Crop Residue Management for Soil Conservation on Irrigated Lands of the Northwest

Carter, D.L. and Kemper, W.D. and Berg, R.D. and Brown, M.J. (1995) Crop Residue Management for Soil Conservation on Irrigated Lands of the Northwest. In: Papendick, R.I. and Moldenhauer, W.C. (eds.) Crop Residue Management to Reduce Erosion and Improve Soil Quality - Northwest. ARS Conservation Research Report No. 40. pp. 37-43.

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Abstract

Leaving crop residue on the soil surface during cropping has
a number of clear advantages over tillage that leaves the soil
surface bare. Most obvious is the greatly reduced erosion
from wind and water. This advantage alone makes the
change worthwhile. Mandated conservation compliance by
1995 is a further incentive to adopt surface crop residue
management. Other advantages include increased yield due
to water conserved by surface residue, lower soil temperatures,
higher quality soil over time due to increased soil
organic matter levels, and, in many cases, reduced input of
time, labor, and fuel.
The feasibility of farming while leaving residues on the
surface is indicated by the rapid rate at which farmers are
adopting these management practices. Success is due in
large part to greater effectiveness and reduced cost of
herbicides and the improvement of planting equipment
available on the market.

Item Type:	Technical Bulletin
NWISRL Publication Number:	0878
Subjects:	Soil Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2010 21:58
Last Modified:	25 Oct 2016 18:09
Item ID:	1205
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/1205