MANHATTAN, Kan., July 30 (UPI) -- U.S., Brazilian and French scientists say no-till farming combined with a winter cover crop is most effective in retaining tropical soil nutrients.
The researchers said tropical soils can behave differently than temperate soils. In tropical regions, soils lose nutrients quickly when cultivated. So, with looming food shortages and declining soil quality, the scientists say new farming techniques are needed to make tropical and sub-tropical farming more productive.
The researchers studied the impact of different cover crops, crop rotation and tillage on soil organic carbon storage after 19 years of crop production on tropical soil in southern Brazil.
The results showed no-tillage management combined with crop rotation including winter cover crops with high amounts of crop residues returned annually to the soil, will most likely maintain soil organic carbon stocks and most likely mimic natural forested condition for tropical and subtropical areas.
"These results have broad implications for agricultural production in tropical areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America," said Bill Hargrove of Kansas State University. "We can manage soils in ways that allow profitable crop production, while mimicking natural vegetative conditions under which land is not degraded at accelerated rates."
The research appears in the Agronomy Journal.
