The low average grain yield (0.7 ton ha(-1)) of tef in Ethiopia is mainly attributed to low soil fertility, and inappropriate tillage and weeds control practices. Despite this, limited scientific information has been documented so far on their interaction effects on tef crop productivity in northern Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to assess the separate and interaction effects of till...

Elevated nitrate concentrations in ground water can be a problem in agricultural areas, especially where soils are sandy. Tillage operations, such as ridge tillage (RT) and no tillage (NT) can reduce runoff and erosion but leaching of soluble nutrients could adversely impact groundwater. In a 2-year study, Br was used to trace the effects of fertilizer placement on solute movement under corn (Z...

The percentage of soil pore space filled with water (percent waterfilled pores, % WFP), as determined by water content and total porosity, appears to be closely related to soil microbial activity under different tillage regimes. Soil incubated in the laboratory at 60% WFP supported maximum aerobic microbial activity as determined by CO2 production and O2 uptake. In the field, % WFP of surface n...

Few studies have examined the water quality impact of manure use in no-tillage systems. A lysimeter study in continuous corn (Zea mays L.) was performed on Maury silt loam (fine, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Paleudalf) to evaluate the effect(s) of tillage (no-till [NT] and chisel-disk [CD]), nitrogen fertilizer rate (0 and 168 kg N ha(-1)), and dairy manure application timing (none, spring, f...

Reduced tillage practices present a tool that could sustainably intensify agriculture. The existing literature, however, lacks consensus on how and when reduced should get implemented. We reanalyzed here an extensive dataset comparing regular (i.e., conventional tillage) impacted yield of eight crops compared to stopping altogether no-tillage practice). observed aridity fertilization favored no...

Subsoiling a compacted soil should loosen it, improve the physical conditions, and increase nutrient availability and crop yields. The aim of this work is to compare the effects of different tillage and fertility treatments in a loamy Typic Hapludoll soil, and to determine the interactions of N fertilization with several soil properties and dryland corn (Zea mays L.) productivity. The experimen...

Microbial diversity can be used to assess the impact of agricultural practices on the long-term sustainability of cropping systems. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in soil bacterial diversity as a result of the impact of different soil tillage and crop rotation systems in an oxisol of southern Brazil. Bacterial diversity was examined in the 010 cm layer in two field experiments...

Activities to reduce soil erosion, soil fertility and increasing agricultural production and finally crop income have considered fundamental in the implementation of sustainable agriculture in Iran. This research investigates the effects of no-till (NL) technology to reduce soil erosion and increasing agricultural income and eventually for achieving sustainability. Data were collected through q...

An experiment with five different tillage systems and their influence on fuel consumption, labour requirement and yield of tested crops was carried out on Albic Luvisol in northwest Slavonia in the period of 1996.-2000. The compared tillage systems were: 1. conventional tillage system (CT), 2. reduced tillage system (RT), 3. conservation tillage system I (CP), 4. conservation tillage system II ...