Effect of Different Tillage and Residue Management Options on Soil Water Transmission and Mechanical Behavior

Vicky Singh, Rajeev Kumar Gupta (), M. S. Kahlon, A. S. Toor, K. B. Singh, Nadhir Al-Ansari () and Mohamed A. Mattar
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Vicky Singh: Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, Punjab, India
Rajeev Kumar Gupta: School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar 144001, Punjab, India
M. S. Kahlon: Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, Punjab, India
A. S. Toor: Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, Punjab, India
K. B. Singh: Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, Punjab, India
Nadhir Al-Ansari: Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Lulea University of Technology, 97187 Lulea, Sweden
Mohamed A. Mattar: Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: Understanding the variability in the mechanical and hydrological soil characteristics resulting from diverse tillage and residue management practices is essential for evaluating the adoption of conservation strategies to preserve soil’s physical well-being. Zero-tillage techniques combined with residue retention or incorporation have gained widespread recognition for their capacity to conserve soil and water resources, reduce energy consumption, and enhance soil quality and environmental sustainability. Nevertheless, the choice of tillage and residue management options may vary depending on the geographical locations and specific soil conditions. To assess the impacts of four distinct tillage and residue management approaches, a two-year experiment (2020–2021 and 2021–2022) was conducted: T1: conventional tillage followed by wheat sowing after the removal of rice straw (CT-RS); T2: zero tillage with wheat sowing using a Happy Seeder while retaining rice straw (ZT+RS); T3: conventional tillage followed by wheat sowing after rice straw incorporation using a reversible mouldboard plough (CT+RS); T4: minimum tillage with wheat sowing using a Super Seeder with rice straw incorporation (MT+RS); the effects were recorded on the physical soil properties. Our findings indicate that zero tillage combined with residue retention (T2) had a positive influence on various physical soil attributes. Notably, significant differences were observed among the tillage and residue management options, particularly in terms of the bulk density with T1 exhibiting the highest values and the lowest being in T2, whereas the soil penetration resistance was lowest in T3 compared to T1. In the case of T3, sandy loam and clay loam soils had the highest measured saturated hydraulic conductivity values, measuring 5.08 and 4.57 cm h −1 and 4.07 and 3.73 cm h −1 , respectively. Furthermore, T2 (zero tillage with residue retention) demonstrated the highest mean weight diameter (MWD) and maximum water stable aggregate. These results collectively underscore the positive effects of adopting zero tillage and retaining residue (T2) on soil structure and quality, particularly concerning the mechanical and hydrological soil properties.

Keywords: soil structure; penetration resistance; bulk density; moisture content; residuemanagement; soil water transmission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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