Welcome to the ISTRO website
On this site you will find information about the International Soil Tillage Research Organisation (ISTRO), which focusses on the impact and consequences of various soil tillage (including no-till) practices and from field traffic. More information about the organisation itself can be found on the organisation page.
Activities organised by ISTRO and other organisations concerning soil tillage can be found on the activities page.
Further information about recent publications are found on the publications page.
ISTRO info september 2021
- Published: 22 September 2021 22 September 2021
September 21st 2021 - The latest version of ISTRO info, the September 2021 issue, is available for download. In this issue:
- ISTRO 2022 conference update
- 2022 Scholarship call
- Upcoming meetings and events
- New books
The September 2021 issue of ISTRO info is dedicated to news on the ISTRO2022 conference. To support the attendance of young researchers in these challenging (post) COVID1-19 times, ISTRO has increased the number of scholarships from 4 to 14 (more info in the September issue). Please forward this information to young colleagues who might be interested in applying. Also, remember to tell them that an ISTRO membership is mandatory for all applicants.
Ireland has now opened for international travel. There are still some restrictions in place, but for people who have been vaccinated travel is now quite straightforward. Quarantine restrictions remain in place for people arriving from some countries. It is not possible to forecast exactly what restrictions will be in place next May, but all the signs are that Ireland will be fully open for business and we will be able to run a face-to-face conference successfully.
Abstract submission for the 22nd ISTRO international Conference (now ISTRO2022) will open on 20th September 2021 with a submission deadline on 3rd December 2021. Acceptance notifications will be issued in late January. Go to www.istro2021.com for abstract submission details after 20th September.
(Image: ISTRO conference website frontpage: www.istro2021.com.)
ISTRO info june 2021
- Published: 16 June 2021 16 June 2021
June 16th 2021 - The latest version of ISTRO info, the June 2021 issue, is available for download. In this issue:
- ISTRO 2022 conference update
- David McKenzie awarded JA Prescott medal
- 2nd workshop Conservation Tillage working group
- New PhD graduate 3- year membership awarded
- Upcoming meetings and events
- New books
David McKenzie, a long-term ISTRO member, gave a key note address at the SSA/NZSSS Virtual World Soil Day event 2020 as a follow up on being awarded the prestigious JA Prescott medal by Soil Science Australia.
The presentation was entitled “Many ‘soil management generalists’ in Australian agriculture have failed: They require expertise from Soil Science Specialists". David has worked in both soil science research and private consultancy. He has for decades been a leading member of the ISTRO working group F: Visual Soil Evaluation and Examination.
(Photo: David McKenzie demonstrating SOILpak at the ISTRO workshop in Ireland, 2017. Photo by Paul Murphy.)
22nd ISTRO conference postponed until 2022
- Published: 15 March 2021 15 March 2021
While the public health and travel situation remains somewhat uncertain, the local organisers and Board have agreed on new dates for ISTRO2021. The optimism about vaccine development and roll-out seems to have been well founded, but it does remain somewhat uncertain how well the situation will develop.
Despite this, planning for the 22nd ISTRO international Conference (now ISTRO2022) is progressing and the conference will take place from 22-26 May 2022 in Dublin Ireland. The conference organisers will confirm the registration, paper submission and practical details in May/June 2021.
We hope that ISTRO members and their colleagues will be confident to travel and meet safely next year. The theme of the conference remains ‘Soil and tillage and the transition to digital agriculture.’ We will be welcoming contributions on basic and applied soil and tillage research, but we are looking for contributions related to digital agriculture technologies (data, sensors, networking, earth observation, recommender systems and so on) so please encourage colleagues and collaborators to consider presenting their work at ISTRO2022.
Please plan to prepare and submit your contribution to the conference, whether oral presentation or poster as soon as we open the call in the middle of the year. We look forward to seeing as many ISTRO members, their colleague and collaborators in Dublin in 2022!