The Effect of Different Types of Soil Tillage and Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) Residue Management on Yield and Yield Components of Wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• M. R Salami ¹
• P Rezvani Moghaddam ¹
• H. R Sharifi ²
• A. R Ghaemi ²
• M Nasiri mahalati ¹

¹ Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

² Center of Agricultural Research and Natural Resources of Khorasan Razavi Province

10.22067/gsc.v15i3.52539

Abstract

Introduction
Low organic matter in arable land is one of the problems in arid and semi-arid regions that can be effective in reducing yield and increasing production costs. Soil organic matter, however, influences several critical soil functions and is affected by land management practices. Soil organic matter enhances water and nutrient holding capacity and improves soil structure. Appropriate soil carbon management can enhance productivity and environmental quality, and can reduce the severity and costs of natural phenomena, such as droughts. In addition, the practice of increasing soil organic matter levels may help in reducing atmospheric CO2 levels that contribute to climate change. Decreases in soil organic matter contents, through cultivation or tillage intensification, are often related to the deterioration of soil structure. Effects include the loss of aggregate stability, increased crust formation, increased runoff and soil erosion, increased soil compaction, slower water infiltration and a slower exchange of water and gasses. Organic matter impacts the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the soil. Soil water holding capacity is controlled primarily by the soil texture, structure and the soil organic matter content. Organic matter can hold up to 20 times its own weight of water as the level of organic matter increases in a soil, the water holding also increases, due to the affinity of organic matter for water. The output of organic matter comprises the organic matter losses or exits, i.e. organic matter that is considered not available for spreading on land or in-situ losses due to soil processes. A certain percentage of organic matter produced will end up in landfills or will be used in bio-energy plants. Conversation tillage approaches and plant residue management could play an effective role on sustainable production of agro ecosystems, environment and lower input application through its direct effect on soil physical and chemical criteria.
Materials and Methods
The field experiment was conducted in the Agricultural Research Station of Jolge Rokh, Khorasan Razavi province, Iran in an area of 1.5 hectares of land which was under sugar beet cultivation in the previous year, during the 2013-2014 growing season. Experimental design was split plot based on Randomized complete block design with three replications. Three soil tillage types comprising conventional tillage (moldboard plow, disk, leveler, furrower and planting with seeder), reduced tillage (packer chisel, cyclo-tiller and planting with seed drills) and no tillage (direct seeding with GASPARDO pneumatic seed drills) and three residue management (no residue remaining of 30 and 60 percentage of residues) were considered as main and sub-plot, respectively. Wheat cultivar was used the Mihan. For residue management treatments, 30 and 60 percent residue of the sugar beets grown in the previous season and was conserved and managed in the soil.
Results and Discussion
No significant effect was observed among tillage types according to plant height, number of spike per square meter, spike height, number of seed per spike and harvest index, while the difference between biological yield, seed weight per spike, 1000-seed weight and seed yield were significant. Result showed that, use of tillage operations led to favorable conditions for plant growth and height. In the other hand no significant change was shown in plant height with increasing residue, possibly due to incomplete decomposition of plant residue and stabilization of nutrients, especially nitrogen. The highest and the lowest wheat seed yield were obtained in these two types of tillage. No significant effect was observed on any of the studies parameters. Different tillage treatments had the significant effect on biological yield. Biological yield increased with reduced tillage. Tillage operations had significant influence on grain weight per spike. The highest and the lowest seed weight per spike were related to reduced tillage and conventional treatments.
Conclusions
Generally, biological yield was increased as tillage intensity was decreased, but remaining sugar beet residues had no effect on this parameter.

Keywords

• Agro ecosystems
• Conventional tillage
• no-till
• reduced tillage

20.1001.1.20081472.1396.15.3.15.3

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