VOA慢速英语2010年-Agriculture Report - Many Farmers and

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Farmers and gardeners have turned the soil for centuries. But many now believe in no-till or reduced tillage, a method also called conservation tillage. The Conservation Technology Information Center says forty percent of American cropland used this method at last report.

Tilling can remove weeds and the waste from last season's crops and help break down old plant material into fertilizer. But it can also increase the risk of soil erosion by rain or wind.

Tilling also releases carbon dioxide from the soil into the atmosphere. No-till keeps carbon in the soil and avoids the release of heat-trapping gases from motorized equipment. It also keeps water in the soil and protects helpful organisms like earthworms. And it saves money on labor¹, machinery² and fuel.

A recent study reported on almost twenty years of different tillage methods in the American states of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska.

The researchers say tillage makes soil less resistant³ to being broken apart by raindrops than plowed⁴ soil. They say no-till stores more soil carbon, which helps the soil particles stick together. They found that the first two and a half centimeters of topsoil are up to seven times stronger against rain than plowed soil.

A farmer tilling a field near Hastings, Minnesota in April

The study also noted⁵ that when tilled soil particles come in contact with air, soil organic matter is lost through the process of oxidation.

The findings appeared in the Soil Science Society of America Journal. Humberto Blanco-Canqui from Kansas State University and Maysoon Mikha from the Agricultural Research Service led the study.

Another recent study found that a single tillage does not harm yield or soil structure in land that is normally not tilled. Charles Wortmann at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln says a one-time tillage may be used to correct a problem like aggressive weeds. His five-year study appeared in the Agronomy⁶ Journal.

Fabian Fernandez, a soil and plant nutrition expert at the University of Illinois, says no-till means less intensive labor. But he also says it does not mean an end to preparing the ground for planting.

Jimmy Wagner works at the American Plant garden center in Bethesda, Maryland. He says hand tools like tilling forks, shovels⁷ and thatching rakes require more work than a rotary⁸ tiller, but they work well and cost less.

If you till, wait until the soil is warm and dry enough. If the soil stays together in a ball, it is too wet to till.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Jim Tedder⁹.
 

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

3 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

4 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 agronomy   

n.农业经济学

参考例句：

• The science of agronomy helps farmers obtain larger and better crops.农业经济学帮助农民获得更多更好的农作物。
• Heavy agronomy clique and Si Mi order of believe in nature.重农学派和斯密都信奉自然秩序。

7 shovels   

n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
• In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天，我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句

8 rotary   

adj.(运动等)旋转的；轮转的；转动的

参考例句：

• The central unit is a rotary drum.核心设备是一个旋转的滚筒。
• A rotary table helps to optimize the beam incidence angle.一张旋转的桌子有助于将光线影响之方式角最佳化。

9 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网