Shallow ploughing at Cow Hall
Readers of my blog will know my support of the shallow plough, in the face of spurious accusations of inevitable organic matter depletion and damage to mycorrhizae, probably emanating from the agrochemical industry. My long-time colleague Richard Young has brought his rigorous, investigative mind to the matter and reports in his review “More things in Heaven and Earth: Mycorrhizal fungi, ploughing, no-till and glyphosate” https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/news-views/more-things-in-heaven-and-earth-mycorrhizal-fungi-ploughing-no-till-and-glyphosate
Mycorrhizae are essential for most plant nutrient availability, yet the known suppression by phosphate and nitrogen fertilisers and by fungicides is largely ignored in conventional farming. Not only that, but there is now clear evidence that Roundup (Glyphosate), a pillar of much so-called Regenerative farming, is damaging to Mycorrhizae.
Which brings us back to the plough. Undoubtedly mycorrhizae have declined in conventional farming under a barrage of fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and ploughing in continuous cropping systems; avoiding ploughing in this situation may help them a little. But what is needed is a step change in farming systems and practices to organic farming, where the there is no use of agrochemicals and soil life is supported by diverse rotations and the fungi are fed with the use of compost or manure and fertility-building leys or green manures. Under these conditions, mycorrhizal populations and organic matter levels can be maintained or increased to levels higher than conventional no-till, even with shallow ploughing or tillage.
