In this study a comparison of the soil CO2 fluxes emitted from two maize (Zea mays L.) fields with the same soil type was performed. Each field was treated with a different tillage technique: conventional tillage (30 cm depth ploughing) and no-tillage. Measurements were performed in the Po Valley (Italy) from September to October 2012, covering both pre- and postharvesting conditions, by means ...

Roots may respond to restrictive soil physical conditions and send signals to shoots to control plant growth. Soil mechanical resistance and aeration can be managed to improve the soil physical conditions for plant growth by using different tillage systems. The objective of this study was to quantify the influence of no-tillage and conventional-tillage systems on plant response to soil mechanic...

In maize growing technologies, tillage technological operations are the most time-consuming and require the greatest fuel input. Substitution of conventional tillage, involving deep ploughing, by other reduced tillage methods can reduce technological production costs, diminish soil degradation and environmental pollution from greenhouse gas emissions, as well as improve economic competitiveness...

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of drying and wetting (DW) cycles on soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralisation and on the priming effect (PE) induced by the addition of (13)C-labelled wheat straw to long-term no-tillage (NT) and conventional-tillage (CT) soils. We observed that the SOC mineralisation rate in rewetted soils was greater than that in soils that were kept ...

The paper focuses on conservation agriculture (CA), defined as minimal soil disturbance (no-till, NT) and permanent soil cover (mulch) combined with rotations, as a more sustainable cultivation system for the future. Cultivation and tillage play an important role in agriculture. The benefits of tillage in agriculture are explored before introducing conservation tillage (CT), a practice that was...

Agricultural productivity relies on a wide range of ecosystem services provided by the soil biota. Plowing is a fundamental component of conventional farming, but long-term detrimental effects such as soil erosion and loss of soil organic matter have been recognized. Moving towards more sustainable management practices such as reduced tillage or crop residue retention can reduce these detriment...

The qualitative parameters of tillage with tools disk working bodies are influenced by a variety structural, technological and operational factors. One these is the uniformity depth tillage, influencing factors include relief field, speed movement, method fastening others. article presents an overview ways attaching individual to frame their effect on depth. It proposed use combined statistical...

Decisions about reducing agricultural land tillage to offset global warming potential (GWP) are based on the evaluation of the agricultural eco-system and the profitability to local farms. Carbon sequestration and nitrous oxide emissions from winter wheat (WW) cropping were evaluated by modeling typical dryland cropping systems in eastern Washington. Variations in rainfall, tillage intensity an...

A field experiment with six treatments was conducted to study the nitrogen reserves in summer maize topsoil on the north China plain. Results showed that topdressing significantly increased topsoil nitrogen reserves. Summer corn topsoil nitrogen reserves were affected by several management measures. Shallow tillage, wheat straw no-returning and deep intertillage at the corn seedling stage signi...

Soil thermal conductivity determines how a soil warms or cools with exchange of energy by conduction, convection, and radiation. The ability to monitor soil thermal conductivity is an important tool in managing the soil temperature regime to affect seed germination and crop growth. In this study, the temperature-by-time data was obtained using a single probe device to determine the soil thermal...