Comparative Analysis of Drought Effects on the Soil Moisture Level and Penetration Resistance in Conventional and Non-Conventional Tillage Systems in Maize Production

István Sojnóczki, János Nagy, Árpád Illés (), István Kecskés and Csaba Bojtor
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István Sojnóczki: Kerpely Kálmán Doctoral School, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
János Nagy: Kerpely Kálmán Doctoral School, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Árpád Illés: Institute of Land Use, Engineering and Precision Farming Technology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
István Kecskés: Kerpely Kálmán Doctoral School, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Csaba Bojtor: Institute of Land Use, Engineering and Precision Farming Technology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: The period of extreme weather anomalies in recent years has challenged farmers, and this has encouraged greater adaptability in farming practices. In the last decade, conventional tillage systems have been complemented by more biologically based cropping systems. The research evaluated the impact of drought on soil physical parameters in maize production by testing different conventional and non-conventional tillage systems to ensure optimal soil physical parameters. In the analysis of the prevailing weather conditions, rainfall values were divided into two parts, the pre-growing season and the growing season. We studied different climatic seasons. In 2021, the soil moisture content in the upper shallow 15 cm soil layer during the sowing period in April in the case of conventional tillage was significantly lower than in reduced tillage, conservation tillage and strip tillage. The most significant difference was measured between conventional and conservation tillage, with a difference of 11.25 v / v %. The 2022 crop year was extremely dry. In June, the highest moisture value in the soil was measured in the case of strip tillage with a value of 21.64 v / v %, which was more than 60% higher than in the case of conventional and conservation tillage. In conventional tillage, a very pronounced compacted layer was observed in the lower part of the ploughed layer. This zone reached a compaction of 6.9 MPa between 28 and 34 cm, which is agronomically harmful. No compacted soil layer was found in the experiment site under conservation tillage. In the severe drought year of 2022, only the strip-till system provided the proper water management conditions for the maize stand.

Keywords: maize; penetration resistance; soil moisture; tillage systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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