Effect of tillage, soil surface management and calcium peroxide on soil properties and performance of some tropical grain crops
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Date
1998
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Two field experiments were conducted at two localities on the IITA. farm to investigate the effects of tillage, residue management and soil surface manipulations; and oxygen supply on soil properties
and the performance of some tropical grain crops.The localities were lowland planted with rice and upland planted with maize,soybeans and cowpeas. The treatments for the lowland rice experiment were tillage operations (puddling and zero - tillage), residue management (with and without burning) and oxygen supply (with and without oxygen) using calcium peroxide.The experiment was a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial arranged in a randomized conplete block design with three repl i cat ions • Puddling resulted in higher grain yield than zero 一 tillage.However,all the other crop growth parameters were not influenced by the tillage operations.Burning the residues significantly inproved
the rate of seedling emergence, mean period to ultimate emergence and number of seedlings that attained ultimate establishment.However,it reduced plant height and the number of tillers per plant.Under both till age systems oxygen supply did not affect the performance and yield of rice regardless of whether the residues were left on the soil surface unburnt or burnt.The treatments for the upland crops experiment were oxygen supply and soi 1 surface manipulations which included bare surface, mulch cover alone, or in combination with either chiselling or conpaction. The perimental design was a split plot' with three replications.Mulch ex-in combination with compaction increased soil bulk density and reduced total porosity at seedling emergence.It also reduced water infil-tration before sowing and at harvest conpared to the other soil surface manipulations.
Oxygen supply alone generally had no significant effect on plant height and leaf production of maize, soybeans and cowpeas. However, it only enhanced percentage of seedling establishment and root growth of cowpeas, but suppressed root weight of maize.Reduction in growth of maize, soybeans and cowpeas was general ly more marked when the soi 1 was mulched and
conpacted.Mulching in combination with chiselling, on the other hand, inproved the growth of the crops.Super inposing oxygen supply on soil 1 surface manipulations significantly influenced seedling emergence and establishment, and root growth of soybeans and cowpeas For exanple, 09 inproved rate of seedl ing emergence and 2-percentage of seedling establishment in soybeans across all the soi 1 surface manipulations, except v^ien mulch was combined with chiselling.
However, oxygen supply delayed the mean period to ultimate seedling emergence in soybeans on the bare or conpacted and mulched soi 1.While oxygen supply shortened mean period to
ultimate emergence in cowpeas, v^ien the surface was mulched, it pro 1 onged it Mien the surface was mulched and contacted.The supply of oxygen also inproved soybeans lateral root length and root density on the mulched and contacted soi 1.Cowpea tap root length was markedly enhanced by oxygen supply under mulch alone arid mulch in combination with chiselling.On the other hand, cowpea root density was depressed by a mul ch-chi sell ing combination.Grain yields of niaize, soybeans and cowpeas were not affected by oxygen supply alone or in combination with any of the surface manipul at ions.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Upland crops, Lowland rice production, Bulk density, Zero-tillage