Description of practice

Conservation agriculture aims to achieve sustainable and profitable agriculture through the application of three principles: minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotations.

Examples of how to use conservation agriculture Further information
(see Note below)
AMP23 01

Conservation agriculture

No tillage and residue management are used to improve soil fertility and increase sustainable crop production.

 

»WOCAT technology 1225
»WOCAT technology 987
»WOCAT technology 3727
»WOCAT technology 5673

 

AMP23 02

Large-scale conservation agriculture

Maize and soy seeds are planted directly into the soil with the previous crop stubble remaining in situ. This reduces soil erosion and saves costs.

 

»WOCAT technology 1270

AMP23 03

Conservation agriculture for maize-legume systems

Maize seeds are planted directly into a dense legume (velvet bean) cover crop. The practice addresses challenges of land degradation, low crop yields, low incomes, high production costs and climate change.

 

»WOCAT technology 5775

AMP23 04

Conservation agriculture for smallholders

Residues of the previous crop are not removed but left on the soil surface. The new crop is planted directly through the mulch using minimum tillage.

 

»WOCAT technology 1329
»WOCAT technology 1323
»WOCAT technology 976


Note: Most of the Further information links are to a full description of the example in the WOCAT database. However sometimes the link may be to similar practices or a research paper. Occasionally the link is to a commercial product in which case it should be understood that this does not imply any endorsement of the product by iSQAPER.