The use of crop residues for soil and moisture conservation
1939
Duley, F.L. | Russel, J.C.
The results reported in this paper indicate that for storing and conserving moisture in the soil, protecting the land with plant residues when available in sufficient quantity may be a much more efficient method than is the use of clean or "black" fallow now so generally used throughout the regions of low rainfall. It must be remembered that a cultivated bare soil is the surface condition in which land is most likely to lose excessive amounts of water by runoff, permit the greatest loss by evaporation, and submit the soil to the greatest possible hazard from erosion by either wind or water. When all these things are considered, it would seem that the proper utilization of crop residues on the surface of the soil may offer a simple and practical method for reducing runoff and erosion. By increasing infiltration and reducing evaporation losses a more efficient use may be made of the rainfall, which appears to be absolutely necessary for the maintenace of a stable and permanent agriculture in the Great Plains.
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