*5.1.3 Water management*

The most important means of ensuring healthy growth of the plant in sustainable agriculture is the sufficient amount of moisture in the root area of the soil during the plant's growing season. The first source of this moisture is the natural rainfall. In cases where sufficient water cannot be met by rainfall, the water needed should be given by irrigation water. Inadequate or too much soil moisture in the plant root area usually results in a decrease in yield.

The sustainability of water resources is a social, physical, economic and ecological concept. Sustainable water management encompasses the water needs of future generations, drinking and using, irrigation, industrial and recreational water conservation and ecosystem conservation services. In order to ensure sustainability, the following points should be taken into account:


• Discharge of untreated farm wastes and wastewater into natural surface waters should be avoided. Measures should be taken to reduce the negative effects of irrigation on the ecosystem.

In addition, drone and sensor technologies can be used to collect necessary data for the development of an effective irrigation methodology. According to this:


#### *5.1.4 Pests and diseases management*

Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as one of the effective methods used in modern agriculture, takes into account all plant protection methods available in the application. IPM implies the integration of appropriate measures that minimize the risks for human health and the environment by preventing the development of pest populations and by ensuring the use of plant protection products and other forms of intervention at economic and ecologically justified and reduced levels.

A well-designed integrated pest management program (IPM) includes three main steps for maximum effectiveness and minimum environmental impact in pest, weed and disease control [16]:

Find: Producers should first identify pests, diseases or weeds. Then, physical, chemical, biological and regulatory compliance options should be decided.

Watch: Reproduction rates are noted after the identification of harmful species. The determination of the effects of the protection methods and the limit threshold where the plant protection products will be used should be determined.

Select: When the density of harmful species reaches the threshold, many protection options are activated. With other protection methods, the use of pesticides that cause the least damage to the environment is the most effective protection method with harmful species. In addition, early harvesting or other physical protection methods can help minimize crop damage. When deciding on the protection method, the existence of useful species should be taken into consideration, and harmful species can be fought with the species which are the enemy of the pests without any application.

IPM for the prevention or suppression of harmful organisms as well as chemical control; crop rotation, use of appropriate breeding techniques (planting dates and densities, protected cultivation, pruning and direct sowing), use of tolerant varieties and certified seed and planting materials, use of balanced fertilization, liming and irrigation/drainage applications and prevention of spread of harmful organisms by hygiene measures (regular cleaning of machinery and equipment), which can be considered as a number of methods are important for sustainable agriculture [16]. Energy-based innovative cultural techniques: leguminous rotations, use of organic wastes as well as farm based by-products, integrated pest management

**121**

*Soil Management in Sustainable Agriculture DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88319*

*5.1.5 Cover crop and rotation*

of the system.

structure, is achieved.

**6. Conclusions**

according to soil conditions.

trap crops should be applied within the system [17].

production inputs and to make economic agriculture.

(IPM), pest and disease prediction, biological and cultural pest control, mulching and mechanical weed control, conservational tillage or no-till, mixed sowing and

Covered plants provide important contributions to agricultural production at the point of protection of soil, temperature, humidity or light at the desired level, pest and weed control. The reduction of soil cultivation in sustainable agriculture has brought with it the weed problem. Many plants such as clover, vetch, trefoil, oats, rye, sorghum vary widely according to usage and production purpose. For example, cereals are preferred for weed control, and legumes cultivation is preferred for providing nitrogen to the crop plant. The most important point in the cultivation of cover plants is to know the balance between the cost and the benefits

The system should both reduce the input cost and increase the product efficiency. Apart from its main purpose, cover crops have many other contributions to agriculture and production. The use of these plants allows increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil by protecting plant biomass and vegetative waste in the field. In this way, soil weathering improves, root growth of plants is encouraged and surface water flow decreases and aggregate formation increases. In addition, an increase in the population of living things such as microorganisms and worms, which contribute to the improvement of the nutritional cycle and soil

On the other hand, it is possible to reduce soil tillage, increase soil organic matter, benefit from different depths of nutrients, protect soil moisture, increase soil water holding capacity and weed control. For this reason, cover crop and crop rotation in sustainable agriculture is one of the important applications to reduce

The management of agricultural areas by traditional methods, the evaluation and processing of soil characteristics using traditional habits alone are not sufficient for the past, present situation and future productivity of the soil. Therefore, an evaluation of the tillage systems where soil tillage is appropriate to the management objectives and the effects on soil functions can be determined precisely. In determining the soil tillage system, the most suitable tillage system should be selected by evaluating the soil structure and quality, not only for the purpose of loosening and aerating the soil and destroying weeds. In order to compare soil management and processing systems, different indicators can be used in soil quality assessments

Today, the most important issue of researchers is the question of whether or not food can be produced enough to feed so many people in parallel with the rapidly increasing population. As a matter of fact, while focusing on this issue, it should not only be focused on the subject to feed of human, and should not be overlooked for the healthy and sustainable feeding. In particular, the non-cultivation agricultural system and protective agriculture in general are facing an ecologically and economically large potential for cultivated areas, whose productivity is decreasing day by day and becoming more open to erosion every day. On the other hand, the relationship between fertilizer, pesticide, tillage and crop rotation issues in sustainable systems and their effects on product yield and income should be well established.

(IPM), pest and disease prediction, biological and cultural pest control, mulching and mechanical weed control, conservational tillage or no-till, mixed sowing and trap crops should be applied within the system [17].

## *5.1.5 Cover crop and rotation*

*Sustainable Crop Production*

content,

weather forecasts.

*5.1.4 Pests and diseases management*

weed and disease control [16]:

without any application.

the field in terms of water requirement.

irrigation on the ecosystem.

• Discharge of untreated farm wastes and wastewater into natural surface waters should be avoided. Measures should be taken to reduce the negative effects of

In addition, drone and sensor technologies can be used to collect necessary data

for the development of an effective irrigation methodology. According to this:

• Thermal images obtained from drones concerning soil and crop moisture

• A variable-rate irrigation program is created in line with weather data and

• Variable rate applications can be done in optimum timing in fields varying in

Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as one of the effective methods used in modern agriculture, takes into account all plant protection methods available in the application. IPM implies the integration of appropriate measures that minimize the risks for human health and the environment by preventing the development of pest populations and by ensuring the use of plant protection products and other forms

A well-designed integrated pest management program (IPM) includes three main steps for maximum effectiveness and minimum environmental impact in pest,

Find: Producers should first identify pests, diseases or weeds. Then, physical,

Watch: Reproduction rates are noted after the identification of harmful species. The determination of the effects of the protection methods and the limit threshold

Select: When the density of harmful species reaches the threshold, many protection options are activated. With other protection methods, the use of pesticides that cause the least damage to the environment is the most effective protection method with harmful species. In addition, early harvesting or other physical protection methods can help minimize crop damage. When deciding on the protection method, the existence of useful species should be taken into consideration, and harmful species can be fought with the species which are the enemy of the pests

IPM for the prevention or suppression of harmful organisms as well as chemical control; crop rotation, use of appropriate breeding techniques (planting dates and densities, protected cultivation, pruning and direct sowing), use of tolerant varieties and certified seed and planting materials, use of balanced fertilization, liming and irrigation/drainage applications and prevention of spread of harmful organisms by hygiene measures (regular cleaning of machinery and equipment), which can be considered as a number of methods are important for sustainable agriculture [16]. Energy-based innovative cultural techniques: leguminous rotations, use of organic wastes as well as farm based by-products, integrated pest management

of intervention at economic and ecologically justified and reduced levels.

chemical, biological and regulatory compliance options should be decided.

where the plant protection products will be used should be determined.

• Determination of soil water potential with soil moisture sensors,

• Nitrogen deficiency can be measured by multispectral camera,

**120**

Covered plants provide important contributions to agricultural production at the point of protection of soil, temperature, humidity or light at the desired level, pest and weed control. The reduction of soil cultivation in sustainable agriculture has brought with it the weed problem. Many plants such as clover, vetch, trefoil, oats, rye, sorghum vary widely according to usage and production purpose. For example, cereals are preferred for weed control, and legumes cultivation is preferred for providing nitrogen to the crop plant. The most important point in the cultivation of cover plants is to know the balance between the cost and the benefits of the system.

The system should both reduce the input cost and increase the product efficiency. Apart from its main purpose, cover crops have many other contributions to agriculture and production. The use of these plants allows increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil by protecting plant biomass and vegetative waste in the field. In this way, soil weathering improves, root growth of plants is encouraged and surface water flow decreases and aggregate formation increases. In addition, an increase in the population of living things such as microorganisms and worms, which contribute to the improvement of the nutritional cycle and soil structure, is achieved.

On the other hand, it is possible to reduce soil tillage, increase soil organic matter, benefit from different depths of nutrients, protect soil moisture, increase soil water holding capacity and weed control. For this reason, cover crop and crop rotation in sustainable agriculture is one of the important applications to reduce production inputs and to make economic agriculture.
