Three-Year Investigation of Tillage Management on the Soil Physical Environment, Earthworm Populations and Crop Yields in Croatia
The aim of this study was to determine the environmental suitability of conservation tillage systems. A 3-year experiment was conducted in Croatia, to study the effects of different tillage treatments on soil properties, with the following: deep (DC), shallow tine cultivation (SC) and ploughing (P)....
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/5/825 |
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| author | Igor Dekemati Barbara Simon Igor Bogunovic Szergej Vinogradov Maimela Maxwell Modiba Csaba Gyuricza Márta Birkás |
| author_facet | Igor Dekemati Barbara Simon Igor Bogunovic Szergej Vinogradov Maimela Maxwell Modiba Csaba Gyuricza Márta Birkás |
| author_sort | Igor Dekemati |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of this study was to determine the environmental suitability of conservation tillage systems. A 3-year experiment was conducted in Croatia, to study the effects of different tillage treatments on soil properties, with the following: deep (DC), shallow tine cultivation (SC) and ploughing (P). Soil penetration resistance (SPR) was significantly greater in P compared to DC in all three years. In 2016, it was found at 30–40 and 40–50 cm; in 2017 at 10–20 cm; in 2018 at 0–10 and 10–20 cm. However, SC was significantly greater at 20–30, 30–40 and 40–50 cm compared to P and DC in 2017. The greater surface coverage in DC and SC (>30%) as compared to P (<1%) provided significantly higher soil moisture content (SMC) in maize (2016) and soybean (2018). In 2017, SMC in SC was significantly lower than in P and DC. Regarding all the 3 years, the agronomic structure in DC and SC had significantly greater crumb ratio compared to P, whereas P had significantly higher dust ratio than DC and SC. Throughout the 15 measurements, DC provided the most favorable soil habitat (11 occasions out of 15). In 2017, the earthworm abundance was significantly higher in DC compared to SC. In all the three years, DC resulted the highest yield, however the difference was not significant. Higher surface coverage and SMC positively impacted the ratio of agronomic structure (decreased dust and increased crumb ratio) and earthworm abundance. It can be concluded that DC and SC provided greater soil coverage which positively affected SPR, SMC, agronomic structure and earthworm abundance as compared to P. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:04:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5a021a620c9480c9588aaeb6dd17f43 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:04:00Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5a021a620c9480c9588aaeb6dd17f432023-11-21T16:44:14ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952021-04-0111582510.3390/agronomy11050825Three-Year Investigation of Tillage Management on the Soil Physical Environment, Earthworm Populations and Crop Yields in CroatiaIgor Dekemati0Barbara Simon1Igor Bogunovic2Szergej Vinogradov3Maimela Maxwell Modiba4Csaba Gyuricza5Márta Birkás6Department of Agronomy, Institute of Crop Production Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Soil Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of General Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Economics and Methodology, Institute of Economics, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Agronomy, Institute of Crop Production Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Agronomy, Institute of Crop Production Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Agronomy, Institute of Crop Production Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryThe aim of this study was to determine the environmental suitability of conservation tillage systems. A 3-year experiment was conducted in Croatia, to study the effects of different tillage treatments on soil properties, with the following: deep (DC), shallow tine cultivation (SC) and ploughing (P). Soil penetration resistance (SPR) was significantly greater in P compared to DC in all three years. In 2016, it was found at 30–40 and 40–50 cm; in 2017 at 10–20 cm; in 2018 at 0–10 and 10–20 cm. However, SC was significantly greater at 20–30, 30–40 and 40–50 cm compared to P and DC in 2017. The greater surface coverage in DC and SC (>30%) as compared to P (<1%) provided significantly higher soil moisture content (SMC) in maize (2016) and soybean (2018). In 2017, SMC in SC was significantly lower than in P and DC. Regarding all the 3 years, the agronomic structure in DC and SC had significantly greater crumb ratio compared to P, whereas P had significantly higher dust ratio than DC and SC. Throughout the 15 measurements, DC provided the most favorable soil habitat (11 occasions out of 15). In 2017, the earthworm abundance was significantly higher in DC compared to SC. In all the three years, DC resulted the highest yield, however the difference was not significant. Higher surface coverage and SMC positively impacted the ratio of agronomic structure (decreased dust and increased crumb ratio) and earthworm abundance. It can be concluded that DC and SC provided greater soil coverage which positively affected SPR, SMC, agronomic structure and earthworm abundance as compared to P.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/5/825tillagesoil penetration resistancesoil moisture contentagronomic structureearthwormscrop yield |
| spellingShingle | Igor Dekemati Barbara Simon Igor Bogunovic Szergej Vinogradov Maimela Maxwell Modiba Csaba Gyuricza Márta Birkás Three-Year Investigation of Tillage Management on the Soil Physical Environment, Earthworm Populations and Crop Yields in Croatia Agronomy tillage soil penetration resistance soil moisture content agronomic structure earthworms crop yield |
| title | Three-Year Investigation of Tillage Management on the Soil Physical Environment, Earthworm Populations and Crop Yields in Croatia |
| title_full | Three-Year Investigation of Tillage Management on the Soil Physical Environment, Earthworm Populations and Crop Yields in Croatia |
| title_fullStr | Three-Year Investigation of Tillage Management on the Soil Physical Environment, Earthworm Populations and Crop Yields in Croatia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Three-Year Investigation of Tillage Management on the Soil Physical Environment, Earthworm Populations and Crop Yields in Croatia |
| title_short | Three-Year Investigation of Tillage Management on the Soil Physical Environment, Earthworm Populations and Crop Yields in Croatia |
| title_sort | three year investigation of tillage management on the soil physical environment earthworm populations and crop yields in croatia |
| topic | tillage soil penetration resistance soil moisture content agronomic structure earthworms crop yield |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/5/825 |
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