Editing Plough (section)

==Effects of mould-board ploughing==
Mould-board ploughing in cold and temperate climates, down to {{convert|20|cm|abbr=on}}, aerates the soil by loosening it. It incorporates crop residues, solid manures, limestone, and commercial fertilisers alongside oxygen, reducing nitrogen losses by denitrification, accelerating mineralisation, and raising short-term nitrogen availability for turning organic matter into humus. It erases wheel tracks and ruts from harvesting equipment. It controls many perennial weeds and delays the growth of others until spring. It accelerates spring soil warming and water evaporation due to lower residues on the soil surface. It facilitates seeding with a lighter seed, controls many crop enemies ([[slugs]], [[Tipuloidea|crane flies]], [[Delia platura|seedcorn maggots-bean seed flies]], borers), and raises the number of "soil-eating" earthworms (endogic), but deters vertical-dwelling earthworms (anecic).{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

Ploughing leaves little crop residue on the surface that might otherwise reduce both wind and water erosion. Over-ploughing can lead to the formation of [[hardpan]]. Typically, farmers break that up with a [[subsoiler]], which acts as a long, sharp knife slicing through the hardened layer of soil deep below the surface. [[Soil erosion]] due to improper land and plough utilisation is possible. [[Contour plowing|Contour ploughing]] mitigates soil erosion by ploughing across a slope, along elevation lines. Alternatives to ploughing, such as a [[no-till method]], have the potential to build soil levels and humus. These may be suitable for smaller, intensively cultivated plots and for farming on poor, shallow or degraded soils that ploughing would further degrade.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}