Principal component analysis is a valid method used for data compression and information extraction in a given set of experiments. It is a well-known classical data analysis technique. There are a number of algorithms for solving the problems, some scaling better than others. Wheat ranks as the staple food of most of the nations as well as an agent of poverty reduction, food security and world ...

One of the major goals of the Sustainable Agriculture Farming initiatives at UC Davis is to provide information about the feasibility of adopting conservation tillage and cover cropping at the farm level. The project includes two tillage schemes: standard tillage (ST) and conservation tillage (CT), and three farming methods: conventional, organic, and winter legume cover crop. All three product...

Climate change has resulted in increased vulnerability of smallholder farmers in marginal areas of Zimbabwe where there is limited capacity to adapt to changing climate. One approach that has been used to adapt to changing climate is in-field water harvesting for improved crop yields in the semi- arid regions of Zimbabwe. This review analyses the history of soil and water conservation in Zimbab...

Soil science is a relatively new discipline which has mainly developed since the 1880s. It uses terms, methods and processes borrowed from other basic disciplines like climatology, geology, chemistry, physics and biology, but with a direct application to soils. At present, it is difficult to speak about one single science but as soil sciences, as they cover several fields including: pedology (o...

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 ...

Lack of sufficient information on conservation tillage systems leads to the dominating use of conventional tillage practice in most parts of Iran. Testing other management practices may help in decision making regarding the types of tillage systems that reduce soil deterioration. A three- years field experiment was conducted to study the effects of conventional (CT), reduced (RT) and no-till (N...

The majority of hydraulic processes under a natural condition in a field are carried out under unsaturated flow conditions. The soil moisture retention curve (SMRC) is the most important hydraulic characteristic of an unsaturated soil whose knowledge is of prime importance in soil-water studies such as soil conservation, soil erosion, land evaluation, soil reclamation, and water resources manag...