No-till farming, in which farmers don't plow under their fields between crops, releases far smaller amounts of a potent greenhouse gas into the air than conventional farming, according to a new study that suggests no-till may help combat global warming. Researchers said the findings also could help farmers make more efficient use of the costly nitrogen-based fertilizers used to spur plant growth by showing them how to keep more of it in the soi, AP reported. The three-year, federally funded Purdue University study looked at the amount of nitrous oxide released by no-till fields compared to plowed fields. No-till farmers aim to disrupt th The study found no-till fields released 57 percent less nitrous oxide than chisel tilling, in which plants are plowed back into the soil after harvest, said Purdue agronomist Tony Vyn, who led the research. They also produced 40 percent less gas than fields tilled with moldboard plows, which turn the dirt over onto itself. -- SPA