Indicators of soil quality and sustainable productivity with conservation agriculture

Abstract

The intensive use of the disc plow and its turning action in the agricultural soils of the semi-arid of Mexico has generated severe degradation of physical and chemical properties. This study aimed to evaluate the structural state of a soil (Xerosol) subjected to conservation agriculture to know the soil quality indicators (SQIs) and sustainability indices. In a long-term experiment (1995-2020), under a corn-triticale rotation under irrigation, two soil management systems were evaluated: 1) conventional tillage and 2) conservation agriculture. The indicators evaluated were texture, bulk density, soil organic carbon, structural stability index, aggregate stability by mean weight diameter, total porosity, pore distribution, air-filled porosity, moisture constants (ɵs, FC and PWP), stored water sheet, saturated hydraulic conductivity, pH, electrical conductivity, and grain and forage yield. The results showed a statistical difference between conventional tillage and conservation agriculture (ɑ= 0.05) in 18 of the 19 SQIs analyzed. The highest estimated sustainability was for CA, with 85%, compared to conventional tillage, which was 59%. Conservation agriculture presented greater structural stability with higher porosity values and lower bulk density, which is favorable for the sustainability of soil structure and crop yields.