Conservation-tillage farming systems have changed agriculture and brought new challenges to the wildlife damage field. Associated minor problems may result from the presence of rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) or badgers (Taxidea taxus), but sprout-pulling damage by birds has not been reported. Rodents dig and consume newly planted corn. At least 14 small mammal species have been captured in not...

Blowing dust from excessively tilled fallow fields is a major soil loss and air quality concern in the low precipitation (<12 inches annually) wheat production region of the Inland Pacific Northwest (PNW). A 2-year, tillage-based winter wheatsummer fallow (WW-SF) rotation is practiced on more than 90% of rainfed cropland in the region. Earlier research proved that the undercutter method for non...

Triticum spp.), corn (Zea mays L.), and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], which generally have had success Although use of no-tillage in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) pro with no-tillage. Cotton does not produce enough residuction in the southeast USA has dramatically increased recently, dues to supply the C necessary to increase soil organic reports of reduced seedling emergence, poor plant e...

Increased CO2 release from soils resulting from agricultural practices such as tillage has generated concerns about contributions to global warming. Maintaining current levels of soil C and/or sequestering additional C in soils are important mechanisms to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere through production agriculture. We conducted a study in northern Alabama from 2003 to 2006 to measure CO2 efflux...

Conservation farming (CF) offers a set of sustainable agronomic practices for Zambian smallholder farmers using either hand hoe or animal draft tillage. The CF package includes dry-season land preparation using minimum tillage methods (hand hoe basins or ADP ripping), crop residue retention, precision input application (in a precise grid of planting basins or along rip lines), and nitrogen-fixi...

Soil quality is a concept based on the premise that management can deteriorate, stabilize, or improve soil ecosystem functions. It is hypothesized that the degree of stratification of soil organic C and N pools with soil depth, expressed as a ratio, could indicate soil quality or soil ecosystem functioning, because surface organic matter is essential to erosion control, water infiltration, and ...

Conservation tillage (CT) systems have a number of potential benefits including lower crop production costs and the ability to reduce soil erosion that have made them common in several regions of the world. Although CT systems have been researched and successfully implemented on some farms in California's San Joaquin Valley (SJV), overall adoption is low and the reasons for the region's compara...

1 Research associate, Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, Fayetteville; extension weed specialist/professor, Southeast Research and Extension Center, Monticello; and assistant professor, Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, Fayetteville, respectively. Managing Glyphosate-Resistant Horseweed in Conservation-Tillage Cotton Production: Final Summary and Recommend...

The increased use of pesticides and tillage intensification is known to negatively affect biodiversity. Changes in these agricultural practices such as herbicide and tillage reduction have variable effects among taxa, especially at the top of the trophic network including insectivorous bats. Very few studies compared the effects of agricultural practices on such taxa, and overall, only as a com...