Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an agro-ecological farming paradigm standardized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) based on three fundamental pillars.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The three universally defined core pillars of Conservation Agriculture (CA) are:
1. Pillar 1: Continuous minimum mechanical soil disturbance (zero tillage or direct seeding).
2. Pillar 2: Permanent organic soil cover with crop residues, cover crops, or living mulch (at least 30% ground cover).
3. Pillar 3: Species diversification through spatial and temporal crop rotations and associations.
While nutrient management is a good agronomic practice, it is not one of the three foundational pillars defining conservation tillage/CA.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Therefore, Nutrient management is NOT a foundational pillar of conservation tillage, matching option (C).