Abstract
Inappropriate tillage practices and seedbed types have often been identified as major constraints to cereal crop production in the Savanna agro-ecological zone of northern Ghana. In an effort to increase crop production and conserve the soil from degradation, through mechanical manipulation of the soil, field experiments were conducted from 1992 to 1995 to study the effects of tillage systems and seedbed types on performance of sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), weed infestation, and tillage economics. The tillage methods evaluated were: manual, bullock, and tractor and the seedbeds studied were: flat and ridge. The highest sorghum grain yield was recorded in 1994 for tractor ridge with manual flat recording the least in 1995. Tractor and bullock tillage systems recorded a mean increase in sorghum grain yield of about 42% over manual tillage. Mean increases in grain yield recorded by ridge seedbeds over their flat counterparts for different tillage systems for the 4 years were: manual, 176%; bullock, 57%; tractor, 54%. Bullock ridging gave the highest straw yield in 1992 with manual flat recording the least in 1995. Ridges for all tillage systems recorded significantly higher straw yields compared to their flat counterparts. Weed infestation was significantly ( p<0.05) higher for manual tillage and the least for tractor tillage under both seedbeds. Mean weed populations recorded for the tillage systems were: manual, 508 weeds m −2; bullock, 358 weeds m −2; tractor, 242 weeds m −2. Bullock ridging resulted in the highest gross margin with the least obtained for manual ploughing.
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