Productivity elements in conservative and conventional tillage systems

Abstract

We have studied productivity elements - soil moisture, agro-physical properties, soil disturbance, edaphic volume and the root system in the conservative non-tillage system as compared to the traditional system - ploughing. The experiments included 7 soles and 3 agrocoenoses - winter wheat, maize as a repeated culture (34 years), rotation of maize and beans. The soil from the studied agricultural ecosystem is sandy loam carbonate chernozem, the content of physic loam ((<0.01 mm) is 22-25%. It was stated that soil moisture in the conservative no-tillage system is directly influenced by agrocoenoses, the stage of plant development and more compact horizons (20-30 cm) greatly favour the location of the root system closer to the surface, which causes the inhomogeneity of water content available on the soil profile. The data showed that we should study water on the whole humified profile in the conservative tillage system. We found out that the no-tillage conservative system increases water reserves in soil during the periods subject to pedologic droughts. It is more evident, when cultivated crops, such as maize, are planted. There was identified a close correlation between penetration resistance and bulk density of the ecosystem soil - winter wheat (r = 0.73-0.78). We have also noticed that the weight of winter wheat roots in the conservative tillage system is 1266 g/m2, as compared to the traditional ploughing (1017 g/m2). In the farming year 2014-2015, a year of great droughts according to hydrothermal indices (Seleaninov), the agricultural ecosystem of winter wheat, preceded by winter barley showed a higher level of productivity (2809 kg/ha) in the no-tillage system as compared to the ploughing (1789 kg/ha). We have found out that crop productivity and moisture in agrocoenoses are influenced by a forecrop, tillage system and conditions of the root system.