Possibilities of direct drilling and reduced tillage in second crop silage corn

Reduced tillage techniques and direct seeding method that can replace the conventional methods, were examined in the western part of Turkey (Trakya Region) during the years of 1999 and 2000. In the experiment five tillage methods and no-tillage (DRD) were used. All tillage methods and direct seeding were applied in the dry soil conditions except conventional method. The tillage methods are heavy-duty disc harrow (DIS), plough (PLO), rotary tiller (ROT), tillage combination of tine, rotor and roller (TIC) and conventional tillage method in which plough is used in wet soil condition. The effects of the treatments on soil penetration resistance, mean emergence dates, percentage of emerged seedlings, plant height, stem diameter and silage corn yield were measured. All the parameters tested were found to be statistically significant. Direct seeding method gave the best result for mean of emergence dates (4.93 days) and percentage of emerged seedlings (95.48%). The best result for silage yield (69.32 Mg ha-1) was found in tillage combination. The lowest yield (58.92 Mg ha-1) was found in the heavy-duty disc harrow tillage method. Direct seeding gives the best results for tillage efficiency parameters, such as fuel consumption, effective power requirement and field efficiency. Reduced tillage and direct seeding methods can be used in second crop silage corn in the region. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved