Basic Knowledge in Agriculture #61

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What is Tilling.

Tilling is a significant farming activity that consists of acting on, inverting and making ready the soil to enable the planting of crops. This is typically carried out through hoes, plows or tractors. The primary aim of cultivating is to enhance the structure of the soil by disaggregating the hard soil, enabling water, air and nutrients to flow freely to the root of the plants.

Tilling is also used to manage the weeds by rooting them off and burying the weed seeds in the soil. Moreover, it incorporates organic materials like manure or compost into the soil and this makes the soil more fertile. When properly tilled, it gives a smooth seedbed, which facilitates a good seed germination and healthy and strong crops.

Discuss the types of Soil Tilling.

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The tilling of soils can be classified into a number of types depending on the intensity of the amount of working the soil. The initial large one is the primary tillage which refers to the breaking and loosening of the soil to a depth to clear the ground to accept the plants- examples would be plowing and heavy tilling. The second step or stage is the secondary tillage which follows the primary tillage and involves the light activities such as harrowing and leveling to produce a smooth seedbed.

Conventional tillage is used to control weeds and improve the soil structure which is done through repetitive disturbance of soil. Minimum tillage also reduces the distortion of soils to retain moisture and erosion. No-tillage or zero-tillage is the technique of planting agricultural products without disturbing the soil and the practices allow to preserve the soil fertility, decrease the soil erosion, and enhance the long-term soil health and sustainability.

What are the Advantages and disadvantages of soil tilling.

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Tilling of soil has a number of benefits and drawbacks in agriculture and gardening. The first one is that it makes the soil loose and the roots of plants can easily penetrate the soil and take in nutrients. Tilling also makes the weed to be controlled by uprooting and enhances the soil aeration and water absorption. It is capable of combining organic materials with fertilizers on a uniform level into the soil, which enhances crop production.

Still, soil tilling has its negative aspects. Soon plowing can be harmful to the soil structure and other living organisms including earthworms. It may lead to soil erosion especially when the soil is heavy with the rains or wind. Long term over soil cultivation can reduce soil moisture and soil fertility. And then work sparingly and treat it as the need be.

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