Farming Practice Variability and Its Implications for Soil Health in Agriculture: A Review

Elsadig Omer (), Dora Szlatenyi, Sándor Csenki, Jomana Alrwashdeh, Ivan Czako and Vince Láng
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Elsadig Omer: Discovery Center Nonprofit Ltd., Egyetem ter 1., 2100 Godollo, Hungary
Dora Szlatenyi: Discovery Center Nonprofit Ltd., Egyetem ter 1., 2100 Godollo, Hungary
Sándor Csenki: Discovery Center Nonprofit Ltd., Egyetem ter 1., 2100 Godollo, Hungary
Jomana Alrwashdeh: Discovery Center Nonprofit Ltd., Egyetem ter 1., 2100 Godollo, Hungary
Ivan Czako: Karotin Ltd., Kulterulet 2., 6728 Szeged, Hungary
Vince Láng: Discovery Center Nonprofit Ltd., Egyetem ter 1., 2100 Godollo, Hungary

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-27

Abstract: Soil health is essential for sustainable agricultural operations, as it supports farm production and ecosystem services. The adoption of sustainable agriculture practices such as conservation tillage, cover cropping, and crop rotation provides significant benefits for both crop productivity and environmental sustainability. These practices can increase soil biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and organic matter, which increase the resilience of agroecosystems. This narrative review synthesizes the insights of the soil health practices adoption literature, with a focus on common farming practices that can improve soil health and enhance crop yields, reviewing the results of various approaches and pointing out the challenges and opportunities for implementing sustainable agriculture on a larger scale. This paper discusses the effects of various tillage and cropping system approaches on soil health, including no-till and conventional tillage systems, crop rotation, cover cropping, cultivator combinations, and fertilizer application. This study found that conservation tillage is more beneficial to soil health than conventional tillage—which is still debated among scientists and farmers—and that different tillage methods interact differently. In contrast, agricultural yields increase more with intercropping, crop rotation, and cover crops than monocropping. For maintaining soil fertility, this study shows that agricultural yields could be increased by implementing zero tillage. This review identifies the most suitable farming practices for improving soil health while boosting crop production with minimal negative impact on the soil. It also highlights the benefits of these practices in maintaining soil quality.

Keywords: soil health; farming practices; conservation agriculture; no till; yield; soil physical; chemical and biological properties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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