Sites Availability for Minimalizing and Soil-Conservation Tillage of Soils in Slovakia

Abstract

Sites Availability for Minimalizing and Soil-Conservation Tillage of Soils in SlovakiaThere is an alternative technology of traditional agricultural soil processing, so called minimalizing cultivation, which is based on reduction of some operating processes used in common. It is possible to perform this technology only in particular soil conditions. Total land area of sites, which are avail-able for the application of minimalizing cultivation is about 693 thousand hectares, which presents approximately 28% of agricultural and 48% of arable soils. 60% of this land area occurs in the maize production area and 39% in the sugar beet production area, thus in the most favourable agricultural local-ities regarding climate and soil. According to the administrative structuring of Slovakia 43% of agricultural soils suitable for minimalizing technologies occurs in Nitra district and about 27% in Trnava district. Identification of areas, suitable for such technologies application, is possible by the information databases of Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, which have been elaborated for this purpose in geographic and informative systems. Regarding input parameters, they were chosen as follows: climatic conditions of given locality, steepness, depth, stoniness and soil texture.