Organic Sources and Tillage Practices for Soil Management

Soil is the most valued natural resource, which needs to be used until the existence of the world for our food production. There is a limited option to bring new land under crop cultivation. The finite land resource is decreasing continuously due to a new settlement, industrial, and other development activities. Intensive agriculture ensured food security, which, however, exerts huge pressure on arable land through increased frequency of crop cultivation, repeated tillage, and indiscriminate use of unbalanced agrochemicals. The resultant effects of long-term intensive agriculture are the depletion of organic matter (OM) and degradation of soils, which attributes to lower use efficiencies of agricultural inputs. It is anticipated that 60% more yields of cereals will be needed by 2050 contrasted with the current level. Because of poor soil health, it has become a great challenge to keep increased food production onwards. If the productive capacity of soils could not be maintained, the present civilization must be collapsed. Therefore, the soil needs to be kept alive by adding locally available organic amendments and adopting conservation tillage practices. Soil carbon (C) is the fuel and driving force of ecosystem functions. Application of organic amendments increases soil C, builds soil structure, enriches biological diversity, and contributes to reducing inorganic fertilizers in crop production. Rice straw is the most available residue in many countries of the world, which increases soil aggregate stability, organic C, and cation exchange capacity by 27.8, 45.5, and 27.2%, respectively, compared to sole inorganic fertilizer application. Poultry manure and cow dung were found effective to reduce soil acidity, which depends on the rates and frequency of their application. Conservation tillage like no-till, reduced tillage, and strip-tillage, etc. diminishes mineralization of OM and increases C accumulation in soil. No-till with residue retention has global demand, which is one of the best options of increasing soil C. No-till system alone can save about 70% energy and fuel consumption compared to traditional tillage. Rotation of crops, retention of residues, and adoption of other suitable resource conservation strategies further ensure good soil health and its productive capacity. The combined adoption of organic amendments and conservation tillage can revitalize degraded soils and bring multiple benefits including agricultural sustainability and mitigation of climate change.