<P> One of the purposes of tilling is to remove weeds . No - till farming does change weed composition drastically . Faster growing weeds may no longer be a problem in the face of increased competition, but shrubs and trees may begin to grow eventually . </P> <P> Some farmers attack this problem with a "burn - down" herbicide such as glyphosate in lieu of tillage for seedbed preparation and because of this, no - till is often associated with increased chemical use in comparison to traditional tillage based methods of crop production . However, there are many agroecological alternatives to increased chemical use, such as winter cover crops and the mulch cover they provide, soil solarization or burning . </P> <P> No - till farming requires some different skills to achieve success . As with any production system, if no - till isn't done correctly, yields can drop . A combination of technique, equipment, pesticides, crop rotation, fertilization, and irrigation have to be used for local conditions . </P> <P> Cover crops are used occasionally in no - till farming to help control weeds and increase nutrients in the soil (by using legumes) or by using plants with long roots to pull mobile nutrients back up to the surface from lower layers of the soil . Farmers experimenting with organic no - till use cover crops instead of tillage for controlling weeds, and are developing various methods to kill the cover crops (rollers, crimper, choppers, etc .) so that the newly planted crops can get enough light, water, nutrients, etc . </P>

According to the text one downside of no-till agriculture is that it often requires