What is soil residue?

Soil residue in the agricultural field are all the materials that have been left on the surface of the land and also beneath the land surface after the crop has been harvested. These residues include the stem, the stalk, the leaves and also the pods of the plants and crops that had been planted in the field in the previous seasons of the land usage.

What is soil residue management?

Soil residue management is an agricultural process that entails the management of the crop residue that is found on the land surface. This management involves the incorporation of the stems, stalks, leaves and also pods so as to benefit the soil and also benefit the crops that have been planted on the land in the subsequent seasons.

Soil residue management therefore entails the ploughing back of the crop residue directly into the soil where it will be efficiently managed. When a farmer practices soil residue management in a proper manner, the farmer is able to increase the fertility in his or her land and also manage the negative effects of floods in his or her farm.

Summary

General benefits of soil residue

• Increases the soil fertility and productivity.
• maintains and improves the soil structure
• Prevents soil against soil erosion by protecting the soil from the agents of soil erosion mostly water and wind.
• Reduces the instances of flooding by holding most of the water in the soil and on the land rather than allowing the water to flow to the lake and oceans thus causing flooding.
• Provides a conducive habitat for soil organisms that live and thrive in the soil. An example of this organism is the earthworm.

Benefits of soil residue management

Over the past years, most farmers were not privy to the immense benefits that they could draw from the crop residue left in the farm from the previous harvest. Because of this lack of knowledge most farmers used to burn and discard the crop residue leading to the loss of a valuable material in the farm. Over the years though, most farmers have now known the benefits and importance of incorporating the soil residue into their farms and they are now reaping a number of benefits due to this incorporation. Some of the benefits that accrue to a farmer who properly manages and incorporates his or her crop residue into their farms materials are discussed below.

Improves soil health and productivity

• Manages soil erosion

Leaving of soil residue on the surface of the soil helps to hold together the particles of the soil thus ensuring that the soil particles are not vulnerable when they are exposed to the major agents of soil erosion namely water and wind. Generally, managing soil residue on the surface of the soil and beneath the soil surface manages and reduces the process of soil erosion to acceptable levels. With reduce soil erosion, the quality of the soil will be maintained because important nutrients that are important to the crops which would otherwise have been carried away will be maintained and preserved.

• Preserves soil organic matter

Soil organic matter in the soil is majorly a resultant of the crop residue namely the leaves, the stalks, pods among many other that are left on the surface and beneath the surface of the soil. The soil organic matter in the soil plays very important roles in the overall health of the soil. This organic matter is important in retaining the soil nutrients, facilitating water uptake in the soil, enhancing aeration in the soil among many other important roles.

In a bid to increase the productivity of the soil by ensuring the accumulation of sufficient organic matter, farmers are therefore encouraged to incorporate and manage the crop residue available in their farms.

Prevents water loss and temperature fluctuations in the soil

Soil residue is a very important element that helps the soil to maintain the water in it. Soil residue acts as mulch thus ensuring that the soil does not loose water through evaporation. The soil residue ensures that the soil is not directly exposed to the soil and this will prevent the soil from loosing water.

On the hand, the soil residue prevents temperature fluctuation in the soil by catching snow during the winter and preventing it from getting into the soil. The soil residue therefore acts a shield between the soil and the snow during the winter and this way it ensure that the soil maintains its temperatures.

Supplying the soil with crop residue nutrients

The soil residue from the previous harvests contain nutrients that are needed by other plants to grow and mature well. The management and the incorporation of these soil residue and crop residue back into the soil therefore increases soil fertility and supplies the crops with the required nutrients.

The soil residue is very rich in both the macro and micro nutrients needed for the fertility of the soil. Some of these nutrients include nitrogen, potassium, sulphur among many other nutrients. A farmer with the supply of crop and soil residue can therefore increase the soil fertility of his or her farm by properly managing the soil residue in his or her farm.

Facilitates carbon sequestration

Carbon sequestration is a natural process of the capture of atmospheric carbon and the storage of this carbon by the soil. The major importance of carbon sequestration is that it reduces the amounts of green houses gases in the environment thus reducing global warming. The ability of the soil to store the carbon through the process of carbon sequestration is possible due to the organic matter in the soil. The organic matter in the soil is a result of soil residue and therefor it is the soil residue that enable the soil to perform the process of carbon sequestration.