Sustainable Farming Systems and Tillage Practices: Impacts on Soil Health and Crop Productivity in Semi-Arid Agroecosystems
Journal of Smart and Sustainable Farming
Received On : 18 June 2025
Revised On : 14 August 2025
Accepted On : 16 September 2025
Published On : 29 September 2025
Volume 01, 2025
Pages : 159-169
Abstract
In semi-arid areas, sustainable agriculture involves maximizing soil health, crop productivity, and resource efficiency. Our study referenced a three-year field experiment by the Agroecology Research Station in a full-factor randomized complete block design with an intervention factor for the farming system (organic or conventional) and a control factor for the tillage regime (strip-tillage or moldboard). Physical, chemical, biological and soil properties, crop yield, and water use efficiency were observed, and statistical analysis was performed through the use of linear mixed-effects models with repeated measures. Findings indicated that organic production enhanced microbial biomass and nutrient turnover, strip-till farming enhanced soil structure and water retention, and the combination of both had a synergistic impact on crop productivity and water use efficiency.
Keywords
Organic Farming, Conservation Tillage, Water Use Efficacy, Crop Productivity, Soil Health, Semi-Arid Agriculture.
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CRediT Author Statement
The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows:
Conceptualization: Zixiu Guo; Methodology: Babitha Lincy R; Data Curation: Babitha Lincy R; Writing- Original Draft Preparation: Zixiu Guo; Visualization: Zixiu Guo; Investigation: Babitha Lincy R; Supervision: Babitha Lincy R; Validation: Zixiu Guo and Babitha Lincy R; Writing- Reviewing and Editing: Zixiu Guo and Babitha Lincy R; All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Cite this Article
Zixiu Guo and Babitha Lincy R, “Sustainable Farming Systems and Tillage Practices: Impacts on Soil Health and Crop Productivity in Semi-Arid Agroecosystems”, Journal of Smart and Sustainable Farming, pp. 159-169, 2025, doi: 10.64026/JSSF/2025016.