Tillage Flashcards
What are the components of a mouldboard plough?
Share (Schar): penetrates into the soil and makes a horizontal cut below the surface
Mould board (Streichblech): It is curved, it lifts and turns the furrow slice
Land side: Flat plate, which bears against and transmits the rear side lateral thrust of the plough
Frog: This is where other components of the plough bottom are attached
mould board =Streichbrett
Land side = Anlage
Frog =
share = Schar
What characterizes a stratified seedbed?
- Absorbs heavy rain, providing stability against crusting and erosion
- Acts as a barrier to evaporation
- Provides capillary water transport for
germinating seeds - Acts as a nutrient, water and oxygen reserve
- Promote root development
Why is onland-ploughing better for the soil than normal mounted mouldboard ploughing?
In on-land ploughing, the plough is set to run parallel to the furrows, meaning it doesn’t overlap the previously ploughed land. This prevents soil compaction within the furrows and minimizes soil disturbance, which can help maintain soil structure and reduce erosion.
It allows for better water infiltration and retention because it leaves the soil surface more intact, reducing runoff and erosion.
Tractors with wider tires or caterpillar tracks can be used for onland ploughing. This reduces the ground pressure in the deeper soil layers and avoids a plough pan
What are the pros and cons of conventional tillage?
Pros:
- Clean surface
- Good burial of weeds/ plant residues/ manure
- Inverting the soil (nutrients)
- Good yields
- Increase porosity and aeration
- All soil types
- Comprehensive experience
- Less disease problems
Cons:
- Soil compaction
- Clean surface exposes the soil/ bare soil (erosion)
- High energy rqt/ big machinary (CO2)
- Time consuming
- Burial/excavation of weed seeds
- Can create anaerobic conditions (residues, manure)
How to brake up soil compaction?
- Controlled Traffic Farming (Improvement of soil structure (no compaction)) due to permanent tracks
- subsoiling (deep ploughing without destorying surface soil)
- covercrops (also add organic matter) and rotating crops: different crops with different root depths
- reduced tillage in the first place
- Aeration techniques and natural helpers like organic matter and earthworms
What are the advantages of conservation tillage?
- Less soil compaction
- Higher SOM content
- Better load carrying capacity
- Non-inverting top soil (less erosion, keeping natural layer system)
- Preserving soil-moisture and soil structure
- Better soil hydraulic conductivity
- Increase of soil biological activity
- Less energy rqts
- Higher work rates/high capacity
- No burial of weed seeds
cons:
■ Plant residues interfere seeding operation
■ More perennial weeds and diseases / needs adapted crop rotation
■ Low experienced system
■ Preference for heavy soils
What are the disadvantages of conservation tillage?
- Plant residues interfere with seeding operation
- More perennial weeds and diseases/needs adapted crop rotation
- Low experienced system
- Preference for heavy soils
How does the earthworm population change with the use of no-till?
increases
What are the disadvantages of no-tillage systems?
■ (as conservation tillage)
■ Low and unstable field emergence
■ Higher weed pressure
objectives of tillage
To obtain deep seed bed, suitable for different type of crops.
To add more **humus and fertility **to soil by covering the vegetation.
To destroy and prevent weeds.
To aerate the soil for proper growth of crops.
To increase water-absorbing capacity of the soil.
To destroy the insects, pests and their breeding places.
To reduce soil erosion.
features of no-tillage
■ Crop residues are distributed evenly and left on the soil surface.
■ No implements are used (a) to turn the soil over, (b) to cultivate the crops or (c)
to incorporate the crop residues into the soil.
■ Weeds and cover crops are controlled by a pre-seeding application of herbicides.
■ A specialised seeder is used to insert the seeds and fertilisers into the soil with
minimum disturbance. Generally seed sowing is done when soil moisture content
is adequate for seed germination but not so high that the large tractor and planter
would compact the soil.
■ Crop rotation is fundamental to no-tillage because it helps to minimise weed,
insect, and disease populations that increase when the same crop is grown year
after year on the same ground.
