Conservation Agriculture is based on soil conservation techniques and the sustainable use of natural resources to increase productivity levels. This case study describes the introduction and promotion of the 'zero tillage' system in a tropical area of Brazil. The publication has been developed as teaching material for agricultural students and practitioners, and it will also be of interest to all those involved in the promotion of conservation agriculture.

Conservation agriculture in the Brazilian tropics; Background; The Cerrado biome; The Amazon biome; History of zero tillage in the tropical zones of Brazil; Conservation agriculture; How does conservation agriculture work?; Integrated crop-livestock systems with zero tillage; Dissemination of ICLZT technology; Livestock and annual crop production in wet-dry and humid-tropical Brazil; Livestock type; Herd size and performance; Background for ICLZT; The process of pasture degradation; Principal integrated zero tillage crop-livestock systems; General considerations; Systems typology; Common rotations; Crop successions used as building blocks for rotations; Summaries of the ten main ICLZT technologies; Crop establishment in degraded pastures; Establishing pasture in annual crops; Sowing pasture after early harvest; Grass oversown in soybeans or maize; Grass regenerating during the first crop after ZT planting of a crop in old pasture; Planting forages on crop land for silage, green chop, dry season grazing or as a cover crop; Pasture renovation with forages sown jointly with grasses, for early grazing;Pigeon pea sown into existing pasture to improve winter grazing quality; Sowing perenniallegumes into maize; Sowing soybeans in a permanent grass sward; Opportunistic grazing of stubble in the dry season; Pigeon pea undersown in maize for stubble grazing; Grazing stubble in the dry season; Pasture grasses; Cover crops for grazing; Cut forage and silage CTOpS; Pasture and grazing management; Legumes in pastures; Mechanized operations in zero tillage and soil fertility management 49 Residue management; Spraying desiccants and other chemicals; Planting and drilling; Soil fertility considerations; Technical and financial analysis of integrated crop-livestock zero tillage rotations; Case Study 1 - A farm history of the adoption of CA with Z; Wihout project;With ICLZT; lrrigated crop management - with and without project; Analysis of the Model Results; Case studies of other ICLZT technologies; Sustainable agriculture and policy considerations; Farm-based economic benefits of CA, ZT and ICLZT; Farm-based environmental benefits of CA, ZT and ICLZT; Social benefits of ICLZT and increased land use intensity; Social support for conversion investments in ICLZT; Addressing the conversion needs of small farmers.

This book will bring together all recent and updated information on RCT in pulses and pulse based cropping system which will be of immense use to researchers, extension personnel, students, research scholars across the nation.

The purpose of this publication is to show how conservation agriculture can increase crop production while reducing erosion and reversing soil fertility decline, improving rural livelihoods and restoring the environment in developing countries. Soil organic matter and biological activity in the rooting zone, stimulated by continual additions of fresh organic material (crop residues and cover crops) are the basis of conservation agriculture, as described in the first chapter.

Addressing a topic of major importance to the maintenance of world food supplies, this reference identifies knowledge gaps, defines priorities, and formulates recommendations for the improvement of the rice-wheat farming system. The book reveals new systems of rice intensification and management and illustrates the application of no-till and conser