Table of contents
Objectives
Structure and content
2. Key environmental and soil factors influencing productivity and management
Topography
Rainfall
Soil limitations
Soil conditions
Productivity
3. General principles for the development of soil management strategies
Objectives of soil management for agriculture
Principles for the development of soil management practices
4. Concepts and objectives of tillage in conservation farming
Why conserve the soil?
The concept of integrated management – conservation farming
Technical tillage parameters
Moldboard plough
Disc implements
Chisels
Spike-toothed tines – levellers and harrows
Rotary cultivators (rotavators)
Rollers
Direct drilling - zero tillage
6. Implements and methods for the preparation of agricultural soil
Objectives of soil preparation
Implements for soil preparation
7. Effect of tillage on soil physical properties
Causes of physical soil degradation
Stages in the physical degradation of soil
Principal physical characteristics affected by tillage
Terminology, definitions and classification of tillage systems
Principal types of tillage system
Strip tillage or zonal tillage
Ridge tillage
Combined tillage and seeding systems
Subsoiling
9. Land use according to its capability
Land evaluation
Concept
Functions of green manure
Characteristics to consider when selecting types of green manure
Characteristics of green manure
Management of green manure
Effects of green manure on the soil properties
13. Physical barriers for the control of runoff
Terracing
Safe waterways
Concept
Gully dimensions
Measures for control and stabilization
15. Rainwater capture and irrigation
Principal factors affecting the establishment of systems for rainwater capture
Methods for in situ rainfall capture
Irrigation aspects
16. Selection of alternative technologies
Information sources concerning alternative technologies
Technology selection on the basis of farmers’ circumstances
Technology selection on the basis of environmental considerations
Technology selection on the basis of "Problem – Solution" relationships
Reflections concerning the selection of soil management technologies
17. Participatory planning in the execution of soil management programmes
Micro-catchment areas as planning units
Implementation of programmes and projects
Objectives of a programme and project
Enthusiasm as the driving force for development
Success – the source of enthusiasm
Participation - the road to follow
Destructive participation
How to improve constructive participation
How to increase participation
Some criteria for selecting an appropriate technology
Participating with the rural families in planning the soil management practices
Community planning
Making thematic maps
Establishing priorities for the actions to be undertaken in the micro-catchment basin
Formulation of projects
Conservation farm planning
Community mapping
Implementation of soil management plans
Annexes
1. Comparison of field work rates with tillage implements
List of tables
1. Training course on "Methods of soil management and conservation: efficient tillage methods for soil conservation"
2. Mulch cover and soil loss from two simulated rainfalls
3. Average effect of the nature and orientation of crop residues on the erosion of a sandy loam soil by wind at a uniform velocity
4. Effects of mulch cover and the type of tillage on the amount of moisture (mm) stored in 120 cm soil depth. Faizabad, India
5. Types of tillage and their effect on the moisture, temperature and rate of emergence for cowpea and soybean.
6 Application of mulch and the quantity of earthworm casts
7 Effects of cover crops on infiltration rates with and without earthworm activity
8. Straw production and the relationships of C/N and of the grain/straw weight for annual crops, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
9. Effects of deep tillage on some physical properties and on root development in a compacted soil
10. Work rates per unit area needed to carry out a selection of agricultural tasks on the farm
11. Effect of tillage systems on the soil density and porosity
12. Quantity of residues remaining on the soil after different tillage treatments
13. Tillage systems classified according to the degree of disturbance to the soil and the surface cover of residues
14. Moisture content, residue cover and maize yield for four tillage systems in Oxford, North Carolina, USA
15. Working characteristics of the chisel plough for stubble
16. Effect of tied ridges on the yields of different crops in Tanzania
17. Effects of tillage on runoff and soil loss for soils cultivated with maize in Nigeria
18. Guide-table for definition of the classes and sub-classes of land use capability for group 1 soils of the Lageado Atafona catchment basin, Santo Ângelo, Brazil
19. Evaluation of the effect of increasing the quantity of maize residues in the soil cover on the runoff flow, the runoff velocity and the total soil losses
20. Effect of the annual crop type on soil losses by erosion. Average rainfall of 1 300 mm and a slope between 8.5 and 12.8 percent
21. Effect of the type of perennial crop or vegetation on erosion losses of soil. Weighted averages for three soil types in the State of São Paulo, Brazil
22. Losses of soil and water during the growth cycles of soybean, wheat, maize and cotton in a red dystrophic latosol soil and a slope of 8 percent
23. Total soil losses in plots with a 7.5 percent slope for a Red-yellow podsolic soil under simulated rainfall of 64 mm/h and with different quantities of crop residues
24. Chemical composition of some residues used as a dead vegetative cover
25. Percentage of soil cover as a function of the management of residues from different crops
26. Effect of management and conservation practices on erosion losses under annual crops
27. List of the main species used as green manure and soil cover
28. Production of biomass and analysis of the nutrients in the vegetative cover of winter green manure species evaluated at the CPPP
29. Nutrient content of the components (stems and leaves) of summer cycle annual species with a potential for use as a green manure, soil cover and for soil recovery
30. Nutrient content of the stems and leaves of winter cycle, semi-perennial and perennial species with a potential for use as a green manure, soil cover and for soil recovery
31. Effect of different species of green manure for controlling nematodes in a dark-red latosol soil (LE) from Cerrado
32. Allopathic effect of crops and species used for green manure (Bidens alba), on the germination of seeds from a selection of weeds
33. Length, slope and drop in level for graded terraces
34. Recommended spacing for bench terraces
35. Construction recommendations for the spacing of staked structures in gullies
36. Monthly rainfall recorded at Petrolina, PE, Brazil for the period 1985 – 1994
37. Values of the Tank Coefficient for a Class A tank (Kp) for estimated values of the reference rate of evapo-transpriration
38. Limitations, causes and elements of possible soil management solutions
39. Straw production by different crops, and classification in terms of an index of the degree of organic matter supply to the soil
40. List of crop rotations and sequences that are not recommended for the sub-humid zones of Santa Cruz, Bolivia
41. Species that are used or have been found to be promising as live barriers
42. Guide to the selection of soil conservation practices
for different crops and slopes in El Salvador
List of figures
1. Effects of cover on the reduction of splash erosion
2. Relationship between soil cover, slope and the erosion risk
3. Infiltration rates in plots with and without mulch
4 Relationship between the organic matter in the first 15 mm of soil and the quantity of crop residues applied over 5 years in Georgia
5 Distribution of organic matter in the soil after 10 years of zero tillage and conventional tillage
6 A simplified model to calculate the quantity of additional forage required to satisfy the needs of livestock and for soil protection
7. Method of ploughing in strips with animal traction
8. Groundnut lifting share used for ploughing in strips or bands
9. System for weeding (hoeing) with animal traction
10. Ridging with animal traction
11. Manual planter for non-delinted cotton seed
12. The tillage triangle
13. Stubble mulch chisel plough
14. Spring-tined cultivator (Vibro-Cultivator) equipped with a levelling blade and a long-fingered rake
15. Stubble mulch cultivator
16. The flexible tined chisel plough "Vibroflex"
17. Types of cultivator point
18. Long-fingered rake
19. Spike-toothed harrow
20. Lightweight cage rolls
21. Heavy clod-breaking roll
22. Row-crop cultivator equipped with a band sprayer
23. Ripper
24. Seed drill for direct drilling small grains
25. Equipment for deep tillage and seeding combined in one operation
26. Loosening the soil with a subsoiler under moist and dry conditions
27. Types of subsoiler tines
28. Representation of the relationship between the working depth of the subsoiler, the width of soil disturbance and the shank spacing
29. Subsoiling and seeding in one operation
30. Operating principle and construction of a "Paraplow"
31. Effect of the direction of planting and the soil preparation method on maize production
32. Variation of the maximum and minimum temperatures over 5-day periods at a 5 cm depth in the soil during a trial of vegetative matter incorporation and soil cover before sowing beans in Campinas, S.P.
33. Effect of crop residues on soil moisture content in soil horizons at 0-10 and
10-20 cm depth during the cultivation of maize
34. Number of arthropods per 300 cm3 soil samples on direct and conventional soya sowing after wheat and green cover cropping
35. Influence of the intensity of soil disturbance on the population of soil organisms (Number of earthworms/m2) in the horizon of 0-10 cm
36. Effect of velvet beans and nitrogenous fertilizer on maize production. Average for two localities and three years of crops
37. Influence of dead vegetative cover from various winter crops on the percentage distribution of graminaceous and broad leaf species
38. Schematic representation of the terrace profile showing A: of earth movement; B: the bank and C: the channel
39. Schematic representation of a terrace showing runoff and water movement in relation to slope
40. Schematic profiles of a broad-based terrace (A), medium based (B) and narrow-based (C) which may be adapted according to the local soil conditions, crops and available machinery
41. Schematic profile of an inward-sloping bench terrace showing the platform with a small gradient along the bench, and the bench inclination which varies according to soil texture
42. An inward-sloping bench terrace changes the land profile into a series of cultivated platforms planted to economic crops without erosion problems
43. Barrier made from vegetation
44. Barrier made from branches for normal use
45. Barrier made with branches and wire netting
46. Stone barrier
47. Barrier made from a wall of branches
48. Barrier made from logs
49. Ploughing and planting on flat land
50. Ridging after planting
51. Ridging before planting
52. Tied ridges made with an animal drawn toolbar
53. Implement for making tied-ridges for use with a single animal
54. Tied-ridge system
55 Strip ploughing system
56. Method for mechanical hoeing or weeding with animal traction
57. The "Guimarães Duque" system of high and wide ridges
58. Schematic diagram of the drip irrigation system
59. Two year rotations of annual crops, recommended for Santa Cruz, Bolivia for well-drained soils with medium to moderately heavy texture
60. Appropriate tillage systems for the tropics