Influence of strip-till and conventional plowing on winter rape crop

Abstract

Interest in no-till technologies is growing all over the world, one of which is strip tillage. Strip-till has many advantages compared to traditional sowing machines. One of the biggest advantages is significantly lower soil preparation and sowing costs. Optimum conditions are created for rapid plant germination and rapid development of the root system. When sowing directly into the stubble, moisture is maintained, better conditions are created for overwintering, and plant residues on the soil surface prevent erosion. However, simplified tillage technologies require significantly more knowledge, otherwise you can be disappointed with them. To that aim, in 2023–2024 in the Educational Farm of VMU fields, studies were conducted comparing strip-till with conventional plowing technology. Preparation for wintering was set at the end of October when the weather cooled down. The number of plant leaves, growth cone, mass of the upper part, root length, diameter, root mass and dry matter content were evaluated. The winter rapeseed crop was evaluated before flowering. Plant height, mass of roots, stems and leaves, amount of accumulated nutrients (NPK), and chlorophyll concentration in leaves were determined. After the rapeseed ripened, the research was repeated, and the same parameters as in the previous stage were set. Winter rape plants in strip-till were smaller and less prepared for winter than in the conventional field. Similar results were obtained in the winter rapeseed crop in the beginning flowering stage. In the ploughing technology, the plants were taller, accumulated more nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and a higher concentration of chlorophyll was found in the leaves. Before harvesting, the situation was similar, the plants in strip-till were lower and the yield was lower. However, one of the reasons for the negative results is that after sowing plants with wide spacing, the same rate of seed was sown as when sowing plants with narrow spacing – in ploughing technology. Therefore, the plants more competed with each other and the results were worse. When applying strip-till technology, one should also think about reducing the amount of seeds.