Effect of different tillage methods on growth and yield of soybean following wheat harvest

Abstract

To explore high yield tillage method for soybean following wheat harvest in northern Xinjiang,response of soybean to 4 different tillage methods were studied in field experiment. Results of 2- years experiments showed that population leaf area index( LAI) at each growth period were plowing( T) rotary tillage( RT) no tillage( NT). The average of LAI in the whole growth period was 27. 25% higher than that of NT in 2 years. Besides,LAI of the whole growth period was also higher than the average of RT and NT after increasing tillage plus film covering( TP) in 2013,and 11. 67% higher than T in the same year and reached highly significant difference level( p≤0. 01),which greatly enhanced photosynthesis and improved dry matter accumulation. Pods per plant,grain number per plant,grain weight and yield of T treatment were 23. 18%,19. 69%,8. 89% and 13. 35% higher than those of NT respectively. Net income increased by 32. 11%. Especially in 2013,pods per plant,grain number per plant,grain weight and yield of TP treatment were higher than those of T treatment by 28. 00%,27. 46%,2. 72% and 7. 43% respectively. The difference was highly significant( p ≤0. 01),and resulted in a12. 5% higher net income. In summary,combining plowing with plastic film mulching could be beneficial for soybean crop following wheat harvest under drip irrigation in northern Xinjiang.