INFLUENCE OF SOIL TILLAGE UPON WEEDS, PRODUCTION AND ECONOMICAL EFFICIENCY OF CORN CROP

Abstract

The research of some alternative variants to conventional soil tillage (characterized by furrow ploughing) targeted the setup and promotion of some technologies adapted to concrete conditions from different agricultural areas, regarding especially the type of soil, the climate conditions, the land orography and the technical equipment available. The objectives were surveyed from an agronomical, ecological and economical point of view. The failure in putting into practice many of the alternative variants of soil tillage were related to crop weeds, cultural defects and lower productions. The paper presents the results of the research made under the conditions of a Phaeozem situated in the Transylvanian Plain, regarding the influence of soil tillage system conventional system and minimum tillage - with chisel) and the fertilization & herbicide system upon the degree of weeds, production and economical of corn crop, during 2011-2014. The soil tillage system and climate conditions of the agricultural year influenced the weeds in the corn crop. In the case of minimum tillage bigger weeds have been registered, of 33.67 weeds/m2 compared to the conventional tillage, with 29.17 weeds/m2. In a drought year, respectively 2012, weeds grew the most (35.50 weeds/m2), they reduce during a normal climate year 2013, to 27.50 weeds/m2, and in 2014 which was considered a rainy year, favorable to corn crop, weeds were 31.25 weeds/m2. The soil tillage system hasn’t influenced significantly corn productions, they were almost equal in the two systems. Corn production is influenced significantly by the climate conditions of the agricultural year, ranging between 5392-6102 kg/ha. The economic efficiency of the minimum tillage system is higher and it results from the reduction of fuel consumption to 84.4 l/ha compared to conventional system, which needs 101.5 liters/ha for all the soil tillage. Subtracting total expenses (material and fuel) from the value of the production made within each technological system it results a profit of 112.9 lei/ha, which overall minimum tillage technology means a reduction by 6.6%.