Greater soil water harvesting and crop yields with no-till and crop-residue retention

Abstract

Global heating is already impacting agriculture across the steppes. Increasing temperatures and capricious rainfall are aggravating problems related to soil health, loss of soil fertility, soil erosion and compaction. The industrial model of agricultural intensification has brought no relief: rather, intensive ploughing has decimated soil organic matter and soil structure, cutting infiltration and water retention capacity while encouraging soil erosion and compaction. Sustainability requires a new strategy based on Conservation Agriculture but, because CA has been largely a farmers’ movement, systematic research has been lagging. A long-term no-till field experiment on the Typical Chernozem of the Bălţi Steppe, in Moldova, demonstrates the influence of different rates of crop residues on soil water accumulation and yields of winter barley following corn-for-grain.