Yield and Quality of Soybean Crop under the Influence of Tillage Systems

Camelia Urdă, Alina Șimon, Felicia Chețan, Alin Popa, Adrian Ceclan 

Agricultural Research and Development Station Turda

Keywords: plowing, quality, chisel, yield, soybean.

 Abstract: Soybean is a crop with high requirements for soil tillage and efficient weed management. Therefore, the identification of appropriate methods of soil preparation and weed control are technological links in ensuring high and good - quality yields. A polifactorial experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research and Development Station (ARDS) Turda over two consecutive growing seasons (2024 and 2025), based on the split-plot design. The biological material studied was the soybean variety Felix, sown at 50 cm between rows and 55 g.s./m². The study aimed to assess the stability of yield, thousand kernel weight, and seed quality (oil content, protein content, and fatty acids) under two soil tillage systems (plowing and chisel) and different weed control methods (a control variant without treatment, pre- and post-emergent herbicides for monocots and dicots, as well as combinations with mechanical or manual hoeing). The results obtained in both experimental years indicated a high level of weeding, especially in the non-herbicidal variant, both in the conservative system (chisel) and in the classic ploughing system. Aamong the dominant annual monocot species, Setaria glauca and Echinochloa crus-galli stand out and in perennial dicotyledonous species such as Cirsium arvense are observed. Average yields were higher in the plowing system, while the chisel system provided greater stability in yield capacity. The best results were obtained in variants combining chemical weed control with hoeing, confirming the effectiveness of integrated weed management. The maximum yield (2034 kg/ha) was achieved under plowing with chemical weed control, whereas in the untreated control, yields were 785 kg/ha for plowing and 500 kg/ha for chisel. Thousand kernel weight was similar in both systems (130-145 g), slightly higher and more stable in the chisel system. Seed chemical composition was relatively consistent: the chisel system promoted higher oil content (21.06%) and oleic acid (26.44%), whereas plowing slightly increased protein content (33.93%) and linolenic acid (5.24%). Low coefficients of variation confirmed the high stability of seed quality. In conclusion, the conservative chisel tillage system provided stable yield and quality, while plowing offered a higher productive potential, especially under favorable environmental conditions.

Acknowledgements: This research was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through the ADER 1.4.1. project: “Improving the methods of weed control in soybean crops, in order to increase economic efficiency by reducing the number of treatments and the negative impact on the environment”.