No-till farming: prospects, challenges – productivity, soil health, and ecosystem services

Abstract

Globally, declining soil quality due to soil degradation is of great concern, and directly affects crop production, soil health and sustainability of natural resources. In conventional farming practices, the loss of fertile topsoil via runoff and erosion from arable land is a big concern. In addition, changes in land use and management practices result in loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock by −10–59%. The change from conventional till (CT) with residue burning/removal to no-till (NT) farming with residue retention/conservation agriculture (CA) practices have been recognised as important soil management practices for sustaining soil health and reversing land degradation. Worldwide, NT/CA practices are now being adopted on about 180 million ha (i.e. ∼14% of arable land). CA practices promote soil health by increasing organic carbon, and soil aggregation, thus improving infiltration and minimising erosion losses. In addition, CA has the potential to increase SOC sequestration, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and help to mitigate global climate change. Among sustainable food production systems, CA is often advocated with a view to increase food production while conserving natural resources and SOC. This special issue ‘No-till farming: prospects, challenges – productivity, soil health, and ecosystem services’ addresses and critically reviews these important issues and aims to foster awareness of NT farming. The collection of 15 papers lucidly covers various facets of NT farming. A summary and salient findings of these papers are provided in this Editorial. NT farming is a promising practice, which not only improves soil physical, chemical and biological health but also enhances carbon sequestration, crop productivity and mitigates GHG emissions through appropriate crop residue and nutrient management strategies. The adage says ‘one size won’t fit all’ or ‘a single recipe will not solve all problem/challenges’, so we need to adopt site-specific NT systems for higher benefits and productivity and sustaining soil health.