When does no-till yield more? A global meta-analysis
© 2015 The Authors. No-till agriculture represents a relatively widely adopted management system that aims to reduce soil erosion, decrease input costs, and sustain long-term crop productivity. However, its impacts on crop yields are variable, and an improved understanding of the factors limiting pr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/75592 |
| _version_ | 1848763509864660992 |
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| author | Pittelkow, C. Linquist, B. Lundy, M. Liang, X. van Groenigen, K. Lee, Juhwan van Gestel, N. Six, J. Venterea, R. van Kessel, C. |
| author_facet | Pittelkow, C. Linquist, B. Lundy, M. Liang, X. van Groenigen, K. Lee, Juhwan van Gestel, N. Six, J. Venterea, R. van Kessel, C. |
| author_sort | Pittelkow, C. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | © 2015 The Authors. No-till agriculture represents a relatively widely adopted management system that aims to reduce soil erosion, decrease input costs, and sustain long-term crop productivity. However, its impacts on crop yields are variable, and an improved understanding of the factors limiting productivity is needed to support evidence-based management decisions. We conducted a global meta-analysis to evaluate the influence of various crop and environmental variables on no-till relative to conventional tillage yields using data obtained from peer-reviewed publications (678 studies with 6005 paired observations, representing 50 crops and 63 countries). Side-by-side yield comparisons were restricted to studies comparing conventional tillage to no-till practices in the absence of other cropping system modifications. Crop category was the most important factor influencing the overall yield response to no-till followed by aridity index, residue management, no-till duration, and N rate. No-till yields matched conventional tillage yields for oilseed, cotton, and legume crop categories. Among cereals, the negative impacts of no-till were smallest for wheat (-2.6%) and largest for rice (-7.5%) and maize (-7.6%). No-till performed best under rainfed conditions in dry climates, with yields often being equal to or higher than conventional tillage practices. Yields in the first 1-2 years following no-till implementation declined for all crops except oilseeds and cotton, but matched conventional tillage yields after 3-10 years except for maize and wheat in humid climates. Overall, no-till yields were reduced by 12% without N fertilizer addition and 4% with inorganic N addition. Our study highlights factors contributing to and/or decreasing no-till yield gaps and suggests that improved targeting and adaptation, possibly including additional system modifications, are necessary to optimize no-till performance and contribute to food production goals. In addition, our results provide a basis for conducting trade-off analyses to support the development of no-till crop management and international development strategies based on available scientific evidence. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:04:36Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-75592 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:04:36Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-755922019-05-29T03:04:59Z When does no-till yield more? A global meta-analysis Pittelkow, C. Linquist, B. Lundy, M. Liang, X. van Groenigen, K. Lee, Juhwan van Gestel, N. Six, J. Venterea, R. van Kessel, C. © 2015 The Authors. No-till agriculture represents a relatively widely adopted management system that aims to reduce soil erosion, decrease input costs, and sustain long-term crop productivity. However, its impacts on crop yields are variable, and an improved understanding of the factors limiting productivity is needed to support evidence-based management decisions. We conducted a global meta-analysis to evaluate the influence of various crop and environmental variables on no-till relative to conventional tillage yields using data obtained from peer-reviewed publications (678 studies with 6005 paired observations, representing 50 crops and 63 countries). Side-by-side yield comparisons were restricted to studies comparing conventional tillage to no-till practices in the absence of other cropping system modifications. Crop category was the most important factor influencing the overall yield response to no-till followed by aridity index, residue management, no-till duration, and N rate. No-till yields matched conventional tillage yields for oilseed, cotton, and legume crop categories. Among cereals, the negative impacts of no-till were smallest for wheat (-2.6%) and largest for rice (-7.5%) and maize (-7.6%). No-till performed best under rainfed conditions in dry climates, with yields often being equal to or higher than conventional tillage practices. Yields in the first 1-2 years following no-till implementation declined for all crops except oilseeds and cotton, but matched conventional tillage yields after 3-10 years except for maize and wheat in humid climates. Overall, no-till yields were reduced by 12% without N fertilizer addition and 4% with inorganic N addition. Our study highlights factors contributing to and/or decreasing no-till yield gaps and suggests that improved targeting and adaptation, possibly including additional system modifications, are necessary to optimize no-till performance and contribute to food production goals. In addition, our results provide a basis for conducting trade-off analyses to support the development of no-till crop management and international development strategies based on available scientific evidence. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/75592 10.1016/j.fcr.2015.07.020 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Pittelkow, C. Linquist, B. Lundy, M. Liang, X. van Groenigen, K. Lee, Juhwan van Gestel, N. Six, J. Venterea, R. van Kessel, C. When does no-till yield more? A global meta-analysis |
| title | When does no-till yield more? A global meta-analysis |
| title_full | When does no-till yield more? A global meta-analysis |
| title_fullStr | When does no-till yield more? A global meta-analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | When does no-till yield more? A global meta-analysis |
| title_short | When does no-till yield more? A global meta-analysis |
| title_sort | when does no-till yield more? a global meta-analysis |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/75592 |