ABSTRACT
Tillage is the mechanical manipulation of soil to provide favorable conditions for crop production. It breaks the compact surface of soil to a certain depth and loosens the soil mass. The kind and amount of tillage is determined according to crop, soil, and field conditions. No single guiding standard is appropriate for all situations. Tilling the soil has many benefits: weed control, incorporation of organic matter and fertilizers, making of proper seedbed, loosening and shapinge the soil, pest control, erosion control, and improving the tilth. Different tillage operations follow, which include preparatory tillage, seedbed preparation, intercultivation, and no/zero tillage. The agricultural operations are energy dependent technology. Power necessary for agricultural production is provided by human labor, draft animals, or from engine-driven machinery. The main functions of tillage equipments are diverse. On the positive side, tillage has advantages such as soil conditioning, incorporation or mixing, weed and pest suppression, residue management, segregation, land forming, and stimulation of nutrient release. Negative effects of tillage include drying of the soil before seeding, loss of nutrients, dislodging the soil cohesiveness, fertilizer and chemical runoff, reducing organic matter, microbes, carbon compounds, earthworms, ants, and so on.
