Maize and winter wheat production with different soil tillage systems on silty loam

Abstract

From 1996 to 1998 five different tillage systems were compared in maize (Zea mays L.) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production on one experimental field (silty loam - Albic Luvisol) located in north-west Slavonia, Croatia. The compared tillage systems were as follows: conventional tillage (CT), reduced conventional tillage (RT), conservation tillage I (CP), conservation tillage II (CM), no-tillage system (NT). The aim of the research was to determine the influence of those tillage systems on the energy and labour requirement, and on the yield of the maize and of the winter wheat. Comparing the energy requirement to CT system, RT system required 16.1% less, CP system 26.9% less, CM system 40.8% less, while NT system required even 85.1% less energy per hectare. The labour requirement showed that RT system saved 16.4%, while CP system required 20.5% less, CM system 39.5% less labour respectively. NT system saved 82.1% of labour in comparison to CT system. The first year greatest maize yield of 7.78 Mg ha-1 was achieved with CT system, while other systems in comparison to CT system, except RT, achieved not significantly lower yields. The second year greatest winter wheat yield of 5.89 Mg ha-1 achieved CM system, while other systems in comparison to CM, except RT, achieved not significantly lower yields.