Tillage systems Flashcards
Effects on soil fertility
- Weather/climate
- Fertilisation
- Crop rotation
- soil cultivation
- Plant growth (yield/quality)
Importance of Seeding and planting
- Seed placement
- vertical: even sowing death
- horizontal: even distribution (small deviations of plant spacing within the row) - Field emergence: high rate
- Plant development: uniform
- yield
objective seedbed and the ideal seedbed
objective: creation of optimal conditions for seed germination and growth of intended crop
Most important properties of seedbed are:
- absorb heavy rain, providing stability against crusting and erosion
- act as a barrier to evaporation
- provide capillary water transport for germinating seeds
- act as a nutrient, water and oxygen reserve
- promote root development
objectives of tillage
- to obtain deep seed bed, suitable for different types 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, pest and their breeding places
- to reduce soil erosion
conventional tillage
Ploughing
Primary tillage (Ploughing):
-
share: penetrates into soil and makes a horizontal cut below the surface
-Mould board: curved, it lifts and turns the furrow slice
-Land side: Flat plate which bears against and transmit the rear side later thrust of the plough (Flache Platte, die an der Rückseite des Pfluges anliegt und den seitlichen Schub des Pfluges überträgt)
-frog: this is where other components of the plough bottom are attached
slatted mouldboards (pro, cons)
Pros:
- suitable for every sticky soils
- works well on heavy soils
cons:
- stones jam between the gaps
Conventional tillage (mouldboard ploughing)
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:
- plough pan/ soil compaction
- clean surface exposes the soil/bare soil (erosion)
- high energy requirement, big machinery (CO2 emission)
- low work rates/time consuming
- Burial/excavation of weed seeds
- Anaerobic conditions (residues, manures)
Conservation tillage (ploughless): objectives of stubble cultivation
- shallow (flach) incorporation of plant residues (seeds, straw, chalks, chaff etc.)
- Preserve soil moisture
- creating good conditions for germination of crops seeds
- erosion control
differences of stubble cultivation
- short stubble/distribution of straw
- stubble cultivation
-disc harrow
-mulch seeding
Conservation tillage (pro,con)
Pros:
■ Less soil compaction
■ Higher soil organic matter 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 requirements
■ 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
direct drilling (no-tillage systems) features
■ 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.
usage of:
- No-till disc seeders
-tine seeder
direct drilling (pro, con)
Pros:
■ (as conservation tillage)
■ Very high work rates
Cons:
■ (as conservation tillage)
■ Low and unstable field emergence
■ Higher weed pressure
conclusions for tillage systems
■ In order to lower cost and necessary energy for tillage consider working shallower.
■ Avoid structural damage at depth.
■ Undertake a thorough financial analysis before finally deciding upon investment
in a reduced tillage system.
■ Do not throw away the plough as you may still need it for weed control.
■ Attempt to achieve the desired soil condition with the minimum amount of energy, time and investment.
