Has Inversion tillage passed its 'use by date'?

[Jeff Esdaile]

All,
I do not know whether my following comments fit into this discussion group or should be somewhere else.
However I have noted with interest the material submitted by the various tractor and implement manufacturers.
It seems to me that there is still undue emphasis on soil inversion implements (mouldboard plows and disc plows) To a lesser extent offset disc cultivators are featured.
In my opinion, these implements are relics of traditional agriculture which should be consigned to the agricultural museums of the world (or melted down at the steel works). Inversion tillage in my view is something that should be phased out world wide, especially in areas of limited rainfall.
I would dearly love to see more sweep (non inversion) tillage implements featured, as well as spraying equipment of all kinds. Farmers world wide need to change to more environmentally friendly practices. This is a tough ask, as perhaps each farmer may have to invest in alternative tillage and land preparation equipment, with limited cash resources.
However we have 90 million hectares of no-till world wide right now, and that is a good start.
What do others think, or am I too controversial?

[Mike Donovan]

Lets look at history Jeff. Inversion was developed as a means of weed control, the mouldboard gave you a nice piece of clean earth in which to plant seeds. It was an effective tool before herbicides and other weed control systems were developed. Inversion also made it easy to create a seed bed, and provided a area around each plant that could be hoed and kept clean.
Non-inversion goes hand in hand with herbicide use, expensive inputs in many parts of the world. Not everyone is so keen on applying herbicides, both from the health point of view and the long term effects they have on weed mutation. Blackgrass in East Anglia is becoming difficult to deal with, and is only susceptible to glyphosate in some areas.
BUt I can agree with you that inversion has its own problems, particularly soil stability, and panning. there are areas of the world which should never be cultivated for annual crops, and these can erode rapidly. World farmers need to think like their forebears, that they are looking after the land for the next generation and more - not like the worlds fishermen, who seem to have no concern over the damage they cause... it's only what is sin the net that matters.

[Jeff Esdaile]

Mike,
Thanks for the comment. I started this forum on conservation farming with the query about inversion tillage mainly to promote discussion, and there has been feed back as I expected.
I am a conservation farmer from way back, and am convinced that it is ultimately the system to use. However it is not easy and herbicide resistant weeds are an emerging challenge. Also having a soil that is firm and covered in residue is extremely difficult to plant if you do not have the right gear.
Quality herbicide application also is high tech stuff, and if you don't get it right you may not kill the weeds or may kill your neighbours crop!
However the benefits are there (in Australia anyway) as good conservation farmers are now producing high yielding quality crops in arid conditions that would have had crop failure a generation ago.
Given that, Rolf Derpsch ( the no till guru from Uruguay) now estimates that there are 90 million hectares of no till world wide, with 2 million hectares of no till wheat after rice on the Indo-gangetic Plains - practiced by 3 million farmers!
Thanks again for your input - it is good to have informed debate on all these systems. I am constantly reminded that agriculture in general, ( and agronomy in particular) is in a constant state of flux with new and emerging techniques, some of which work well, and others mediocre to say the least. Its a never ending story.