Minimum tillage is a

soil conservation Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the topmost layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other unsust ...

system like

strip-till Strip-till is a conservation system that uses a minimum tillage. It combines the soil drying and warming benefits of conventional tillage with the soil-protecting advantages of no-till by disturbing only the portion of the soil that is to contain th ...

with the goal of minimum soil manipulation necessary for a successful

crop production Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

. It is a

tillage Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shoveling, picking, mattock work, hoein ...

method that does not turn the soil over, in contrast to intensive tillage, which changes the soil structure using

plough A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

s. In minimum tillage, primary tillage is completely avoided and only secondary tillage is practiced to a small extent. Minimum tillage includes practices like minimum furrowing, use of organic fertilizer, use of biological methods to control pests, and minimum use of chemicals.

References

Britannica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minimum Tillage Sustainable agriculture

See also

References