Minimum tillage: pros and cons, meaning

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Methods of gentle tillage for growing various kinds of crops have been used in the fields in Russia for quite some time. For example, since the last century in our country, non-moldboard technology has been widely used, in which the top layer of fertile land does not turn over during the main preparation. An even more gentle technique that allows you to preserve the structure of the soil is minimal. Recently, this technology is also gaining popularity in Russia.

Disadvantages of the traditional method

The disadvantages of the conventional moldboard technology, in which the land is cultivated for growing crops, for example, share plows to a considerable depth, is in the first place:

• decrease in the content of humus in the fertile layer;
• manifestation of wind and water erosion;
• spraying soil.

Ultimately, when using traditional methods of preparing fields for sowing, crop yields are reduced. Over the years of applicationdump technologies, land in many areas in Russia has been significantly depleted or has changed its structure for the worse. In some cases, it has even become completely unsuitable for growing crops.

The use of a non-moldboard technique has led to some improvement in the situation with the state of the soil in the fields in Russia. The use of the minimum method of processing in the future can correct all the damage done to the land in our country during the years of its irrational and consumer exploitation. And this, in turn, of course, will have the most beneficial effect on the state of such an important sector of the economy as agriculture.

What does minimum tillage mean

When using this technology, the soil in the fields is loosened only to the depth of seed placement or is not processed at all. In the latter case, herbicides are intensively used against weeds in the plots. Also features of minimum tillage are:

• combining a number of technological operations in one pass of equipment;
• active use of pesticides to reduce the area occupied by crops;
• use of equipment that does not put too much pressure on the soil.

Also, when using minimal technology on farms, they try to reduce the number of treatments, performing each operation in the optimal physical condition of the soil.

This technique can be used when growing most varieties of crops. For example, it is considered expedient to use the technology of minimum tillage for corn, beets, sunflowers, cereals, etc.

Pros of the method

The main advantage of this technique, of course, is the ability to prevent erosion, weathering and deterioration of the soil structure. Also, the advantages of using the minimum tillage technology include, of course, the reduction of labor and production costs at the initial stage of growing agricultural crops.

Besides this, the use of this technique helps to prevent the formation of a dense plow layer on the fields. Such a layer is created in the areas due to the passage of heavy equipment through them year after year. If it is present, rain and melt moisture subsequently flows down and soaks into the ground in areas with a slope where there is no plow layer. On flat fields, water stagnates, which, of course, has an extremely negative effect on the condition of the soil.

Stubble (remains of stems of cut plants) when using the minimum tillage technology is not buried in the soil, but is crushed and evenly distributed in the form of mulch over the field. Thanks to this, the structure of the land from year to year becomes more and more suitable for growing agricultural crops. Of course, mulch greatly contributes to the saturation of the soil with humus.

What other benefits does technology have

Rejection of plowing the land when growingagricultural crops has another important advantage. Equipment on the fields in this case is expelled much less frequently. And this, in turn, has a beneficial effect on the ecology of the area. Less harmful gases are emitted into the air when using minimum tillage technology. In addition, in this case, there is no pollution of nearby water bodies.

Appropriateness of use

There are practically no shortcomings in the minimum technique. The only thing is that it can not be applied to all fields. The most appropriate use of such technology is considered to be on chernozems. In such regions, the soil is usually loose enough to allow a variety of crops to grow and produce high yields without any cultivation.

In dense soils loosening before sowing is likely to be necessary. But in this case, the use of minimization technology is still possible. Unfortunately, for a long time in such fields plowing was carried out to a depth significantly exceeding that necessary for the normal development of crops. The use of minimal processing techniques can correct this defect. You can not apply this technology mainly only in wet and wetlands.

Cons of the technique: chemical contamination of the earth

Some disadvantage of minimization technology is, of course, the need to apply a large amount of herbicides. Substances are mostly chemical. Accordingly, they are not able to influence the composition of the earth in the best way. Withoutthe use of herbicides is not too intensively cultivated in autumn and spring, the fields are quickly overgrown with weeds.

The need to use pesticides to intensify crops in order to reduce the area of cultivated land, of course, can also be attributed to some of the disadvantages of minimization technology. As is known, such substances can accumulate in the green parts of plants and in their fruits. That is, they can potentially pose a danger to human he alth.

Features of the application of technology

What is the essence of minimum tillage and its meaning is thus clear. But what are the main features of this technology? Farms wishing to switch to the minimum method, among other things, will need to take care of attracting highly qualified personnel. Agronomists working at such agricultural enterprises should know their business very well. The success of growing crops with minimal tillage to a very large extent depends on the accuracy of compliance with all technologies, taking into account the structure and composition of the land, climatic conditions, the presence of pests and their varieties, as well as many other factors.

Of course, if you want to grow crops using this method, farms will have to buy all sorts of special equipment. And this, of course, will lead to additional costs at the first stage.

Microflora

Minimum tillage technology, like non-moldboard technology, has one more disadvantage. Most types of pestsagricultural crops lay eggs at some depth in the ground in autumn. Thus, they protect their offspring from the winter cold. Conventional farming techniques turn the earth upside down, bringing the eggs to the surface and freezing in the winter.

When using the minimum technique, eggs laid by pests remain in the thickness of the earth and in the spring, of course, new insects hatch from them. Therefore, in the fields in the future, it is also necessary to apply a rather large amount of insecticides.

However, the need for pest control in the case of using the minimum tillage technology is largely offset by the fact that in the non-turned soil, all microflora useful for plants is subsequently preserved and awakened with the onset of the warm season. When using this technique, the earth remains in the literal sense of the word “alive”. And this, in turn, of course, has a very beneficial effect on the development of crops.

Statistics

Thus, we found out what are the pros and cons of minimum tillage. At the moment, this technology for our country is still a rather new technique. Many farms are still afraid to implement it in their fields. This is explained primarily by the fact that its use is fraught with high costs at the initial stage, as well as the occurrence of difficulties due to the clogging of fields or, for example, the invasion of pests.

But experts believe that such fears are largely unfounded. Modern herbicides and insecticides can successfully cope with the problem of both weeds and pests. The initial costs of purchasing equipment and attracting skilled workers will eventually pay off by increasing crop yields and preserving land structure.

The fact that such a technique can be beneficial for farms is also evidenced by statistics. For example, scientists have calculated that labor costs when using the minimum tillage technology for winter wheat, rye, beets, carrots, etc. subsequently decrease by 1.6 times. Farms that have switched to this technology spend 2.2 times on fuels and lubricants. Maintenance of equipment in such agricultural enterprises is cheaper by 1.5 times.

Light vehicles

Reducing the harmful impact on the soil due to the large number of technological operations, including the use of heavy equipment - thus, one of the absolute advantages of the minimum tillage technique. When using traditional plowing methods, tractors weighing more than 15 tons with multi-body heavy plows are often driven onto the fields. The density of the sole formed in this case in the area of the sole can reach 1.7 g / cu. Of course, this has an extremely negative effect on the condition of the soil in the fields.

While using minimal technology, light equipment is used on the plots, designed for loosening:

• CAT-2.2.
• KPG-250.
• KSh-3.8.
• BIG-1 etc.

Combination of operations

Also, work can be performed using aggregates designed for combined processing:

• APK-2.5.
• RVK-3.61.
• SZS-2.21 etc.

Performing several operations in the field in one pass prevents soil compaction very effectively. For example, the following land cultivation activities can be carried out simultaneously on farms:

• pre-sowing cultivation;
• sowing itself;
• fertilization;
• rolling.

To perform all these operations on the field at the same time allows, for example, equipment such as a seeder-cultivator SZS-2.21.

Minimum tillage: conclusions

Thus, with this modern technology, the soil can:

• loosen to seed depth (or slightly deeper in dense soils);
• do not loosen at all (on a field with stubble, furrows are simply cut under the laying of seeds).

That is, in this case, the most labor-intensive part of the work on growing crops is practically excluded - the main and pre-sowing tillage. Thanks to this feature, many people call the minimum technology a “method for the lazy”. However, since this methodcultivation does not lead to a decrease in yield in the fields in the early stages and contributes to its increase in the future due to the improvement of land properties, it is certainly advisable to use it on farms (in not too humid areas).

Good results can be obtained, for example, by the use of minimum tillage technology in Eastern Siberia, Western, Southern, Middle and Southern Urals, Central regions, southern Russia and many other regions.