Tillage practices for soil and water conservation in the semi-arid zone I. Management of fallow during the rainy season preceding cotton

Efficient Use of Water in Rain-Fed Agriculture

“…On the one hand, if this treatment is used for rainy-season fallow, the clods may not be stable and will disintegrate under rainfall impact before the end of the rainy season, and the resulting surface condition will then be very vulnerable to runoff and erosion (Rawitz et al 1983). On the one hand, if this treatment is used for rainy-season fallow, the clods may not be stable and will disintegrate under rainfall impact before the end of the rainy season, and the resulting surface condition will then be very vulnerable to runoff and erosion (Rawitz et al 1983).…”

“…On the one hand, if this treatment is used for rainy-season fallow, the clods may not be stable and will disintegrate under rainfall impact before the end of the rainy season, and the resulting surface condition will then be very vulnerable to runoff and erosion (Rawitz et al 1983). This adds several tens of millimeters of surface storage which fills up during excess rainfall, and infiltrates after cessation of rainfall (Rawitz et al 1983;Morin et al 1984). A very effective alternative solution is to mechanically create a soil surface micro-relief so as to increase surface storage after the soil has been brought to the tilth desired for crop production.…”

Effect of deep ploughing on the water status of highly and less compacted soils for coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) production in Sri Lanka

“…Soil water deficiency can occur due to low precipitation, while soil compaction could induce low soil water retention due to blocking of capillary fringes (Boone and Veen, 1994) and low infiltration, causing reductions in both crop growth and yield (Rawitz et al, 1983;Boone and Veen, 1994). Compaction may also decrease soil physical fertility through decreasing storage and supply of water and nutrient, which may lead to additional fertilizer requirement and increasing production cost (Hamza and Anderson, 2005).…”

Crop Responses to Furrow Diking in North Carolina

“…Clark and Jones (1981) constructed basins with a surface storage capacity of 2.5 inches on a 40‐inch row spacing that were able to prevent runoff from a 6‐inch storm when the initial infiltration rates were high as a result of low soil moisture and cracking. Jones and Clark (1987) also reported moderate erosion and dam washout on newly constructed basins on a 3% sloped clay soil field when subjected to a 2.8‐inch rainfall event in 0.5 h. Rawitz et al (1983) reported 10‐fold higher erosion losses on plowed and disked fields and 25‐fold higher erosion losses on disk‐ridged fields than on disk‐ridged, basin‐tillage fields.…”