Advances in conservation agricultureVolume 1,: Systems and science

"What Dr Samuel Johnson did for English, Professor Amir Kassam has done for Conservation Agriculture (CA). He is eminently well qualified and has enlisted more than a hundred battle-hardened champions to contribute 26 chapters amounting to over a thousand scholarly pages. The content is formidable. Volume one, Systems and Science, embraces: the need for CA; global developments; soil health and landscape management; the roles of minimum soil disturbance, mulch and cover crops; crops and cropping systems, vegetable systems, perennial systems; integration of cropping and livestock; mechanization; certification; institutional and policy support.

Volume two, Practice and Benefits, includes management of crops and cropping systems, soil, weeds, insect pests and disease, nutrients, carbon, and biodiversity; climate change mitigation and adaptation; benefits to farmers and society; ecosystem services; and rehabilitation of degraded farmland…This book can change the future."review by David Dent in International Journal of Environmental StudiesThis volume summarises research on key components for successful Conservation Agriculture (CA).

Chapters review the latest research on ways of optimising no-till techniques to minimise soil disturbance in relation to seeding, weeding and other operations.

Chapters also review ways to improve soil health in CA, including mulch cover, cover crops, rotations and intercropping.

The book also includes case studies on optimising CA in particular systems, including rice, root, tuber and horticultural crops as well as integrating livestock in CA systems.

The book concludes by looking at certification schemes and institutional support to promote good CA practice.