The level and quality of crop production is determined to a great extent by the soil fertility. The level of supply with nutrients depends on many factors, but the most important element is the tillage system. In order to study the impact of soil tillage on nutrients content, research was carried out on the Ezareni farm, where conventional (CT) and no-tillage (NT) systems were observed. The soil of the investigated plots is cambic chernozem with a specific clay-loamy texture. The soil cores for analysis of macronutrients (N, P, K), soil reaction (pH) and humus content (H%) were taken from the 0 – 40 cm soil layer, from the corn crop. The results revealed a higher content of the main mineral nutrients at the soil surface and a significant decrease in deeper layers in no-tillage compared to a slight decrease with depth in the conventional system. Soil reaction (pH) values were between slightly acid to neutral, with a minimum of 6.2 in NT and a maximum value of 7.2 in CT. Humus content analysis showed a variation from 3.46 % to 0.73 % with the highest percentage in the topsoil in NT and in deeper layers in CT. In the no-tillage system, the macronutrients supply status is higher at the soil surface due to undisturbed microbiological activity of plant residues decomposing. In CT, ploughing determines a uniform distribution of nutrients content throughout the depth, but incorporation of plant residues causes humus to disperse into deeper soil layers. For the maintenance and permanent improvement of soil fertility, researchers are looking for the most suitable tillage system correlated with the physical properties. Therefore, the present paper aimed to highlight the impact of no-tillage system and conventional system on soil chemical properties.

tillage systems, macronutrients, humus content, soil reaction

agronomy

Presentation: poster