The Influence of the Tillage System on Water Conservation and Yield at Maize on ARDS Turda

 Felicia Cheţan

Staţiunea de Cercetare-Dezvoltare Agricolă Turda

Keywords: fertilization, tillage system, maize, yield, water reserve.

Abstract: The experiment was designed and carried out at ARDS Turda and includes four cultivation variants, a conventional system (with plow) in parallel with three unconventional systems (minimum - chisel, minimum - disk and no tillage - direct sowing), in a three-year crop rotation: winter wheat - maize - soybeans, with two levels of fertilization. In unconventional systems, water accumulates in the soil harder, but it is lost more slowly than in the conventional system in which water accumulates more easily but it is lost faster, according to the data recorded by HOBO-MAN station which was incorporated into the soil. The soil temperature is lower especially in no tillage and minimum tillage-disk variants.
Compared to the CS (control) variant in which an average yield of 8134 kg/ha was achieved, a close result (8007 kg/ha) was obtained in the soil processing variant with the boot (MC) and superior to the MD (6741 kg/ha) and NT (5440 kg/ha) systems, they have a very significant negative influence in the formation of the crop, the difference from the CS being between 1394 and 2695 kg/ha. The experimental results also showed that, in this soil area conditions under the soil conditions, the minimum system (chisel variant) can be considered as an alternative to the conventional system, the yield difference (127 kg/ha) between the two systems is insignificant. From the obtained data it is outlined that, in the research area where the soil has high clay content (over 40%), maize is pretentious to the depth of soil processing, the yield data confirming this fact. It should be noted that lower fertilizer doses were used in this experiment (N₅₆P₅₆K₅₆ + N₄₀CaO₁₀), in accordance with the rules of the European Commission’s Green deal Project (20% reduction of chemical fertilizers).