The role of crop and cropping system management in Conservation Agriculture systems

Publication date: 20/01/2020
Extent: 30 pages

Contributions by: Peter Hobbs, Cornell University, USA; Christian Thierfelder, International Maize and Wheat Research Center (CIMMYT), Zimbabwe; Patrick Wall, Independent Consultant – Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Mexico; Raj Gupta, Center for Advancement of Sustainable Agriculture, India; and Ademir Calegari, Agricultural Research Institute of Paraná State (IAPAR), Brazil

Chapter synopsis: This chapter describes the issues of adopting Conservation Agriculture (CA) agronomy in three distinct geographic areas of the world. Firstly, the rice-wheat systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia are presented, looking at the contrasting methods of rice and wheat production in the area and the use of no-till in these systems. Secondly, the rainfed maize systems in East and Southern Africa are discussed with a focus on issues such as seeding systems, crop residues, crop rotation and weed management. Lastly, the section on Brazil looks at green manure cover crops as a way to maintain productivity when using CA. In this chapter, the use of CA management systems in the three regions has been shown to help resolve constraints, and sharing and describing how farmers and other stakeholders work in these and other regions augers well for tackling the challenge of food security both now and in the future.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2019.0048.06