Zero Tillage Technology

Zero tillage is an agricultural practice. It maintains permanent soil cover. It increases natural biological processes that occur in the soil. It improves sustained crop production and increases soil nutrition. There is no soil disturbance.

What is Zero Tillage Technology?

• Tillage is land preparation. Tilling of land means agitating the soil particles by overturning, digging and stirring.
• This is done to kill weeds, crop residues and to aerate the soil. However, tilling destroys natural structure of the soil.
• If greater soil area is exposed to sunlight (which usually happens while tilling with the help of tractors), the moisture retaining capacity of soil is lost. On the other hand, zero tillage skips the tilling process.
• Here the crop seed is sown without land preparation. And the seeds are drilled into the soil.

Benefits of Zero Tillage Technology

• It reduces crop duration. Thus, early cropping is obtained. It aids in getting higher yields.
• It reduces inputs of land preparation. It utilizes residual moisture in the soil reducing the need for external irrigation. It decreases greenhouse effect due to increase in carbon sequestration. It prevents soil erosion, water loss by runoff.
• Also, it reduces soil compaction. It slows evaporation. This leads to better rainwater absorption. Ultimately land yield increases.

Zero Tillage in India

• In India, Zero Tillage is followed in Indo – Gangetic plains. Here, wheat is planted immediately after harvesting paddy.
• The major challenges faced by Indian farmers in following the method is that, in due course, the land yield decreases. This is mainly because of long time gap between the successive crops.
• The land should not be left barren for more than ten days before sowing the next crop. Most of the farmers fail to stick to the time gap strictly.