Bill Kerr, a vegetable specialist and breeder of a range of vegetables, has been no-tilling for 18 years and says he’s seen a range of benefits. Conservation practices can build soils up to a point where you can realize maximum yields, higher water-holding capacity, greater disease resistance, better eelworm control and better-tasting vegetables with longer shelf life. The No-Till Passport series is brought to you by Martin Industries.

Continuous improvement of crop yield is dependent on how growers invest and sustain the soil ecosystem to withstand environmental threats and stripping of key nutrients needed to sustain agriculture, says researcher Dr. Zouheir Massri.