Tillage and Cultivation
8 | Unit 1.2
- Minimum tillage (a.k.a. optimum, reduced, or economy tillage)
a) Defined: Combined primary and secondary tillage operations that use fewer
operations than conventional tillage to prepare a seedbed for a given crop or area
b) Types of conservation tillage
c) Advantages: Reduced soil erosion and loss of soil organic matter
d) Disadvantages: Reduced mineralization rates (nutrient availability)
e) Application of no-till systems
i. Steep slopes
f) Tools and practices used in minimum tillage
i. Conservation tillage: Use of subsurface tillage equipment
ii. No-till: Use of special planters
- Common tillage sequences in small-scale mechanized farming systems
a) Primary tillage: Incorporation of cover crop residue in spring
b) Secondary tillage: Seedbed establishment
c) Bed formation and planting
d) Cultivation for weed control
e) Incorporation of crop residue
Instructor’s Lecture Outline