Agronomic Factors Research Articles

Agronomic factors are the dominant influence on nitrogen fertilizer strategies in dryland cropping systems

Factors affecting fertilizer decisions made by grain growers are changing in the context of changing climatic conditions and growing volatility in global fertilizer and grain markets. To ensure sustainable development of grain industries in light of this uncertainty, research, development, extension, and adoption activities associated with growers’ fertilizer decisions need to be focused on factors to which they are most sensitive. The aim of this paper is to understand the factors that have the greatest influence on grain producer’s fertilizer strategies, how these factors have changed over recent years, and what is the relative importance of agronomic, socioeconomic, and logistical factors affecting these strategies. A telephone survey of 425 grain-growing businesses in Western Australia was conducted, and survey results were analyzed statistically. We show for the first time that grain growers’ fertilizer decisions are most sensitive to agronomic factors (especially the amount and distribution of rainfall). Logistic factors (such as difficulties fertilizing increasing areas in short periods of time) are growing in influence as farm size, cropping areas, and the number of fertilizer applications within seasons increase. Fertilizer decisions have become less sensitive to socioeconomic factors over the last 10 to 15 years. To ensure sustainable development of grain production, research through to adoption activities should focus on agronomic issues (such as seasonal forecasting) and logistic issues (such as improving planning, organizational, and technical capacity for developing and implementing fertilizer strategies).

Impact of traditional and innovative malaxation techniques and technologies on nutritional and sensory quality of virgin olive oil – A review

Virgin olive oil (VOO) nutritional and sensory quality depends on several aspects, including mechanical extraction technology: in this regard, malaxation conditions play a pivotal role since the major transformations linked to phenolic compounds (PC) and volatile compounds (VC) development and degradation take place during this step. Most of the reported studies state that malaxation should be carried out at temperature ranging 18–27°C for 30–40 min: this allows PC solubilization in the oil phase, the production of secoiridoid derivatives, and the development of aroma-active aldehydes, alcohols, and esters, limiting both PC losses and the generation of undesired VC. Reducing oxygen concentration in the headspace up to 5% helps to preserve the phenolic fraction, but slightly impairs VC generation. The use of pectolytic enzyme preparations and the application of innovative technologies like pulsed electric fields and ultrasound promote cell damages, and thereby the release of enzymes and micro-components. This review prioritizes the importance of further research aimed at defining specific optimization charts for each olive cultivar and maturity level, due to the relevant impact of genetics and agronomical factors. Furthermore, kneading conditions may be defined also depending on the desired quality of VOO, e.g., antioxidant power and/or bitterness level.

A review of the genetic, physiological, and agronomic factors influencing secondary dormancy levels and seed vigour in Brassica napus L.

Dormancy in canola ( Brassica napus L.) is a complicated process due to many overlapping and interacting factors affecting the absolute dormancy levels. It is unknown if seed dormancy plays a role in the poor stand establishment of planted canola but given that germination and dormancy are two ends of the same continuum, it has been suggested that dormancy may be a culprit of poor establishment. This review synthesizes literature pertaining to secondary dormancy in B. napus and the interaction of genetic, physiological, environmental, and agronomic factors. Seed germination and vigour and the interaction with dormancy are also addressed. The persistence of volunteer canola seed in the soil seedbank is a result of the induction of canola seed into secondary dormancy under adverse environmental conditions such as low temperature or low light. Genetics is a major influencing factor on absolute secondary dormancy (∼50%) in canola. Plant hormones abscisic acid and gibberellic acid and their interactions also influence dormancy with highly dormant genotypes having increased abscisic acid concentration in the seed. Seed sugars, seed storage proteins, glucosinolate content, and growth habit are all additional factors affecting absolute dormancy in B. napus. Furthermore, maternal environmental conditions affect dormancy levels. In addition to genetic, physiological, and environmental factors, farming practices such as harvest timing, and tillage regimes can influence secondary dormancy of canola seed that has entered the seedbank unintentionally. Given the documented high heritability of secondary dormancy, it is feasible to reduce secondary dormancy in canola cultivars; however, consideration of all interacting factors must be given.

Gender Inequality in the Cocoa Supply Chain: Evidence from Smallholder Production in Ecuador and Uganda

Most cocoa is grown by smallholder farmers whose livelihoods depend largely on the income from cocoa. Today, cocoa production must increasingly comply with social and environmental requirements as the worldwide demand for sustainably produced cocoa is growing steadily. There is, however, insufficient information available on whether the sourced cocoa is produced under gender-equitable conditions. We address this by examining two cocoa supply chains using our own sex-disaggregated survey data from producing communities in Ecuador and Uganda that supply the Swiss market, using descriptive and inferential statistics. Our results show that women in Uganda were highly involved in cocoa production on both male and female managed farms, but their decision-making power was limited to female managed farms. In Ecuador, women were moderately engaged in decision-making yet participated less in cocoa production. Our log-linear regression analyses for both cases showed substantial differences in annual cocoa revenues of farms managed by women compared to those managed by men. Several socio-economic and agronomic factors for which women face structural inequalities largely explain the revenue gap, such as poorer access to productive resources. Indeed, our findings suggest that cocoa production is characterised by high levels of gender inequality, suggesting that private and public sustainability efforts do not sufficiently address gender discrimination. These findings can help design interventions for more gender-equitable rural development that address the complexity of disadvantages in the local context. Offering gender-specific trainings within private programs and promoting women's access to credit by the public sector represent first steps towards gender equality.

Production of Chinese Medicinal Herbs in North America: Challenge and Reconciliation

As the practice of traditional Chinese medicine developed in the United States since the 1970s, evidence has accumulated suggesting that an undetermined number of the herbs of the Chinese Materia Medica could be produced in North America. While some attempts have been made to establish production, growers are inhibited by lack of access to capital and technical support. The evidence in support of US domestic production – including (1) historical, (2) sociological, (3) ecological, and (4) agronomic factors – is reviewed. Economic obstacles to this type of production are described, as directly experienced by the farmers, Chinese herbal medicine practitioners, and organizers involved. When analyzed in reference to current trends, however, these economic obstacles appear, at least potentially, as temporary. Because popular demand supported the rise of traditional Chinese medicine practice and the growth of organic food production, these social movements could expand and promote conditions that favor domestic production of Chinese herbs.

Bread-Making Potential and Yielding of Hybrid Wheat Under Varied Agronomic and Environmental Factors

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of simplified tillage systems (RT, NT) in comparison with conventional tillage (CT) on technological grain quality and baking value, as well as of hybrid wheat grown under variable weather conditions. A three-year field trial experiment was conducted using a randomised block design, in triplicate. The factors studied were as follows: I - three tillage systems - no-tillage (NT), reduced (RT), and conventional (CT); II - two winter wheat cultivars ‘Hylux’ (cv. hybrid) and for comparison ‘Bogatka’ (cv. common). The use of CT and RT tillage systems compared to NT significantly increased yield by 8.9 and 7.7%, respectively, and selected grain quality parameters along with a more favorable gluten protein profile. The flour obtained, with water absorption above 58.0%, can be classified as strong flour with good farinographic and alveograph parameters. The genetic characteristics of the wheat cultivars determined the technological quality of the grain and the baking value, as well as the grain yield. For ‘Hylux’ cv. hybrid wheat, there was a higher yield and better grain quality, which contained significantly more gliadins and glutenins, and the flour was characterised by higher parameters that determine the preferred viscoelastic properties of the dough. The common ‘Bogatka’ wheat cv. accumulated higher contents of ω gliadins and LMW and HMW glutenin subunits in the grain, while for α/β and γ gliadin contents the difference was not significant. A fairly dry period (June–July) of wheat ripening reduced the grain yield but was favourable for higher values of quality characteristics, gluten protein fractions, as well as the farinographic (WAF, DDT, DS) and alveograph (W, P, L) parameters.

Fruit quality of Vitis vinifera: How plant metabolites are affected by genetic, environmental, and agronomic factors

Vitis vinifera is a deciduous woody vine of the genus Vitis. Its fruit is sweet, nutritious, and well-liked by consumers. Consumer demand for grape quality is growing as people's living standards improve. Therefore, boosting grape fruit quality has become a major research direction in response to market growth and is an essential aim of modern agricultural grape production. The fruit quality of grapes is the total of several great attributes that suit people's demands, and the quality characteristics that people focus on are appearance (color) and intrinsic qualities (sugar, acidity, and flavor). This study reviews the research on important grape qualities at home and abroad in the past 10 years. The focus is on the grape quality indicators of color, flavor, and secondary metabolic components. This study discusses the regulatory mechanism of grape anthocyanins (structural genes, transcription factors, and non-coding RNAs), sugar regulation mechanism (enzymes related to sucrose metabolism, three types of transporters), organic acid regulation mechanism (malic, citric, and tartaric acid metabolism), and abiotic stress (light, temperature, water, nutrients, and hormones), and their effects on grape quality. Studying the important quality composition and regulation mechanism of grapes is important for the development and utilization of high-quality grape variety resources.

Influence of Seeding Rates on Seed yield, Oil Content, Oil Yield and other Yield Attributes of four Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L), Varieties in Horo Guduru District, Western Ethiopia

Seed rate is one of the agronomic factors that decreases seed yield by subjecting plants to lodging and competition. The field experiment was conducted in 2019/20, and 2020/2GC main cropping seasons on Harato and Gitilo sites to determine the effect of seeding rates on seed yield and oil percentages and to evaluate the interaction effect of varieties and seed rates on seed yields, oil percentages, and yield attributes. The experiment consisted of four linseed varieties (Belay, Berene, Kuma, and local) and five seed rates (20, 25, 30, 20 35, and 40 kg ha−1). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design and replicated three times. The results revealed that seed yield, oil percentage, oil yield, capsules per plant, thousand seed weight, dry biomass, and straw yield of linseed were significantly (p < 0.01) influenced by the main effect of seed rates and varieties. While seed yield, oil percentage, and oil yield had significantly (p < 0.05) affected by the interaction of varieties by seed rate. Maximum seed yield was obtained from improved varieties of Kuma (1819 kg ha−1) at 35 kg ha− 1, but the lowest seed yield recorded from improved varieties and local cultivar at 20 kg ha−1. The highest oil percentage (41.38%) was recorded on Kuma variety at the seed rate of 20 kg ha−1, but the lowest oil percentage (35.15% and 35.96%) had obtained from local cultivar at 35 and 40 kg ha−1. Therefore, the findings suggested that Kuma variety of linseed was the highest yielder at 35 kg ha-! seed rates, while the oil percentage of the varieties decline as seed rate increased. Thus sowing Kuma variety at 35 kg ha_! seed rates can be recommended at the study area and similar agro ecology.

Optimizing cultivars and agricultural management practices can enhance soybean yield in Northeast China

Soybean is an important oil crop in China, and the national focus of soybean production is Northeast China. Crop yield is affected by climate, cultivars and agricultural management practices. Optimizing the composite impacts of these factors on soybean yield and yield gaps is crucial for the local agricultural community. In this study, we used the DSSAT-CROPGRO-Soybean model (validated based on longer-than-20-years agro-meteorological experiments data) to simulate the potential yield (Yp), attainable yield (Ya), and potential farmer's yield (Ypf) of soybean for 56 counties from 1981 to 2017 in Northeast China. Combined with actual farmer's yield (Yf), we computed different types of yield gaps. Furthermore, we optimized cultivars, agricultural management practices, and those interactions on soybean yield and yield gaps. On county-level, the Yp, Ya, Ypf and Yf averaged 5528.9, 4762.9, 3786.8 and 1918.8 kg ha−1, respectively. The total yield gap between Yf and Yp was 63.8 % of Yp. The yield gap between Ya and Yp was 12.8 %, which caused by uncontrollable factors; the yield gap between Ypf and Ya was 17.6 %, which caused by agronomic factors; and the yield gap between Yf and Ypf was 33.5 %, which caused by socioeconomic factors. During 1981–2017, climate, cultivar, sowing date and plant density change affected Ypf by −7.5, 4.5, −3.0 and − 2.0 %, respectively. By optimizing cultivar, sowing date and plant density, Ypf would increase by 13.1, 7.9 and 3.1 % and yield gap would close by 9.2, 5.6 and 2.1 %, respectively. By comprehensively optimizing cultivar, sowing date and plant density, Ypf would increase by 19.4 % and yield gap would close by 13.7 %. This work has practical significance for understanding climate, cultivar and agricultural management impacts on soybean yield, and demonstrates an effective approach, by optimizing cultivars and agricultural management practices to address climate change, increase yield and close yield gaps.

A suite of agronomic factors can offset the effects of climate variability on rainfed maize production in Kenya

Achieving food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a multidimensional challenge. SSA reliance on food imports is expected to grow in the coming decades to meet the population's demand, projected to double to over 2 billion people by 2050. In addition, climate change is already affecting food production and supply chains across the region. Addressing these multiple food security challenges will necessitate rapid enhancements in agricultural productivity, which is influenced by a host of demographic, agronomic, and climatic factors. We use statistical approaches to examine rainfed maize in Kenya, where maize cultivation and consumption are widespread and central to livelihoods and national food security. We find that improving a suite of agronomic factors, such as applying fertilizer, planting certified seeds, and extension services, will have a greater effect on rainfed maize productivity than demographics and can offset the effects of climate change. These findings could also offer insights into similar challenges for other crops in Kenya and other SSA countries.

Predicting field diseases caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum: A review

AbstractPredicting diseases caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in field crops remains difficult, and published literature is largely inconsistent in finding significant relationships with environmental and agronomic factors for various life stages of the fungus. A scoping review was performed to synthesize the current quantitative insights into the role of the environment on the life cycle of S. sclerotiorum and the relationships between various life stages of the fungus and final disease expression under field conditions. For most variables, relationships with stages of the life cycle showed a wide range of responses ranging from closely related (high correlations or r2 values) to not related at all. The effects were often moderated by year, location and/or the presence of another variable such as irrigation, soil type, row spacing or cultivar. Studies that based analysis on a more nuanced understanding of pathogen biology rather than looking only at linear relationships tended to find stronger associations between variables. Yield was consistently negatively associated with disease levels, but cultivar, year, location and planting density were all important determinants of yield. Suggestions for improvement to future research in predictive model development of S. sclerotiorum diseases are discussed.

Effects of environmental and agronomic factors on pond water quality within an intensive agricultural landscape in subtropical southern China

Water quality deterioration, such as eutrophication, can contribute to the degradation of farm pond ecosystems, threatening numerous ecological services and socioeconomic benefits. However, the variability of water quality and the complexity of influencing variables pose large uncertainties for pond management practices and watershed planning. This study integrated a self-organizing map (SOM) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to evaluate the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) variations in 39 typical farm ponds in the Dongting Lake basin, and related the variations to pond internal factors, external environment, and agronomic management. The results indicated that 39 monitored farm ponds faced a high risk of eutrophication owing to high N and P levels, and that total N (TN), total P (TP), and particulate P (PP) generally exceeded the threshold of level V surface water quality standards in China (2.0 mg N L−1 and 0.2 mg P L−1). Simultaneously, pond water quality showed high spatiotemporal variability, and pollution hotspots occurred mostly during the overlapping periods of fallow-dry-winter and planting-rainy-spring. Based on the constructed SEM model, external environmental factors (meteorology, catchment landscape composition, configuration, topography, and soil chemical properties), pond internal characteristics, and agronomic management combined explained 60.2 ± 2.9 % and 54.2 ± 3.1 % of the N and P variations, respectively. There were intricate interactions among the above latent variables, including such meteorology positively moderated the paths of soil chemical properties→pond P and landscape composition→pond N and P; landscape composition, soil, and pond internal characteristics mediated the effects of other variables on variations of N and P. The total effects (indirect effects + direct effects) of landscape composition on the variations of pond N and P were higher than those of other variables. Among all the indicators composing latent variables, agricultural and residential land area percentage, rainfall, water depth, and fish farming were relatively important in pond water quality variations. The constructed model and analytical results offer essential information for the accurate management and restoration of pond water quality.

Impact of sowing dates on different growth attributes and yield of wheat in North Western Himalayas

Sowing time is an important agronomic factor that significantly affects plant growth, development and yield. Similarly, suitable cultivar also plays an appreciable role in final productivity. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the Impact of sowing dates and varieties on different growth attributes and yield of wheat in North Western Himalayas. A Field experiment were conducted at Hill Agricultural Research and Extension Centre (HAREC), Bajaura (1074m altitude) and HAREC, Dhaulakuan (411m altitude) during rabi season of 2016-17 which comprises of three dates of sowings (25th October, 25th November, 25th December) and four varieties (HS-542, HS-490, HPW-349, VL-907) which was laid down in Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with three replications. Altitude plays a major role at both the locations and found that with decrease in temperature in delayed sowing the number of days taken to complete the physiological maturity decreased in all the dates and at all the locations. For grain and straw yield, Bajaura was found to be the most suitable location, showing significant superiority over all other locations. 25th October and 25th November sowings being at par with each other was significantly higher than 25th December sowing at all the locations. Among varieties, VL-907, HS-542 and HPW-349 being at par with each other had significantly higher grain and straw yield than HS-490. Bajaura gave significantly more number of effective tillers/m2 and emergence count. Sowing at 25th October and 25th November being at par with each other gave significantly more number of plants per metre square than 25th December sowing at both of the locations.

Distribution, Ecological Factors, Molecular Diversity, and Specific PCR for Major Species of Pin Nematodes (Paratylenchus spp.) in Prunus Plantations in Spain.

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and distribution of Paratylenchus species in the main areas of Prunus spp. production in Spain, their ecological constraints, and new molecular tools for the specific identification of major species. Pin nematodes are recognized as plant-parasitic nematodes with a wide host range and global distribution. Therefore, understanding the environmental and agronomic factors involved in their distribution is critical to design environmental and sustainable management strategies to reduce plant damage. A total of 219 sampling sites were surveyed and 12 Paratylenchus species were identified based on an integrative taxonomic approach (P.baldaccii, P. enigmaticus, P. goodeyi, P. hamatus, P. holdemani, P. indalus, P. israelensis, P. pedrami, P. tateae, P. tenuicaudatus, P.veruculatus, and P. zurgenerus). The most common pin nematode was P. hamatus, followed by P. tenuicaudatus. Nematode abundance was influenced by climatic characteristics, soil chemical properties, and agronomic management practices. Nine explanatory variables were selected as the most strongly associated with Paratylenchus distribution. Specifically, P. tenuicaudatus was significantly correlated with soil chemical characteristics, such as pH and carbon, sulfur, and sodium content, whereas P. goodeyi was closely related to fields with <10 years of almond cultivation. Species-specific PCRs were developed for P. hamatus and P. tenuicaudatus and their validity was evaluated studying the molecular variability of these species and against other Paratylenchus species.

The influence of olive tree fertilization on the phenols in virgin olive oils. A review

The total phenols in virgin olive oil are highly dependent on cultivar, but also on ripening stage and other agronomic factors. The focus of most studies on agronomic factors has been irrigation, while fertilization has received less attention. Most of the fertilization works find that nitrogen over-fertilization leads to a decrease in phenol contents in virgin olive oil (VOO) and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), under rain-fed or irrigation management. Ortho-diphenols also decrease with high doses of nitrogen, with no effect on secoiridoids. Phosphorous has a minor effect on irrigated trees; while the role of potassium is controversial, with a lack of trials with calcium and micro-nutrients. Due to the great impact of the fertilization on the phenol content and quality of VOO, new research is necessary with focus aimed at different cultivars and agronomic factors.

Influence of Agronomic Factors on Mycotoxin Contamination in Maize and Changes during a 10-Day Harvest-Till-Drying Simulation Period: A Different Perspective.

Agronomic factors can affect mycotoxin contamination of maize, one of the most produced cereals. Maize is usually harvested at 18% moisture, but it is not microbiologically stable until it reaches 14% moisture at the drying plants. We studied how three agronomic factors (crop diversification, tillage system and nitrogen fertilization rate) can affect fungal and mycotoxin contamination (deoxynivalenol and fumonisins B1 and B2) in maize at harvest. In addition, changes in maize during a simulated harvest-till-drying period were studied. DON content at harvest was higher for maize under intensive tillage than using direct drilling (2695 and 474 μg kg−1, respectively). We found two reasons for this: (i) soil crusting in intensive tillage plots caused the formation of pools of water that created high air humidity conditions, favouring the development of DON-producing moulds; (ii) the population of Lumbricus terrestris, an earthworm that would indirectly minimize fungal infection and mycotoxin production on maize kernels, is reduced in intensive tillage plots. Therefore, direct drilling is a better approach than intensive tillage for both preventing DON contamination and preserving soil quality. Concerning the simulated harvest-till-drying period, DON significantly increased between storage days 0 and 5. Water activity dropped on the 4th day, below the threshold for DON production (around 0.91). From our perspective, this study constitutes a step forward towards understanding the relationships between agronomic factors and mycotoxin contamination in maize, and towards improving food safety.

Diversity of plant-parasitic nematode communities infesting olive orchards in Tunisia in relation to agronomic factors

Diversity of plant-parasitic nematode communities infesting olive orchards in Tunisia in relation to agronomic factors

Agronomic Improvements, Not Climate, Underpin Recent Rice Yield Gains in Changing Environments

Food security depends not only on the extent of climate change but also on the compensatory potentials of agronomic improvements. However, the separate contribution of these agronomic factors to rice yield remains largely unknown. Here we distinguished the impacts and relative contributions on rice yield based on statistical models and machine learning by using an observation database collected from 52 agro-meteorological stations in China from 1981 to 2018. Agronomic improvements are responsible for more than 40% of the observed rice yield change, ranging from 42.9% to 96.5% in different cropping types, and the effect increased with the latitude. Among the management considered, sowing date adjustment contributes most to late and early rice yield. Response of rice yield to nighttime temperature was stronger than that to daytime temperature, and wind speed is the main climatic contributing factor to early rice yield. The effects of wind speed on rice yield should be considered for the adaptation measures. This observation-based evidence may help guide agricultural priorities in mitigating the impact of climate change on rice yield.

Authenticity in Olive Oils from an Empeltre Clonal Selection in Aragon (Spain): How Environmental, Agronomic, and Genetic Factors Affect Sterol Composition.

Sterol composition is used as a “fingerprint” to demonstrate the authenticity of olive oils. Our study’s objective was to exhaustively characterize the sterol composition of Empeltre olive oils from clonal selection during the ripening period in 2017, 2018, and 2019. We likewise assessed the influence of crop year, fruit ripening, and clonal selection on the oils’ regulatory compliance in terms of sterol composition. Empeltre olive oils were shown to have medium-range β-sitosterol and Δ5-avenasterol content, along with elevated amounts of campesterol and Δ7-stigmastenol. A total of 26% and 12% of the samples were non-compliant in terms of apparent β-sitosterol and Δ7-stigmastenol, respectively. Crop year was the most influential factor in the case of most sterols. Clone type was the least influential factor, except in the case of campesterol. Olive maturity was only significant for Δ7-sterols. We likewise applied a discriminant analysis, with “crop year” as the grouping variable: 94.9% of the oils were thereby classified correctly.

EDEM Simulation Study on the Performance of a Mechanized Ditching Device for Codonopsis Planting

Codonopsis pilosula is cultivated mainly in sandy soils, especially in the Dingxi area of the Gansu province, northwest China. They are mainly planted in hilly areas, where large machines cannot reach easily. Codonopsis pilosula transplanting has been adopted with a conventional flat planting way, film mulching and seedling outcrops. While its planting requires opening a shallow ditch, short operation cycle, considerable labor intensity and is in large demand, a simulation analysis was performed according to specific tillage resistance, helpful in the optimization design in later stages and the improvement of a domestic ditching plow’s performance. This paper studies the simulation performance of an adjustable trench plough and analyzes the orthogonal test and Design-Expert response surface of the data. EDEM simulation software was used to analyze the traction resistance of the furrow ditching mechanism in the ditching process. The results show that the traction resistance increased from 1751.31 N to 2197.31 N as the simulation working speed increased from 0.9 m/s to 1.5 m/s, 1.25 times higher than the former. It indicates that speed had significant effects on traction resistance. With the increase in working speed, the furrow traction resistance and specific consumed power were increased considerably. Using the stability coefficient of the ditching depth and consistency coefficient of ditching bottom width as test indices, speed and angle of furrowing as impact factors, Box–Behnken orthogonal experiment design method, and establishing test indices and test factors, the regression model between the analysis of the influence of the test index, comprehensive agronomic requirements and MATLAB factor optimization of the experiment, the optimized operation parameter combination was obtained: the forward speed was 0.9 m/s, the angle of ditching was 35° and the stability coefficient of the ditching depth and consistency coefficient of ditch bottom width were 97.57% and 98.03%, respectively. The data after the simulation comparison test can provide a design reference for the domestic small trench operation.