Conservation Agriculture Research Updates - April 2026

This paper evaluated the impact of tillage on agronomic, physiological, and biochemical traits in canola in Morocco. There were 4 tillage systems; deep (DP) and chisel (CP) plowing, minimum tillage (MT) and no-till (NT). Results showed that NT consistently exhibited superior performance with the highest seed yield and oil content. In contrast, DP faced challenges during a severe drought in that resulted in no production. They concluded that no-till can be recommended for canola cultivation in Morocco as well as in other North-African and Mediterranean countries with similar climate and soil conditions.

This study used a comprehensive soil and crop dataset collected over a 7-year period in NE Italy to calibrate the EPIC model and validation of SOC stock dynamics. Experimental data included yields from several crops (maize, winter and spring wheat, rapeseed, and soybean), continuous monitoring of soil water content, and SOC stocks (1872 total samples within the 0–50 cm soil profile) under conventional, cover crop and conservation agriculture systems. Modelling was performed by testing two N-C sub-models (CENTURY and PHOENIX), which differentiated in terms of mineralization and immobilization rates. The procedure was able to obtain parameters valuable for most of the management systems and pedoclimatic conditions, reproducing well the tested variables. The EPIC model acceptably captured soil water dynamics.  EPIC skillfully simulated SOC stocks within the 0–50-cm profile regardless of the sub-model used (NSE was up to 0.64). Moreover, the model acceptably captured the profile SOC stratification among the different management practices.

This study looked at the inclusion of cowpea cover crop under NT and RT in a maize-maize-mustard rotation to determine if it would enhance yield, energy-use efficiency, water productivity while reducing GHG emissions. No-till-live mulch had 36.4% less energy requirement, and 2.4 times more energy productivity than conventional tillage. CT had the highest net CO2-eq emission while NT-live mulch had the lowest. 

This study was undertaken on CA-based sustainable intensification of Indian mustard for enhancing input efficiencies, farm profitability and sustainability. Permanent beds with residue retention (PB + R) improved mustard equivalent yield (11.4%) and system grain yield (10.6%) compared with conventional tillage without residue (CT − R). Maize–mustard rotation (Mz–M) increased system grain yield (142.9%) as well as mustard equivalent yield (60.7%) compared with fallow-mustard (F-M). They conclude that CA-based Mz–M system should be promoted in traditional rainfed fallow-mustard areas to improve farm production and income and help make the country self-sufficient in edible oils.

This study looked at the effects of rotation (determines residue type) and tillage (affects residue load and distribution) on residue decomposition and wheat yield. Crop rotations in long-term trials in this region consisted of wheat–medics, lupin–wheat–canola–wheat, canola–wheat–lupin–wheat, and wheat monoculture. Tillage treatments were CT (chisel plow plus soil inversion with tine planter); MT (chisel plow and tine planter); NT (direct drilling with tine planter); and ZT (direct drilling with a double disc planter). Results showed no effect on residue decomposition, but increased wheat LAI and yield when rotated with medics, lupin and canola compared to monoculture. ZT increased residue load and improved seedling establishment. NT and ZT increased residue decomposition compared to CT with less soil disturbance..

This interesting paper looks at the problem of loose straw after combine harvesting wheat and other crops. One farmer solution is to burn this straw, but that has negative impacts and pollutes air. This paper reports the effect of residue distribution on soil properties and crop establishment and yield under no-tillage and controlled traffic in cereal (wheat-wheat-barley) and diverse (wheat-legume-canola) rotations, over the final six years of a larger 12-year rotation experiment in Australia. For each crop and rotation, residue was either spread evenly or burnt. Increasing residue amount had a positive effect on establishment and yield when conditions were dry around seeding and early crop growth stages, possibly associated with increased water availability with increased residue load. In the longer term, higher residue amounts resulted in increased soil nutrients behind the harvester, which increased yields in some years. Therefore, research to improve uniformity of residue spread behind harvesters is crucial. 

This paper looks at the impact of no-till and surface mulch (also cover crops) on wireworm populations in soil and damage to crops like maize on 3 farms in Italy compared to conventional tillage. The four-year cropping rotation consisted of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum), oilseed rape (Brassica napus), maize (Zea mays), and soybean (Glycine max) under both tillage treatments. No differences were observed between tillage treatments in wireworm feeding maize damage scores (P > 0.17; means for no-till and conventional tillage maize were 3.82 and 4.14 percent damage, respectively). These results suggest that switching from a conventional tillage system to a no-till maize production may not cause an increase of wireworm damage to maize, even though no-till conditions have been historically associated with increased wireworm damage risk.