Effects of winter wheat season tillage on soil properties and yield of summer maize

Yunqi Wang, Yinghua Zhang, Zhimin Wang, Hongbin Tao, Shunli Zhou and Pu Wang
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Yunqi Wang: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
Zhimin Wang: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
Hongbin Tao: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
Shunli Zhou: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
Pu Wang: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China

Plant, Soil and Environment, 2017, vol. 63, issue 1, 22-28

Abstract: The North China Plain (NCP) serves as China's second most important maize production region. Rotary tillage, a popular method used in winter wheat/summer maize systems in the region, has adverse effects on maize production. The current study was conducted to determine whether rotary tillage after subsoiling in the winter wheat season (RS) improves the grain-filling rate and yield of summer maize by decreasing soil bulk density, when compared with rotary tillage (R), in the NCP. The RS treatment decreased soil bulk density and increased soil moisture in the summer maize season when compared with the R treatment. Root number under the RS treatment at 8 collar and silking stages was 22.4-35.3% and 8.0-11.7% greater than under the R treatment, respectively. The RS treatment significantly enhanced the grain-filling rate and grain weight as compared to the R treatment. Yield, thousand grain weight, biomass, and harvest index under the RS treatment were 7.7, 7.2, 2.3 and 5.3% higher than under the R treatment. Thousands grain weight was correlated with soil bulk density and soil moisture after silking. Consequently, the increase in grain weight and yield of summer maize resulted from the decrease in soil bulk density and a consequent increase in soil moisture, root number and grain-filling rate.

Keywords: Triticum aestivum; Zea mays; cropping system; soil environment; degradation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:63:y:2017:i:1:id:692-2016-pse

DOI: 10.17221/692/2016-PSE

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