Comparison of direct drilling, reduced cultivation and ploughing on the growth of cereals

Abstract

SummaryAn experiment on spring barley (cvs Impala and Julia) on sandy loam soil near Oxford was made from 1969 to 1973 to compare mouldboard ploughing, deep and shallow tined cultivation followed by conventional seed-bed preparation, and direct-drilling.In 1969 fewer barley plants on the direct-drilled plots than on cultivated plots gave fewer fertile ears/m2 and significantly less grain. In 1970, 1972 and 1973 yields did not differ between treatments. In 1971 there were more ears/m2 and more grain was obtained from direct-drilled than from ploughed plots. Mean grain yields over 5 years did not differ significantly between cultivation treatments. Ploughing and deep tine cultivation resulted in better shoot growth early in the season, more straw and more dicotyledonous weeds than direct-drilling. In comparable tillage operations on the same farm considerably less energy was needed for direct-drilling than for mouldboard ploughing and conventional seed-bed preparation.