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No-tillage, surface residue retention, and cover crops improved San Joaquin Valley soil health in the long term

2024; University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources; Volume: 78; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3733/001c.94714

2160-8091

Jeffrey P. Mitchell, Shannon B. Cappellazzi, Rad Schmidt, Jessica Chiartas, Anil Shrestha, D. C. Reicosky, Howard Ferris, Xiaoke Zhang, Teamrat A. Ghezzehei, Samuel N. Araya, Courtland Kelly, Steven J. Fonte, Sarah E. Light, Garrett C. Liles, Tom Willey, Robert Roy, Monte Bottens, C. W. Crum, William R. Horwáth, Geoffrey M. Koch, Kate M. Scow,

Agricultural Science and Fertilization

A long-term annual crop study in Five Points, California, shows that the combined use of no-tillage, surface residue retention, and cover crops improves soil health compared to conventional practices common to the region. Several chemical, biological, and physical soil health indicators were improved when these practices were combined. Our data suggest that farmers stand to gain multiple synergistic benefits from the integrated use of these practices by increasing soil structural stability, water infiltration and storage, and agroecosystem biodiversity, and improving the efficiencies of the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles of their production systems.