Deep plowing is a plowing to a depth greater than 50 cm (20 in) as compared to ordinary plowing which rarely exceeds 20 cm (8 in). The purpose of deep plowing is to modify the soil water retention characteristics over the long term. In one long-term test, lasting 35 years, the mean annual

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

yield was 2,800 lbs per acre (3,138 kg per ha) with deep plowing, which was 10% greater than the 2,550 lbs per acre (2,858 kg per ha) yield in unplowed plots. Under certain conditions, it is recommended to use deep plowing in preparing the soil for planting new

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

. There is a movement away from plowing altogether and from deep plowing in particular. The theory is that this will stop the loss of topsoil, increase the organic content of soil and reduce runoff of

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

and

pesticides Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and la ...

into rivers. Another part of the no-plowing theory is that ground moisture would be conserved; but this was shown to be incorrect by a 35-year study.

References

{{Agri-stub Agriculture Ploughs

See also

References