Abstract
Minimum tillage has been shown to slow early corn (Zea mays L.) growth and reduce grain yields in some soil types and under some climatic conditions. To overcome these limitations, the no-till (NT) system can be modified by incorporating residues and loosening the soil in a zone over the center of the row while leaving the interrow area untilled. This study compares soil temperatures and corn growth and productivity under zone till (ZT), NT, and conventional tillage (CT) systems in a coarse-textured soil (Psammentic Hapludalf) located in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Soil temperature at the 4-cm depth decreased with decreasing tillage intensity from CT to NT during warmer years but was similar in CT and ZT during a cooler year. This resulted in reduced growing degree days in the seed zone with decreasing tillage. Lower soil temperatures in NT did not delay the initiation of corn seedling emergence but did reduce the rate of emergence compared with CT plots. Corn growth rates were found to be similar among tillage systems in the early part of the growing system but were higher for both the ZT and NT systems during late vegetative and early reproductive growth. Grain yields increased as tillage intensity decreased in a year with drier conditions at tasseling but were similar across tillage systems in the other 2 yr. These results suggest that converting a NT system to a ZT system would neither result in significantly higher yields, nor cause a serious grain yield reduction relative to CT.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Soil temperature at 4 cm decreased as tillage intensity decreased from conventional to no tillage during warmer years.
- Taxon
- Corn
Zea mays subsp. mayst0 - Treatment
- decreasing tillage intensity from CT to NTe0
- Outcome
- Soil temperature at the 4-cm depthe0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Qualifier
- during warmer yearse0
- Comparator
- CTe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Soil temperature at the 4-cm depth decreased with decreasing tillage intensity from CT to NT during warmer years”
t0“Corn Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil temperature was similar under conventional and zone tillage during a cooler year.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- ZTe0
- Outcome
- Soil temperature at the 4-cm depthe1
- Direction
- similare0
- Comparator
- CTe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“was similar in CT and ZT during a cooler year”
e1“Soil temperature at the 4-cm depth”
t0“Corn Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Growing degree days in the seed zone fell with decreasing tillage.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- decreasing tillagee0
- Outcome
- growing degree days in the seed zonee0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“reduced growing degree days in the seed zone with decreasing tillage”
t0“Corn Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Lower soil temperature under no tillage did not delay corn seedling emergence initiation.
- Taxon
- cornZea mays subsp. mayse0
- Treatment
- NTe0
- Outcome
- initiation of corn seedling emergencee0
- Direction
- did not delaye0
- Comparator
- CT plotse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Lower soil temperatures in NT did not delay the initiation of corn seedling emergence”
e1“compared with CT plots”
Claim · model-written summary
Lower soil temperature under no tillage reduced corn seedling emergence rate relative to conventional tillage.
- Taxon
- cornZea mays subsp. mayse1
- Treatment
- NTe1
- Outcome
- rate of emergencee0
- Direction
- reducee0
- Comparator
- CT plotse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“did reduce the rate of emergence compared with CT plots”
e1“Lower soil temperatures in NT did not delay the initiation of corn seedling emergence”
Claim · model-written summary
Early corn growth rates were similar across tillage systems.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayse0
- Outcome
- growth ratese0
- Direction
- similare0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Corn growth rates were found to be similar among tillage systems in the early part of the growing system”
Claim · model-written summary
Late vegetative and early reproductive corn growth rates were higher under zone tillage.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayse1
- Treatment
- ZTe0
- Outcome
- growth ratese1
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“were higher for both the ZT and NT systems during late vegetative and early reproductive growth”
e1“Corn growth rates were found to be similar among tillage systems”
Claim · model-written summary
Late vegetative and early reproductive corn growth rates were higher under no tillage.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayse1
- Treatment
- NTe0
- Outcome
- growth ratese1
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“were higher for both the ZT and NT systems during late vegetative and early reproductive growth”
e1“Corn growth rates were found to be similar among tillage systems”
Claim · model-written summary
Corn grain yield rose as tillage intensity declined in a year with drier tasseling conditions.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- tillage intensity decreasede0
- Outcome
- Grain yieldse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- in a year with drier conditions at tasselinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Grain yields increased as tillage intensity decreased in a year with drier conditions at tasseling”
t0“Corn Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Corn grain yields were similar among tillage systems in the other two years.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Outcome
- Grain yieldse1
- Direction
- similare0
- Qualifier
- in the other 2 yre0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“were similar across tillage systems in the other 2 yr”
e1“Grain yields increased as tillage intensity decreased”
t0“Corn Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Converting no tillage to zone tillage was not expected to raise yield significantly.
- Outcome
- significantly higher yieldse0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“converting a NT system to a ZT system would neither result in significantly higher yields”
Claim · model-written summary
Converting no tillage to zone tillage was not expected to seriously reduce grain yield relative to conventional tillage.
- Taxon
- CornZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Outcome
- serious grain yield reductione0
- Comparator
- CTe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“nor cause a serious grain yield reduction relative to CT”
t0“Corn Production”
The same questions in other papers
tillage · growth · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
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- positive
- negative
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See all 283 papers →tillage · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
811 papers in the same direction as this paper · 230 in the opposite direction · 57 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
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- no effect
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See all 1,099 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.