ComradeHuxley
Donor
Introduction of no tillage
No- tillage the planting of crops in previously unprepared soil by opening a narrow slot, trench, or band only of sufficient width and depth to obtain proper seed coverage. No other soil preparation is performed . The ploughing system is considered to be an inefficient use of time and fuel and causes much "wear and tear" to the machines. Power requirements for soil tillage are considerable.
In modern agriculture this may be a technical challenge or an economic problem, but formerly this meant hard, long-lasting labour for a large percentage of all the people that ever lived on earth. Forces required are so great that animals were used very early to make the physical stress endurable.
But a small farmer ploughing his field with animal traction has to walk 30 to 40 km behind his plough for each hectare in which he is preparing the soil. Therefore, the reduction of tillage to the minimum necessary to produce a crop, has probably been in the minds of many farmers for a long time. But when the tractor appeared, where effort is reduced because the operator is sitting, the tendency went the other way and farmers started believing that the more tillage you do, the more yield you get. Truth was, that the more tillage you do the more erosion and soil degradation you get, especially in warmer areas.
The OTL history of tillage
The plough has been developed in early days of agriculture and was first pulled by man and later by animals. The use of the plough is often mentioned in the Bible and one of the best known citations is "they shall beat their swords into plough shares" (Isaiah 2. V. 4.). But the plough of biblical times had nothing to do with modern ploughs of the 19th century. In those days a plough was nothing else than a branch from a tree that scratched or scarified the soil surface without mixing the soil layers. Ploughs that inverted the soil layers and thus gave a better weed control were not developed until the 17th century.
Only in the 18th and 19th century did ploughs become more and more sophisticated. But it was not until the end of the 18th century that German, Dutch and British developments of this tool led to an almost perfect shape of the mouldboard, that turned the soil by 135° and was very efficient in weed control. It is this plough that avoided famine and death at the end of the 18th century, since it was the only tool that could effectively control quack grass (Agropyron repens), a weed that had spread all over Europe and could not be controlled with "conventional" tools. Because the modern plough saved Europe from famine and poverty it became a symbol of "modern" agriculture and is used as such by many agricultural research institutes, universities, agronomy schools, etc. One of these early ploughs of 1884 is displayed at the agricultural museum of the University of Hohenheim, in Stuttgart, Germany, and in a festival is taken around the city of Hohenheim each year, to commemorate the invention of this implement.
By knowing the history of this tool, it becomes understandable why Europeans and especially Germans are often such fervent advocates of the plough, which has turned to be the most often used symbol of agriculture world- wide. Against this background, the colonial powers took the plough to America, Asia and Africa, where it became an important tool for the development of newly cultivated land. But it took many decades to discover that the same tool that brought food and wealth to Europe, would bring soil erosion and degradation to the warmer environments.
The POD: An early invention of Paraquat.
The invention of the herbicide Paraquat in 1955 in the UNITED KINGDOM was the start of modern no- tillage development in Europe and also world-wide. Paraquat is the trade name for N,N′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride,an organic compound with the formula [(C5H4N)2]Cl2.
The key characteristics that distinguish the non-selective contact herbicide paraquat from other active ingredients used in plant protection products are:
Does the Chemical Tank become ingraind as the symbol of modern agriculture ? How would such a POD change the world at large ?
Source:
wikipedia
http://www.rolf-derpsch.com/en/no-till/historical-review/
No- tillage the planting of crops in previously unprepared soil by opening a narrow slot, trench, or band only of sufficient width and depth to obtain proper seed coverage. No other soil preparation is performed . The ploughing system is considered to be an inefficient use of time and fuel and causes much "wear and tear" to the machines. Power requirements for soil tillage are considerable.
In modern agriculture this may be a technical challenge or an economic problem, but formerly this meant hard, long-lasting labour for a large percentage of all the people that ever lived on earth. Forces required are so great that animals were used very early to make the physical stress endurable.
But a small farmer ploughing his field with animal traction has to walk 30 to 40 km behind his plough for each hectare in which he is preparing the soil. Therefore, the reduction of tillage to the minimum necessary to produce a crop, has probably been in the minds of many farmers for a long time. But when the tractor appeared, where effort is reduced because the operator is sitting, the tendency went the other way and farmers started believing that the more tillage you do, the more yield you get. Truth was, that the more tillage you do the more erosion and soil degradation you get, especially in warmer areas.
The OTL history of tillage
The plough has been developed in early days of agriculture and was first pulled by man and later by animals. The use of the plough is often mentioned in the Bible and one of the best known citations is "they shall beat their swords into plough shares" (Isaiah 2. V. 4.). But the plough of biblical times had nothing to do with modern ploughs of the 19th century. In those days a plough was nothing else than a branch from a tree that scratched or scarified the soil surface without mixing the soil layers. Ploughs that inverted the soil layers and thus gave a better weed control were not developed until the 17th century.
Only in the 18th and 19th century did ploughs become more and more sophisticated. But it was not until the end of the 18th century that German, Dutch and British developments of this tool led to an almost perfect shape of the mouldboard, that turned the soil by 135° and was very efficient in weed control. It is this plough that avoided famine and death at the end of the 18th century, since it was the only tool that could effectively control quack grass (Agropyron repens), a weed that had spread all over Europe and could not be controlled with "conventional" tools. Because the modern plough saved Europe from famine and poverty it became a symbol of "modern" agriculture and is used as such by many agricultural research institutes, universities, agronomy schools, etc. One of these early ploughs of 1884 is displayed at the agricultural museum of the University of Hohenheim, in Stuttgart, Germany, and in a festival is taken around the city of Hohenheim each year, to commemorate the invention of this implement.
By knowing the history of this tool, it becomes understandable why Europeans and especially Germans are often such fervent advocates of the plough, which has turned to be the most often used symbol of agriculture world- wide. Against this background, the colonial powers took the plough to America, Asia and Africa, where it became an important tool for the development of newly cultivated land. But it took many decades to discover that the same tool that brought food and wealth to Europe, would bring soil erosion and degradation to the warmer environments.
The POD: An early invention of Paraquat.
The invention of the herbicide Paraquat in 1955 in the UNITED KINGDOM was the start of modern no- tillage development in Europe and also world-wide. Paraquat is the trade name for N,N′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride,an organic compound with the formula [(C5H4N)2]Cl2.
The key characteristics that distinguish the non-selective contact herbicide paraquat from other active ingredients used in plant protection products are:
- It kills a wide range of annual grasses and broad-leaved weeds and the tops of established perennial weeds.
- It is very fast-acting.
- It is rain-fast within minutes of application.
- It is partially inactivated upon contact with soil.
Does the Chemical Tank become ingraind as the symbol of modern agriculture ? How would such a POD change the world at large ?
Source:
wikipedia
http://www.rolf-derpsch.com/en/no-till/historical-review/
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