Conservation Agriculture - Science topic

Dear Researchers, Scientists and Friends,

In the context of the green transformation of the economy, the agricultural sector plays a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and managing natural resources. Industry 4.0 offers advanced technologies such as automation, the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and artificial intelligence, which can significantly improve the efficiency of agricultural production by optimising resource consumption. On the other hand, sustainable natural resource management in agriculture focuses on practices such as agroecology, which can ensure long-term ecological balance. The question is which of these options will be more effective in the context of striving for the green transformation of the agricultural sector. According to the accepted research hypothesis, the implementation of Industry 4.0 technology in agriculture will improve production efficiency and reduce the consumption of water, fertilisers and pesticides, which will translate into a reduction of the negative impact on the environment. On the other hand, sustainable management of natural resources in agriculture, based on agro-ecological methods, will contribute to greater ecosystem sustainability, improved soil quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the long term. Industry 4.0 technologies in agriculture offer huge potential in terms of improving production efficiency, minimising the consumption of natural resources and increasing precision in the management of agricultural processes. The use of solutions such as remote monitoring, sensor data analysis, automatic irrigation systems and robotics can help reduce waste in agricultural production and improve the quality of agricultural products. At the same time, sustainable management of natural resources in agriculture emphasises long-term ecological viability, promoting soil regeneration, biodiversity and optimisation of the water cycle. Both strategies can coexist, but this requires precise adaptation of the technology to the specific characteristics of a given region and its natural resources. The choice between the two depends on the specific local conditions, the availability of technology and long-term environmental goals.

I have described the key issues concerning the problem of the ongoing process of global warming, the negative effects of this process and, consequently, the need to increase the scale and accelerate the implementation of the process of green transformation of the economy, climate protection, biosphere and biodiversity of the planet in the following article:

In the following article, I have summarised the results of my research on the relationship between sustainability issues, the origin and significance of the Sustainable Development Goals, the essence of sustainability in the context of social, normative, economic, environmental, climate and human rights aspects, etc. The research also addressed the issue of key determinants of human existential security as an element of the concept of sustainable development.

And what is your opinion on this topic?

Please reply,

I invite everyone to the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Best wishes,

I invite you to scientific cooperation,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

Besides numerous exciting Focus Sessions at the International Mountain Conference 2025 (September 14-18, 2025 in Innsbruck, Austria), we invite you to submit abstracts for our session.

Title: Abandoned (agricultural) building stock in mountain regions: Obstacles or opportunities for rural development?

Keywords: Abandoned Building Stock; Revitalization; Reutilisation; Systemic Approaches; Lifestyle Im/Mobility; Participative Action Methods; Sustainable Rural Development; Cultural Landscape.

We warmly welcome a wide range of inter/national submissions with a focus on mountain regions. Our session aims to gather insights from different methodological, conceptual and disciplinary angles to expand our knowledge on:

Deadline: February 20, 2025; 12:00 UTC

Submission: Exclusively via https://imc2025.info/imc/submission/abstract/

In my view, the rise in crop and food prices in 2024 is the result of a complex combination of factors, including intensifying climate change, problems with plant and animal diseases, disruptions in global supply chains and rising demand. Addressing this problem requires sustainable actions, such as investment in climate-resilient agricultural technologies, improved international environmental cooperation, and long-term reforms in food security and stability of commodity markets.

I have described the key issues concerning the problems of the ongoing process of global warming, the negative effects of this process and, therefore, the need to scale up and accelerate the implementation of the green transformation of the economy in the following article:

And what is your opinion on this topic?

What is your opinion on this issue?

Please answer,

I invite everyone to join the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Best wishes,

I would like to invite you to join me in scientific cooperation,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

The ever-increasing price of food products purchased by consumers in stores is another argument for buying products directly from a farmer producing real healthy, non-chemical-soaked crops produced according to the formula of sustainable organic farming, bypassing middlemen, commodity logistics centers, processing plants, stores and shopping malls, which sell crops or processed food products many times more expensive compared to the farmer's prices, and/or to set up a fruit and vegetable garden for your own needs and become independent of expensive middlemen and unnecessary costs. With such a solution, the farmer would earn more and the consumer would buy healthy crops much cheaper. Well, but the political pressure for these simple solutions to many problems is not there. Why? Because then the revenue from indirect taxes to the state budget, from VAT would be able to fall significantly, and after all, VAT is still the main source of revenue to the state budget in Poland. Well, such is the tax system we have. And could it be different? It could, but unfortunately it's easier to tax citizens and entities with lower and lowest incomes than those with higher incomes, who often also set up fictitious headquarters in tax havens in order to additionally pay even less taxes into the state's public finance system. Besides, this kind of solution would be good for the climate and the environment for many reasons. Maintaining home vegetable, fruit and flower gardens would save money for citizens, reduce environmental pollution from exhaust fumes emitted by cars transporting agricultural crops from the field to logistics centers, agri-food processing companies and then processed food products delivered to stores, shopping centers in cities, food discounters and hypermarkets. In addition, citizens who run vegetable and fruit gardens to obtain their own vegetable crops, their own vegetables and fruits usually do not use chemical pesticides, so the resulting food is realistically healthier than what is purchased in vegetable stores, discount stores and hypermarkets, where vegetables and fruits and the processed food products made from them go, which were grown in farm fields in a model of intensive, production-intensive, highly exploitative soil, climate and environment unsustainable agriculture formula. On the other hand, in the situation of running subsistence vegetable, fruit and flower gardens without the use of chemical pesticides, in which most or all of the farming and tending work is done by hand, with a high level of biodiversity, taking into account the coexistence in the garden of different species and varieties of crops, vegetables, fruits, flower meadows, shrubs and trees is this type of mini-agriculture, running the said gardens is close to the formula of pro-ecological, pro-climate, pro-environmental sustainable organic agriculture. Occurring in this kind of biodiverse gardens also flower meadows, flowering various species of grasses, perennials, meadow plants, as well as shrubs and trees is very friendly to pollinating insects, including bees, whose population has declined by several tens of percent over the past few decades of time. In addition, in such flower gardens, insect houses are increasingly being built and/or beehives are being erected to ensure the functioning of pollinating insects in the micro-biodiversity ecosystem thus created. On the other hand, in managing even small home vegetable and flower gardens, in their planning and organzation, the new information technology of advanced data processing, including generative artificial intelligence technology, can be of great help.

I am conducting research on this issue. I have included the conclusions of my research in the following article:

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT AS A KEY ELEMENT OF THE PRO-ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE ECONOMY TOWARDS GREEN ECONOMY AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY

I invite you to discuss this important topic for the future of the planet's biosphere and climate.

I have described the key issues of opportunities and threats to the development of artificial intelligence technology in my article below:

OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE APPLICATIONS AND THE NEED FOR NORMATIVE REGULATION OF THIS DEVELOPMENT

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:

And what is your opinion about it?

What is your opinion on this issue?

Please answer,

I invite everyone to join the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Best wishes,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

The structure of soils in the world is different.

Why conservation agriculture is recommended in climate change.

Is applying "no till" to all soils appropriate?

For example, by 2050, about 50 percent of arabica coffee plantations will disappear globally due to progressive global warming.

Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire are major producers of cocoa beans. In early 2024, these regions were hit first by heavy rains and then by droughts.

Cocoa prices on commodity exchanges quickly went up. These are further examples of the already realizing large-scale impact of climate change on crop production, more specifically, generating large drops in the level of said production.

The scale of weather anomalies and climatic cataclysms derived from climate change processes is increasing every year. April 2024 was the warmest April in Poland in the history of measurements. Some places in Poland saw temperatures of almost plus 30 degrees C. The spring and near-summer temperatures in April were followed by frosts that wiped out flowers on flowering fruit trees. Many fruit growers lost most or even almost all or all of their projected crop of apples, cherries or other fruits. Interviews with fruit growers show that for at least 2 generations of farmers, fruit growers had not previously experienced such severe weather anomalies

I have described the key issues concerning the problems of the ongoing process of global warming, the negative effects of this process and, therefore, the need to increase the scale and accelerate the implementation of the green transformation of the economy in the following article:

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT AS A KEY ELEMENT OF THE PRO-ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE ECONOMY TOWARDS GREEN ECONOMY AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:

What do you think about this topic?

What is your opinion on this issue?

Please answer,

I invite everyone to join the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Best regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

Since the beginning of the first industrial revolution, anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from human activities have been increasing. During this period, the average level of atmospheric temperature has also been rising as a result of the greenhouse effect generated by the accumulation of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the planet's atmosphere, including primarily methane, a particularly greenhouse gas. The said greenhouse effect is the source of climate change, the main element of which is the accelerating process of global warming. The accelerating process of global warming is causing many adverse effects on human existence and on the planet's biosphere. The negative effects of the accelerating process of global warming include increasingly severe droughts occurring more frequently and covering larger and larger land areas, shortages of drinking water appearing in more and more new areas in many parts of the various continents, violent storms with heavy downpours becoming more frequent in some places, soil barrenness, increasingly higher temperatures and heat in the summer, a decline in the biodiversity of natural ecosystems, and so on. The impact of these processes varies considerably across the world's land regions. For example, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the Copernicus program, i.e. the European Union's Earth observation program, Europe is the fastest warming continent. Since the beginning of the industrial age, the average temperature of the planet has risen by about 2.5 degrees C. Globally, the increase has been about 1 deg C lower. Also, the impact of the ongoing global warming process, i.e. the negative impact on individual industries and sectors of the economy, is and will also vary considerably. Agriculture, for example, is one of those sectors of the economy that will be particularly extremely negatively affected by the global warming process. Accordingly, in some countries, the agriculture carried out in the formula of traditional, intensive, production-intensive, unsustainable agriculture is already being converted to sustainable organic agriculture, which not only produces healthy and mainly or exclusively vegetable crops without the use of pesticides, herbicides and other chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and also applies the goals of sustainable development, the principles of the circular economy and generates energy from renewable and emission-free energy sources. In addition to the conversion of intensive-production formula agriculture to sustainable, emission-free organic farming, in some countries farms are already being prepared and hedged for the future scenario of deepening global warming in the coming years. In order to ensure that the level of crop yields does not drop significantly in the coming years, it is becoming necessary to build rainwater catchment facilities, building ponds and other retention tanks to collect rainwater. To this end, financial subsidies are offered to farmers from the state's public finance system for building such rainwater catching and collecting installations. In a situation where the green transformation of the economy is proceeding far too slowly relative to the needs, i.e. so as to quickly reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions and slow down the process of global warming, the potential negative scenario of failure to carry out the plan to stop the increase in the average temperature level of the planet's atmosphere at up to 1.5 degrees C (since the beginning of the first industrial revolution) should be considered highly probable. However, if possible, it is necessary to carry out the green transformation of the economy as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that the exceedance of the 1.5 deg C level is as low as possible and thus the escalation of the negative effects of the progressive global warming process is as low as possible. Since agriculture is one of those sectors that are most vulnerable to the negative effects of the progressive process of global warming, then in addition to the green transformation of agriculture that is being carried out, it is necessary to protect farms from the negative effects of climate change, which are steadily increasing from year to year, including increasingly frequent periods of drought, summer heat, weather anomalies, severe storms, etc., in a multifaceted way. In addition to this, it is also necessary to create new crop varieties that will be more resistant to the mentioned negative effects of climate change.

I am conducting research on this issue. I have included the conclusions of my research in the following article:

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT AS A KEY ELEMENT OF THE PRO-ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE ECONOMY TOWARDS GREEN ECONOMY AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:

What do you think about this topic?

What is your opinion on this issue?

Please answer,

I invite everyone to join the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Best wishes,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

microbiome are the organic ( divine creatures Allah's creation ) without human intervention

Conservation Agriculture V/S Conventional Agriculture ?

What is the minor difference between organic agriculture and conservation agriculture ?

What are the challenges of implementing permaculture on a large scale?

How does permaculture address energy efficiency?

What is the role of animals in permaculture systems?

What are some strategies for water management in permaculture?

The soil moisture reader/sensor instrument will be used on rain fed sorghum crop with various treatments of water harvesting techniques and also moisture reeding is intended to be done in Conservation Agriculture plots.

How can sustainable land management practices be used to improve soil health, increase biodiversity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Natural farming is done in natural ways without the use of chemicals. It is totally dependent on the on-farm inputs and soil supplying capacity. It is based on nature's resilience. However, conservation agriculture is a resource saving agriculture crop production system which is based on enhancing natural and biological processes. Conservation agriculture relies on enhancing the soil productivity through minimal soil disturbance and permanent soil cover and diversified cropping systems, it enhance the yields of crop. This is also due to more effective microclimate created in the field. The judicious application of agri-inputs like seeds, fertilizers, water and other chemicals enhance the yields. However in case of natural farming, the inputs used do not have sufficient amount of resources for the crop in nutrient and moisture deficient soils of India. Thus in farmers fields, conservation agriculture perform much better than the natural farming.

As part of intensive, unsustainable, profit-maximising agriculture with no regard for the long-term negative effects on the biosphere and the planet's climate, large quantities of pesticides and other plant protection products are used, often to maximise crop yields, by farmers who do not take into account the negative effects of this practice, resulting in, among other things, the mass extinction of bees and other pollinating insects. Bees and other pollinating insects are being poisoned by the use of pesticides and other plant protection products, which are poured on to fields in excessive quantities and often also during the daytime during the hours when the sun is at its highest, i.e. when most pollinating insects are feeding on the plants. It looks as if the mass poisoning of pollinating insects is not being taken into account at all in the spreading of pesticides on agricultural fields, and therefore that, thanks to such practices, in a few years' time there may no longer be enough of these insects to pollinate flowers in agricultural fields and orchards. Paradoxically, globally, three quarters of arable land is used to produce arable crops, which do not directly produce food for humans, but feed for livestock, whose livestock production, which is also mainly carried out in an unsustainable, intensive, production model, consumes large quantities of water, which is also beginning to run out over increasingly large areas, and generates large amounts of methane released into the atmosphere, which is a powerful greenhouse gas, several times more potent than CO2. Another paradox is the systemic support of agricultural development through a system of non-refundable financial subsidies per hectare for all farms, including those that produce plant and animal crops in a model of intensive, unsustainable agriculture carried out under a profit-maximising formula without taking into account the long-term negative effects on the planet's biosphere and climate. This means that systemic support is generally supported as part of a short-sighted strategy, a strategy of planning the development of agriculture on a year-by-year basis or at most on a scale of a few years at most, taking into account the production cycles of specific types of plant or animal crops. As the system of non-refundable system subsidies for agricultural production does not generally take into account the type of agricultural model, i.e. it also supports intensive, unsustainable agriculture and livestock breeding with many negative effects on the planet's biosphere and climate, so requiring more work, inventiveness, innovative approaches, pro-climate and pro-environmental awareness, etc., sustainable organic farming is developing very slowly. Sustainable organic farming continues to develop slowly, and this despite the fact that this sustainable agricultural formula produces healthier, chemical-free crops, produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions, generates many times fewer negative impacts on the planet's biosphere and climate, and poisons pollinating insects with pesticides that are not used many times less. And yet, if this relationship of 3/4 of the acreage of arable land being used for animal feed and only 1/4 being used for direct human food production were reversed, many global problems would be solved and many positive effects would emerge. The problems that would be solved are hunger and malnutrition in many regions of the world. Positive impacts are in the conversion of livestock farms to crop farms: a reduction in water use and the scale of water scarcity; a large reduction in greenhouse gas emissions which is particularly important as globally livestock farms are responsible for more than 1/4 of greenhouse gas emissions according to various estimates; the possibility to reduce the scale of crop production intensity to avoid overproduction and thus the possibility to switch to a model of sustainable crop organic agriculture; an improvement in the quality of the crop produced under sustainable crop organic agriculture and thus the possibility to produce much healthier food for humans; a significant reduction in the use of, or total abandonment of, pesticides and other chemical plant protection products, thereby halting the mass extinction of bees and other pollinating insects; a reduction in the scale of application of artificial fertilisers, which from the fields also end up in surface, subcutaneous and groundwater, resulting in environmental pollution, pollution of lakes, rivers and, as a consequence, also resulting in water pollution of seas and oceans, contributing to a change in the chemical composition of the water of many natural aquatic ecosystems, a negative change in the composition of the species of flora and fauna in these aquatic ecosystems, a decrease in the level of biodiversity, etc.; and The following are just a few examples of the benefits of this type of farming: more possibilities to convert a productive farm into an agri-tourism farm based on sustainable organic farming; more possibilities to develop small-scale agriculture; more possibilities to use low-quality and depleted soils for afforestation; more possibilities to create different types of green areas to separate fields and reduce the scale of soil barrenness, sand storms, soil water retention, etc, greater possibilities for relocating part of the population of large urban agglomerations to the countryside, and greater possibilities for running home flower gardens in which highly biodiverse ecosystems made up of various types of grassland and woodland plants, including shrubs and trees, additionally installed insect houses, apiaries for bees and, in the absence of pesticide use, etc., would provide an excellent environment for insects to thrive. would be an excellent environment for pollinating insects and would halt the years-long trend of rapid decline in bee and other pollinating insect populations.

In view of the above, given the numerous synergies, interrelationships and dependencies occurring between the above-mentioned factors, the change of agricultural model to a more pro-environmental, pro-climate and, in the long term, with a view to the next generation of people, also more pro-social one, i.e. the change of agricultural model to a more sustainable one, i.e. the change of agricultural model to a more sustainable one. In view of the many interconnectedness of the many factors involved in changing from non-sustainable, production-intensive agriculture and livestock farming to sustainable crop-based organic agriculture and the many positive effects on the biosphere, the climate, the maintenance of biodiversity and consequently on people, it is essential to take a forward-looking, long-term strategic planning and management approach, starting as early as the ministerial and system level. Without the application of a systemic approach already from the highest level of governance, i.e. the level of central institutions, government ministries and agencies and international organisations dealing with agriculture, the process of the necessary green transformation of agriculture will not be realised efficiently and effectively and in a timely manner. Time is of the essence when it comes to the implementation of the green transformation of agriculture, as the process of global warming is accelerating, the negative effects of climate change such as increasingly frequent and permanent droughts and forest fires are acting on an ever-increasing scale, the scale of environmental pollution is still high, pollinating insects continue to die out en masse, the level of biodiversity of the planet's natural ecosystems continues to decline rapidly, etc.

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:

What is your opinion on this?

What is your opinion on this subject?

Please respond,

I invite you all to discuss,

Thank you very much,

Warm regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

Currently, globally, three quarters of arable land is used for intensive, unsustainable arable crop production for livestock feed. Livestock farms, primarily cows and pigs, are one of several major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, including a major source of methane emissions into the atmosphere, one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases. Therefore, replacing unsustainable intensive agriculture with sustainable organic agriculture would solve the problems of hunger in many parts of the world, reduce the scale of environmental pollution from pesticides, fertilisers and other derivatives of intensive, unsustainable agricultural production and also allow for increased afforestation of uncultivated areas and consequently significantly reduce the scale of greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the main goal of building a sustainable, emission-free, green circular economy and thus halting the increasingly rapid process of global warming. Stopping the rise in atmospheric temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius since the start of the first industrial revolution is the main strategic objective of global climate policy and saving the world from a global climate catastrophe, which, according to long-term climate change projections, may already occur at the end of this 21st century. In this context, the development of sustainable organic agriculture producing crops directly for human food rather than livestock is, along with the green transformation of the energy sector, the development of renewable and emission-free energy sources, the development of electromobility, increasing the scale of reforestation, the green transformation of emission-intensive industries, the development of sustainable construction, the improvement of waste separation and recycling techniques and processes, etc., one of several key factors in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The fourth technological revolution currently underway may prove helpful in achieving the above goals. Therefore, Agriculture 4.0, i.e. the application of 4.0 technologies, i.e. technologies typical of the current fourth technological revolution, including those included in Industry 4.0 in agriculture, may prove to be helpful in the smooth implementation of the green revolution in agriculture. The use of new ICT information technologies and Industry 4. 0 makes it possible to increase the scale of automation of crop management and control processes, including the use of satellite monitoring technologies, the precise determination of the composition and dosage of the mixture of organic fertilisers and natural plant protection products, the improvement of irrigation management systems in correlation with changes in the weather, the conduct of analytics of the biochemical and organic composition of soil, design and management of agricultural crop biodiversity and green space management in the surroundings of agricultural fields, automated monitoring and management of renewable and emission-free energy sources supplying the farm with electricity and heat, improvement of waste segregation techniques, recycling, management of composting facilities, etc. In terms of Industry 4.0 technologies, robotics, integrated farm management information systems, Internet of Things technologies, cloud computing, smart technologies, learning machines, deep learning, artificial intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, digital twins, multi-criteria simulation models, drone technology, 3D printer engineering, additive manufacturing, Blockchain, cyber-security instruments, etc., are among those particularly helpful in achieving the above goals of developing sustainable organic agriculture.

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:

And what is your opinion on this?

What is your opinion on this subject?

Please respond,

I invite you all to discuss,

Thank you very much,

Warm regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

What are some of the most pressing issues currently facing agricultural science, and how are scientists working to address these challenges?

How prevalent are boron insecticides in modern agriculture?

Since the last one decade, the area under Rice-Fallow has been invariably documented around 11.7 mha. During the period, significant technological advances in RCT, Conservation Agriculture, crop husbandry and varietal development have occurred. ICAR also sanctioned one- two mega network projects to this end. Besides, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare also provided policy support. Still, Rice-Fallow area has remained almost the same. This calls for revisiting the efforts made, and refining the future strategies.

Linking conservation agriculture to nutrition and health improvement requires another thinking on soil regeneration, system's sensitivity to nutrient cycling and dynamics as well as development of hidden soil microbiome for pesticide fate and degradation, plant health, soil fertility buildup and carbon sinks.

Thinking of herbicide free weed management in conservation agriculture. The main purpose of residue retention under conservation agriculture is not only erosion reduction, weed suppression too. Can anyone share their views on the subject

We may have come across both the term Conservation Agriculture and Organic Agriculture ?

But what is the difference between these technically ?

Hope to see some elaborative explanations...

Agriculture is likely to change significantly in the future. Key determinants of agricultural change include factors such as climate change, including the progressive process of global warming. On the one hand, the main negative effects of the progressive global warming process include increasingly frequent and severe periods of heat and drought. In addition, by the end of this 21st century, all glaciers will have melted, water levels in the seas and oceans will have risen, and areas of arable land will have declined. On the other hand, in order to slow down the progressive process of global warming, it is necessary to urgently reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions, including CO2 and methane. Climate change will cause a reduction in the scale of agricultural crop production. In order to feed the population, it will therefore be necessary to change dietary habits by switching agricultural crops to the production of plant-based agricultural crops to produce food primarily for humans rather than livestock. At present, globally, three quarters of arable land is used for the production of arable crops, from which fodder is produced to feed reared livestock. In addition to this, due to increasing global warming processes, it will be necessary to develop new crop varieties that are resistant to various biotic (viral, bacterial, fungal diseases, pests, etc.) and abiotic (droughts, heat, floods and other effects of climate change) negative environmental factors. In addition to this, the importance of achieving sustainability goals in agriculture will increase in the future. The generation of energy used in agriculture from renewable and emission-free energy sources will increase in importance. Consequently, environmentally neutral, emission-free, sustainable organic farming based mainly on crop production using new crop varieties that are resistant to progressive climate change and its effects will be developed in the future.

In view of the above, the following questions are becoming increasingly topical:

What do you think about this?

What is your opinion on this topic?

Please reply,

I invite you all to discuss,

Thank you very much,

Greetings,

Dariusz

What are the recommended first steps one should take when considering a transition to conservation agriculture?

Hello,

my name is Carolin Fischer, a sociology student from the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena. I am currently writing my Bachelor's Thesis in the field of Cultural and Environmental Sociology. As this will be a qualitative study on environmental topics I am looking for interview partners, who work (or used to work) in the field of environmental and climate change research. The interviews will be held via video chat either in German or English.

If you're interested in being interviewed and in helping me with my thesis please feel free to contact me via Research Gate or mail: fischer.carolin@uni-jena.de

Thank you and kind regards,

Carolin

It becomes obvious that use of manure composts as organic amendments and adoption of conservation agriculture could improve soil properties (physicochemical and biological properties) and prevent natural resources.

I would like to start this discussion with a large public of researcher from different fields whom are specialized in Soil sciences, composting andAgrienvironmentalist.

Which agricultural strategies were sustainable, both environmentally and economically, over the long term, and why?

I would like to develop a calibration curve for N fertilizer management of wheat through NDVI measurement using a GreenSeeker optical sensor under conservation agriculture conditions and also to identify the potential yield and N response of the wheat. To do this, an experiment was conducted using two wheat cultivars and eight N rates: 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 Kg N/ha.

Do you have any idea how many NDVI readings are needed and at what particular growth stages of wheat for the relationship between NDVI and grain yield?

And do you know by any chance what equations I should consider checking their goodness of fit?

Agriculture is the basic sector of national economies. The technological progress that has been taking place over the millennia, including mechanization and the chemization of agriculture developed since the beginning of the 20th century, through the use of chemical plant protection products, and then genetics have increased yield per hectare. Technical and technological progress in agriculture has also contributed to the gradual decline in employment in agriculture. However, these are not the most serious problems of agriculture. However, many scientific studies and data of climatologists suggest that in the near future, in the 21st century, these will not be the most serious problems of agricultural development. Well, in the 21st century, due to the progressive global warming, crop acreages and areas of arable land can be significantly reduced. In connection with the emission of greenhouse gases in the perspective of the next dozen or so years, the process of global warming may enter the phase of acceleration of this warming and the inability to reverse this process if man in the coming years fails to implement pro-ecological reforms to implement sustainable and pro-ecological development based on national and global economy. the concept of a new, green economy. If this negative scenario was to be realized then by the end of the 21st century at the latest the average temperature at the Earth's surface will increase by as much as another 4 degrees C, which will increase and increase the scale of increasingly emerging climatic cataclysms, all glaciers and arable land areas they will decrease. As part of climate disasters, droughts, desertification and steppping of existing areas covered with greenery will appear. These processes will also reduce arable land areas. There will be problems with the boarding of a large part of the population, the scale of the national migration of people in search of places to live will increase, to survive. More and more permanent economic crises will appear and the risk of dramatic events, including wars, will increase. Humanity can not let this happen. This is the main challenge of humanity for the 21st century. In the near future, ecological innovations, renewable energy sources, streamlining the process of waste segregation and recycling, the electromobility of motorization etc. should be developed. Scientific research shows that these projects should be carried out on a large scale globally already in the perspective of the next decade. Otherwise, the process of global warming will accelerate and become an irreversible process, which in turn would lead to a global climate disaster at the latest at the end of the 21st century.

In view of the above, the current question is: The importance of agriculture in modern economies in the context of the progressive global warming of the Earth?

Please, answer, comments. I invite you to the discussion.

We know the beneficial effects of residue retention in soil. But both the system ( residue in surface and residue incorporated) have some pros and cons, in the point of GHG emission which one is sustainable.

Is technological progress in agriculture based on the application of scientific discoveries in the field of biotechnology, genetics, automation and robotics of field works, implementation of biodiversity principles and the creation of resistant to fungal, viral, bacterial and other cultivar diseases, etc. with the elimination of the use of chemical plant protection products will enable in the 21st century the development of sustainable environment-friendly agriculture, ie the kind of agriculture thanks to which healthy vegetables, fruits, grains free from pesticides and other chemical plant protection products and organic farming, ie non-polluting, are produced?

Please reply

Best wishes

Should chemistry and monoculture be reduced in sustainable and ecological agriculture and agricultural techniques referring to natural ecosystems should be developed?

Many studies show that the most effective organic farming involves cultivating a formula that refers to natural, complex, biologically multispecies ecosystems.

The formula of ecological agriculture consisting in cultivating many different plant species side by side, referring to the formation of a natural ecosystem, allows to eliminate chemical plant protection products and reduce biological fertilization.

Only the use of biologically neutral machines and technical devices for crops to correct the functioning of organic crops would allow the improvement of this formula and the pursuit of sustainable agriculture.

Only the question of the legitimacy of using or possibly resigning from the creation of new, more resistant to various diseases and pests of new varieties of cultivated plants through the application of genetics engineering would remain to be considered.

It is not about creating new species of plants or animals through genetic manipulation techniques, but about breeding more resistant to diseases and pests new crop varieties as a perfecting cultivation formula referring to the natural ecosystem.

Crops referring to the natural biological system should be improved by the creation and introduction into these complex crops of these new varieties of crop plants in order to restore biological balance, which was previously significantly reduced through the widespread use of monoculture crops grown under classical agriculture.

In this way, it is possible to recreate sustainable agriculture in the future in areas where formerly monocultural farming crops or reclamation areas were previously operated.

Therefore, I would like to ask you:

Should chemistry and monoculture be reduced in sustainable and ecological agriculture and agricultural techniques referring to natural ecosystems should be developed?

Please, answer, comments.

I invite you to the discussion

Thank you very much

Best wishes

What kind of scientific research dominate in the field of Importance of agriculture in the context of the ongoing global warming process?

Please, provide your suggestions for a question, problem or research thesis in the issues: Importance of agriculture in the context of the ongoing global warming process.

Please reply.

I invite you to the discussion

Best wishes

Respected RG members,

Lets share experience and views on Conservation Agriculture and Conservation Tillage.

Which one is the most suitable method to study the ecological function of roots under conservation agriculture plots

I am looking for some good datasets related to land use and agricultural practices such as conventional and conservation agriculture and their contribution to soil erosion and health on global scale. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The conservation agricultural field experiment with three treatments is being carried out in black cotton soil of central India for the last three years. Which statistical design is best suited for comparing two/three years of field crops and nutrient data? Treatment includes 1. Irrigation methods (2), 2. Sowing machines (3) and 3. Residue retention (3).

Because of High C:N ratio of many crop residues it's decomposition rate is slow. In What way the c: n ratio is impacting the the process of decomposition , mineralisation of nutrients and it's availablity to crops.

Sustainable farming practices appears into different names confusing the global audience which to follow and why?

What makes conservation agriculture as different approach than regenerative farming practices?

Parameters that one can use when doing a conservation agriculture study

I am looking for potential collaborators for a project that seeks to assess the ecological importance of specific tree species of Borneo. I invite interested specialists to message me. 

Glyphosate, alternatives herbicides , conservation agriculture

Under conservation agriculture, soils are tilled minimally, crop residues are returned to the soil and crop rotations include legumes and cover crops. These elements lead to nutrient flows, which are very different than in conventionally tilled soils. There is a need to define factors which define the management of fertilizers in soils under conservation agriculture.

Many machines like zero till seed-cum-ferti drill, happy seeder, bed planter, ridge nd furrow planter, strip till drill etc have developped under CA. What is gap which is need to done under CA.

common changes happening with respect to productivity, fertility, climate change etc.

The question is about conservation agriculture adoption in Africa

The question is about tillage systems in conservation agriculture practices

Crop yields are usually more under conservation agricultural system as compared to conventional system probably due to creation of micro-climate and good moisture conditions in soil profile. So, what are other key factors responsible for overall better crop stand and yield under conservation agriculture?

I along with my team did a 4 year long experiment on Conservation tillage practice along with optimal water usages. Now we intended to publish our results in any open access free journal. As our research project is ended, so there is no fund for further publication.

Can anyone suggest some journal name for free of cost publication. Our data focuses on tillage practices and water use efficiency simaltaneously.

Indigenous knowledge in agriculture as it relates to water conservation

Any suggestions regarding water treatment for agriculture??

We have some preliminary information on CA and its effect on soil, crop and economics under various cropping systems. Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal and many I/NGOs are working on it. However, the major bottleneck remains on the conventional mindset of policy makers, researchers and development workers. How can we change our mindset ?

as can say the both practices are used to manage the balance between environment and resources. on other hand production enhancement is also a major concern of present scenario. please share your views, which is better.

Soil health is influenced by management interventions such as irrigation, tillage and fertilizer use. Soil health is improved under conservation agriculture because soil is not tilled. But to get optimum yields, irrigation and fertilizers are still applied under conservation agriculture. What can be the optimum fertilizer management under conservation agriculture?

At present, the hegemonic consideration of food in the dominant industrial food system is that food is just a commodity, and thus it is best governed by market mechanisms. As a commodity, the tradeable features prevail and obscure the non-economic considerations of food as (a) an essential resource for humans, (b) produced by nature, (c) considered largely as a human right, (d) undoubtedly being a cultural determinant at individual and societal level, and (e) being governed and subsidized throughout history and at present in most countries as a sort of public good with a public interest. The consideration of food as a commodity is a social construct that has been built by a combination of corporate interest and academic support from the neoclassical economists after WWII. This consideration privileges specific policy solutions and locks policy and legal alternatives that do not conform with the commoditized vision of food. In order to tackle the paramount difficulties the global food system will certainly face during the XXI century, the diversity of value-based narratives of food has to be accepted and legitimized, recognizing that food has multiple meanings (most of them non economic) and that can be governed as a commons or public good based on other moral grounds (not purely based on profit maximization and utilitarian mores).

I would appreciate your insights on these valuations of food (as a commodity, commons or public good) and/or examples where non-commoditized narratives of food prevail or substitute the commoditized vision. Thanks in advance.

Hi, Iam Tunisian researcher working on Conservation Agriculture in Tunisia. Can i have an opportunity to work with you?

To find the effectiveness of conservation agriculture principles in soil quality restoration so as to mitigate soil from becoming degraded, and that crop production maybe successful. 

I have past agricultural dataset containing soil fertility, crop planted, and fertilizer applied and yield obtained. I am trying to recommend to a farmer appropriate crop and fertilizer to be used for high yield production based on his soil fertility which is also to be predicted from soil dataset. Is it possible to use apriori algorithm and if possible can someone help me with some tips on how to go about it.

thanks

We have a variety of organic waste materials  available including animal dung,crop residues,household organic waste and food waste etc.There are currently two routes available (apart from mulching/conservation agriculture),the anaerobic digestion to generate biogas and bioslurry and aerobic digestion/decomposition to produce compost.From efficient use of organic resource  , environmental pollution,generation of green house gases and human/animal health point of view which is the best option?Or alternatively under what conditions one should opt for one of these options?

Should we burn the crop residual at organic farm?

As we all know from many of the research finding and our own experience that conservation agriculture (CA) is associated with moderation of the temperature in cropped areas . This happens due to retention of the residues on the field surface. However, we had noticed more frost damage in last three seasons in maize crop raised with CA compared to no residue retention and conventional tilled crop. We had also noticed the ice deposition on the previous crop residue in the CA field. Again this also contribute to negative energy in the field which might causes more frost damage or else the release of energy on melting can enhance energy in field after sunrise. We had not seen any adverse effect of CA on companion wheat, chickpea and mustard crops in the same seasons. So, I want to know why its happening or anybody else noticed this phenomena. Please suggest corrective measures, if any.

In our study, we found that some of the bacteria present in feces if increases in farm soil may inhibit or reduce seed germination. Inturn, defecation in the open field can reduce the productivity of your farm.

Effect of nitrogen fertilization and bacteria application in peanuton yield components ?