Influence of tillage depth of a cultivator on the incorporation of crop residues of winter barley in a chernozem soil

Abstract

Summary Although crop residues contribute to erosion control, the influence of the tillage depth (TD) on their incorporation has not been studied extensively. The main objective of this study was to determine the differences in the amount and distribution of incorporated crop residues and surface residue coverage if the TD of a cultivator is varied (0.10, 0.20, or 0.30 m). The experiment was carried out on a chernozem soil with winter barley residues in 2016 in Groß-Enzersdorf (Lower Austria). Individual soil cores, each 0.05 m long, were removed using a special device. No significant differences were observed for the incorporated crop residues up to a depth of 0.35 m between the three TDs. The mean values of the incorporated crop residues at a TD of 0.10, 0.20, or 0.30 m were 11.64, 13.30, and 10.82 t/ha, respectively. The distribution of crop residues in the individual depth segments (DSs) showed a main concentration of more than 90% at a depth of 0.10 m and a significant decrease in deeper layers. This stratification was independent of the TD. Therefore, a shallower TD is sufficient for straw management on a chernozem soil in the production area of Marchfeld, which also enables a reduction in draft and, consequently, fuel consumption and processing costs.

A Strip-Till One-Pass System as a Component of Conservation Agriculture

“…More residues are left with reduced tillage, although the amount depends on the particular method used. According to Mairhofer et al [52], after tilling with a cultivator, about 10-25% of residues remained on the surface, depending on depth of tillage. Tillage and sowing using the ST-OP system with 36 cm strip spacing, as carried out in our research, resulted in 62.7-74.7% of residues remaining on the field surface after wheat, and 75.7-82.0% after maize.…”

Strategic tillage in Australian conservation agricultural systems to address soil constraints: How does it impact weed management?

“…Likewise, Staricka et al (1991) reported that mouldboard‐ploughing incorporated oat residue to a depth of 28 cm while chisel and disk ploughing incorporated the residues to 10 cm. Mairhofer et al (2019) demonstrated that spatial distribution of barley straw residue was unaffected by the increased tillage depth (10, 20 and 30 cm) in a chernozem soil, as more than 90% of the incorporated straw remained concentrated within the top 10 cm. These studies also reported highly clustered residue arrangement and patchy distribution with many voids without crop residue along with the tilled layer.…”