Affiliation:
1. Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Abstract
Manufacturers are looking for innovative solutions to improve the sustainability of their products in terms of environmental, economic, and social issues. Many studies demonstrate that conservative tillage techniques can be more advantageous for the environment and farmer profits than conventional tillage techniques. However, conservative tillage tools have certain disadvantages, including challenging weed control and stagnation issues in humid conditions due to low soil porosity at depth. In this study, field tests were conducted comparing the performances of a conventional tillage technique, using a ripper and a rotary tiller, and the usage of an innovative rotary ripper (Rotoripper). The comparison was performed in terms of energy requirements, through data acquisition during tillage operations, tilled soil quality, through soil sieving and cone penetration tests, and ownership costs, through acquired field data and literature databases. The results indicate that increased porosity of the soil in the deepest layer and increased cost-effectiveness are the main advantages attainable with the use of the Rotoripper instead of conventional tillage equipment. However, because of the low soil segregation level achieved with the Rotoripper, additional tillage activities are required before planting.
Subject
Agronomy and Crop Science
Reference61 articles.
1. Beckman, J., Ivanic, M., Jelliffe, J.L., Baquedano, F.G., and Scott, S.G. (2020). Economic and Food Security Impacts of Agricultural Input Reduction Under the European Union Green Deal’s Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies, Economic Research Service.
2. Sustainable Intensification in Agriculture: Premises and Policies;Garnett;Science,2013
3. Integrated policy analysis to identify transformation paths to more sustainable legume-based food and feed value-chains in Europe;Kelemen;Agroecol. Sustain. Food Syst.,2021
4. Zanin, A., Dal Magro, C.B., Bugalho, D.K., Morlin, F., Afonso, P., and Sztando, A. (2020). Driving Sustainability in Dairy Farming from a TBL Perspective: Insights from a Case Study in the West Region of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Sustainability, 12.
5. Singh, S., and Srivastava, S.K. (2021). Decision support framework for integrating triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability in agriculture supply chain. Sustain. Account. Manag. Policy J., ahead of print.
Cited by
2 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献