot
cut through the residues of the previous
crop of wheat by a pair of sharp disks
In the same field, note the dark decomposing
wheat residue materials (left-hand side of
photo) beneath the light-coloured surface straw
This farmer has studied the comparative effects of zero tillage -
on the left - vs. conventional tillage - on the right - on the same
soil type
Improved management of the soil upslope resulted in
this pond reappearing and persisting through the dry
season
Further down the same catchment, the
adoption of zero tillage crop production above
showed its effect in much-extended river flow,
with considerable income improvements for
this small farmer
 Tillage induced flush of decomposition of organic matter
Organic matter lost in 19
days
Type of Tillage
(kg/ha)

Mouldboard plough + disc harrow (2x) 4 300

Mouldboard plough 2 230

Disc harrow 1 840

Chisel plough 1 720

Direct seeding 860

Prem Baboo