Soil fertility is the result of interactions between the physical and chemical soil attributes, affecting its biological component, which in turn feeds back to the physical and chemical soil attributes. The No‐Till System (NTS) is the main modality of Conservation Agriculture, essential to achieving farming sustainability and conserving soil fertility. However, farmers often fail to adopt the three principles of NTS: (a) minimum mechanical soil disturbance, (b) permanent soil cover and (c) plant diversification; therefore, the system currently requires a quality measurement. The NTS Participatory Quality Index (PQI) is a tool to qualify and monitor the farm system and requires the participation of the farmers themselves. The aim of this study was to assess key soil quality attributes associated with the implementation of PQI methodology during a large‐scale dissemination campaign in areas under NTS in Paraná State, Brazil (Paraná River Watershed 3), in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the PQI as a tool to drive the improvement of farmers' management. Spearman's correlation coefficients were established between PQI scores and the chemical and physical soil attributes, as well as the indicators incorporated into the PQI. Data were obtained in the Paraná River Watershed 3 from 40 areas of farmland under different farm systems. Crop rotation was the primary management approach that improved soil and agricultural management quality under Brazilian conditions, and confirmed in the study region. The NTS PQI provided a way to evaluate soil management quality in the areas assessed. The rapid soil structure diagnosis proved to be a good tool for assessing soil structure.

中文翻译：

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巴西土地管理质量评估中的免耕系统参与质量指数

土壤肥力是物理和化学土壤属性之间相互作用的结果，影响其生物成分，而生物成分反过来又反馈到物理和化学土壤属性。免耕制度（NTS）是保护性农业的主要方式，对于实现农业的可持续性和保护土壤肥力至关重要。但是，农民常常不能采用NTS的三项原则：（a）最小的机械土壤干扰；（b）永久的土壤覆盖；（c）植物多样化；因此，该系统当前需要质量测量。NTS参与式质量指数（PQI）是一种合格和监控农场系统的工具，需要农民自己的参与。这项研究的目的是评估在巴西巴拉那州（NTS）的NTS地区（巴拉那河分水岭3）进行的大规模传播活动中，与实施PQI方法相关的关键土壤质量属性，以证明该方法的有效性。 PQI是推动农民管理改善的工具。在PQI得分与化学和物理土壤属性以及纳入PQI的指标之间建立了Spearman相关系数。数据来自巴拉那河分水岭3，来自不同农场系统下的40个农田地区。轮作是改善巴西条件下土壤和农业管理质量的主要管理方法，并在研究区域得到证实。NTS PQI提供了一种评估所评估区域土壤管理质量的方法。快速的土壤结构诊断证明是评估土壤结构的良好工具。