Abstract
Abstract Maize ( Zea mays L.) is Mexico's primary staple food, but the Country's degrading soils and climate variability limit its productivity. Conservation agriculture (CA), a management technique that combines minimal tillage, permanent soil cover, and crop diversification, could reduce soil degradation and help improve soil health. There is however a lack of information about the effects of CA on soil health in the diverse agroecological conditions in Mexico. This study reports results of a field trial network established to adapt CA to Mexico's diverse cropping systems and local conditions. Physicochemical soil health, also referred to as soil quality, was studied in 20 trials in agro‐ecologies ranging from handplanted traditional systems to intensive irrigated systems, initiated between 1991 and 2016. Soil in CA was compared to the local conventional practice (CP), which commonly involves tillage, residue removal, and continuous maize production. Across the sites, organic matter and nitrates were higher in the top (0–5 cm) layer of soil and soil aggregate stability was greater under CA than under CPs. For other soil health parameters, such as nutrient content, pH or penetration resistance, the effects of management varied widely across sites and soil types and most were determined more by local soil type than by management. CA increased maize yields at most sites and on average by 0.85 ± 1.80 t ha −1 . Given the significant variation across agro‐ecologies, local adaptive trials are important to assess the effects of CA on soil health and fit the practice to local conditions.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by-nc. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 5
Claim · model-written summary
Organic matter and nitrates were higher in the top soil layer across the maize trial sites.
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Maize ( Zea mays L.) is Mexico's primary staple food”
e2“Across the sites, organic matter and nitrates were higher in the top (0–5 cm) layer of soil”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil aggregate stability was greater under conservation agriculture than under conventional practice in maize trials.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Maize ( Zea mays L.) is Mexico's primary staple food”
e3“soil aggregate stability was greater under CA than under CPs”
Claim · model-written summary
Management effects on nutrient content, pH and penetration resistance varied widely and were mostly determined by local soil type.
- Treatment
- managemente5
- Outcome
- nutrient content, pH or penetration resistancee5
- Qualifier
- most were determined more by local soil type than by managemente5
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Maize ( Zea mays L.) is Mexico's primary staple food”
e5“For other soil health parameters, such as nutrient content, pH or penetration resistance, the effects of management varied widely across sites and soil types and most were determined more by local soil type than by management”
Claim · model-written summary
Conservation agriculture increased maize yields at most sites, by 0.85 ± 1.80 t ha −1 on average.
- Treatment
- CAe6
- Outcome
- maize yieldse6
- Direction
- increasede6
- Value
- 0.85 ± 1.80 t ha −1e6
- Qualifier
- at most sitese6
- Comparator
- local conventional practice (CP)e4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Maize ( Zea mays L.) is Mexico's primary staple food”
e4“Soil in CA was compared to the local conventional practice (CP)”
e6“CA increased maize yields at most sites and on average by 0.85 ± 1.80 t ha −1”
Claim · model-written summary
Local adaptive trials are important to assess conservation agriculture effects and fit the practice to local conditions.
- Outcome
- local adaptive trialse7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Maize ( Zea mays L.) is Mexico's primary staple food”
e7“local adaptive trials are important to assess the effects of CA on soil health and fit the practice to local conditions”
The same questions in other papers
tillage · soil: physics · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
123 papers in the same direction as this paper · 20 in the opposite direction · 8 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
- no effect
148 papers more in this group
See all 152 papers →tillage · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
811 papers in the same direction as this paper · 230 in the opposite direction · 57 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
1,095 papers more in this group
See all 1,099 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.