Effects of traffic and tillage on crop yield (winter wheat Triticum aestivum) and the physical properties of a sandy loam soil

Abstract

<abstract> <bold>Abstract.</bold> Traditional agricultural production in Europe involves extensive infield trafficking for soil preparation and seeding, chemical applications, harvesting, grain and straw removal. Conventional practice, which involves random trafficking and deep tillage, exposes up to 86% of the field to soil compaction in one year resulting in poor structure, water infiltration, crop growth and yield losses. This study aims to determine the interaction of 3 traffic systems 1) Random Traffic Farming (RTF); 2) Low Ground Pressure (LGP); 3) Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) with 3 tillage systems: 1) Deep Tillage (DT) to a depth of 250 mm; 2) Shallow Tillage (ST) to a depth of 100 mm; and 3) Zero Tillage (ZT) on soil compaction and its effect on 1) crop growth and yield, 2) soil physical properties; 3) moisture regime, and 4) energy requirements. The data presented in this paper focuses on components 1-3. Trafficking increased penetration resistance of soils at depths of 100mm and 250 mm (p<0.05) and reduced water infiltration rate at the soil surface. A neutron probe was used to characterise sub-surface soil-water interactions and showed that ST resulted in the highest SMDs, whereas DT recorded the lowest. Crop growth and yield were examined using photograph analysis and harvested yields. CTF increased yields in all Tillage systems, and resulted in a 45% increase on un-trafficked soil. The results indicate that soil-water interactions and crop yield can be improved by limiting trafficking and reducing tillage.