Effects of a Maize-Based Conservation Agriculture Production System on Soil Quality.

  Conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS) are being promoted to reverse the degradation of soil quality due to frequent tillage and lack of crop rotation or fallow periods in smallholder agriculture. A maize-based (Zea mays) CAPS incorporating minimum tillage, intercropping with cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and crop residue management through cover cropping was developed and applied at a research station in the Keonjhar district of Odisha, India. After three years, total crop yields were highest in the full CAPS treatment, and intercropping had no negative effect on maize yields. Trends for total soil organic carbon; available nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium; pH; CEC; bulk density; water-stable aggregates; labile carbon pool; and nitrogen mineralization were all positive in the full CAPS treatments. This demonstrates that CAPS have the potential to achieve the twin goals of improved agricultural production and soil quality in non-mechanized smallholder production systems with no short-term loss of yields or income. Key words: Soil quality, CAPS, India