Evaluation of no-till drill performance under various residue management methods in wheat cropping in the south of Iran

Abstract

Heavy crop residue on the soil surface impedes no-till drill performance and subsequent crop production in conservation tillage systems and therefore limit its adoption by farmers. Therefore, a field study was conducted to determine the effects of various residue management methods on no-till drill performance. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in five replications. The residue management systems were in four levels of leaving (R.M1), removing (R.M2), chopping (R.M3) and disking (R.M4). Factor analysis was used to group and identify the most effective indicators of drill performance. The results showed that various residue management methods had a significant effect on sowing depth, speed of emergence, effective field capacity, and depth uniformity. The minimum and maximum sowing depth observed for the R.M1 and R.M4 treatments, respectively. The findings revealed that the speed of emergence and depth uniformity were higher under R.M2 and R.M3 as compared to R.M1 and R.M4 treatments. The results of factor analysis indicated that depth uniformity, the speed of emergence and planting depth were identified as the most effective indicators for evaluating no-till drill performance indexes.