Types of tillage systems that meet the requirements of Conservation Tillage:

NO TILL
Is a planting method that involves no seed bed preparation other than opening the soil (a slit or a punched hole into the soil) for the purpose of placing seed at the intended depth. No cultivation is performed during the growing season whereas weed control is accomplished through using appropriate herbicides.

RIDGE TILL
Is a system used for row crops as a way of soil moisture management. It is widely used in both temperate and tropical regions. The crops may be planted on the ridge top, in the furrow or along both sides. The ridges may be on the contours with graded furrows draining into a grassed water way, or on the ridges may be short cross-ties to create a series of basins to store water in a system commonly referred to as field -ridge system.

MULCH TILL
Is a system of tillage that retains crop residue on the land, thus providing a protective surface cover. This involves cutting the roots of weeds and other plants, leaving the crop residue on the surface or mixed into the top few centimeters of the soil. The main objectives of this tillage system are to reduce wind and water erosion, and to conserve water by reducing runoff.

MINIMUM TILLAGE
Is a system that involves minimum possible soil manipulation for crop production whereby the frequency of the use of various conventional tillage equipment is minimized. Also referred to as reduced tillage, minimum tillage is a broad principle that can be applied in many ways. Its major objectives include:

• To perform the minimal necessary operations required to optimize the soil conditions for each type of area within the field (e.g. row area versus inter-row area);
• To minimize the number of trips over the field so as to avoid soil compaction and structural degradation due to vehicular traffic;
• To conserve moisture;
• To reduce soil erosion; and
• To reduce mechanical energy and labour requirements

Some of the common practices of the minimum tillage system employ the use of innovative combination equipment units, such as:

• Till and Plant: Tractor-driven equipment in form of till and plant combination units follows the primary tillage operation to prepare the seedbed and plant all in one operation (narrow strips receiving shallow secondary tillage just ahead of the planter).
• Strip Tillage: Types of combination units perform strip or zone tillage just ahead of the planter in untilled soil (usually a chisel plough is involved with the sole aim of improving porosity and rooting depth in root zone).
• Disc-plant: One disking operation before planting is done to loosen the compacted soil surface, to control weeds, and to leave most of the residue on the surface.
• Bed-plant: This method is commonly used for soil moisture management especially in surface irrigated crops where furrows are made at appropriate intervals raising the bed between.