Cereal crop (maize, sorghum and millet) yields in sub-Saharan Africa have decreased due to land degradation and climate changes. One of the main causes of soil degradation and the subsequent decline in crop yield is conventional tillage using hoes or mouldboard and disc ploughs. Conventional tillage and removal of crop residues leave the soil exposed to climatic factors like wind and rain, thus encouraging runoff and soil erosion. Conservation tillage is one way of converting degraded soils into productive soils, thereby improving crop yields and reducing land degradation. Conservation tillage is here defined as abandoning soil inversion (using the conventional mouldboard plough) in favour of alternative tillage systems that improve water infiltration and soil fertility. Conservation tillagesystems solve water and soil nutrient constraints by: 1) securing maximum infiltration of rainfall where it falls; and 2) enabling efficient soil fertility management by spot application of soil nutrients.
Publication year
2003
Authors
Language
English
Keywords
draught animals, domestication, ploughing, animal husbandry, animal health, disease control, sorghum, millet, conservation tillage
Geographic
Tanzania
