Here we consider each practice individually. Cultivation Cultivation, or tillage, of soil is integral to the process of raising most crops. The amount of cultivation varies with the tillage system. Conventional tillage consists of tilling fields up to several times per year to prepare fields for planting and to control weeds after the crop has emerged. Little crop-plant residue remains on the surface of the soil during the growing season.
Tillage is often the main method of weed control in organic farming.
An immediate effect of cultivation may be to expose arthropods and other prey to foraging birds, etc. A more lasting effect, however, is a reduction in abundance of the litter-dwelling arthropods that are prey items for many birds. The extent of conservation tillage has increased in recent years. Other contributions are organic farming, alternative crops, and strip intercropping. Killdeer and horned larks were more abundant on conventionally tilled fields.