Benefits of Contour Plowingįirst, contour farming maintains soil fertility by preventing downwash of the fertile topsoil of a farm and consequently enabling betters yields. For example, a farmer may plant different crops on different strips of land during alternating farming seasons, such as rotating strips of legumes and corn enables the corn to use nitrogen that the legumes left in the soil. This method equally prevents soil erosion and can improve soil fertility through crop rotation. Strip cropping is a type of contour farming where farmers plant different crops in alternating strips of different levels. Contour farming can have one crop on the farm or a mixture of several crops through strip cropping. For contour farming to be effective, the resulting curved furrows around the slope ought to be on equal levels. Contour farming also creates water breaks that reduce the formation of gullies and rills when a place experiences heavy rains and water run-off which is the leading cause of soil erosion. On slopes with no contours, water runoff quickly without the soil properly absorbing it and carrying the top fertile soil with it, therefore, leaving a non-fertile land up the slope. Plowing and planting across slope contours create man-made water breaks that not only allows enough time for the water to enter the soil, but also to settles the topsoil without washing it down the slope. This arrangement of plants breaks up the flow of water and makes it harder for soil erosion to occur. Contour cultivation (contour farming, contour plowing, or contour bunding) is a sustainable way of farming where farmers plant crops across or perpendicular to slopes to follow the contours of a slope of a field. Some of the methods used to date include windbreaks, planting cover crops, planting grass on waterways, and contour cultivation among others. As time passed, man discovered different ways of tilling and farming on different landscapes, including slopes that are notorious for soil erosion. As societies evolved from simple to sophisticated lifestyles, human beings began to till land and farm in order to produce their own food. Farming is one of the oldest and sustainable human activities.
0 kommentar(er)
