Productivity and grain quality of winter wheat under different tillage and fertilisation of typical chernozem soil

Abstract

Аіm. To show the comparative productivity and quality parameters of winter wheat grain under No-till system in the first year of application with systematic surface tillage and minimum ploughing in grain 5-field crop rotation in the central part of the Forest-Steppe. Methods. Field, laboratory, comparative and calculation. Results. In the autumn period, under minimum tillage by systematic ploughing, the density was in the range of 1.08–1.13 g/cm3 with a total porosity of 57–59% and a ratio of categories of moisture to air pores of 0.6–0.7 to 1 with K = 1.33–1.44. Under the No-till system for ploughing, the density of the structure was at the optimum level (1.08–1.18 g/cm3) with a porosity of 55–59% and a ratio of 0.4–0.6 to 1 with = 1.22–1.44. Under systematic surface tillage, the structure density was in the range of 1.02–1.14 g/cm3 with differentiation of 0–30 cm of soil layer: loose (1.02 g/cm3) – compacted (1.14 g/cm3) – loosened (1.12 g/cm3), which is closer to the optimal value than under ploughing and No-till tillage system. The total consumption of productive moisture reserves in parts of a metre thick layer was higher from the 50–100 cm layer: under ploughing – 61%, No-till tillage – 62%, surface tillage – 56%, No-till tillage – 61%, which can be explained by the developed root system of winter wheat in autumn. Under ploughing and surface tillage, the yield of wheat grain was the same, while under No-till, the yield of winter wheat grain was significantly lower by 1.08–1.27 t/ha and 1.62-2.06 t/ha, or by 19.0-21.3% and 24-31%. Under ploughing and surface tillage – protein 13.2–13.5%, crude gluten – 25.2–25.6%, and under No-till 12.5–12.7% and 24.2–25.4%, respectively. Conclusions. The analysis of crop yields under different methods of cultivation and fertilisation showed that in the first year of application of No-till systems, compared to ploughing and surface tillage, their low efficiency was revealed.