ABSTRACT
No-till (NT) is also known as zero-till or direct drilling. It signifies planting grain crops or cover crops directly into the soil without primary or secondary tillage. NT is an innovative soil management system that represents a radical change in agronomic practice. It eliminates soil turnover and promotes agrobiodiversity through crop rotations and through keeping the soil surface covered by mulch from residues of cover crops. The mulch cover is essential to sustainable use of soil resources under harsh tropical and subtropical edapho-climatic conditions (Landers, 1999; Freitas et aI., 1998).
