To grow concepts about zero tillage!!!

1. CONCEPTS OF ZERO TILLAGE
Introduction: Zero tillage is an extreme form of minimum tillage.it is
also known as- no till farming, direct drilling etc.Zero tillage is a way of
growing crops or pasture from year to year without disturbing the soil
through tillage.Zero tillage is an agricultural technique which increases
the amount of water that infiltrates into the soil and increases organic
matter retention and cycling of nutrients in the soil.In many agricultural
regions it can reduce or eliminate soil erosion.It increases the amount
and variety of life in and on the soil,including disease-causing organisms
and disease suppression organisms.The most powerful benefit of zero
tillage is improvement in soil biological fertility,making soils more
resilient.Farm operations are made much more efficient,particularly
improved time of sowing and better traffic ability of farm operations.
History:Tilling of soil is used to remove weeds,shape the soil into rows
for crop plants and furrows for irrigation.This leads to unfavorable
effects,like soil compaction;loss of organic matter;degradation of soil
aggregates;death or disruption of soil microbes and other organisms
and soil erosion where top soilis washed or blown away.Zero tillage
avoids these effects by excluding the use of tillage. With this way of
farming,crop residues or other organic amenities are retained on the
soil surface and sowing or fertilizing is done with minimal soil
disturbance.Continuous zero till needs to be managed very differently
in order to keep or increase yield on the field.

2. The idea of zero tillage was started in early 1940s by Edward Faulkner
author of Plowman’s Folly.But it wasn't until the development of
several chemicals after the Second World War that various researchers
and farmers started to try out the idea.The very first adopters of zero
tillage were Klingman,Edward Faulkner,L.A. Porter,Laurence Young,the
Instituto de Pesquisas Agropecuarias Meridional(1971 in Brazil) with
Herbert Bartz.Triplett is considered to be the Father of Zero Tillage.
Definition:
It is an extreme form of minimum tillage. Primary tillage is
completely avoided and secondary tillage is restricted to
seedbed preparation in the row zone only.
Placement of seed in to soil without soil preparation.
It is the direct sowing of seed in the field without any
disturbance to the soil.
Advantages or Profits:
It is seen that,zero tillage is more effective than conventional tillage
practices if it is performed correctly.
Less tillage of the soil reduces farm labour cost,fuel,farm machineries
costand cost of irrigation.
Zero tillage can increase yield because of higher water infiltration and
storage capacity,and less erosion.
Helps in controlling noxious weeds.

3. Zero tillage can increase organic matter in the soil,which is a form of
carbon sequestration.
Another benefit of zero tillage is that because of the higher water
content,instead of leaving a field fallow it can make economic sense to
plant another crop instead.
Zero tillage has carbon sequestration potential through storage of soil
organic matter in the soil of crop fields.Whereas,when soil is tilled by
machinery,the soil layers invert,air mixes in,and soil microbial activity
dramatically increases over base line levels.Tilling results in soil organic
matter being broken down much more rapidly,and carbon is lost from
the soil into the atmosphere.In addition to the effect on soil from
tilling,emissions from the farm tractors increases carbon dioxide levels
in the atmosphere.
Zero tillage improves soil quality,carbon,organic matter, aggregates,
protecting the soil from erosion,evaporation of water, and structural
breakdown. A reduction in tillage passes helps prevent the compaction
of soil.
Tillage lowers the albedo of croplands.
Zero tillage increases the amount and variety of wildlife.This is the
result of improved cover, reduced traffic and the reduced chance of
destroying ground nesting birds and animals as plowing destroys all of
them.
Implements and tools of Zero tillage:
1. Zero till seed/grain drill cum Fertilizer

4. 2. Metal cutting blade Mould board Plough
3. Rotary weeder
Managements of Zero tillage:

5. Zero tillage requires some different skills in order to do it
successfully.As with any production system, if zero tillage is not done
correctly, yields can drop.So,a combined technique is required for
the management of Zero tillage.
1.Cover Crops:They are occasionally used in agriculture as guard
crops.They leave residue to the soil and also kill various weeds.Farmers
use them for controlling of weeds so that the succeeding crop may get
enough energy resource for their growth,nutrition and development.
2.Integrated disease and pest management:Nowadays,it is very
popularly adopted in western countries.the approach is very
simple.Here the ecosystem is not hurt at all.So farmers adopt this
Practice to get optimum yield using zero tillage.
3.Crop Rotations:With zero tillage,the residue is kept at the soil surface
and thus it increases the soil moisture.But this may also bring the
disease or pest outbreak to the crop field.So,to manage this
problem,farmers should use crop rotation,Bythe rotation of crops,the
completion of pathogen life cycle can be stopped and thus they can be
easily managed.
4.Implements:The proper zero tillage can be done with the help of light
implements.so,it is necessary to use light tractors as it escapes the
chances of soil compaction.
There is a misconception about zero tillage that farmers do periodic
tilling as there is slight increase in soil bulk density due to zero
tillage.It should be kept in mind that,zero tillage creates a natural
conditions under which most of the soils formed more closely than

6. any other system of farming.Here soil is kept undisturbed and the
seeds are in proper place to germinate.
Institutions associated with Zero Tillage:
Internatinal Rice Research Institute,Phillipines
International Federation on Organic Agricultural
Movements,Germany
Indian Agricultural Research Institute,New Delhi,India
NRC on Organic Farming,Ghaziabad,UP,India
Here are some Pictures below to show The Zero tillage operations in
field
Crop Fields inzerotilthconditionfor upcoming crops

7. Rotary weeding incrop fieldfor weedcontrol
Zerotill fertilizer cumseeddrill machine at work
Conclusion: As nowadays,theenergy resources arelimited,so we have make
conservation of resources.Thus Zero Tillage plays a vital role in Conservation
Agriculture.Italso helps in maintaining the ecosystemin the soil.Although,thereis
huge use of Non selective herbicides for weed controland compaction in
soil,there is less chance of any harmto the environment.As the method requires
high fertilizer and seed rate,it is still under improvement.But still,wecan say it is
far better than Conventional Methods.So,we may concludeZero tillage as Healthy
practice of farming for soil improvement andconservationof resources.