The effects of tillage and intra-row compaction on seedbed properties and red lentil emergence under dry land conditions

Abstract A two year-field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of three tillage treatments and three intra-row compaction levels on physical properties of seedbed and red lentil emergence in dry soil condition. The tillage treatments were: (1) conventional tillage (moldboard plow + disk harrow + float - CT); (2) reduced tillage 1 (horizontal axis rotary tiller - RT1); (3) reduced tillage 2 (vertical axis rotary tiller with roller - RT2). Intra-row compaction levels were: (1) no compaction (C0), (2) 60 kPa compaction (C1) and (3) 90 kPa compaction (C2). Tillage systems and intra-row compaction levels had significant effects on seedbed properties and seed emergence. In both years, while the maximum aggregate size observed using the RT1 system was between 1 and 8 mm, the CT system caused the highest MWD. The RT1 tillage system and C2 compaction level had a tendency of giving higher water holding capacity and water availability. RT2 and C2 treatments caused higher cone indexes and bulk density values than RT1 and CT. CT and C0 levels tend to decrease the cone index and bulk density at the top layer of soil. The only factor affected by soil tillage systems in both years was the mean emergence time (MET). For both growing seasons, the highest MET was found in CT and the lowest in RT2 and RT1 tillage systems. However, soil tillage systems and intra-row compaction levels both affected the percentage of seedling emergence (PE). While plots tilled with RT2 produced the maximum PE, the CT tillage system illustrated the minimum. Intra row compaction clearly enhanced PE values.

[1]  B. J. Atwell,et al.  Response of roots to mechanical impedance , 1993 .

[2]  L. N. Mielke,et al.  Fractal description of soil fragmentation for various tillage methods and crop sequences. , 1993 .

[3]  G. Lafond,et al.  The effects of tillage systems and crop sequences on soil bulk density and penetration resistance on a clay soil in southern Saskatchewan , 1993 .

[4]  C. Baker,et al.  The effects of tillage and zero-tillage systems on soil aggregates in a silt loam , 1977 .

[5]  Inge Håkansson,et al.  A review of research on seedbed preparation for small grains in Sweden , 2002 .

[6]  R. Berntsen,et al.  Soil fragmentation and the efficiency of tillage implements , 2002 .

[7]  Jean Roger-Estrade,et al.  A review of tillage effects on crop residue management, seedbed conditions and seedling establishment , 2001 .

[8]  W. Voorhees,et al.  Effect of Preplant Wheel Traffic on Soil Compaction, Water Use, and Growth of Spring Wheat 1 , 1985 .

[9]  K. Carman.  Effect of different tillage systems on soil properties and wheat yield in Middle Anatolia , 1997 .

[10]  S. Tessier,et al.  Soil compaction reduction with a modified one-way disker , 1997 .

[11]  Daniel Hillel,et al.  Introduction to soil physics , 1982 .

[12]  T. Gemtos,et al.  Effects of Soil Compaction, Water and Organic Matter Contents on Emergence and Initial Plant Growth of Cotton and Sugar Beet , 1997 .

[13]  Donald C. Erbach,et al.  Measurement of Soil Bulk Density and Moisture , 1987 .

[14]  J. S. Adeoti,et al.  Tillage effects on differently compacted soil and on cotton yield in Nigeria , 1986 .

[15]  H. G. Yavuzcan.  Wheel traffic impact on soil conditions as influenced by tillage system in Central Anatolia , 2000 .

[16]  F. Selles,et al.  Seedling emergence as influenced by aggregate size, bulk density, and penetration resistance of the seedbed , 1995 .

[17]  P. Unger,et al.  Tillage effects on soil properties and crop production in the subhumid and semiarid Argentinean Pampas , 1998 .

[18]  K. M. Adam,et al.  SECONDARY TILLAGE TOOL EFFECT ON SOIL AGGREGATION , 1992 .

[19]  M. Shafiq,et al.  Soil physical properties as influenced by induced compaction under laboratory and field conditions , 1994 .

[20]  Thomas R. Way,et al.  Effects of Various Planters on Emergence and Seed Distribution Uniformity of Sunflower , 2007 .

[21]  R. B. Reneau,et al.  Root growth as influenced by aggregate size , 1987, Plant and Soil.

[22]  D. C. Erbach,et al.  Tilth index: an approach to quantifying soil tilth. , 1992 .

[23]  R. E. Sojka,et al.  Enhancement of Subsoiling Effect on Soil Strength by Conservation Tillage , 1987 .

[24]  Jerzy Lipiec,et al.  A review of the usefulness of relative bulk density values in studies of soil structure and compaction , 2000 .

[25]  G. Spoor,et al.  Effect of soil macroporosity and aggregate size on seed-soil contact , 1996 .

[26]  Je McPhee,et al.  The effect of initial soil water content and tillage implement on seedbed formation , 1991 .

[27]  Y. Gan,et al.  Relative date of wheat seedling emergence and its impact on grain yield , 1992 .

[28]  Robert Wilkinson,et al.  Plant-environment interactions , 2000 .

[29]  J. L. Arrúe,et al.  Growth, yield and water use efficiency of winter barley in response to conservation tillage in a semi-arid region of Spain , 1997 .

[30]  Mohammad Reza Mosaddeghi,et al.  Soil compactibility as affected by soil moisture content and farmyard manure in central Iran , 2000 .