Impact Of Soil Tillage Research Articles

Legume cover crops combined with no-tillage increase extractable sulfur in a subtropical Acrisol

Sandy soils have low sulfur (S) supply capacity and a high potential for loss of the element by leaching. Therefore, it is fundamental to adopt intensive management in the use of S aiming to increase the availability of the element in the soil. This study evaluated the long-term (34 years) impact of soil tillage (CT, conventional tillage; NT, no-tillage) combined with three cropping systems (O/M, oat/maize; V/M, vetch/maize; O+V/M+C, oat+vetch/maize+cowpea), with (180 kg ha–1) or without nitrogen (N) fertilization for the maize crop, on the soil extractable S in a sandy clay loam Acrisol from Southern Brazil. Soil samples were taken from the 0–5, 5–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm layers, and the extractable S was estimated by extraction with 500 mg L–1 of P. The largest soil extractable S in NT occurred with vetch, higher than the oat/maize system to 30 cm depth (11.1 and 7.3 mg dm–3, respectively). The extractable S in the surface layer (0–5 cm) in NT showed a strong relationship (R2 = 0.83) with SOC, increasing 0.85 mg dm–3 for each increment of 1 g kg–1 of SOC. In the absence of N, systems with legume cover crops cycled 1.7 and 2.0 times more S (17 and 22 kg ha–1 yr–1) than in the oat/maize (10 kg ha–1 yr–1). Nitrogen fertilization tripled S removal in grains (73 kg ha–1 O/M-0 to 236 kg ha–1 V/M-180) but did not negatively affect soil extractable S. The S input via formulated fertilization and atmospheric deposition (12.5 and 3.3 kg ha–1 yr–1, respectively) was enough to supply the S removal by maize. However, only in the most intensive and diverse systems was it possible to maintain S availability above the critical level. In sandy soils that naturally have low S supply capacity, it is possible to maintain adequate levels of extractable S when combining NT and legume cover crops that intensify the cycling of S and prevent the loss of nutrient by leaching.

Effects of different soil management styles and cropping practices on the yield and quality of fava bean (Vicia faba L.)

This research aimed to determine the effects of various soil tillage techniques and the use of organic and chemical fertilizers on the overall yield and quality of fava beans. The study emphasized the significance of fertilizer types and their interaction with soil tillage methods. Although the quantity of grains per pod was notably influenced by the choice of fertilizers, the impact of soil tillage alone was found to be insignificant. Moreover, this study demonstrated that the yield index of fava beans was significantly influenced by fertilizer sources, emphasizing the importance of proper nitrogen managements. These findings provide valuable insights for enhancing crop production and quality through optimized soil tillage practices and the use of organic and chemical fertilizers. Through an examination of both the measurable and qualitative elements of fava bean cultivation, this study offers valuable knowledge on how to optimize the application of nitrogen fertilizers and effectively utilize mycorrhizal inoculation to improve grain yield and seed quality. These findings have implications for sustainable agriculture practices and guide farmers and researchers in making informed decisions regarding soil management strategies in fava bean cultivation.

A Heuristic Method to Evaluate the Effect of Soil Tillage on Slope Stability: A Pilot Case in Central Italy

Among the various predisposing factors of rainfall-induced shallow landslides, land use is constantly evolving, being linked to human activities. Between different land uses, improper agricultural practices can have a negative impact on slope stability. Indeed, unsustainable soil tillage can modify the mechanical properties of the soils, leading to a possible increase of the instability phenomena. However, the effects of soil tillage on slope stability are poorly investigated. To address this topic, the PG_TRIGRS model (a probabilistic, geostatistic-based extension of TRIGRS) was applied to a cultivated, landslide-prone area in central Italy, thoroughly studied and periodically monitored through systematic image analysis and field surveys. A heuristic approach was adopted to quantitatively evaluate the effect of soil tillage on the mechanical properties of the soil: after a first run of the model with unbiased parameters, the slope stability analysis was carried out assuming several percentages of reduction of the effective soil cohesion to mimic an increasing impact of soil tillage on the strength conditions. Then, a comparison between observed landslides and the spatial distribution of the probability of failure derived from the application of PG_TRIGRS was carried out. A back analysis with contingency matrix and skill scores was adopted to search for the best compromise between correct and incorrect model outcomes. The results show that soil tillage caused a 20 to 30% reduction in soil cohesion in the analyzed area.

Meta-Analysis Approach to Assess the Effects of Soil Tillage and Fertilization Source under Different Cropping Systems

Crop yield under reduced tillage (RT) practices is a concern for sustainable production worldwide because it is related to different environmental and agronomic factors than conventionally tilled soils. This study aimed to evaluate how climate, soil, and farming practices could affect crop yield under RT, especially under different sources of fertilisation [mineral (M), mineral + organic (MO), and organic (O)]. Multilevel meta-analysis was adopted. The analysis was performed taking into consideration environmental conditions, soil properties, crop rotation, and crop species. Only studies that reported the interaction effect of soil tillage and nutrients management on grain yield were included. The results suggest that the impact of soil tillage and fertilisation sources on crop yield depended on crop species. Using reduced tillage practices, adopting only organic nutrient sources could produce enough grains for legume crops. However, combining both inorganic and organic fertilizers added benefits for cereal crops in terms of grain yield production. This study highlights how conservation tillage practices could be affected by environmental and agronomic factors.

Utjecaj načina obrade tla na prinos i energetsku učinkovitost proizvodnje uljane repice

Budući da se osnovna obrada i priprema tla za sjetvu uljane repice obavljaju u sušnom razdoblju godine, vrlo je važno odabrati pravilan način obrade tla za svako područje, odnosno tip tla. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi utjecaj načina obrade tla na prinos i energetsku učinkovitost proizvodnje uljane repice u agroekološkim uvjetima Podravine. U istraživanje su bile uključene dvije varijante obrade tla za uljanu repicu: 1) konvencionalna obrada - plug, integrirani agregat rotodrljača + sijačica; 2) reducirana obrada - rovilo, integrirani agregat rotodrljača + sijačica. Istraživanje je provedeno na lesiviranom tlu na pijescima kod naselja Dinjevac u Podravini tijekom 2017./2018. godine na parceli ukupne površine 3,5 ha. Na jednoj polovici parcele (1,75 ha) obavljena je konvencionalna obrada tla, a na drugoj polovici (1,75 ha) reducirana obrada tla. Za sve radne operacije obrade tla korišten je traktor Fendt 716 Vario snage motora 118 kW s pogonom na sva četiri kotača. Prilikom svih radnih operacija mjerena je potrošnja goriva volumetrijskom metodom te je izračunat utrošak energije. Na svakoj varijanti obrade tla utvrđen je prinos u tri ponavljanja. Način obrade tla nije imao značajan utjecaj na prinos sjemena, udio ulja u sjemenu i prinos ulja. Reduciranom obradom tla ostvarena je ušteda energije od 387 MJ ha-1, odnosno smanjen utrošak goriva za 10 l ha-1. Stoga je reducirani način obrade tla ekološki prihvatljiviji zbog manje emisije CO2. Reducirana obrada je isplativija i s ekonomskog stajališta jer je u usporedbi s konvencionalnom, ostvaren veći prihod za 282,00 kn ha-1, odnosno 3,42 %.

The impact of soil tillage on nitrate content for cultivation of buckwheat in the Carpathian region of Ukraine

The impact of soil tillage on nitrate content for cultivation of buckwheat in the Carpathian region of Ukraine

The influence of soil compaction and conservation tillage on sunflower’s (Helianthus annuus L.) below ground system

Soil compaction represents an important issue in theactual context of agricultural system sustainability. Research on thevarious developments of root systems under tillage has been exploredfor many crops, whether for the biomass area or the underground,but very little concerns Sunflower ( Helianthus annuus L.). The objectivesof the study were to understand the impact of soil tillage andof the induced mechanically compacted soil on: i) sunflower’s rootsystem architecture, ii) biomass area iii) production. Two complementaryexperiments were realized in the south of France (France’smain sunflower production area). In both experiments, increased resistanceof the soil to penetration was observed, characterizing soilcompaction. Under compacted soil, major changes in the sunflower’sroot architecture occurred (-55% of root length, -67% of root surface,and -42% of root diameter) and root system exploration was negativelyimpacted (assessed through the use of semivariogram). Thisresulted in a decrease of deep root exploration and in an increasedlateral growth. Modifications of leaf surface, biomass, yield, and kernelcomponents were also reported. Those modifications were theconsequences of soil compaction, and suggest a compensatory effectunder such constraint.

Structural disruption of arable soils under laboratory conditions causes minor respiration increases

AbstractPrevious field studies in N Europe have shown that the impact of soil tillage on soil respiration is mostly indirect, caused by altered distribution of plant residues in soil affecting decomposition of residues. Tillage operations alter soil moisture and temperature conditions in soil, which control decomposition dynamics. Experiments under laboratory conditions allow indirect effects of altered residue decomposition to be distinguished from direct effects of mechanical disruption, i.e., the increased exposure of substrates within aggregates and micropores upon tillage. This study examined the effects of physical disruption of soils with different soil texture, land‐use history, and soil organic C content on soil respiration under controlled abiotic conditions. Undisturbed soil samples from 7 sites (arable land and grassland) were incubated at 20°C and three different water potentials (–1, –10, and –30 kPa). Soil respiration was measured before and after physical disruption with laboratory homogenizer, using an automated respiration apparatus. Soil organic C, water content, and bulk density explained 67% of the variation in base respiration. In half of the disrupted samples, bulk density was re‐adjusted by re‐compaction to conditions prevailing before disruption. Disruption and re‐compaction generally resulted in higher respiration flushes than disruption alone. Respiration peaks increased with water content. However, total C losses were small and corresponded to < 0.1 Mg C ha−1. Overall, physical soil disruption increased decomposition of soil organic matter only marginally and temporarily. It would be difficult to detect an effect of tillage on soil organic matter decomposition under field conditions.

VLIV ODLIŠNÉHO ZPRACOVÁNÍ PŮDY NA ZAPLEVELENÍ JARNÍHO JEČMENE V PODMÍNKÁCH SRÁŽKOVĚ SUŠŠÍ OBLASTI ČESKÉ REPUBLIKY

The impact of soil tillage on weeds in spring barley was observed on the field trial. The field trial was established in very warm and dry climatic region (experimental field station in Žabčice, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry Brno, Czech Republic). In the experiment there was used 7-strip crop rotation and three variants of soil tillage: conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT), when soil is shallow loosened and no tillage (NT) what means direct sowing without any soil tillage. The weed infestation was evaluated by counting method before herbicide application. Analysis of va­rian­ce (ANOVA) and then LSD methods, DCA (Detrended Correspondence Analysis) and CCA (Canonical Correspondence Analysis) were used for evaluation of results. The obtained results showed, that different soil tillage did not statistically influenced weed infestation in spring barley. The number of weed species depended on the depth of soil tillage, the variant of minimum tillage had lower number of weed species. These species were more common on the variant of conventional tillage: Chenopodium album, Silene noctiflora, Sinapis arvensis, Veronica polita. The variant of minimum tillage was more suitable for these species: Cirsium arvense, Convolvulus arvensis, Amaranthus sp., Galium aparine. On the variant of direct so­wing there appeared mainly these species: Sonchus oleraceus, Lactuca serriola, Tripleurospermum inodorum.

Impact of soil tillage on the robustness of the genetic component of variation in phosphorus (P) use efficiency in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

To enhance the sustainability of agriculture it is imperative that the use of P-fertilisers by temperate cereal crops be improved. This can be achieved both by agronomic and genetic approaches. While many studies have demonstrated genotypic variation in P-use efficiency in a number of cereal species the robustness of this genetic variation in contrasting environments is rarely considered. In this paper we describe an experiment in which we compare the P-nutrition of winter and spring barley genotypes from an association genetic-mapping population grown in a field trial with different cultivation treatments (conventional plough vs. minimum tillage) which had been established over a number of years. We demonstrate that, while there is significant variation between genotypes in their P nutrition, this variation is not comparable between cultivation treatments and only one winter barley genotype (cv. Gleam) has beneficial P-use efficiency traits in both cultivation systems. Analysis of the association genetic-mapping population demonstrated that there was a strong environmental component in the genotypic variation, with more significant associations of shoot P concentration with known SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) markers when the population was grown in minimum tillage treatments. These data suggest that it may be possible to identify genetic components to variation in P nutrition in barley, but that a large interaction with environmental variables may limit the usefulness of any genes or markers discovered for improving P-use efficiency to the conditions under which the screening was performed.

The association of E. coli and soil particles in overland flow

The removal of E. coli from overland flow under saturation-excess runoff conditions was investigated in experimental field plots that were 1 m wide and 5 m long. Variation in the attenuation of bacteria and distance transported was quantified under contrasting flow conditions. In addition, the impact of soil tillage upon microbial attenuation was examined by comparing results derived from grassed plots (intact) with those subject to tillage with the soil left bare (cultivated). For intact plots subjected to a flow of 2 L/min, 27% of the E. coli in the flow was removed after 5 m with removal following a logarithmic function with respect to distance. For the higher flow rates of 6 L/min and 20 L/min, no attenuation trend was observed over this distance. E. coli removal during flow across the cultivated plots was significantly greater compared to the intact plots. This was attributed to a greater infiltration rate in the cultivated plots (due to the tillage) which promoted a greater volume of flow to pass through the soil matrix, providing the opportunity for filtration and adsorption of microbes. Logarithmic trends with respect to distance were observed for all flow rates tested on the cultivated plots (2, 6 and 20 L/min). Total removal after 5 m at a flow rate of 2 L/min was 41% and again removal efficiency decreased as the flow rate increased. Analysis of the transported state of the E. coli revealed that the bacteria were being transported predominantly in particles less than 20 microm in diameter and were not attached to large (dense) soil particles. The limited removal (< 50%) of bacteria from overland flow under saturation-excess runoff conditions in these experiments appeared, therefore, to be primarily due to a lack of settling or deposition. Instead, most bacteria remained entrained within the overland flow down the length of the plots.

Impact of Soil Tillage and Crop Rotation on Barley (Hordeum vulgare) and Weeds in a Semi‐arid Environment

AbstractExperiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of mouldboard‐ or chisel‐ploughing and rotations on barley crops and associated weeds in a semi‐arid location. Two primary soil tillage operations and eight crop rotation‐tillage operation combinations were evaluated over two successive seasons. Drought conditions prevailed (&lt;152 mm annual precipitation) and affected the measured parameters. Barley grown in mouldboard‐ploughed plots had higher biomass compared with chisel‐ploughed plots. Barley grain yield was greater in mouldboard‐ploughed plots in a fallow‐fallow‐barley rotation. Weed species densities varied between tillage systems and rotations. Density of Hordeum marinum, for example, was high in fallow‐barley‐fallow in chisel‐ploughed plots, and was high under more continuous fallow in mouldboard‐ploughed plots. Similar variations were also observed in weed fresh weights and in numbers of seed produced. The results describe the productivity of barley under extremely dry conditions, where an advantage for mouldboard ploughing was observed. The results also indicate the complexity of weed communities in their response towards different tillage‐rotation combinations.