ABSTRACT
As the population increases, food demands placed on the agricultural production systems will test the capabilities of current agriculture practices. Moreover, adequate food production in the future can only be achieved through the implementation of sustainable growing practices that minimize environmental degradation and preserve resources while maintaining high-yielding, profitable systems. To this end, conservation agriculture (CA) is a system designed to achieve sustainability by improving the biological functions of the agro-ecosystem with limited mechanical practices and judicious use of chemical inputs. CA is characterized by three linked principles, viz. (i) continuous minimum mechanical soil disturbance, (ii) permanent organic soil cover, and (iii) diversification of crop species grown in sequences and/or associations. While sometimes mistakenly used synonymously, it is the less intensive conservation tillage system that has become more recognized and adopted within the agricultural community. A host of benefits can be achieved through employing components of CA or conservation tillage, including reduced soil erosion and water runoff, increased productivity through improved soil quality, increased water availability, increased biotic diversity, and reduced labor demands. CA systems require a total paradigm shift from conventional agriculture r to management of crops, soil, water, nutrients, weeds, and farm machinery.
