Abstract: Of the 353 million acres of harvested cropland in the United States, 27.4 percent was in conservation tillage in 1981. The percentage of acres in no-till was 2.5.
These figures are encouraging to anyone who looks to conservation tillage as a means of reducing soil erosion. And there is cause for encouragement. While the shift to conservation tillage no doubt will be gradual, the farmer who buys a chisel plow for his soybean land is more likely to use it on his other land than the farmer who never uses a chisel plow.
Questions remain, however, about the effectiveness of conservation tillage systems in controlling soil erosion. How much does conservation tillage reduce erosion? On what slopes, in what rainfall areas, and with which soil characteristics will conservation tillage reduce soil erosion to acceptable levels?
What follows is a region-by-region assessment of conservation tillage's effectiveness in controlling soil loss.
Corn Belt
In 1981, conservation tillage was used on one-third of the harvested cropland in the Corn Belt. The percentage of cropland in no-till was near the national figure of 2.5 percent. The remainder was mainly chisel-plowed or disked with a …
Publication Year: 1983
Publication Date: 1983-05-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 41
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