Reducing Soil Erosion and Agricultural Chemical Losses with Conservation Tillage

As nonpoint source pollution of water becomes more evident, more concern is being focused on the effects of agricultural practices on water quality. This study evaluated the effects of conventional tillage (CT), chisel-plow tillage (CP), and no tillage (NT) on the quality of runoff water from a Maury silt loam soil (fine, mixed, mesic Typic Paleudalf) near Lexington, KY. The mean runoff rate, total runoff volume, mean sediment concentration, and total soil losses were significantly less for NT than for CP and CT [...]