Seed Zone Properties and Crop Performance as Affected by Three No-Till Seeders for Permanent Raised Beds in Arid Northwest China

The no-till seeders of various soil opener configurations have been shown to produce various soil physical responses in relation to soil and climate conditions, thus affecting crop performance in permanent raised beds （PRB） systems. This is particularly important in arid Northwest China where large volumes of residue are retained on the soil surface after harvest. In Zhangye, Gansu Province, China, a field trial assessed the effects of three typical （powered-chopper, powered-cutter and powered-disc） PRB no-till seeders and one traditional seeder on soil disturbance, residue cover index, bulk density, fuel consumption, plant growth, and subsequent yield. In general, seedbed conditions and crop performance for PRB no- till seeders seeded plots were better than for traditional seeded plots. In PRB cropping system, the powered-chopper seeder decreased mean soil disturbance and increased residue cover index compared to powered-disc and -cutter seeders. However, the results indicated that soil bulk density was 2.3-4.8% higher, soil temperature was 0.2-0.6℃ lower, and spring wheat emergence was 3.2-4.7% less. This was attributed to greater levels of residue cover and firmer seedbeds. Spring maize and wheat performance in the powered-cutter and -disc treatments was better （non-significant） than powered- chopper treatment. So powered disc no-till seeder, which generally provided the best planting condition and the highest yield, appeared to be the suitable seeder in heavy residue cover conditions. Considering the precision requirements for soil disturbance and residue cover, the powered strip-chopping no-till seeder could be a suitable option for PRB cropping system in Northwest China. Although these results are preliminary, they are still valuable for the design and selection of no-till seeders for PRB cropping systems in arid Northwest China.

Simultaneous Application of Controlled Availability Fertilizers to Seeding Furrows with Seeding Increases Grain Yield and Quality of No-Till Cultivated Common Wheat in Japan

In Japan, common wheat is cultivated in upland fields converted from paddy fields, where poor drainage and high precipitation cause delay of sowing, lodging at the jointing stage, difficulty in topdressing at the ripening stage, and low yield. No-till cultivation has been promoted to overcome these problems but the yield is still low due to the lack of proper fertilizer application protocols. In this study, we determined whether an additional application of two kinds of Sigmoid coated urea as controlled availability fertilizers (CAFs) to the standard fertilization protocol for tillage cultivation can increase the yield and lodging resistance in no-till cultivated common wheat. Also, additional fertilization was applied to the seeding furrow simultaneously with seeding using a V-furrow no-till direct sowing (VFDS) machine. No-till cultivated plants had more tillers than tillage cultivated ones and consequently higher number of panicles and yield, caused by increased fertilizer application. The point-injected CAFs to the seeding furrow, which eluted at the jointing and ripening stages greatly increased the grain yield and protein content, respectively, compared to broadcast topdressing of ammonium sulfate at each stage. The simultaneous sowing and fertilization of additional CAFs using VFDS method in multi-year tests in farmers’ fields significantly increased the yield of no-till cultivated common wheat, and can be adopted by Japanese local farmers.

Mechanized Transplanting of Rice(Oryza sativa L.)in Nonpuddled and No-Till Conditions in the Rice-Wheat Cropping System in Haryana,India

The common practice of establishing rice in the rice-wheat system in India is manual transplanting of seedlings in the puddled soil. Besides being costly, cumbersome, and time consuming, puddling results in degradation of soil and the formation of a hard pan, which impedes root growth of subsequent upland crops. In addition, decreased availability and increasing cost of labor have increased the cost of rice cultivation through conventional methods. Because of these concerns, there is a need for mechanized transplanting of rice which is less labor-intensive and can ensure optimum plant population under nonpuddled and/or no-till conditions. A large number of on-farm trials were conducted at farmers’ fields in Haryana, India, from 2006 to 2010 to evaluate the performance of the mechanical transplanted rice (MTR) under nonpuddled and no-till situations as compared to conventional puddled transplant rice (CPTR). Compared with CPTR, nonpuddled MTR produced 3%-11% higher grain yield in different years. Rice cultivars, viz. HKR47, HKR127, PR113, PR114, PB1, PB1121, CSR30, and Arize6129, performed consistently better under nonpuddled MTR as compared to CPTR. Performance of different cultivars (PR113, PR114, HKR47, and Pusa 44) was also better under no-till MTR as compared to CPTR. The “basmati” cultivar CSR30 performed equally in no-till MTR and CPTR systems. The results of our study suggest that rice can be easily grown under nonpuddled and no-till conditions with yield advantages over the CPTR system. Even in the case of similar yield between CPTR and MTR systems, the MTR system will help in reducing labor requirement and ultimately, will increase overall profits to farmers.

Design and Kinematic Analysis of a Driving Roller-type No-till Seeding and Hole-forming System

Conventional no-till seeders should cut or remove crop straw and residue,when in operation and thus present a number of problems,including high performance requirements for the cutting component,high power consumption,dust raising and interference from intertwined straw.In view of this,in this study,a driving roller dibbling-type no-till seeding and hole-forming(DGR-NT-SHF)system was designed to be capable of penetrating soil and creating holes without requiring any special preparation of the surface covering.The core mechanism of this system consisted of a land wheel-driven driving roller and a duckbill-type roller seeder,which were internally tangent to one another.The rotating roller rolled the straw into a thin layer,and the duckbills extended from the roller and penetrated this thin layer of straw and subsequently formed the holes and planted the seeds.Based on kinematic analysis,a mathematical model was established to depict the relations between the rear angle of the duckbill(α),the front angle of the duckbill(β),the angular velocity of the duckbill-type roller seeder(ω0),the angular velocity of the roller(ω1),and the aperture of the duckbill outlet on the roller(θ).In contrast to a driven roller-type no-till seeding and hole-forming DNR-NT-SHF system,several parameters of the DGR-NT-SHF system were established for planting seeds at a plant spacing that was an integral multiple of 100 mm:the radius of the duckbill-type roller seeder,200 mm;radius of the roller,400 mm;α,23°;andβ,5°.Based on the analysis of the models using the MATLAB Image Processing Module with a relation betweenω1 and the number of outlets on the roller as the constraint,the optimal number of outlets on the roller and theω1/ω0 ratio were determined to be 21 and 4/7,respectively.Kinematic simulation on a digital prototype was performed using computer aided three-dimensional interactive application(CATIA)to observe the motion of the DGR-NT-SHF system,when the duckbills on the duckbill-type roller seeder were open and to determine the locations of the duckbills relative to the outlets.To ensure the duckbills could be successfully opened,the chord length of the outlets was ultimately determined to be 71 mm.The prototype test results showed that the DGR-NT-SHF system met the design requirements and that the operation was straightforward and reliable.In addition,compared to the DNR-NT-SHF system,the DGR-NT-SHF system performed better in penetration and exerted no impact on the duckbills,thus providing an effective technical option for no-till seeding.

Strawponic for No-Till Potato Production

Strawponic is an innovative and exotic system for growing potato on soil surface using crop straw as cover mulch. A field trial was carried out at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon to test the efficacy of this system for small potato producers. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) straw mulch at 25, 50 and 75 t/ha was used to cover potato tubers in no-till system. Potato plant number, height, number of shoots and leaves, root and shoot dry weight, and potato yield were collected. Results showed that all tested rates of straw significantly increased potato yield in comparison to the till system. Marketable yield was the highest with no-till potato at 50 and 75 t/ha compared to no-till potato at all tested surface straw rates. None of the treatments was harmful to potato plants compared to the till potato. This study could be a promising gate for production of potato for small-scale farmers.

Bowen Ratio Energy Balance Measurement of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) Fluxes of No-Till and Conventional Tillage Agriculture in Lesotho

Global food demand requires that soils be used intensively for agriculture, but how these soils are managed greatly impacts soil fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2). Soil management practices can cause carbon to be either sequestered or emitted, with corresponding uncertain influence on atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The situation is further complicated by the lack of CO2 flux measurements for African subsistence farms. For widespread application in remote areas, a simple experimental methodology is desired. As a first step, the present study investigated the use of Bowen Ratio Energy Balance (BREB) instrumentation to measure the energy balance and CO2 fluxes of two contrasting crop management systems, till and no-till, in the lowlands within the mountains of Lesotho. Two BREB micrometeorological systems were established on 100-m by 100-m sites, both planted with maize (Zea mays) but under either conventional (plow, disk-disk) or no-till soil mangement systems. The results demonstrate that with careful maintenance of the instruments by appropriately trained local personnel, the BREB approach offers substantial benefits in measuring real time changes in agroecosystem CO2 flux. The periods where the two treatments could be compared indicated greater CO2 sequestration over the no-till treatments during both the growing and non-growing seasons.

Benefits of Conservation Agriculture on Soil and Water Conservation and Its Progress in China

Conservation agriculture has been practised for three decades and has been spread widely. There are many nomenclatures surrounding conservation agriculture and differ to each other lightly. Conservation agriculture （CA） is a system approach to soil and water conservation, high crop productivity and profitability, in one word, it is a system approach to sustainable agriculture. Yet, because conservation agriculture is a knowledge-intensive and a complex system to learn and implement, and also because of traditions of intensive cultivation, adoption rates have been low, since to date, only about seven percent of the world＇s arable and permanent cropland area is farmed under conservation agriculture. The practice and wider extention of conservation agriculture thus requires a deeper understanding of its ecological underpinnings in order to manage its various elements for sustainable intensification, where the aim is to conserve soil and water and improve sustainability over the long term. This paper described terms related to conservation agriculture, presented the effects of conservation agriculture on soil and water conservation, crop productivity, progress and adoption of CA worldwide, emphasized obstacles and possible ways to increase CA adoption to accelerate sustainable development of China agriculture.

Physiological Quality and Seed Production of Corn and Fabaceae in Monoculture and Intercropping

The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological quality and seed production of Fabaceae and corn in monoculture and intercropping in areas cropped under different management. The following treatments were evaluated: corn + NPK + weed control;corn + weed control;corn + NPK;corn + crotalaria;corn + jack bean. Intercropping raised the average number of corn ears of corn and the seed IVG Weed control positively influenced the final stand and average number of ears. NPK fertilization on corn sowing positively influenced the seed electrical conductivity. The yield of corn plants intercropped with crotalaria and jack bean was statistically similar. However, their absolute values should be considered for economic purposes. Corn seeds derived from intercropping with crotalaria were more effective compared with intercropping with jack bean. Crotalaria and jack bean seeds when intercropped with corn have high production, germination and vigor (IVG and emergence).

Soil Physical Properties and Grain Yield Influenced by Cover Crops and Crop Rotation

The crop yield is related to several factors, among these, soil tillage, soil compaction and crop rotation. This study aimed to evaluate the winter cover crops and crop rotation influence on soil physical properties and grain yield of dry beans, maize and soybean for two growing seasons. Three experiments were conducted, corresponding to dry beans, maize and soybean crops. It was used the randomized block design with three treatments and four replications consisted by 3 × 10 m plots. The treatments were: two cover crops systems and crop rotation in no-till, and the control, consisting of winter fallow and conventional tillage. The cover crop dry matter, soil physical properties and grain yield for dry beans, maize and soybean in the two growing seasons were evaluated. Crop rotation systems and cover crops showed a trend to increase maize and soybean yields. Crop rotation in no-till increases soil compaction in the superficial layer compared to conventional tillage, but does not reduce the dry beans, maize and soybean yields.

Water Availability for Winter Wheat Affected by Summer Fallow Tillage Practices in Slope Dryland

The tillage experiments for winter wheat were conducted on the slope farmland in Luoyang, Henan Province in the semihumid to arid loess plateau areas of North China. Different tillage methods including reduced tillage(RT), no-till(NT), 2 crops/year(2C), subsoiling(SS), and conventional tillage(CT)were compared to determine the effects of tillage methods on soil water conservation, water availability, and wheat yields in a search for better farming systems in the areas. The NT and SS showed good effects on water conservation. The soil water storage increased 12 - 33 mm with NT and 9-24 mm with SS at the end of summer fallow periods. The soil evaporation with NT and SS decreased 7-8 mm and 34 - 36 mm during the fallow periods of 1999 and 2001, respectively. Evapotranspiration(ET)with NT and SS increased about 47 mm during wheat growth periods of 2000 to 2001. Treatment RT and 2C had low water storage and high water losses during the fallow periods. The winter wheat yields with conservation tillage practices were improved in the 2nd year, increased by 3, 5 and 8% with RT, NT and SS, respectively, compared with CT. The highest wheat yields were obtained with subsoiling, and the maximum economic benefits from no-till. All conservation tillage practices provided great benefits to saving energy and labors, reducing operation inputs, and increasing economic returns. No-till and subsoiling have shown promise in increasing water storage, reducing water loss, enhancing water availability, and saving energy, as well as increasing wheat yield.

Spacing between Soybean Rows

The soybean crop has great economical importance in Brazil and in the world. In order to make the crop production profitable, several factors must be considered. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of spacing between soybean crop rows (Glycine max). The experiment was installed in the Mutuca farm (Arapoti—PR, southern Brazil), in the crop seasons of 2012/2013 (four seeding seasons) and 2013/2014 (two seeding seasons), in a completely randomized blocks design. We used four treatments and six replicates. The treatments were the spacing between rows as follow: 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 m. The variables evaluated were: initial and final plant population, plant height, number of internodes, viable internodes, pods per plant, grains per pod, mass of thousand grains and crop productivity. We concluded that the reduction of the spacing between rows significantly increased, in most part of the crop seasons, the number of pods per plants and the crop productivity.

Design and experiment of the pneumatic pressure control device for no-till planter

An adequate and uniform press wheel pressure is crucial for the homogeneous development of a crop,as it affects actual seeding depth and germination rate.The problems of uneven compaction of seed furrow and consistency of seeding depth can be caused by the pressure fluctuation of the coil-spring pressure control device(CPCD)when the no-till planter is working on the unplowed ground.In this study,a pneumatic pressure control device(PPCD)was designed for the no-till planter,the key structural parameters of air spring for press wheel pressure(PWP)stability were determined by theoretical analysis and parameter calculation.Using the gas-structure coupling finite element simulation method(FESM),the piston radius,piston angle,and cord angle of the air spring are selected as the test factors,and the vertical stiffness was used as the test index to carry out the quadratic rotation orthogonal combination test to establish the regression model of test index and factor.The bench test of the PPCD was carried out under the optimal parameter combination,piston radius of 27.2 mm,piston angle of 11.7°,and cord angle of 30.0°.The vertical stiffness verification test showed that the simulation test was consistent with the bench test result,the vertical stiffness simulation error was 7.1%,and the internal air pressure simulation error was 3.0%;The control response test showed that the average response time of the air spring inflating and deflating was 0.80 s,the maximum overshoot was 4.33%during inflation,and no pressure overshoot during deflation;Under the condition of-40-40 mm surface relief height,the PPCD could effectively reduce the pressure fluctuation compared with the CPCD,and the average reduction of the pressure fluctuation was about 25.1%.

Design and experiment of the key components of the seeding monomer for high-speed corn no-till seeders

Aiming at the problems of uneven plant spacing,row spacing and sowing depth due to the collision of seeds with the tube wall or bouncing on the floor of the seed guide tube with the increase of operation speed of the current corn no-till planter,in this study,the high-speed seed belt technology was combined with the finger clip seed discharge device,a kind of high-speed no-till planter monomer was designed and installed in high-speed seed tube.At the same time,simulation analysis was made on the movement law of seeds in the seed guide tube when they fell from the finger clip seeder and the main structural parameters and the range of key parameters of the high-speed seed tube were determined.Through the prototype,the single-factor and quadratic orthogonal rotational combination test method,and the machine operating speed,the height of the high-speed seed tube and the seed guide angle were selected as the test factors in the seeding performance test.After parameter optimization,the optimal working parameters were determined:the machine forward speed was 12.18 km/h,the height of the high-speed seed tube from the ground was 42.22 mm,and the seed guide angle of the high-speed seed tube was 8.82°.The field test verified that under this parameter combination,the qualified-seeding index was 94.95%,the multiple-seeding index was 2.37%,and the missing-seeding index was 2.48%,showing stable working performance and satisfied the sowing and agronomic requirements of the no-till seeding operation.

Epidemiologic Study of Ramularia areola under Different Soil Covers and Spacings,for Cotton Crops

The objective of this work was to evaluate the progress of the areolate mildew of cotton under different soil cover and spacing conditions. The experiment was carried out using randomized blocks and a 2 × 3 factorial design, with two spacings (0.45 m and 0.90 m) and three soil covers (no cover, Pennisetum glaucum and Crotalaria spectabilis) with four replications. The plants were inoculated with R. areola, sixty DAS. A total of 14 evaluations of disease severity were performed. At the lower, middle and upper thirds of plants, a diagram scale with nine levels of severity was used and the resulting data were converted into the AUDPC. Gompertz, logistic, and monomolecular mathematical models were tested in the disease severity curves for each third. Agronomics characteristics were evaluated as well. Significant differences of AUDPC were found for the cotton plants thirds, and the middle third was the highest AUDPC. Significant difference for the lower and upper thirds, whose AUDPC were highest on 0.90 m spacing, was observed too. The disease progress curves of the thirds did not fit the tested models. Significant results to the both covers situations, where the treatments grown on crotalária cover and without cover had highest AUDPC, were evidenced. The treatments with C. spectabilis cover were taller than other treatments. Significant data were observed for the cover crops used and in the treatments grown at 0.90 m spacing, to residual cover and crop yield, respectively.

Current status of adoption of no-till farming in the world and some of its main benefits

In 1999 no-tillage farming,synonymous of zero tillage farming or conservation agriculture,was adopted on about 45 million ha world wide,growing to 72 million ha in 2003 and to 111 million ha in 2009,corresponding to an growth rate of 6 million ha per annum.Fastest adoption rates have been experienced in South America where some countries are using no-tillage farming on about 70%of the total cultivated area.Opposite to countries like the USA where often fields under no-tillage farming are tilled every now and then,more than two thirds of the area under no-tillage systems in South America is permanently not tilled;in other words once adopted,the soil is never tilled again.The spread of no-tillage systems on more than 110 million ha world-wide shows the great adaptability of the systems to all kinds of climates,soils and cropping conditions.No-tillage is now being practiced from the artic circle over the tropics to about 50ºlatitude south,from sea level to 3,000 m altitude,from extremely rainy areas with 2,500 mm a year to extremely dry conditions with 250 mm a year.No-till farming offers a way of optimizing productivity and ecosystem services,offering a wide range of economic,environmental and social benefits to the producer and to the society.At the same time,no-till farming is enabling agriculture to respond to some of the global challenges associated with climate change,land and environmental degradation,and increasing cost of food,energy and production inputs.The wide recognition of no-till farming as a truly sustainable system should ensure the spread of the no-till technology and the associated practices of organic soil cover and crop rotation,as soon as the barriers to its adoption have been overcome,to areas where adoption is currently still low.The widespread adoption globally also shows that no-tillage farming cannot any more be considered a temporary fashion or a craze;instead largely through farmers’own effort,the system has established itself as a farming practice and a different way of thinking about sustainable agro-ecosystem management that can no longer be ignored by scientists,academics,extension workers,farmers at large as well as equipment and machine manufacturers and politicians.

Development of small/medium size no-till and minimum-till seeders in Asia:A review

The benefits of conservation agriculture(CA)have been widely recognized and CA has been widely adopted in many parts of the world.However,there are some factors that limit the widespread adoption of CA in Asia.The most prominent factor appears to be the lack of suitable CA seeders for small to medium sized land-holding(SLH)farmers.This paper summarizes the small to medium no-till and minimum-till seeders currently available in Asia,and classifies these seeders into four types:manually operated units,animal traction seeders,two-wheel tractor and four-wheel tractor driven seeders.Detailed characteristics have been provided for some typical CA seeders and comparisons were made as to their suitability under particular working conditions.Typically manual and animal traction seeders are confined to small farms and hilly areas,while the larger CA seeders suited to four-wheel tractors are used on larger acreages.To ensure seeding performance on most four-wheel tractor CA seeders,two types of anti-blocking mechanisms(passive and active anti-blocking)have been fitted.Finally,the paper proposes a future direction and development of CA seeders for small/medium size farms in Asia,and also suggests changes in policy support,improvement of anti-blocking mechanisms,suitability for various crops,geographical zones and the contribution of development by public private partnerships to advance the adoption of CA seeders.

Performance of no-till corn precision planter equipped with row cleaners

In the continuous annual wheat-corn cropping area of North China Plain,no-till planting that promotes soil conservation and crop yield while reducing operation cost has been gradually accepted by local farmers.However,previous wheat residue is the main limiting factor affecting the performance of existing planters in placing seeds at uniform spacing and optimum depth in residue covered fields.In order to solve this problem,a kind of ground-wheel-driven row cleaner was designed,developed and mounted on row units of a four-row pneumatic precision planter.The planter has two adjacent row units equipped with the newly designed row cleaners and the other two adjacent row units equipped with the commonly used inactive row cleaners.This was used for planting at three forward speeds(4 km/h,6 km/h and 8 km/h)into half residue(HR)and whole residue(WR)plots.The amount of residue removal,seeding depth,emergence rate and indices of uniformity in seed spacing(missing-seeding index,quality of feeding index and precision index)were measured.The newly designed row cleaner performed better with regard to residue removal,with the average percentage of residue cleared as 63.0%compared to 40.3%for the inactive row cleaner.For the HR and WR plots,percentage of residue cleared of the newly designed row cleaner reached 57.1%and 68.9%respectively,suggesting that the newly designed row cleaner can work more effectively at high residue level.By contrast,with the percentage of residue cleared of the inactive row cleaner as 43.1%and 37.5%in HR and WR plots,suggesting that the inactive row cleaner just can work effectively under low residue condition.Values of missing-seeding index,QFI,precision index,coefficient of variation of depth and percent emergence for the newly designed row cleaner under whole residue level are comparable to those for the inactive row cleaner under half residue level.The result indicates that the effect of using the newly designed row cleaner is equal to that of reducing surface residue,and can help to maintain the uniformity of seed spacing and seeding depth.The newly designed row cleaner generally performed better at forward speed of 6 km/h,based on the distribution of seeds along rows and seeding depth uniformity.

Design of depth-control planting unit with single-side gauge wheel for no-till maize precision planter

No-till planters are very popular for maize seeding in fields covered with residue in annual wheat-maize double cropping system in North China Plain.However,there is no suitable depth control mechanism for existing no-till maize planters,and as a result,it is hard to obtain consistent planting depth,uniform emergence,and good passing ability at the same time.For the above reasons,a proper planting unit with a new type of depth-control mechanism was developed in this study.The mechanism consists of a single-side gauge wheel,a parallel four-bar linkage,a pair of double-disc opener,a V-shape press wheel and a depth regulator,which can adjust the planting depth from 30 mm to 90 mm to satisfy the agronomic requirement under different field conditions.Based on analysis and calculation,the width of gauge wheel was set to 50 mm while the length of parallel four-bar linkage was set to 350 mm.Field experiment was conducted and the results indicated that the newly designed planting unit with single-side gauge wheel performed well with regard to planting depth uniformity and anti-blocking ability.The planting depth uniformity and seed spacing quality were 95.45%and 91.90%,respectively,when the average height of stubble was 22.5 cm and residue amount was 0.64 kg/m^(2)in the field.It can satisfy the requirement of no-till maize planting on the cropland with residue and stubble in North China Plain.

Runoff and losses of nutrients and herbicides under long-term conservation practices (no-till and crop rotation) in the U.S. Midwest:A variable intensity simulated rainfall approach

The U.S. Farm Bill includes conservation practices that benefit both the environment and the farmer. The USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) is a multi-agency effort to assess the efficiency of conservation practices to minimize non-point source pollution. This is follow-up study of a 28-year experiment design to assess the influence of the conservation practices of no-till and crop rotation systems (corn [Zea mays]-soybean [Glycine max]), compared to chisel tillage and monocropping systems (continuous corn) on soil health and water quality. In this study, changes on soil C and N, soil water content, runoff, and losses of ammonium-N, nitrate-N, soluble reactive P (SRP), atrazine, metolachlor, and glyphosate were compared to determine the influence of no-till and corn-soybean rotation systems, relative to chisel tillage and continuous corn, on plots planted with corn using variable intensity rainfall simulations. The long-term no-till systems had a positive impact on soil C and N, soil water, runoff, and losses of ammonium-N and nitrate-N;however, no effect was observed on losses of SRP, atrazine, metolachlor, and glyphosate. The corn-soybean rotation negatively influenced, compared to the continuous corn, soil C and N, soil water content, and increased runoff and the losses of all nutrients and herbicides measured in this study. These results suggest that additional conservation practices, in conjunction with no-till and corn-soybean rotations are needed to reduce surface losses of nutrients and pesticides while improving soil health.

Thoughts on developing small/medium size no-till equipment for conservation agriculture in Asia:Summary of post-publication peer review comments

Traditional agriculture bases most of its operations or practices on soil tillage,which causes likely occurrence of water and soil erosion and sediment runoff.In order to conserve soil,water and environment,Conservation agriculture(CA)is increasingly adopted to replace traditional tillage agriculture to achieve sustainable and profitable agriculture and subsequently improve the livelihoods of farmers.CA holds great potential for all sizes of farms and agro-ecological systems,but its adoption is most urgently required by smallholder farmers,especially those short of laborers.Small/medium size no-till machines and implements are the key to CA adoption.A review article on small/medium size no/minimum-till seeders in Asia published in IJABE triggers a lot of scientific conversation on how to develop suitable no-till equipment among peer experts.This paper presents a collection of these post-publication peer review comments including commentary,questions,answers,suggestions,critical thinking,etc.The authors of the review article also provide response,summary of the review comments and their own standpoints.This open post-publication review and commentary may add value to the published review article and provide new ideas useful for future research and development of CA equipment.