Effects of conventional and strip-till technologies on soil properties

Abstract

Recently, environmentally friendly tillage systems are becoming more and more widespread. One of them is strip-till where it is sown directly into the stubble by cultivating only one-third of the land, and the interrows remain uncultivated. In one pass, the soil is cultivated in a narrow strip, the desired depth is fertilized, and the plants are accurately sown. This technology significantly reduces the cost of seedbed preparation, fuel and time. Plant residues left on the soil surface protect the soil from wind and water erosion, destruction of the soil structure, moisture loss and other negative effects. To that aim, in 2023–2024 in the fields of the Educational Farm of VMU, studies were conducted comparing strip-till with conventional plowing technology. Soil temperature and moisture in the winter rapeseed crop were measured every 3–4 days from the second half of March to the beginning of May. Soil respiration was determined by the amount of CO2 emitted by microorganisms in μg kg-1 h-1 from 20 May until July 15. After harvesting winter rapeseed, the main agrochemical properties of the soil were determined: pH, total nitrogen, mobile phosphorus and potassium levels. Research has shown that the soil warms up more slowly in the spring and is often wetter when strip seeding is used. This is especially true in the interrows where there are a lot of plant residues on the soil surface. However, with higher rainfall, soil moisture was higher in topsoil with ploughing technology, while lower soil temperatures were also found. Plant residues left on the soil surface, under a favourable temperature and humidity regime, stimulate the activity of soil microorganisms. For this reason, soil respiration – CO2 release during the study period was found to be higher when applying strip-till compared to conventional ploughing technology. The agrochemical properties of topsoil did not differ significantly after the winter rape harvest, except for total nitrogen content. Its amount was determined to be significantly higher using conventional plowing technology