Conservation Agriculture Research Updates - April 2026

This paper describes conservation agriculture (CA) as a way of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The authors suggest that "CA can prove to be a viable option for meeting the targets of the sustainable agenda. This practice supports environmental, social and economic justice, which creates a holistic developmental route that supports the burgeoning population." CA also reduces production costs that favors farmer adoption. However the paper concludes that "while CA demonstrates significant benefits across scales, its adoption remains constrained by socioeconomic factors and limited mechanization in the smallholder context. Advancing CA requires a multidisciplinary, participatory research paradigm coupled with policy support, institutional support and capacity building for farmers. 

This paper suggests that CA adoption is crucial for enhancing SOC and mitigating climate change for future food security. The research assesses the effectiveness of various factors controlling SOC sequestration derived from literature reviews and 469 data points spanning 42 years.Results showed that CA significantly increased  SOC by almost 30% compared to CT. The highest SOC result was no-till, plus chemical fertilizer (CF), and straw return (S). Interestingly, CF + S or CF + manure led to greater SOC sequestration compared to the application of CF alone. Also, the annual SOC change rate (ASCR) of CA is closely linked to the experimental duration of its application, demonstrating an overall exponential decline followed by stabilization after several years. Overall. this paper contributes to the understanding of how CA sequesters carbon in soil.

This paper from Iran explores the factors that are responsible for adoption of CA in Iran since they suggest this system is important for environmental sustainability and resilience. They show it helps reverse soil degradation by improving moisture retention and increasing soil organic matter. Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using structural equation modeling. They conclude that "attitude and self-efficacy emerged as the most significant determinants influencing farmers' decisions to adopt CA. The information will provide valuable recommendations  for policy makers hoping to promote CA. 

This review from Romania highlights the importance of soil health for sustainable agriculture and identifies practices that result in improved soil health that includes, physical, chemical and biological properties. The explored rotation, cover crops, no-till, CA, and use of organic amendments to achieve SH properties that includes better soil structure, increased organic matter and biological diversity. Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) is vital. Their results show that CA is a better option to restore soil health than conventional systems although they mention that this topic is still controversial among scientists and farmers. 

This is another chapter in another 2024 book that has chapters on Principles of Agronomy for Sustainable Agriculture. Chapter 18 looks at soil conservation and negative issues of tillage and goes on to describe the role CA can play in reversing the issue of soil degradation when using tillage. They understand that adoption of CA will take time as farmers transition from conventional tillage. Literature has many examples of what is needed to accelerate adoption of this new management system. CA needs to address weed issues in the early years of adoption and suitable machinery availability for seeding. Use of cover crops in less intensive cropping systems in temperate climates are growing in acreage and supply the needed residue cover for CA.  

This is another article on soil health in this special edition on soil health of this journal. One question raised is "What is soil health"? Also how does one describe it to non-soil scientists and why it is so important to everyone? The authors of this paper who organized this series of papers on soil health share their thoughts and own opinions on soil health in this paper. The conclude by saying "Our goal is that each of you will be enriched by the articles in this issue and the impact of soil health on conservation and the future of our ecosystem."

This paper talks about the role of soil as a basis for all terrestrial life as well ecosystem services for nature and mankind. It is essential to protect, restore and manage soils in a sustainable way so that soil health is maintained and improved. This will require humans working together including the various stakeholders in the public, private, scientific and extension groups but also policies to make sure the soil is a protected resource. 

I included this book that was published in 2021 because it deals with the role of cover crops that are becoming more popular in modern agriculture and used in sustainable agriculture like conservation agriculture to provide the essential surface mulch needed to make no-till systems productive. This book is an encyclopedia of cover crop management by 2021. Papers in the 18 chapters indicate the long-term benefits for soil health, structure, water quality, nutrient contributions, soil biodiversity, air quality and climate change. The book looks at the "whys" as well as the "hows" for different locations and how to terminate them when needed. As part of a continuous no-till system, cover crops provide long-term biological, chemical and structural benefits. The resulting increase in soil organic matter means the agronomic crop yields benefit from better water infiltration and water holding capacity, greater availability of nitrogen and other nutrients, deeper rooting, and increased soil microbial activity in the root zone.

This study from China investigated the erosion processes and carbon dynamics across eroded slopes after adopting various conservation practices based on the data obtained from field experiments across the globe. Their results interestingly showed that adoption of CA compared to CT significantly did not reduce runoff but did lead to a significant reduction in sediment loss. CA also significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC) in the top 10cm layer and reduced SOC loss. The results further highlighted the critical contribution of straw mulching in erosion control, soil organic carbon loss reduction, and soil organic carbon accumulation, while reduced tillage represented the least effective measure. 

This paper from Europe used a Meta-analysis to to evaluate the impact of management practices related to carbon and nutrient, vegetation, pest and disease and soil management, as well as grazing management on soil biota and soil biology. They screened 698 articles and came up with 90 that were eligible with a total of 790 pairwise combinations and 74,526 observations. Their study showed what agricultural practices improve or reduce soil biology that is useful for selection of sustainable farming systems. They found that reduced tillage, organic fertilization, cover cropping and intercropping resulted in positive improvements in soil health factors. They also developed a “Utility-Robustness” scoring system for soil actors, using a systematic framework to inform biological indicator selection tailored to specific management contexts.

This long-term field experiment with Winter wheat looked at 3 tillage systems: conventional (CT), reduced (RT), and No-till (NT) since 1995. They collected data on SOC, microbial biomass, and enzymatic activity in four-year crop rotation periods from 2005-2024. There were 3 rotations: winter oil seed rape, winter wheat, pea, and winter wheat.Data was collected from 3 crop depths: 0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm. Residues were incorporated in CT, partially in RT and left as surface mulch in NT. Results showed that NT had the highest C-sequestration followed by RT and CT. The weather conditions during the year (abundance of precipitation) influenced crop yields significantly more than the tillage practices with wheat yields and N in grain the highest in CT followed by RT and lowest in NT. NT treatments increased the organic carbon and microbial activity in soils.

This paper identifies some knowledge gaps and opportunities to narrow the soil carbon gap existing in croplands today. They suggest that adoption of regenerative, CA and cover crops without understanding the mechanisms for carbon capture will not result in C capture in the soil profile. Even though NT results in improved soil carbon, most of this is found in the soil surface.. They suggest that increased plant biomass is needed to improve C capture by increasing higher above and below ground biomass. They conclude that many factors affect C gains, but the most critical  factor is boosting biomass C into the soil profile  when trying to narrow the C gap. 

This paper mentions that maize, wheat and rice account for 90% of the total cereal production globally. They suggest that a new approach to cereal production is needed to overcome food insecurity, climate changes and unsustainable land use. They propose that integrated crop management (ICM) is an avenue to explore. This article reviews 108 studies from literature over the last 23 years.The review the data from Asia, China, USA, and Africa. Their data shows that ICM increased yields in rice, wheat and maize but despite this potential, widespread adoption faces technical, climate-related and economic issues.  They suggest that overcoming these issues requires targeted training, improved extension, and supportive policies.

Food security is a challenge in Malawi where agriculture is crucial for livelihoods and rural development. This paper looks at the diversity of different CA systems adopted by rural farmers a District in Malawi. 390 farmers were surveyed who had adopted CA in some form. 97% of these farmers were aware of CA, but adoption rates were much lower because of high labor costs and limited resources. Intercropping was used by 37% of farmers and 30% used manure. Mulching and mixed cropping had low adoption rates. They concluded that "to enhance the adoption of these technologies, it is recommended that strategies be developed to address labour and resource limitations, including context-appropriate training programs, resource enhancement initiatives, and targeted promotional efforts focused on local farming systems.

This paper uses the term Resource Conserving Technologies (RCT's) as practices that help reverse the negative affects of climate change on food and water productivity. RCT's they include are CA, cover crops, mulching, drip irrigation, soil moisture sensors-based smart irrigation, rainwater harvesting, site-specific nutrient management, leaf color chart, fertigation, and precision agriculture that can result in long-term sustainability by enhancing food production and sequestering soil carbon in conventional field farming. They can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), result in higher yield and water savings. Some RCT's require high-cost machinery and it is suggested they should be tested in diverse production systems for sustainability and large-scale adoption. 

This paper from Rwanda looks at the low yields of maize, a critical staple crop in this country. The study evaluates the agronomic and economic results of CA compared to conventional systems (CT) by interviewing 222 farms in dry areas of Eastern Rwanda. They found that CA farmers incurred higher total production costs, particularly for fertilizers, seeds, weeding, and irrigation, while CT farmers had significantly higher land preparation costs. But CA achieved 40% higher net profit, 20% higher maize yields, and higher P use efficiency compared to CT. They identified irrigation frequency, seed rate, and nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer application as key determinants of maize yield using CA compared to CT. 

This article from NW Vietnam looks at how CA practices (CAPs) can be adopted to overcome the problems associated with conventional agriculture in this region that has resulted in soil degradation because of intensive tillage and intensive use of chemical fertilizers without adding organic matter. They surveyed 400 maize-farming households. Their analysis shows "that the joint adoption of CAPs is facilitated by education of the household heads, total farmland area, farmers’ access to credit, interactions with extension agents, training on CAPs, proximity to cooperatives, participation in farmers' groups, and plot-specific characteristics." Adoption of CAPs leads to better maize yields and net incomes, especially when all aspects of CA are adopted.  

This book chapter 16 from a 2024 published book on Greenhouse Gases in Climate Smart Agriculture covers the perspective on CA and GHG. It talks about how to feed a growing population when climate change is a major issue. Issues include burning of previous crop residues and loss of soil health and nutrients. This chapter discusses how CA can help with future food security. It concludes that "several studies have shown that CA practices reduce farm-related GHG emissions, improve soil health and structure, increase carbon sequestration, reduce soil erosion, and modify the microclimate" 

This is one of several papers on the importance of soil health in modern agriculture especially for securing future food security written by a renowned soil scientist. He talks about a disturbance based classification of agricultural systems that includes tillage and chemical use: does the system allow , minimize or avoid physical or chemical disturbance in soil ecosystems and do these systems help with reversing the degradation of soil and its health? This paper discusses conventional, organic, no-till, regenerative, and regenerative organic farming in terms of physical and chemical disturbance. 

This is a chapter from the Cover Crops and Sustainable Agriculture book listed next that is devoted to cover crop use in conservation agriculture. This chapter looks at the issue of an expanding global population (10 billion by 2050) with a traditional farming system that uses intensive tillage and monoculture that is slowly degrading the soil, the environment and the ability to feed the future population, especially as climate change adds a further challenge for food production. This chapter provides information on cover crop mixes that are relevant for conservation agriculture to not only improve the benefits of a surface residue mulch needed for no-till systems but also a way to improve soil health vital for sustainable agriculture and future food security.

This paper from India starts by saying India with 121 million small and marginal holdings, faces challenges from a growing population, limited land, and restricted resources.Their review identifies potential innovative technologies suitable for resource poor farmers and what effective ways are needed like public-private partnerships, cooperative farming, and custom hiring centers to overcome adoption barriers and identified enabling factors such as funding, education, and institutional support. They also suggest that a multi-faceted approach with policy, financial, and educational support is essential for adoption. They conclude that findings are relevant to policymakers and development practitioners focused on enhancing food security and resilience in smallholder farming.

This paper from Ohio State University's Triplett-Van Doren long-term tillage and crop rotation experiment (one of the oldest NT experiments in the World) looked at the temporal dynamics of soil N and C pools in a maize growing season, in a 55 year old tillage and crop rotation experiment. Tillage treatments were no-till (NT) + residue, Chisel-till (CT) + 30% residue and moldboard till (MT) - residue incorporated. There were 3 rotations: continuous maize, maize-soybean (2-year rotation), and maize-forage-forage (3 year rotation). Their results suggest that crop diversification with perennials enhances soil C and N; NT has stronger effects in clay loam than silt-loam soils; and although C and N pools vary seasonally, long-term management effects persist throughout the growing season.

This paper from New Zealand starts by saying soil health decline is a major constraint to achieving higher yields and looks at the interaction of tillage, legumes and nitrogen on reversing declines in SH for a cotton-wheat on a bed planting system. There were two tillage systems; NT and Conventional tillage (CT). Three legumes: soybean, mungbean, and mash bean. 2 nitrogen levels. Results showed that the best treatment for soil organic matter and microbial population (improved soil health) was cotton + mungbean-wheat with NT and the recommended N and a significant increase in wheat yield compared to CT treatments. 

Nepal agriculture is challenged by environmental degradation, labor shortages, and increasing feminization of farming as a result of male outmigration. CA offers a solution but adoption needs to increase. This paper examines issues related to adoption CA as more women become empowered in agriculture. The surveyed 383 farmers across 3 Districts and found that 73% of respondents were willing to adopt CA because of climate concerns, economic incentives and market access. They believe that CA enhances sustainability, resilience, and income are also more likely to engage, while market dissatisfaction presents a challenge. Getting subsidies is associated with adoption of CA. Barriers for women include household responsibilities, lack of education and training, and limited financial access. They conclude that targeted policies, institutional support, and market-based incentives are essential for increasing adoption by women farmers. 

This article explores the interaction of genotype (16 cold tolerant) and tillage (3) for chickpeas in dryland areas of Iran over three cropping seasons. Tillage treatments were moldboard with residue removed (CT); minimal tillage (MT) with a chisel plow with residue; and no-till (NT) with residue retained. Results were positive for no-till + residue with increases in SOC, potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and soil moisture compared to the start of the experiment. There were differences in performance between the different genotypes with some better with no-till and others with MT and others with CT. Chickpea genotypes cultivated under the NT system demonstrated superior performance (41%) in comparison to those grown using conventional tillage (CT) practices during the third year.