Soil sealing and soil water content under no‐tillage and conventional tillage in irrigated corn: Effects on grain yield

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to analyse the effect of soil management on soil sealing and on soil water content under contrasting tillage practices and its influence on corn yield. The experimental research was carried out in a field cultivated with irrigated corn differentiated into three zones representing a gradient of soil texture (Z1, Z2, and Z3, i.e., increasingly coarser). Two plots under different soil management practices (conventional intensive tillage, CT, and no‐tillage, NT) were selected in each zone. The susceptibility to sealing of each soil and the steady infiltration rates were evaluated in the laboratory subjecting the soils to rainfall simulation applied at an intensity of 25 mm h−1. In addition, soil porosity under each treatment was quantified. Soil water content (0–90 cm depth) was determined gravimetrically at the beginning and the end of the growing cycle and at the surface (0–5 cm) during three growing seasons and continuously at two depths (5–15 and 50–60 cm) during the last growing cycle. Soil water content was simulated using the SIMPEL model, which was calibrated for the experimental conditions. Corn yield and above‐ground biomass were also analysed. Significant differences in soil sealing among zones, with decreasing soil sealing for coarser textures, and treatments were observed with infiltration rates that were near twice in NT than in CT, being the effect of soil cover significant in the reduction of soil detachment and soil losses. NT showed higher soil water content than CT, especially in the surface layers. Above‐ground biomass production was smaller in CT than in NT, and in the areas with higher sealing susceptibility was 30% to 45% smaller than in other zones, reaching the smallest values in Z1. A similar reduction in corn yield was observed between treatments being smaller in CT than in NT. No‐tillage has been confirmed as an effective technique that benefits soil physical properties as well as crop yields in relation to CT, being its impact greater in soils susceptible to sealing.

Experimental Comparison of Runoff Generation and Initial Soil Erosion Between Vineyards and Croplands of Eastern Croatia: A Case Study

“…83 High SC in Run may be attributed to the effect of tillage practices that generally reduce the size of MWD 51 and increase the vulnerability of soil particles to be detached by raindrop impact. This is especially evident in plowed soils, 14 as we observed in our work (Tables 1 and 2). However, low BD usually decreases Run, 83 although our results showed differently.…”

“…8,9,12 Nowadays, despite a few exceptions, most of the studies conducted to study soil erosion were focused on 1 land-use type. 13,14 Therefore, it is necessary to determine the impact of land use and the respective managements on soil erosion and identify which land uses and practices are more detrimental to the soil. This could be beneficial to identify areas and propose measures to achieve better sustainable management and land degradation neutrality.…”

Spatio-temporal variation of surface soil hydraulic properties under different tillage and maize-based crop sequences in a Mediterranean area

“…Surface crusting is an indicator of land degradation for a variety of reasons. For instance, it impaired infiltration and percolation (Souza et al 2014;Alagna et al 2019), which generates runoff and erodes the soil surface (Wu et al 2016), limiting solute and gas transport, seedling emergence, and root penetration (Baumhardt et al 2004;Gabriel et al 2021), and ultimately reducing crop yields (Souza et al 2014;Ramos et al 2019). Soil inherent properties like silt and clay content, and exchangeable sodium percentage increases the likelihood of soil sealing and crusting, while aggregate stability, organic matter content and electrolyte concentration reduces it (Agassi et al 1981;Vandervaere et al 1997;Šimůnek et al 1998;Chen et al 2013).…”

“…L.) together with summer crops (maize, Zea mays L., or sunflower, Helianthus annuus L.) enhanced the soil surface conditions and prevent the crust formation under reduced tillage in a long-term field experiment in Spain. However, studies on soil crusting were conducted separately to determine the differences between vegetation cover and bare or fallow conditions (Neave and Rayburg 2007;Ries and Hirt 2008;Gabriel et al 2021), as well as various tillage treatments (Usón and Poch 2000;Wu et al 2016;Ramos et al 2019). Yet, there is a knowledge gap on soil crusting effects on soil hydro-physical properties under different tillage and crop sequences.…”

Effects of Biochar Combined with Nitrogen Fertilizer Reduction on Rapeseed Yield and Soil Aggregate Stability in Upland of Purple Soils

“…Soil aggregates are the material basis of soil fertility by reducing soil erosion, adjusting air permeability, water infiltration and nutrient cycling [1,2] and contributing to soil functions. It regulates soil physical, chemical and biological processes, and thus affects the function of soil organic matter and fertility [3].…”