NO-TILLAGE AROUND THE WORLD.

No-tillage farming is a way of cultivating crops every year without disturbing the soil through tillage. It has great benefits, not only on short term, reducing the amount of mechanical work and fossil fuels needed, but also on long term, increasing the water quantity that infiltrates into the soil, the fertility, the organic matter retention and reducing the soil erosion. The idea of Edward Faulkner in the 1940s was developed after the WWII, around the world, in 2009 being used on 111 million hectares. No-tillage is now being practiced from the sea level up to 3000 m, from extremely rainy to very dry areas. The countries from South America have the fastest adoption rates, in some of them no-tillage being used on more than 70% of the cultivated area (Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay). It is also used in the U.S.A and Canada, Europe (Germany, Spain, and Finland), Asia (China, Kazakhstan, and India), Australia and Africa (Morocco, Tunisia). All crops can be produced adequately using this system. The wide range of conditions where it can be applied and its economic, social and environmental advantages should ensure the expansion of this technology in the next years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]