Seed coating and tillage effects on sesame stand establishment and planter performance for single seed sowing

Shapeless, tiny, and rough seeds impede improved planter performance, which may result in improper plant stand establishment. As a solution to this problem, seed coating techniques have been applied. In this study, four coated and one uncoated (naked) sesame seed treatments were tested to determine their effect on accuracy of plant stand establishment and planter performance in single seed sowing under different tillage conditions. Seedbed treatments were composed of traditional tillage without crop residue and conservation tillage with wheat stubble. To analyze plant establishment accuracy and planter performance, spacing between plants within a row and plant emergence per day were measured. The measurements were used to calculate the feed index, multiples index, skip index, precision, emergence rate index, mean emergence date, and the percentage of emergence. The results showed that seed treatments had a significant effect on plant stand establishment, emergence uniformity, and planter performance in single seed sowing of sesame. The coating delayed seed germination, therefore the naked sesame seeds had the most rapid emergence and the maximum percentage of emergence. Nevertheless, quality of feed index, multiples index, and precision of the coated seeds were better than that of uncoated seeds. The coated sesame seeds with a diameter less than 3.5 mm were better in terms of quality of feed index, multiples index, and precision depending on coating material. The precision was 16.25% to 19.19%, indicating that the planter performance was better than a previously published upper limit value of 29%. The parameters were not affected statistically by tillage treatments. However, the precision of the planter was better on traditional plots due to proper soil and seed contact. © 2008 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

Tillage effects on some soil physical properties in a semi-arid mediterranean region of Turkey

Throughout the world, degradation of soil has become an environmental problem which limits the sustainability of agriculture and decreases soil productivity. The main reason of degradation is either over cultivation or the utilization of improper tillage methods. Therefore, tillage practices play a crucial role in chemical, biological and physical properties of agricultural soils. This role was determined often by using indicators of soil quality such as bulk density, aggregate stability, plant available water, organic carbon content, soil compaction and other properties. The aim of this field study was to examine the effects of different tillage systems on some soil characteristics in the semi-arid Mediterranean coastal plain of Turkey. In the research, the following six different tillage systems were tested: conventional tillage with residue incorporated (CTR), conventional tillage with residue burned (CTB), minimum tillage with heavy tandem disc harrow (MTD), minimum tillage with rotary tiller (MTR), minimum tillage with heavy tandem disc harrow for the first crop + no-tillage for the second crop (MNT), and no tillage (NT). The experiment was initiated with summer soybean, followed by winter wheat and summer corn and ended with winter wheat production. Bulk density, aggregate stability, organic matter content and soil penetration resistance were evaluated as indicators of soil quality in this study. Conservation tillage systems (MT and NT) improved organic carbon content and aggregate stability of the soil. The different tillage systems showed a significant effect with respect to the amount of organic matter and aggregate stability in the soil. Organic matter values were lower (49-60%) under CT practices and residue burning accelerated the loss of organic carbon content. The highest aggregate stability values were found for NT (over 38%). Penetration resistance and bulk density of the tilled soils (CT and MT) were lower than in no-tillage plots (MNT and NT), bulk density was 1.26-1.32 g/cm3 in CT at all soil depths. The trials showed that, conservation tillage practices (MT and NT) can provide better soil characteristic values than conventional practices in the semiarid soils of the Mediterranean coastal plain. Copyright © 2017, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l

Effect of seed coating on the accuracy of single-seed sowing of sesame under field conditions

Sesame seed treatments consisted of 2 different coatings and uncoated seeds. These were tested to determine their effect on accuracy of plant spacing after emergence in single-seed sowing under different field conditions. Seedbed treatments were composed of traditional tillage without crop residue and conservative tillage with wheat stubble. To quantify plant spacing accuracy and emergence uniformity, spacing between plants within a row and plant emergence per day were measured. The measurements were used to calculate the quality of feed index, multiples index, skip index, precision, emergence rate index, mean emergence date and the percentage of emergence. It was concluded that seed treatments had a significant effect on multiples index and skip index of horizontal distribution pattern and emergence rate index, mean emergence date and the emergence percentage. The coating acted negatively on seed germination and led to missing plants and less plant spacing uniformity in the row. The shortest emergence date and maximum percentage of emergence and quality of feed index were obtained with uncoated sesame seeds. The parameters, except emergence rate index, were not affected statistically by tillage treatments. It was found that all seeds emerged in less time on conservation tillage plots with stubble. © CSIRO 2006

Different tillage systems affect plant emergence, stand establishment and yield in wheat-corn rotation

In this study, we compared the conventional and conservation tillage systems in terms of their effects on plant emergence and stand establishment. The systems consisted of conventional tillage with stubble burning (CT1), conventional tillage with stubble (CT2), minimum tillage with stubble (MT), combination of minimum and no tillage (MNT) and notillage (NT). The tillage treatments were used for Balatilla domestic wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and Pioneer Brand corn (Zea mays L.) cultivars under crop rotation. Mean emergence day (MED), emergence rate index (ERI), percentage emergence (PE), multiple index (MI), skip index (SI), quality of feed index (QFI), mean spacing between plants for corn and plant density for wheat were evaluated for uniformity of plant emergence and stand establishment. ERI and PE were significantly higher under CT and MT compared with MNT and NT treatments in corn. Plant emergence in conventional tillage plots occurred faster with over 95% emergence. Tillage treatments also affected SI, QFI and mean plant spacing, but not MI. The best SI, QFI and plant spacing were recorded in the CT and MT treatments. Uniformity of plant stand in the tilled plots, CT and MT were better than that in no-tillage. No-till treatment had the poorest stand establishment. In wheat, the highest plant density was obtained under CT and MT treatments. Based on the average of 2 yr, the highest yield of wheat was obtained under CT and the lowest in NT. Corn yield had similar results. The trend in yield for both crops also followed that of the results for stand establishment and emergence parameters. The lower yield in no-till was related to the weaker plant emergence and stand establishment. The comparable effect of MT with CT suggests that MT can be an alternative tillage method for sustainable agriculture

Tillage effects on soil quality indicators in the semi-arid Mediterranean Coastal Plain of Turkey

Tillage affects the chemical, biological and physical properties of agricultural soils and influences several soil quality indicators. We examined the effects of different tillage systems on selected soil quality indicators in the semi-arid Mediterranean Coastal Plain of Turkey. Five tillage practices were evaluated: conventional tillage with stubble burning (CT1), conventional tillage with stubble (CT2), minimum tillage (MT), rotational tillage (RT) and no-tillage (NT). The tillage treatments were used for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum), summer corn (Zea mays) and crop rotation of corn and winter wheat. Bulk density, aggregate stability, plant available water, wilting point, field capacity water, organic carbon content and penetration resistance of the soil were evaluated. Conservation tillage systems (MT, RT and NT) increased organic carbon content, aggregate stability and plant available water. Comparisons between samples collected in 2004 and 2006 showed that MT increased organic carbon by 7% at a soil depth of 0-10 cm whereas RT increased it by 10-20% at a depth of 0-20 cm. Aggregate stability was improved by 8-21% in the CT2, MT, RT and NT plots, but it decreased by 6% in the CT1 plot at 20-30 cm depth. Available water increased from 11-71% in the MT, RT and NT treatments. The lowest bulk densities were found at the 0-10 cm depth in the MT (1.42 Mg m -3), 10-20 cm depth in the CT1 (1.44 Mg m -3) and 20-30 cm depth in the NT (1.45 Mg m -3) treatments, respectively. Penetration resistance in tilled soils (CT1, CT2 and MT) was lower compared with those in RT or NT treatments from the surface up to 15 cm, but differences among tillage systems at 15-40 cm depth were not significant. We conclude that conservation tillage practices (MT, RT and NT) can provide better soil characteristics than conventional practices in the semi-arid soil of the Mediterranean coastal plain. However, especially, in semi-arid climatic regions, more long-term experiments are needed to quantify the effects of tillage on soil quality indicators

Tillage effects on energy use for corn silage in Mediterranean Coastal of Turkey

One of the main concepts of tillage should be to create the most appropriate soil conditions by taking into consideration energy use efficiency because it allows financial savings, fossil resources preservation and environment pollution decrease. Therefore, the study was perform to evaluate the effects of different tillage systems on energy use, the energy output/input ratios and profitability for silage corn (Zea mays L) production. The tillage systems were consisted of conventional tillage without stubble (CT), minimum tillage (MT), band tillage (BT), ridge tillage (RT) and no-tillage (NT).The effects of tillage were found to be statistically on energy parameters. The highest energy use efficiency (8.78), energy productivity (2.12 kg MJ-1), and energy profitability (7.78) were in MT while the lowest in NT. But, the highest energy intensiveness was in NT (24.83 MJ EUR-1). Indirect energy, non-renewable energy and commercial energy shares were higher for all the systems. More renewable energy was used in NT than the other treatments. The highest benefit/cost ratio and productivity were in the MT (2.13), and followed by NT (2.07). For this reason, conservation tillage treatments (i.e. MT and NT) should be supported for the energy and profitability sustainability of corn silage agriculture. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd

Energy analysis of the tillage systems in second crop corn production

The aim of this experiment, to examine the energy input and output in the second crop corn production using four different tillage systems for soil preparation: (1) minimum tillage with stubble (MTS), (2) minimum tillage without stubble (MT), (3) conventional tillage with stubble (CTS), and (4) conventional tillage without stubble (CT). Corn was sown as a second crop just after harvest of wheat. Direct and indirect energy inputs consisting of machinery, fertilizers, seeds, irrigations and chemicals were converted into energy units according to their amounts being consumed. The machinery and fuel energy inputs for the tillage operation were reduced 53.7% with MT compared to CTS. The total energy input for producing corn utilizing CTS was 20,608 MJ/ha, compared to 19,102 MJ/ha for producing corn with MT. When the grain yield was taken into account, the energy output/input ratios for MTS, MT, CTS and CT were estimated to be 6.3, 7.6, 6.6 and 7.0, respectively. The tillage systems did not statistically affect uniformity of plant spacing, but statistically affected the yield. The grain yield was the greatest (8,719 kg/ha) in CT compared to the other tillage treatments. © 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved

Mathematical modelling of vacuum pressure on a precision seeder

The purpose of this research was to determine the optimum vacuum pressure of a precision vacuum seeder and to develop mathematical models by using some physical properties of seeds such as one thousand kernel mass, projected area, sphericity and kernel density. Maize, cotton, soya bean, watermelon, melon, cucumber, sugarbeet and onion seeds were used in laboratory tests. One thousand kernel mass, projected area, sphericity and kernel density of seeds varied from 4.3 to 372.5g, 5-77 mm2, 38.4-85.8% and 440-1310 kg m-3, respectively. The optimum vacuum pressure was determined as 4.0 kPa for maize I and II; 3.0 kPa for cotton, soya bean and watermelon I; 2.5 kPa for watermelon II, melon and cucumber; 2.0 kPa for sugarbeet; and 1.5 kPa for onion seeds. The vacuum pressure was predicted by mathematical models. According to the results, the final model could satisfactorily describe the vacuum pressure of the precision vacuum seeder with a chi-square of 2.51 × 10-3, root mean square error of 2.74 × 10-2 and modelling efficiency of 0.99. © 2004 Silsoe Research Institute. All rights reserved. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Impacts of different tillage practices on some soil microbiological properties and crop yield under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions

Effects of six tillage practices on some soil microbiological properties and crop yields were evaluated for a clay soil (Typic Haploxererts) under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions in a three year study (2006-2009). The experiment was designed as a completely randomized-block with three replications. Treatments were: conventional tillage with residue incorporated (CT1), conventional tillage with residue burned (CT2), reduced tillage with heavy tandem disc harrow (RT1), reduced tillage with rotary tiller (RT2), reduced tillage with heavy tandem disc harrow for the first crop + notillage for the second crop (RNT), and no tillage (NT). The study was conducted in wheat-corn, wheat-soybean and wheat crop rotations. Dehydrogenase activity, soil respiration, mycorrhizal spore number, total organic carbon (TOC), and total N were determined at three depths (0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm). The mycorrhizal spore number responded quite early to tillage practices. Significant tillage effects on TOC and total N were observed only at 0-10 cm depth. The TOC content was increased by NT, RT2, RNT and RT1 practices compared to the initial values at the same depth as 74%, 62%, 56%, and 50%, respectively. Dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and soil respiration were higher on the surface and decreased with depth. Reduced and no-tillage practices significantly increased the mycorrhizal spore number, dehydrogenase activity and soil respiration at all depths (P<0.05). Both CT1 and CT2 practices had significant negative effects on all measured soil properties. Tillage practices had no significant effect on crop yields except for the wheat yield in 2008. The results indicated that, as an alternative to conventional tillage, reduced and no-tillage practices provided successful crop production in a clay soil under a semi-arid climate