The abandonment of the plow in agriculture

[SixK]

An interesting little article on the abandonment of the plow in agriculture:
http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/Agricul ... 4_actu.Htm

SixK

[Christophe]

Super interesting subject but which collides with agricultural lobbies ... the first being the mental inertia of farmers ... Although:

The movement is still less strong than in the rest of the Hexagon and more particularly in the areas of arable crops. Cereal farmers apply TCSL (no-till farming techniques) on a third of the plots.

30% in TCS? It's enormous! I did not know that the TCS met such a success !! So I withdraw my first sentence!

A super well done video:
https://www.econologie.com/agriculture-d ... -3888.html

For more technical info:
https://www.econologie.com/forums/agricultur ... t5923.html
https://www.econologie.com/agriculture-c ... -3931.html

[Did67]

30% in TCS? It's enormous! I did not know that the TCS met such a success !! So I withdraw my first sentence!

It is gaining ground, indeed. 30 % ? Yep ... We’ve been talking about it for a few years now, there’s been training ... The price of fuel, it matters (tractors, a full tank, it's not 50 liters!), So it has boosted a max ...

[Ibis.]

Monsanto is delighted with no-till.

A plowing name decreases the liters of fuel per ha and increases the liters of roundup per ha.

No-tillage does not bury straws (and their diseases), fungicides have a good life with this technique.

[Christophe]

Yes it takes a little more of certain "chemicals":

Watch the summary doc in .pdf: https://www.econologie.com/agriculture-c ... -3931.html

[Ibis.]

Tillage has the effect of reducing costs and effectively erosion in some cases.
But what visual misery that this soil which ends up looking like paved courtyards full of mosses.

The problems, new in Europe, of contamination by mycotoxins on cereals (vomitoxins of bad effect for the man and the animal) are caused by fusarioses and the problem is increasing in Europe and are largely explainable by the no plowing, and the non-burying of corn straw before wheat.

But it's true, a culture from time to time without plowing has advantages, but you have to keep your plow.

[Ibis.]

I still had fun with "more earthworms => greater biodiversity (woodcock etc.). No-till lands are often deserts of flora and fauna, due to the systematic use of round'up before sowing.

[Did67]

But what visual misery that this soil which ends up looking like paved courtyards full of mosses.

The problems, new in Europe, of contamination by mycotoxins on cereals (vomitoxins of bad effect for the man and the animal) are caused by fusarioses and the problem is increasing in Europe and are largely explainable by the no plowing, and the non-burying of corn straw before wheat.

"Visual misery": it is essentially psychological! This is the story of English grass or the flowery meadow! What is the most beautiful ???

Because greenery, weeds, residues on the surface, it is also biodiversity where a full plowed field is a desert!

Mycotoxins are a real problem. But one element is still missing: the rotation. It is clear that monoculture + TCS gets stuck very quickly. So we end up with Monsanto + Mycotoxin.

And der of der: less elabour = slower oxidation of organic matter in the soil (humus) = carbon sequestration !!!

[Ibis.]

Because greenery, weeds, residues on the surface, it is also biodiversity where a full plowed field is a desert!

You are partly right Did, but here you compare the deserts over two different periods: before total herbicide treatment (no tillage) and after plowing. Deserts are comparable when sown. Perennials are killed more radically by roundup than by plowing.

For aesthetics and for biodiversity, I prefer a flowery meadow than a grass composed of only one or two species of grasses. Crickets and other butterflies support me for the second aspect

Mycotoxins are a real problem. But one element is still missing: the rotation. It is clear that monoculture + TCS gets stuck very quickly. So we end up with Monsanto + Mycotoxin.

That is true. In our monocultures or tight rotations, unfortunately too developed in France, plowing is therefore safer for the consumer (less fungicide protection and less mycotoxins on average)

And der of der: less elabour = slower oxidation of organic matter in the soil (humus) = carbon sequestration !!!

Ok, but it is negligible in quantity in relation to the exported part (straw, grain). The buried organic matter decomposes more slowly than if it is left on the surface, at least in the wet season.

As on many other subjects, the truth if it exists often lies in a gray area.

[I Citro]

You are not touching on one of the main advantages of cultivation techniques. direct seeding (without stubble plowing and without plowing):

This technique allows faster rotations (2 or even 3 annual crops on the same plot.
For example, cereals then beans, the deep roots of which will "lift" the nitrogenous nutrients buried too deeply. Finally, if we avoid the stupidity of using the poison that is "ROUNDUP" (glyphosate) whose harmfulness is proven, we take advantage of the return of biodiversity which will develop in the surface layer which will play the role. biological regulator ...