2. What is Conservation Agriculture ?
Biological engineering approach to doing agricultural crop production based on the following principles:
Minimum soil disturbance
Continuous mulch cover
Diverse species rotations

3. Degraded Landscapes w/o CA

4. OBJECTIVE
To determine and analyze the variability of soil moisture retention and soil organic matter quality under conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS)

5. Claveria, Misamis Oriental
The Research Site
Claveria, Misamis Oriental

6. CAPS Treatments Cropping pattern T1
Arachis Pintoi + Maize- Arachis pintoi + Maize T2
Maize + Stylo - Stylo fallow T3
Maize+cowpea - Upland rice +cowpea T4
Maize+Rice bean-Maize+Rice bean T5
Cassava + Stylo T6
Maize-maize (conventional plow-based) (control)
Fertility Level Fo
for N, P2O5, K2O F1
for N, P2O5, K2O

7. CAPS Treatments

8. TDR Soil Moisture Retention Measurement
2011
2012

9. Soil Sampling
2011
2010
2012

10. Laboratory Analysis
UPLB CEAT Hydraulic and Soils Lab and Soil Sci Lab

11. RESULTS

12. Variability of TDR-Measured Residual Moisture Content

13. TDR-measured Residual Moisture Content

14. TDR-measured Residual Moisture Content

15. TDR-measured Residual Moisture Content
Tukey (HSD) / Analysis of the differences between the
categories with a confidence interval of 95%
Contrast
Difference
Standardized difference
Critical value
Pr > Diff
Significant
T2 vs T6
10.200
7.219
3.178
<
Yes
T2 vs T3
3.425
2.424
0.200 No
T2 vs T4
2.100
1.486
0.677
T2 vs T1
0.625
0.442
0.997
T2 vs T5
0.375
0.265
1.000
T5 vs T6
9.825
6.953
T5 vs T3
3.050
2.159
0.303
T5 vs T4
1.725
1.221
0.821
T5 vs T1
0.250
0.177
T1 vs T6
9.575
6.777
T1 vs T3
2.800
1.982
0.389
T1 vs T4
1.475
1.044
0.897
T4 vs T6
8.100
5.733
0.000
T4 vs T3
1.325
0.938
0.931
T3 vs T6
6.775
4.795
0.002
Tukey's d critical value:
4.495

16. TDR-measured Residual Moisture Content
Dunnett (two sided) / Analysis of the differences between categories
Category
Difference
Standardized difference
Critical value
Critical difference
Pr > Diff
Significant
T6 vs T2
-7.219
2.761
3.902
0.000
Yes
T6 vs T5
-9.825
-6.953
T6 vs T1
-9.575
-6.777
T6 vs T4
-8.100
-5.733
T6 vs T3
-6.775
-4.795
0.001

17. TDR-measured Residual Moisture Content

18. TDR-measured Residual Moisture Content

19. Variability of Soil Organic Matter

20. Soil Organic Matter at Various CAPS Treatments and soil depths at Fo
(December 2010)

21. Soil Organic Matter at Various CAPS Treatments and soil depths at F1
(December 2010)

22. Soil Organic Matter at Various CAPS Treatments and soil depths at Fo
(April 2011)

23. Soil Organic Matter at Various CAPS Treatments and soil depths at F1
(April 2011)

24. Soil Organic Matter at Various CAPS Treatments and soil depths at Fo
(September 2011)

25. Soil Organic Matter at Various CAPS Treatments and soil depths at F1
(September 2011)

26. Temporal Variation of Upper Layer Soil Organic Matter at Various CAPS Treatments at F0

27. Temporal Variation of Upper Layer Soil Organic Matter at Various CAPS Treatments at F1

28. CONCLUSION
Conservation agriculture production systems have significantly higher residual moisture content than the conventional plow-based system with the treatment maize+stylo-stylo fallow exhibiting the highest residual moisture content
Soil organic matter at the upper soil layer (0-15 cm) in all CAPS treatments exhibited consistently higher values than the deeper layer (15-30 cm) regardless of fertility level.

29. CONCLUSION
Soil organic matter at the uppermost soil layer (0-5 cm) did not exhibit a well-defined pattern of temporal variation over time although the soil organic matter appears to increase under conservation agriculture and decrease under conventional plow-based system after 2 years of cropping
Continuous soil quality monitoring is necessary to generate more conclusive findings

30. Acknowledgements
This study is part of the USAID-funded SANREM-CRSP Project on Conservation Agriculture for Food Security in the Philippines and Cambodia
Paper presentation was made possible through the support from CHED/UPLB-CEAT-IAE and SANREM
Rafael Padre, Romina M. Bondad and everyone who helped in data gathering

31. Thank You! Dr. Victor B. Ella Professor
Land and Water Resources Division
Institute of Agricultural Engineering
College of Engineering and Agro-industrial
Technology
University of the Philippines Los Banos
College, Laguna, PHILIPPINES or
Tel/fax: (049)