Long-term feasibility of reduced tillage in organic farming

Agricultural practices such as soil tillage emit greenhouse gases such as CO₂and N₂O. As a consequence, reducing the tillage could both reduce greenhouse emissions and improve soil quality. In Europe about 25 % of arable land is managed under reduced tillage and no tillage, mainly using herbicides t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agronomy for sustainable development 2015-01, Vol.35 (1), p.339-346
Main Authors: Armengot, Laura, Berner, Alfred, Blanco-Moreno, José M, Mäder, Paul, Sans, F. Xavier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
arable soils
Biomedical and Life Sciences
community structure
conventional tillage
crop production
cropping systems
environmental performance
farmers
field experimentation
flora
grasses
greenhouse gases
Helianthus
Helianthus annuus
herbicides
Life Sciences
nitrous oxide
organic production
perennials
reduced tillage
Research Article
soil quality
Soil Science & Conservation
Sustainable Development
Triticum aestivum
weeds
wheat
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Summary:Agricultural practices such as soil tillage emit greenhouse gases such as CO₂and N₂O. As a consequence, reducing the tillage could both reduce greenhouse emissions and improve soil quality. In Europe about 25 % of arable land is managed under reduced tillage and no tillage, mainly using herbicides to get rid of weeds. Therefore, a major drawback for organic farmers is that the lack of herbicide and soil inversion could increase weed infestation. Here, we compared reduced tillage and conventional tillage in a 2002–2011 field experiment under organic management in Switzerland. We analyzed crop production and weed flora, with a focus on perennials and grasses. Data on yield, cover, richness, and composition of the weed flora were collected for wheat in 2003 and 2009, sunflower in 2004 and 2010, and spelt in 2005 and 2011, through two complete rotations. We found that weed abundance was 2.3 times higher under reduced tillage, though we did not observe a systematic increase with time. The average abundance of perennials almost doubled over time under reduced tillage, thus changing the community composition between tillage systems. Despite the weed increase, yields were similar for reduced tillage and conventional tillage. As a consequence, this study represents the first long-term trial under organic management showing that reduced tillage improves the environmental performance of this cropping system.
ISSN:1774-0746
1773-0155
DOI:10.1007/s13593-014-0249-y