The role of commission VI during the last 50 years |
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| Authors: | EW Russell |
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| Institution: | Department of Soil Science, Reading University, Reading Great Britain |
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| Abstract: | The work of Commission VI is primarily concerned with the principles of soil management on the farm itself. In the earlier years, interest was principally focussed on developing systems of farming that were better adapted to conserve soil and water than the existing systems, and on developing improved systems of field drainage. More recently, attention has shifted to developing improved systems of cultivation and of irrigation of land liable to salinity and alkalinity problems; and this has been accompanied by much greater attention being given to problems of root growth and functioning in the soil.Soil and water conservation was initially concerned with the reduction of s soil erosion, whether by water or by wind, and as a consequence improved methods for the control of water have been developed either by increasing the permeability of the surface soil or by allowing the safe shedding of surplus water off the soil surface. One of the central problems of soil cultivation research has been the development of methods that allow the optimum use to be made of the wide range of herbicides that are being introduced into farming practice. This work is closely linked to two other important problems, namely the reduction of soil compaction due to the passage of implements and tractors over the land, and the reduction of the number and cost of cultivations needed to prepare an adequate seedbed, to control weeds, and to maintain soil permeability. |
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