Comparing the profitability of tillage methods in Northeast Germany—A field trial from 2002 to 2005

Verch, Gernot; Kächele, Harald; Höltl, Karen; Richter, Christel; Fuchs, Christian

doi:10.1016/j.still.2008.12.012

Cited by 26 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Maize yields in the poor fields were greater with regular tillage (Table 4). This is in line with results from other studies (e.g., Rieger et al, 2008; Verch et al, 2009), although these authors attributed poor crop performance with zero tillage to reduced plant density, which was not the case in our experiments. Franzluebbers (2004) suggested that not tilling the soil can result in compaction immediately below the surface during initial seasons.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Socio‐Ecological Niches for Minimum Tillage and Crop‐Residue Retention in Continuous Maize Cropping Systems in Smallholder Farms of Central Kenya

et al. 2012

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Soil fertility gradients develop on smallholder farms due to preferential allocation of inputs. A multi-location on-farm trial was conducted in Meru South, Central Kenya whose overall aim was to test minimum tillage and crop-residue retention practices in socio-ecological niches across heterogeneous smallholder farms. We identifi ed three soil fertility classes together with the farmers, namely: good, medium, and poor. In each soil fertility class, two tillage (minimum or regular) and two crop residue (removed or retained) practices were tested for four consecutive seasons. Maize (Zea mays L.) grain yields in the good fi elds were above 2.5 Mg ha −1 across cropping seasons and cumulated yields were not infl uenced by tillage or crop residue management. Th e grain yields in the medium fi elds ranged between 1.3 and 5.4 Mg ha −1 and were greater with crop residue retention. In the poor fi elds, grain yield was <3.6 Mg ha −1 and minimum tillage resulted in yield decrease while crop residue addition did not aff ect yields. Regular tillage and crop residue removal resulted in largest gross benefi ts in the good fi elds ($5376 ha −1 ) while in the medium fi elds, minimum tillage with residue retention was most profi table ($3214 ha −1 ). Retention of crop residues will give improved maize performance in the medium fi elds and the prevailing prices favor minimum tillage and crop residue retention. In the poor fi elds, the emphasis should be on the rehabilitation of soil physical and chemical attributes because none of the tillage and crop residue practices was profi table.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Socio‐Ecological Niches for Minimum Tillage and Crop‐Residue Retention in Continuous Maize Cropping Systems in Smallholder Farms of Central Kenya

et al. 2012

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“…Studies on the economic implications of adopting no-till for winter wheat, winter rape, winter barley, and maize grain over a period of 4 years in the relatively dry, cool climate of northeast Germany (100 km north of Berlin) are reported by Verch et al (2009) using experimental field data applied to a hypothetical 1000 ha farm and taking into account all relevant expenses. The calculated profit (averaged over crops and a 4-year period) for ploughing, reduced tillage and no-till were -7, 111 and 55 euros ha -1 respectively.…”

Section: Economics and Energy Use With No-till Croppingmentioning

confidence: 99%

No-till in northern, western and south-western Europe: A review of problems and opportunities for crop production and the environment

Soane¹,

Ball²,

Arvidsson³

et al. 2012

Soil and Tillage Research

627

501

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“…When individual field experiments are considered, yields can be higher under RT (e.g. Knight, ; Verch et al ., ). Yield data for different tillage systems in the UK are, however, limited and moreover typically relate to experiments that were undertaken prior to the ban on straw burning in England and Wales discussed above.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

How do we cultivate in England? Tillage practices in crop production systems

Townsend

Ramsden

Wilson

2015

Soil Use and Management

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Reducing tillage intensity offers the possibility of moving towards sustainable intensification objectives. Reduced tillage (RT) practices, where the plough is not used, can provide a number of environmental and financial benefits, particularly for soil erosion control. Based on 2010 harvest year data from the nationally stratified Farm Business Survey and drawing on a sub‐sample of 249 English arable farmers, we estimate that approximately 32% of arable land was established under RT, with 46% of farms using some form of RT. Farms more likely to use some form of RT were larger, located in the East Midlands and South East of England and classified as ‘Cereals’ farms. Application of RT techniques was not determined by the age or education level of the farmer. Individual crops impacted the choice of land preparation, with wheat and oilseed rape being more frequently planted after RT than field beans and root crops, which were almost always planted after ploughing. This result suggests there can be limitations to the applicability of RT. Average tillage depth was only slightly shallower for RT practices than ploughing, suggesting that the predominant RT practices are quite demanding in their energy use. Policy makers seeking to increase sustainable RT uptake will need to address farm‐level capital investment constraints and target policies on farms growing crops, such as wheat and oilseed rape, that are better suited to RT practices.

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Comparing the profitability of tillage methods in Northeast Germany—A field trial from 2002 to 2005

Cited by 26 publications

References 21 publications

Socio‐Ecological Niches for Minimum Tillage and Crop‐Residue Retention in Continuous Maize Cropping Systems in Smallholder Farms of Central Kenya

Socio‐Ecological Niches for Minimum Tillage and Crop‐Residue Retention in Continuous Maize Cropping Systems in Smallholder Farms of Central Kenya

No-till in northern, western and south-western Europe: A review of problems and opportunities for crop production and the environment

How do we cultivate in England? Tillage practices in crop production systems

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