The impacts of tillage, fertilizer and residue managements on the soil properties and wheat production in a semi-arid region of Iran

Abstract

Conservation tillage systems and residue management as well as nitrogen application are the effective factors on soil properties and crop yield. This study investigated the influence of these factors on the soil properties and winter wheat yield in the warm, semi-arid region of Jahrom, in south of Iran. The variables were residue management, i.e. keeping (R1) and burning (R2) previous corn residue beside two tillage systems, i.e. chisel plowing (T1) and moldboard plowing (T2); and three levels of nitrogen application i.e., F1 = 0 kg/ha, F2 = 100 kg/ha and F3 = 150 kg/ha. The result revealed that the highest total organic carbon and nitrogen content were obtained when chisel applied in the retained crop residue. But, soil BD was lower with moldboard plowing. It was indicated that chisel plowing can lead to highest yield when combined with retained residue and 150 kg/ha nitrogen. Keywords: Harvest index, Grain per ear, Soil moisture content