Impact of reduced tillage on spring oil seed rape, winter wheat, maize and spring barley production in Lithuania

Abstract

Climate and soil conditions strongly effects impact of reduced tillage systems on productivity of agricultural crops. Plenty scientific investigations conclude that the most positive effect of tillage reduction was found in warm arid climate conditions. A long-term stationary field experiment (30 years) was performed at the Experimental Station of the Aleksandras Stulginskis University (ASU, 54º52′ N, 23º49′ E) on silty light loam Endohypogleyic-Eutric Planosol and in semi humid (about 650 mm annual precipitation rate) subarctic climate (annual average temperature 6.5-7.2° C) conditions. Sugar beet, maize and faba bean crops were investigated. Five different primary tillage systems were tested: conventional (22–25 cm) and shallow ploughing (12–15 cm) with a mouldboard plough, chiselling (25- 30 cm), disking (10-12 cm) and no-till. According to the results of investigations, long-term reduced tillage mainly had no significant effect of crop productivity. No-till system slightly decreased crop productivity because of problems with seed germination in untilled stubble of winter wheat. However, differences were weak and mostly insignificant.[...]