Influence of different tillage systems on soil physical properties and crop yield

Abstract

An experiment with five different tillage systems and their influence on physical properties of a silty loam soil (Albic Luvisol) was carried in northwest Slavonia in the period of 1997–2000. The compared tillage systems were: 1. conventional tillage (CT), 2. reduced tillage (RT), 3. conservation tillage I (CP), 4. conservation tillage II (CM), 5. no-tillage system (NT). The crop rotation was soybean (Glycine max L.) – winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) – soybean – winter wheat. Differences between tillage systems in bulk density, total porosity, and water holding capacity and air capacity were not significant in winter wheat seasons. In soybean seasons, significant differences between some tillage systems were recorded in bulk density, total porosity, air capacity and soil moisture. The deterioration trend of physical properties was generally increasing in the order CM, CT, CP, NT and RT. The highest yield of soybean in the first experimental year was achieved under CT system and the lowest under CP system. In all other experimental years, the highest yield of winter wheat and soybean was achieved under CM system, while the lowest under RT system.