What is/are the advantage/advantages of zero tillage in agriculture?
1. Sowing of wheat is possible without burning the residue of previous crop.
2. Without the need for nursery of rice saplings, direct planting of paddy seeds in the wet soil is possible.
3. Carbon sequestration in the soil is possible.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Explanation
Zero tillage (no-till farming) is an integral pillar of conservation agriculture:
– 1. Wheat sowing without residue burning (Correct): Using specialized implements like the Happy Seeder or Turbo Seeder, wheat seeds can be drilled directly into harvested paddy fields through heavy crop stubbles, eliminating the need for crop residue burning.
– 2. Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) (Correct): Zero tillage facilitates Direct Seeded Rice into wet or moist soil, bypassing the traditional labour-intensive nursery preparation, puddling, and manual transplantation of seedlings.
– 3. Soil carbon sequestration (Correct): Leaving the soil undisturbed keeps crop residues on the surface as organic mulch, preventing microbial carbon oxidation and significantly increasing long-term soil organic carbon stocks.
Therefore, all three statements are advantages — Option D.