The effect of tillage systems on soil strength properties and the anchorage moment of winter wheat

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<abstract> <bold>Abstract.</bold> The anchorage provided by the coronal roots of cereal crops is essential to keep the plants upright and prevent them falling over (lodging), the anchorage of wheat depends upon both soil strength and coronal root properties. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of three cultivation systems (zero, shallow and deep tillage) on soil physical properties (bulk density, shear strength and penetration resistance), coronal root development and anchorage strength of winter wheat in a sandy loam soil; additionally the plant above ground mechanical properties were also measured. The results indicated that soil bulk density, shear strength and penetration resistance were significantly affected by cultivation systems with the greatest values (1.34 g cm^-3, 50.1 kPa and 0.943 MPa respectively) for zero tillage compared to shallow and deep tillage results. Likewise, cultivation systems significantly influenced the coronal root properties; number and total length of roots greater than 1 mm diameter, angle of spread and root plate diameter were all significantly greater in zero tillage systems compared to shallow and deep tillage systems. Consequently, the greatest plant anchorage moment of 0.72 Nm was found in zero tillage system in comparison to 0.65 and 0.49 Nm for shallow and deep tillage systems respectively. Additionally, unlike the number of tillers, plant height and center of gravity was found to be less in zero tillage compared to the shallow and deep tillage systems. These initial findings suggest that soil conditions can be optimized to increase anchorage moment and, thereby, reduce the incidence of root lodging.