Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 3 · column 1 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
BLACKSBURG - Eastern Virginia farmers who use no-till planting techniques generally don’t increase the risk of leaching pesticides into surface and groundwater supplies, according to a recently completed Virginia Tech study.
No-till or conservation tillage practices use special machinery to insert seeds into the ground, rather than plowing up turf. This greatly reduces soil erosion, but a higher level of chemical controls is generally needed to protect crops from weeds and disease with no-till operation.
Some farmers and environmentalists have worried that any erosion control benefits from no-till would be offset by possible pollution increases from the additional chemical use.
While “there is some increased leaching (of pesticides) with no-till, because we do have more water moving into the soil., .it appears notill does not represent a greater threat to groundwater,” said Dr. Conrad Heatwole, associate professor of agricultural engineering.
“I believe this is good news for conservation tillage and for protecting our surface and groundwater1 supplies, he said.
Mr. Heatwole cautioned that his study was only valid for Eastern Virginia farm soils. More tests are needed in other parts of the state, where clay soils are more prevalent.
* t
87.1%