To Grow Our Crops Up & Grow Down Climate Change, Should It Be “No Till” Or “Maximum Till”? As An Investigative Agriculturist, I Believe It Should Be “Rotavator Manuring”!

Some 56 years ago, in 1966, I discovered for myself in the open shelves of the library of the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (now UP Los Baños), “minimum tillage” courtesy of the twin books of American gentleman farmer Edward H Faulkner – Plowman’s Folly (1943) and Soil Development (1953). That was contrary to my BSA major in Ag Edu learnings, but I came to believe in the wisdom of the minimum disturbance of the soil accompanied by the maximum incorporation of natural organic matter from the weeds and crop refuse via the rotavator.

(“Rotavator in field” image from iStock, istockphoto.com)

But let us listen first to “Farming Without Disturbing Soil” – That is so much against current practices worldwide why should we pay any attention to it!? Here come Sacha Mooney, Hannah Victoria Cooper & Sofie Sjogersten (British?) with that article (27 April 2021, The Conversation, theconversation.com). They are talking about Zero Tillage as intelligent response of farmers to Climate Change:

… Agriculture accounts for a staggering 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Tractors running on diesel release carbon dioxide (CO₂) from their exhausts. Fertilizers spread on fields produce nitrous oxide. And cattle generate methane from microbes in their guts.

In newly published research from farms across the UK, we discovered that an alternative approach called no-till farming, which does not disturb soils and instead involves placing seeds in drilled holes in the earth, could slash greenhouse gas emissions from crop production by nearly a third and increase how much carbon soils can store.

Not bad – zero tillage with direct seeding. No need to cultivate the soil, so you reduce much the cost of farming. But if you have to apply fertilizer, chances are that you will choose the inorganic: I say, “Bad!”

Learning from Mr Faulkner, and improving on his tillage, that year I came up with the idea of a rotavator running on a field with weeds (with crop refuse if any) so that an automatic layer of organic trash is laid out. I now call this original process-cum-product the “Rotavator Organic WEALTh (Weeds-Enriched Automatic Layer of Trash Triggering Terrestrial Health).” All over the field, the organic matter soon begins to decompose and yield its benefits to the crops: nutrients, moisture, beneficial organisms micro and macro – and zero greenhouse gases! [I first wrote about this original “Organic WEALTh” of mine 27 April 2022 (see my essay, “Can You Grow Sugarcane Solely By Organic Fertilizer? CaneCo In The Antilles Archipelago Shows The World How!” Towards A New Eden, towardsaneweden.blogspot.com)].

“Organic WEALTh” is not your usual green manuring result because the manner of rotavation is controlled (secret!) Then you can plant your seeds or seedlings hardly disturbing the soil.

The Conversation authors (above) discuss the benefits of no-till farming; my Rotavator Organic WEALTh gives you those benefits, even as it helps multiply healthy foods and healthy incomes!

This time, we cultivate the Weeds as The Desired Species!@517