A comparison of different tillage systems in irrigated conditions by risk and gross margin analysis in Erzurum region of Turkey

Abstract

The potential of tillage systems for generating environmental pollution and the economic risks of the systems are influential factors for farmers to adopt conservation tillage practices. This study was carried out between 2000 and 2008 in order to evaluate the economic and risk of different tillage and planting systems in the province of Erzurum, Turkey. Tillage treatments consist of conventional tillage [moldboard plow + disk harrow + combined harrows + precision seeder, (CT)], reduced tillage 1 [cultivator + combined harrows + precision seeder, (RT1)], reduced tillage 2 [rotary power harrow + precision seeder, (RT2)] and no-till seeding [no-till seeder, (NT)] systems which were studied. A trial field has been tilled with four different tillage systems with a crop rotation of common vetch–winter wheat–sunflower. The economic evaluation of the tillage and planting systems was made by calculating the gross margin and the risk appraisal and the standard deviation of the yield and gross margins. The conventional tillage system required the most labor, fuel, oil and variable costs. According to conventional tillage and planting system, the most cost-saving system is direct planting by NT. The highest pollutant in terms of environment was the CT system with the highest carbon dioxide release, while the NT system was the most environmentally friendly system. The order of systems from high to low, in terms of obtained gross margin, ranked a CT, RT1, RT2 and NT. The lowest variation in terms of productivity was in the NT system for all products, and the highest variation was in the RT1 system. In terms of gross margin, the lowest variation was again in the NT system. A farmer who decides on the basis of gross margin should choose the CT system with the highest average gross margin. A producer considering gross margin should decide on the NT system based on risk assessment.