Tropicultura (Jan 1997)
The Role of Stomatal Traits and Epicuticular Wax in Resistance to Mycosphaerella fijiensis in Banana and Plantain (Musa spp.)
Abstract
Three soil tillage practices - summer ploughing, autumn ploughing and chisel - have been evaluated through their effect on soil physical characteristics and on water content during three months after wheat seeding. A comparison was made with no-tillage. This experiment has been conducted on a shallow calcareous clay soil during the season 1995-96. Primary field preparation allows a porous layer up to 20 cm depth which reduces bulk density and penetration resistance. All the profiles generated by the tillage implements were uniformed by the rain effect. The water content and distribution in the profile was significantly affected by the tillage implements. No-tillage allows the best distribution of water in the profile which is the most suitable to seed germination and plant stand. The increasing porosity due to the autumn tillage action reduced the amount of water stored in the soil in comparison with the no-tillage case.
