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As interest in eco-friendly work vehicles grows, research on the powertrains of eco-friendly tractors has increased, including research on the development of eco-friendly vehicles (tractors) using hydrogen fuel cell power packs and batteries. However, batteries require a long time to charge and have a short operating time due to their low energy efficiency compared with hydrogen fuel cell power packs. Therefore, recent studies have focused on the development of tractors using hydrogen fuel cell power packs; however, there is a lack of research on powertrain performance analysis considering actual working conditions. To evaluate vehicle performance, an actual load measurement during agricultural operation must be conducted. The objective of this study was to conduct an efficiency analysis of powertrains according to their power source using data measured during agricultural operations. A performance evaluation with respect to efficiency was performed through comparison and an analysis with internal combustion engine tractors of the same level. The specifications of the transmission for hydrogen fuel cell and engine tractors were used in this study. The power loss and efficiency of the transmission were calculated using ISO 14179-1 equations, as shown below. Plow tillage and rotary tillage operations were conducted for data measurement. The measurement system consists of four components. The engine data load measurement was calculated using the vehicle's controller area network (CAN) data, the axle load was measured using an axle torque meter and proximity sensors, and fuel consumption was measured using the sensor installed on the fuel line. The calculated capacities, considering the engine's fuel efficiency for plow and rotary tillage operations, were 131.2 and 175.1 kWh, respectively. The capacity of the required power, considering the powertrain's efficiency for hydrogen fuel cell tractors with respect to plow and rotary tillage operations, was calculated using the efficiency of the motor, inverter, and power pack, and 51.3 and 62.9 kWh were the values obtained, respectively. Considering these factors, the engine exhibited an efficiency of about 47.9% compared with the power pack in the case of plow tillage operations, and the engine exhibited an efficiency of about 29.3% in the case of rotary tillage operations. A hydrogen fuel cell tractor is considered suitable for high-efficiency and eco-friendly vehicles because it can operate on eco-friendly power sources while providing the advantages of a motor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of mechanization in agriculture, particularly in developing countries where there is a shortage of agricultural labor due to rapid urbanization. It highlights the development of various farming machinery for soil preparation, sowing, fertilization, pest control, harvesting, and post-harvesting. The article presents research papers from five countries, covering topics such as improved measurement methods for agricultural tractors, optimizing the design of farming machinery, and the interaction between soil and mechanical systems. It also includes studies on soil properties and their impact on agricultural applications. The article concludes by expressing gratitude to the authors and reviewers for their contributions to the special issue. [Extracted from the article]

Straw returning may be an efficient strategy to maintain agricultural sustainability. However, which straw returning strategy can effectively improve soil properties and crop yield remain unclear. A five-year (2011–2016) field experiment in sub-humid, drought-prone areas of northwestern China with uneven rainfall distribution and irrigation was conducted to evaluate the effects of nitrogen fertilizer without straw mulching (CK), with regular straw mulching (LSM), and with ammoniated straw plowing (ALSP) on soil water, soil aggregates, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and water use efficiency (WUE) in an annual winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–summer maize (Zea mays L.) rotation system. The results demonstrate that ALSP had a greater soil water content than CK in the 0–60 cm soil layer. ALSP also had substantially more soil water than LSM in the 0–100 cm layer during the wet year (2011–2012) and two dry years (2014–2015 and 2015–2016). In the normal years (2012–2013 and 2013–2014), the soil water content in ALSP was significantly lower than in LSM in the 0–20 cm soil layer. ALSP was better able to alleviate soil drought in dry years and excessive humidity in wet years. Compared to CK, SOC in the 0–20 cm soil layer in 2016 increased by 8.3% in LSM and 11.7% in ALSP, and TN in the upper soil increased by 6.6% in LSM and 10.1% in ALSP. The equivalent wheat yield and WUE increased in ALSP by 15.6% and 17.5%, respectively, relative to CK, and by 6.79% and 5.97%, respectively, relative to LSM. Thus, we concluded that plowing ammoniated straw with N fertilization is a promising strategy for improving soil fertility and crop productivity in winter wheat–summer maize rotation systems in the sub-humid, drought-prone areas of northwestern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A decline in rainfall as a source of agricultural water has affected and will continue to affect sustainable crop production globally including in Hungary. Conservation of the greatest water reservoir is important for the sustainable development of agriculture in Hungary. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the different tillage methods on soil moisture content, grain yield, and root weight of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) under rainfed conditions. A field study was conducted at the Józsefmajor Experimental and Training Farm (JM) of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences near Hatvan. The experiment consisted of six tillage treatments: disking (D, 16 cm), shallow cultivation (SC, 20 cm), no-till (NT), deep cultivation (DC, 25 cm), loosening (L, 45 cm), and plowing (P, 30 cm). Soil moisture content (SMC) was measured monthly, and grain yield and root weight were measured at the end of the cropping period. Our results showed no significant difference in SMC between conservation and conventional tillage methods in 2018. However, in 2021, greater SMC was significantly conserved under NT compared to P. Regarding the sampling date, a significant increase in moisture with time was observed. A significantly lower SMC was observed on 3 June 2019 between L and D. while on the 9 September 2020, SMC significantly differed between P and all the other treatments (D, SC, NT, DC, and L). Interestingly in 2018, SMC was significantly lower at 10–20 cm depth between L and D. Notably the effect of depth on SMC was observed as moisture significantly increased with increasing depth in all tillage treatments. Root weight was greatest at DC (1.54 t ha−1) in 2018 and under L (3.89 t ha−1) in 2021. Similarly, wheat grain yield was greatest at DC (2.48 t ha−1) in 2018, while sunflower yield in 2021 was greatest at L (3.86 t ha−1). It is comprehensible that conservation tillage methods such as L and NT can increase SMC and grain yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the population grows, more food is needed to keep the food supply chain running smoothly. For many years, intensive farming systems have been used to meet this need. Currently, due to intense climate change and other global natural problems, there is a shift towards sustainable use of natural resources and simplified methods of tillage. Soil tillage intensity influences the distribution of nutrients, and soil's physical and mechanical properties, as well as gas flows. The impact of reduced tillage on these indices in spring barley cultivation is still insufficient and requires more analysis on a global scale. This study was carried out at Vytautas Magnus University, Agriculture Academy (Lithuania) in 2022–2023. The aim of the investigation was to determine the effect of the tillage systems on the soil temperature, moisture content, CO2 respiration and concentration in spring barley cultivation. Based on a long-term tillage experiment, five tillage systems were tested: deep and shallow moldboard ploughing, deep cultivation-chiseling, shallow cultivation-chiseling, and no tillage Shallow plowing technology has been found to better conserve soil moisture and maintain higher temperatures in most cases. During almost the entire study period, the spring barley crop with deep cultivation had lower moisture content and lower soil temperature. Shallow cultivation fields in most cases increased CO2 emissions and CO2 concentration. When applying direct sowing to the uncultivated soil (10–20 cm), the concentration of CO2 decreased from 0.01 to 0.148 percent. pcs. The results show that in direct sowing fields, most cases had a positive effect on crop density. Direct sowing fields resulted in significantly lower, from 7.9 to 26.5%, grain yields of spring barley in the years studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper quantifies the annual dynamics of the shortwave radiation reflected from bare arable land as a result of smoothing previously plowed land located in three different agricultural subregions of the European Union and associated countries. This estimate takes into account the annual variation of the bare arable land area, obtained from Sentinel 2 satellite imagery; the spatial variability of soil units within croplands, obtained from digital soil and land-cover maps; and the laboratory spectral reflectance characteristics of these units, obtained from soil samples stored in the LUCAS soil database. The properties of the soil units, which cover an area of at least 4% of each subregion, were characterized. The highest amounts of shortwave radiation reflected under clear-sky conditions from air-dried, bare arable land surfaces—approximately 850 PJ day−1 and 1.10 EJ day−1 for land shaped by a plow (Pd) and smoothing harrow (Hs), respectively—were found in the summer around 8 August in the western subregion. However, the lowest radiation occurred in the spring on 10 April at 340 PJ day−1 for Pd and 430 PJ day−1 for Hs in the central subregion. The largest and the smallest amounts of this radiation throughout the year—only as a result of smoothing, by Hs, land that was previously treated by Pd—was estimated at 42 EJ for the western and southern subregions and 19 EJ for the central subregion, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil tillage and maize residues return are important practices for tackling and promoting soil quality and improving crop yield in the North China Plain (NCP), where winter wheat production is threatened by soil deterioration. Although maize residues incorporation with rotary tillage (RS) or deep plowing tillage (DS) is widespread in this region, only few studies have focused on rotation tillage. Four practices, namely RT (continuous rotary tillage without maize residues return), RS, DS, and RS/DS (rotary tillage every year and deep plowing interval of 2 years), were evaluated under field conditions lasting a period of 5 years. After a 5-year field experiment, the mean soil bulk density of the 0–30 cm soil layer decreased significantly with RS, DS, and RS/DS, i.e., by 4.19%, 6.33%, and 6.71% compared with RT, respectively. The treatments greatly improved the total soil porosity, soil aggregate size distribution, soil aggregate stability, and the root length density in the 0–30 cm soil layers. Residues return with DS and RS/DS treatments significantly increased the soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) storage in the 0–30 cm soil layer, mainly owed to the increases in the SOC and TN pool associated with the macro-aggregate. A positive trend in the grain yield was noted under both DS and RS/DS conditions, whereas a decreasing tendency was presented in continuous rotary treatments. In summary, RS/DS treatment significantly increased the amount of SOC and TN, improved the particle size distribution of soil aggregates, and thus improved the soil's physicochemical properties, which is beneficial for wheat to achieve high yields. Our results suggested that RS/DS was a highly efficient practice to improve soil quality and increase crop production in the NCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tillage practices are of critical importance in maintaining soil quality on cropland and for food production, with rice cultivation representing a significant portion of the world's food production and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While numerous studies have examined the effects of reduced and no-tillage on soil GHG emissions and rice yields, the impact of adopting a rotational approach to tillage practices on the rice cultivation cycle remains uncertain. In this study, we conducted a four-year (2017–2020) field experiment in a single rice-growing area in Northeast China with the aim of investigating the effects of different tillage practices on GHG emissions from paddy fields and rice yields under full straw return conditions. We set up three experimental treatments: rotary tillage, plowing, and rotational tillage (i.e., a combination of one year of plowing and one year of rotary tillage). The results showed that averaged across all treatments, average methane (CH4, 302.6 ± 51.1 kg ha−1) and nitrous oxide (N2O, 0.86 ± 0.361 kg ha−1) emissions and rice yield (9.0 ± 0.9 t ha−1) did not exhibit significant inter-annual variability during the entire experimental period and were comparable to the average for the region. The ranking of GHG emissions during the rice-growing season was as follows: rotary tillage > plowing > rotational tillage. Across the experimental period, CH4 and N2O emissions were 9.1% and 8.5% lower in the plowing treatment and 21.2% and 13.1% lower in the rotational tillage treatment compared to the rotary tillage treatment. During the experimental period, there was no significant effect of tillage treatments on rice yield. This reduction in emissions may be attributed to changes in soil penetration resistance. In the rotational and plowing treatments, soil penetration resistance was in a range more adapted to rice growth and GHG emissions reduction compared to the rotary tillage treatment. The yield-scale GHG emission intensity was reduced by 12.7% and 26.1% in the plowing and rotational tillage treatments, respectively, in comparison to the rotary tillage treatment. This suggests that rotational tillage is a management practice that can achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions in paddy fields and stabilize or possibly increase rice yields. Consequently, the results demonstrated that a rotational alternation of multiple tillage practices is a synergistic strategy for achieving low carbon and high yield in rice in the cold rice-growing region of Northeast China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the main contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) in paddy soil, information on methane (CH4) emission characteristics under different tillage and cultivation practices are limited. A five-year field trial was conducted from 2019 in a single-cropping rice system in Taihu Lake region, east of China. The experiment had a completely randomized block design, and the treatments included rotary tillage plus rice dry direct seeding (RD), rotary tillage plus rice mechanical transplanting (RT), and plowing tillage plus rice mechanical transplanting (PT). We determined the rice yield, GHG emission, soil traits, and methanogens and methanotrophs in 2022 and 2023. The results revealed that PT and RT significantly increased rice yield compared to RD, whereas PT simultaneously increased CH4 emissions. The year-averaged cumulative CH4 emissions in PT were increased by 38.5% and 61.4% higher than RT and RD, respectively. Meanwhile, yield-scaled global warming potentials (GWPs) in RT and RD were lower than those in PT. Tillage and cultivation practices shifted mcrA and pmoA abundances, and PT significantly decreased pmoA abundance. The community structure and diversity of the methanogens and methanotrophs were not significantly affected. Structural equation model analyses illustrated that CH4 emissions were regulated by mcrA and pmoA directly, which in turn, regulated by soil carbon and nitrogen. Overall, rotary tillage plus mechanism transplanting was a feasible agronomic technology in a single-cropping rice system in Taihu Lake region, exhibiting higher and more stable rice productivity, accompanied with lower CH4 emissions and yield-scaled GWP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of coating a flat blade surface with titanium nitride nano coatings (TiN), nano tantalum carbide (TaC), Fiberglass (Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer) (GFRP), Galvanized Steel (GAS), and St37 (SST37) was investigated in order to decrease the adhesion of soil on tilling tools, external friction and, ultimately, the draft force. The soil tank, which was filled with soil of the desired conditions, was pulled on the bearing on the rail. A S-shaped load cell was used to measure the draft force. Tests were conducted at a distance of 2 m and speeds of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 m·s−1 at a depth of 10 cm. A model based on input factors, including blade travel speed, rake angle, and cohesion and adhesion of soil–blade, was developed in an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), and draft force was the output parameter. To verify the performance of the developed model using ANFIS, a relative error(ε) of 6.1% and coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.956 were computed. It was found that blades coated with Nano (TiN-TaC), due to its hydrophobic surface, flatness, and self-cleaning properties, have considerable ability to decrease adhesion in wet soils and showed a linear relationship with draft force reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanical properties of vegetables or crop materials play a noteworthy part in designing new related implements. These properties can be extracted from force–deformation curves. Several factors, such as soil preparation, irrigation, and pre- and post-harvest treatments influence them. The core objective of this investigation work was to analyze force–deformation curves obtained from compression, penetration, and shear tests of potatoes (Spunta cv.) produced with three tillage implements. The potatoes cv. Spunta were cultivated in loamy sand soil under the center-pivot irrigation system. The tillage implements used were a disc harrow plow, chisel plow, and moldboard plow. The trials were performed at a constant planting depth (15 cm) below the soil and a single plowing speed of 5.4 km/h. All data were expressed as an average of five replicates ± standard deviation. The force–deformation curves analysis showed that the modulus of elasticity for potatoes cv. Spunta ranged from 4.32 to 5.8 N/mm, the bioyield force ranged from 84.25 to 114.12 N, and rupture forces ranged from 100.90 to 139.78 N. Furthermore, the results showed that the average values of the elastic and plastic ranges were 3.0 and 2.1 mm, respectively. The mean value of hardness was 1671.53 N·mm. No significant differences were observed with respect to the two planting seasons, but tillage implements had a significant impact on the characteristics extracted from the compression tests. The mean of the maximum forces required to penetrate the potato during the penetration stage were 41.24 N, 44.86 N, and 47.16 N for potatoes produced with the disc harrow plow, chisel plow, and moldboard plow, respectively. Similarly, the means of the maximum forces required to cut the potato in the shear stage were 724.38 N, 761 N, and 773.43 N for the disc harrow plow, chisel plow, and moldboard plow, respectively. The force–deformation curves showed that additional information might be required to obtain a complete description of the potato quality necessary to harvest potatoes cv. Spunta using harvesting and handling equipment with reduced economic loss. An extensive study of the soil characteristics and the above-mentioned properties is also recommended. The results obtained about the mechanical characteristics of potatoes cv. Spunta can be useful in providing information that aids in designing potato harvesting machines and in potato products factories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of instrumental methods of analysis in the assessment of indices that record changes in symmetry in the structure of grains to evaluate the quality of durum and soft wheat grain is currently considered a search tool that will allow us to obtain previously unavailable data by finding correlations associated with differences in the shape and ratio of starch granules in conditionally symmetrical and asymmetrical wheat fruits (kernels) formed in different field conditions and with different genotypes. Indicators that had previously shown their effectiveness were used to analyze the obviously complex unique material obtained as a result of growing under critically unique sowing conditions in 2022, which affected the stability of grain development and filling. For the evaluation, a typical agronomic comparative experiment was chosen, which was used to evaluate the soil tillage practices (fallow, non-moldboard loosening, and plowing) and sowing dates (early and after excessive rainfalls), which made it possible to analyze a wider range of factors influencing the studied indices. The soil tillage methods were found to affect the uniformity of kernel fullness and their symmetry, and the sowing dates did not lead to significant differences. This study presents detailed changes in the shape of the middle cut of a wheat kernel, associated with assessing the efficiency of kernel filling and the symmetrical distribution of storage substances under the influence of external and internal physical factors that affect the formation of the wheat kernel. The data obtained may be of interest to breeders and developers of predictive phenotyping programs for cereal grain and seeds of other crops, as well as plant physiologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop Residue Cover (CRC) is crucial for enhancing soil quality and mitigating erosion in agricultural fields. Accurately estimating CRC in near real-time presents challenges due to the limitations of traditional and remote sensing methods. This study addresses the challenge of accurately estimating CRC using unsupervised algorithms on high-resolution Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) imagery. We employ two methods to perform CRC estimation: (1) K-means unsupervised algorithm and (2) Principal Component Analysis (PCA) along with the Otsu thresholding technique. The advantages of these methods lie in their independence from human intervention for any supervised training stage. Additionally, these methods are rapid and suitable for near real-time estimation of CRC as a decision-making support in agricultural management. Our analysis reveals that the K-means method, with an R 2 = 0.79 , achieves superior accuracy in CRC estimation over the PCA-Otsu method with an R 2 = 0.46 . The accuracy of CRC estimation for both corn and soybean crops is significantly higher in winter than in spring, attributable to the more weathered state of crop residue. Furthermore, CRC estimations in corn fields exhibit a stronger correlation, likely due to the larger size of corn residue which enhances detectability in images. Nevertheless, the variance in CRC estimation accuracy between corn and soybean fields is minimal. Furthermore, CRC estimation achieves the highest correlation in no-till fields, while the lowest correlation is observed in conventionally tilled fields, a difference likely due to the soil disturbance during plowing in conventional tillage practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of intensive and reduced tillage, fertilization, and irrigation on soil chemical and microbiological parameters were studied in a long-term field experiment in Hungary. The treatments were plowing tillage, ripper tillage, strip tillage; control (without fertilization), NPK fertilization (N: 160 kg/ha; P: 26 kg/ha; K: 74 kg/ha); and non-irrigation and irrigation. Soil samples were collected through maize monoculture in the fall of 2021 in the 30th year of the experiment. The soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, soil microbial biomass (based on PLFA analysis), and soil enzyme activity were observed to be significantly high in the strip tillage plots, but were lower in the ripper tillage plots, and even lower in the plowing tillage plots. The fungal, arbuscular mycorrhiza fungal, and bacterial biomasses were significantly higher in the strip tillage and ripper tillage plots compared to the plowing tillage plots. The strip tillage treatment was found to be the most favorable cultivation method for improving the microbial biomass and activity of Chernozem soil, followed by the ripper tillage and plowing tillage treatments. The long-term use of chemical fertilizers greatly reduced the soil microbial biomass and negatively impacted the soil microbial community, leading to a decrease in fungi and Gram-negative bacteria. The ratio of cyclopropyl PLFA precursors to cyclopropyl PLFAs, as a "stress factor", indicated the most stressful bacterial environment was that found in the fertilized, non-irrigated plowed soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aspect of the sustainable development of agrocenoses, the proper management of plant residues remaining after harvesting, the appropriate selection of tillage and maintaining high microbiological activity of soil are particularly important. Therefore, a four-year two-factor experiment with winter wheat monoculture was conducted. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of 18 cultivation technologies variants on weed infestation and yield structure of winter wheat grown in a 4-year monoculture. Six methods of tillage and management of residues after harvesting forecrops (first factor) and the use of microbiological preparations (second factor) were tested. The experiment showed that simplified tillage (elimination of plowing) had an adverse effect on the weed infestation of the field and most of the tested plant characteristics, including the yield. In terms of yield, the best solution was to leave the forecrop straw mulch on the field surface until plowing was carried out before sowing, regardless of the use of microbiological preparations. The application of preparations containing effective microorganisms brought beneficial effects only when the shredded straw of the forecrop was mixed with the soil using a grubber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mechanized agricultural activities, fuel is particularly important for tillage operations. In this study, the impact of seven distinct parameters on fuel usage per unit of draft power was examined. The parameters are tractor power, soil texture index, plowing speed, plowing depth, width of implement, and both initial soil moisture content and soil bulk density. This study investigated the construction of an artificial neural network (ANN) model for tractor-specific fuel consumption predictions for two tillage implements: chisel and moldboard plows. The ANN model was created based on the collection of related data from previous research studies, and the validation was performed using actual field experiments in clay soil using a chisel plow. The developed ANN model (9-22-1) was confirmed by graphical assessment; additionally, the root-mean-square error (RMSE) was computed. Based on the RMSE, the results demonstrated a good agreement for specific fuel consumption per draft power between the observed and predicted values, with corresponding RMSE values of 0.08 L/kWh and 0.075 L/kWh for the training and testing datasets, respectively. The novelty of the work presented in this paper is that, for the first time, a farm machinery manager can optimize tractor fuel consumption per draft power by carefully controlling certain parameters, such as initial soil moisture content, tractor power, plowing speed, implement width, and depth of plowing. The results show that the input parameters make a significant contribution to the output over the used data with different percentages. Accordingly, the contribution analysis showed that the implement width had a high impact on tractor-specific fuel consumption for both plows at 30.13%; additionally, the chisel and moldboard plows contributed 4.19% and 4.25% in predicting tractor fuel consumption per draft power. This study concluded that practical useful advice for agricultural production can be achieved through optimizing fuel consumption rate by selecting the proper levels of affecting parameters to reduce fuel costs. Moreover, an ANN model could be used to develop future tractor fuel-planning schemes for tillage operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotary tillage, ridging, and mulching are commonly used cultivation methods for crops such as chili peppers, tomatoes, and strawberries in the arid regions of Northwest China. An integrated machine for rotary tillage, ridging, and mulching was designed by considering the growth characteristics of pepper root systems and the agronomic requirements of ridge beds. The structural parameters and their value ranges for key components such as the rotary tillage device and the ridging device were determined. By introducing the Bonding contact parameter, the soil cohesion between soil particles during the process of rotary tillage and ridging can be simulated. A coupled simulation model using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and Multibody Dynamics (MBD) is established. The experimental factors selected were rotary tillage depth, ridging roller speed, and machine forward speed. The evaluation indexes were the traction resistance of the stemming roller and the soil compactness of the ridges. A response surface Box–Behnken Design test was carried out to obtain the best working parameters of the rotary tillage and ridging process for chili pepper cultivation as follows: the rotary tillage depth was 176 mm, the ridging roller speed was 283.71 r/min, and the machine forward speed was 0.55 m/s. Field experiments with optimal parameters showed that the ridge top width was 549.2 mm, the ridge bottom width was 750.5 mm, the ridge height was 222.9 mm, the ridge spacing was 1173.1 mm, the surface smoothness of the ridge was 12.3 mm, the width of soil covering the film edge was 76.3 mm, the stability coefficients of the ridge size parameters were all above 91.73%, and the soil compactness after operation was 60.82 KPa. All indicators meet the requirements for the rotary tillage and ridging cultivation of chili peppers in arid regions, providing reference for the design of rotary tillage and ridging mulching implements and the development of sustainable agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw return (SR) has been widely recommended as a conservation agricultural practice in China. However, the effects of SR on crop yield and soil properties are inconsistent across studies of rice–oilseed rape cropping systems in China. This study aimed to investigate the effects of SR on crop yield and soil nutrient content in a rice–oilseed rotation system, and to understand the mechanism of straw return on the difference in yield increases between rice and oilseed rape. Additionally, suitable climate factors, soil properties, and agricultural practices were identified to achieve maximum increases in yield and soil nutrients in a rice–oilseed rotation under SR. This paper is based on a meta-analysis of 1322 observations from 83 peer-reviewed studies to evaluate the effects of climate, initial soil conditions, and agricultural management practices on rice and oilseed rape yields and soil nutrients under SR. The results showed that the responses of oilseed rape and rice yield remained positive, with 12.37% and 6.54% increases, and were significantly higher under SR than the control (no SR). Moreover, SR significantly increased the contents of several soil nutrients (soil organic carbon (SOC), total nutrients, available nutrients) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN). Interestingly, the increase in crop yields was attributed to the increase in SOC, total nitrogen, and available potassium. Additionally, the increase in yields was mainly affected by climate factors, initial soil properties, and agronomic practices. For example, both mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) had a positive correlation with crop yield increases under SR (p < 0.01). Initial soil conditions such as low SOC and total nitrogen content were more suitable for increased rice yield under SR, while the opposite was true for increased oilseed rape yield. Without fertilization, the SR did not significantly improve crop yield and soil nutrients, while it was more pronounced with N fertilization at 150–180 kg hm−2. The positive effect of SR on crop yields is more evident with plowing tillage, whereas the SR caused the highest increase in soil nutrients with the no-tillage condition. These findings have important implications for further improving crop yield, SOC, and soil nutrients in the Chinese rice–oilseed cropping system through straw return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome the shortcomings of plowing and rotary tillage, a human-like weeding shoveling machine was designed. The machine's various moving rods were analyzed using Matlab R2019b(9.7.0.1190202) software to determine the appropriate entry and cutting conditions, as well as non-cutting conditions. It was concluded that a θ2 of 90° was optimal for cutting the soil and that the shoveling depth was suitable for greenhouse weeding. The Adams and DEM coupled discrete element simulation system was developed for this machine and was used to analyze the rotating shaft torque and shovel bending moment. A strain measurement system based on strain gauges was designed to measure the rotating shaft torque and shovel bar bending moment. A bending moment and torque measurement system was designed to perform field measurement tests for comparison with simulation results. The simulation system's rotating shaft had an average torque error of 6.26%, while the shovel rod's bending moment had an average error of 5.43%. The simulation accuracy was within the acceptable error range. Table U8 (81 × 44) of the Uniform Design of the Mixing Factor Level for the Homogeneous Virtual Simulation Test includes eight levels of forward machine speed ranging from 0.1 to 0.45 m/s and four levels of output shaft speed ranging from 90 to 165 r/min. Crank lengths were set at four levels ranging from 155 to 185 mm, while shovel lengths were set at four levels ranging from 185 to 230 mm. Four types of shovel shapes were proposed, including pointed curved shovels, pointed straight shovels, straight-edged curved shovels, and straight-edged straight shovels. A mathematical model was created via a regression analysis of the results of coupled simulation tests to establish the relationship between shaft torque and shovel rod bending moment, tool advance speed, shaft speed, crank length, tool length, and tool shape. The model was used to determine the optimum working parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is linked to CO2 emissions, the reduction of which has become a top priority. In response to these circumstances, scientists must constantly develop new technologies that increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. Agriculture today is dominated by arable fields of various sizes, shapes, and dimensions, and to achieve fuel economy and environmental impact requirements, it is not enough to know only the principles of optimization of tillage processes; it is also necessary to understand the influence of field size and its shape and dimensions on tillage performance. The purpose of this research is to present a methodology that allows predicting tractor fuel demand and CO2 emissions per unit of ploughed area when ploughing field plots with different shapes and dimensions and to confirm a suitable variable for such a prediction. Theoretical calculations and experimental tests have shown that the field ploughing time efficiency coefficient is a useful metric for comparing field plots of different shapes and dimensions. This coefficient effectively describes tractor fuel consumption and CO2 emissions during ploughing operations on differently configured field plots. A reasonable method for calculating the real field ploughing time efficiency coefficient is based on field and tillage data and a practical determination method using tractor engine load reports. It was found that during the research, when ploughing six field plots of different shapes and dimensions, with an area of 6 ha, the field ploughing time efficiency coefficient varied from 0.68 to 0.82, and fuel consumption between 15.6 and 16.5 kg/ha. In the field plot of 6 ha, where the field ploughing time efficiency coefficient was 15% higher, the fuel consumption per unit area was lower by about 5.5%. The results of this study will help to effectively predict tillage time and tractor fuel consumption required for different field shapes and dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CO2 emissions are one of the greenhouse gases that significantly contribute to climate change. The use of reduced soil tillage practices could contribute to the mitigation of CO2 emissions from soils under ongoing climate change conditions. The use of reduced and no-tillage practices in the summer period, the most critical period for CO2 and for water loss from soils, would contribute to the mitigation of CO2 emissions that is required by the European Union. The aim of this research was to contribute to the specification of CO2 emission factors, following different soil tillage practices in the summer period under variations in weather. Gentler tillage practices were defined in terms of reducing CO2 emissions from the soil. This research was carried out as a long-term field experiment. The effects of soil tillage practices on CO2 emissions were studied over a six-year period as a long-term field experiment and concerned the use of different soil tillage practices for over 20 years (established in 1995), with these including conventional tillage (CT; plowing to 20–22 cm), reduced tillage (RT; chiseling to 10 cm), and no-tillage (NT; without tillage). The crop rotation was winter wheat–winter oilseed rape–winter wheat–pea. CO2 emissions were measured at least 7–10 times during the summer–autumn period in the years 2017–2022 after agrotechnical operations following the winter wheat harvest. Soil moisture was determined in all the treatments. Weather conditions were measured by means of the meteorological station of the Crop Research Institute. The CO2 emissions were the highest in the summer period under CT in comparison with RT and NT. Reduced tillage and no-tillage practices, with mulch on the surface of the soil, decreased CO2 emissions by a 6-year average of 45% and 51%, respectively. The mean CO2 emissions were 6.1, 3.1, and 2.9 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 for CT, RT, and NT. The highest CO2 emissions and the largest differences among different tillage practices were measured in 2019, with high temperatures and repeated rainfall. CO2 emissions under CT reached 22 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1, which was 7.5 and 5.8 times higher than under RT and NT, respectively. Current weather conditions, mainly temperature and precipitation, played an important role in CO2 emissions. The hot and dry weather in 2018 decreased overall CO2 emissions, with CO2 emissions, even under conventional tillage, reaching only 2.5 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 on average. As a result of climate change, the temperatures also gradually increased in the later stages of the year, with more summer days being expected during autumn and higher CO2 emissions from soils being expected as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission's "Farm to Folk" strategy recommends reducing fertilizers by at least 20% by 2030. In this context, the aim of this study was to verify whether a 20 and 40% reduction of nitrogen (N) fertilization rate will be sufficient to maintain soil chemical features, fertility, and yields in monoculture maize cultivation in the no-tillage (NT) system versus the traditional plowing (PL) system. We also examined which tillage system (PL, NT) allows the reduction of fertilization while maintaining good yields of the tested soils. Two fields (10 ha each) were established for PL and NT maize cultivation, and soils (0–20 cm) were sampled twice per year—before maize sowing and after maize harvesting. A broad range of chemical and biological parameters were monitored (i.e., pH, forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon, content of selected macronutrients and humic substances, and respiration activity). It was concluded that the 20% reduction in N fertilization (after 4 years of use) did not have an adverse effect on the soil's chemical and biological features, which mainly depended on the season of the year. The maize yield seemed to be higher in the PL system, which was mostly the result of the tillage system rather than the N dose. The study will be continued in the next vegetation season to further verify our findings, especially with regard to the maize tillage system and yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

10.3390/agronomy13051339 14 Moukoumbi Y.D., Bayendi Loudit S.M., Sikirou M., Mboj D., Hussain T., Bocco R., Manneh B. Evaluation of genotypic variability and analysis of yield and its components in irrigated rice to stabilize yields in the Senegal River Valley affected by climate change. Yang et al. [[7]] explored the impacts of different cultivation and straw management practices on rice yield and soil properties in a rice-ratoon system. 10.3390/agronomy13030795 7 Yang D., Wang Y.N., Wu Q.X. Impact of tillage and straw management on soil properties and rice yield in a rice-ratoon rice system. No-tillage was identified as the most effective approach for reducing soil erodibility, while subsoil tillage and soil compaction contributed to soil fertility enhancement, controlled soil erodibility, and reduced risks of machinery-induced soil compaction. [Extracted from the article]

Managing soil biodiversity using reduced tillage is a popular approach, yet soil bacteriobiomes in the agroecosystems of Siberia has been scarcely studied, especially as they are related to tillage. We studied bacteriobiomes in Chernozem under natural steppe vegetation and cropped for wheat using conventional or no tillage in a long-term field trial in the Novosibirsk region, Russia, by using the sequence diversity of the V3/V4 region of 16S rRNA genes. Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Proteobacteria summarily accounted for 80% of the total number of sequences, with Actinobacteria alone averaging 51%. The vegetation (natural vs. crop) and tillage (ploughed vs. no-till) affected the bacterial relative abundance at all taxonomic levels and many taxa, e.g., hundreds of OTUs. However, such changes did not translate into α-biodiversity changes, i.e., observed and potential OTUs' richness, Shannon, and Simpson, excepting the slightly higher evenness and equitability in the top 0–5 cm of the undisturbed soil. As for the β-biodiversity, substituting conventional ploughing with no tillage and maintaining the latter for 12 years notably shifted the soil bacteriobiome closer to the one in the undisturbed soil. This study, presenting the first inventory of soil bacteriobiomes under different tillage in the south of West Siberia, underscores the need to investigate the seasonality and longevity aspects of tillage, especially as they are related to crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rice-ratoon system has long been considered an important economic, time-saving, and labor-saving planting method. Optimal tillage and straw management are beneficial to increasing the growth and yield of recycled rice. However, there is little research on the physical and chemical properties of soil under tillage and straw management, and its effects on the yield and fertilizer utilization of recycled rice. A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of four types of tillage and straw management on rice yield and soil properties in central China during 2020–2021. The types of management were no-till with residues retained (NT+S); plow tillage with residue retention (PT+S); no-till with residues removed (NT-S); and plow tillage with residue removed (PT-S). Compared with PT, yield decreased by 38.8% in NT, while straw returning effectively increased the yield of regenerated rice. NT+S increased the yield of main season rice by 37.0% and ratoon rice by 45.3%. Compared with non-returning straw, straw returning increased soil total porosity, soil organic carbon, and activity of β-glucosidase and urease, among which TP and SOC were increased by 8.8% and 27.8%, respectively. The results showed that returning straw to the field could significantly reduce the yield loss caused by no-tillage and improve the soil structure. No-tillage combined with returning straw to the field of regenerative rice is a green, light, and simplified cultivation mode worthy of further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil aggregates are one of the most important indicators of soil quality, which can be affected strongly by soil tillage. Little is known about the composition and stability of soil aggregates under summer fallow tillage in rainfed winter wheat fields on the Loess Plateau. Soil aggregates were assessed before sowing and after the harvest of winter wheat under three tillage treatments during summer fallow, including minimum tillage (FMT), subsoiling (FST) and plough tillage (FPT). The results showed that the 0.25–2 mm soil mechanical-stable aggregates (MSA) under the FPT treatment were significantly higher (25.5–42.1%) compared with the FMT treatment in the 0–40 cm soil layer before sowing. The FMT treatment significantly increased the 0.5–2 mm size WSA content (24.6–342.4%) compared with the FPT treatment in the 0–20 cm soil layer before sowing and after harvesting. Compared with the FMT treatment, the FPT treatment significantly increased the stability of the MSA in the 0–20 cm soil layer before sowing and the FST treatment significantly increased the stability of the MSA in the 0–50 cm soil layer after harvest. The FPT treatment significantly decreased the geometric mean diameter (4.2–9.3%) and the stability rate (73.6–252.6%) and increased the destruction rate (1.3–3.5%) and the unstable aggregate index of the WSA (0.8–2.3%) in the 0–20 cm soil layer before sowing, compared with the FMT treatment. In summary, the application of FPT and FST increased the stability of the MSA in the 0–20 cm soil layer; however, FMT improved the stability of the WSA in the 0–40 cm soil layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] oilseed cake has been identified as an alternative protein feedstuff and as a valuable feed resource. Moreover, over the last decades, there has been an increased interest in the organic production of feed supplements. A 2-year field experiment was conducted in a split-plot design with three replications, two main plots (conventional tillage: moldboard ploughing at 25 cm followed by rotary hoeing at 10–15 cm, and minimum tillage: chiseling at 25 cm depth followed by rotary hoeing at 10–15 cm), and three sub-plots (organic fertilization type: untreated, vermicompost, and compost) to evaluate the fertilization and tillage system effect on the yield and quality of cold-pressed camelina seed cake. Seed yield and cake yield were only affected by organic fertilization, with the highest values observed in the compost treatment. Crude protein was influenced by both factors examined, and the greatest content was found under conventional tillage and compost application. As for the fatty acid composition of oilseed cake, this can be characterized as a major source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (~52% of total FAs), particularly linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid, which were only affected by fertilization, with the highest values found after compost application. To conclude, the cold-pressed cake from camelina seed cultivated under compost fertilization and conventional tillage appears to be an effective alternative to conventionally used protein feed ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw incorporation promotes rice productivity and soil fertility. However, the effects of tillage practice with straw on GHG emissions in paddy fields are not well documented. Under three rice-based cropping systems of China (single rice, double rice and rice-wheat cropping systems), we investigated rice yield, CH4, N2O, area and yield-scaled emissions arising from different straw-incorporated tillage patterns. Tillage with straw affected rice yield by −6.8~3.2%, −9.1~9.0% and −9.8~2.1% in single rice, rice-wheat and double rice cropping systems respectively. Straw impacted CH4 emission but tillage influenced its impact irrespective of the rice cropping system. The highest CH4 emissions occurred in RedT + S, RoT + S and RoT + S under single rice, rice-wheat and double rice cropping systems respectively. Cumulative CH4 emission of PT + S decreased by 46.8% (p < 0.05) compared to RedT + S in the single cropping system, while under rice-wheat and double rice cropping systems, cumulative CH4 emission of PT + S decreased by 19.0% (p < 0.05) and 13.2% (p > 0.05) respectively compared with RoT + S. Lower methanogenic abundance of PT + S translated into the lowest cumulative CH4, area and yield scaled emissions in single rice and double rice cropping systems. To maintain high rice yield and reduce GHG emissions from straw incorporation, PT + S is recommended for a rice-based cropping system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scientific paper is based on the results of the research focused on the growing and processing of selected medicinal plants. Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) was included in the research because it is currently one of the most sought-after superfoods in Europe and throughout the world. Based on authentic data and literary sources, the model of economic efficiency was developed for assessment of the establishment and operation of the black chokeberry plantation in the Slovak Republic. The modelled plantation shall be spread over 10 hectares with an intensive method of cultivation (high soil quality, deep plowing, drip irrigation, fertilization with organic and inorganic fertilizer and mechanized fruit harvesting). This intensive cultivation method is characterized by higher yields in t/ha compared to an extensive cultivation method. The model is reviewed over a 12-year period. In this paper are presented three alternatives for processing total production. "Alternative A" represents the sale of the harvest to either the final consumer or the processor for further processing (fresh fruit). "Alternative B" represents the finalization of production in the form of apple–aronia juice (ratio 25% aronia–75% apple). "Alternative C" represents the finalization of production in the form of apple–aronia juice (ratio 50% aronia–50% apple). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the northeast plains of China, the intensive utilization of agricultural soils has been a persistent issue, and finding ways to utilize soil resources efficiently and sustainably through a scientifically-driven management system has become a crucial challenge for agricultural production. Conservation tillage is a crucial technology for sustainable agriculture. Currently, plow and rotary tillage are the dominant methods used in Mollisols, but there is limited information on the effects of different conservation tillage practices in this region. The objective of this study was to investigate the short-term impact of tillage and sowing methods on soil physical properties and corn plant growth and to examine the relationship between soil physical properties and plant characteristics during various stages of growth. This study consisted of four tillage and sowing methods: plow tillage and precision seeder sowing (PTS), rotary tillage and precision seeder sowing (RTS), no-tillage and no-tillage seeder sowing (NTS), and no-tillage and precise sowing in stubble field (STS) (all four treatments involved total straw return). The results indicated that the soil penetration resistance (SPR) in the 10–40 cm soil layer under the PTS treatment was significantly lower (by 11.9% to 18%) compared to the other treatments (p < 0.05). On average, the soil moisture content in the NTS treatment was 2.7% and 1.4% higher than that of the PTS and RTS treatments. Additionally, soil temperature was 5.6% to 8.6% lower under the STS treatment compared to the other treatments during late corn growth. The RTS treatment also significantly reduced the bulk density of surface soil. High SPR impeded early crop growth but did not impact mid-crop development, while low soil temperature was one of the main factors affecting late corn growth and development as temperatures decreased. Based on the comparisons, we found that the short-term implementation of conservation tillage did not result in a significant decrease in corn yield. We believe that the short-term implementation of NTS tillage sowing practices in Mollisol regions is a feasible option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of using reduced tillage in organic farming is poorly recognized. The study aimed to assess the impact of the tillage method (shallow tillage and plowing) on soil biochemical activity, pest pressure, and grain yield of Triticum sphaerococcum, T. persicum, and T. aestivum ssp. vulgare, grown in organic farming systems. For this purpose, field experiments were conducted at three certified organic farms located in different regions of Poland. Enzyme activity was influenced to a greater extent by local soil and weather conditions compared to wheat species and the tillage method. Insect pests (Oulema spp.) slightly damaged the leaves of wheat, and the reduced tillage did not increase the damage. Under site conditions favorable for the development of diseases significantly fewer disease symptoms were observed in shallow tillage compared to plowing (powdery mildew by 9.6–46.1%; stripe rust by 15.5–89%; Septoria head blotch by 0–84.4%; Fusarium head blotch by 0–47.4%, Fusarium foot rot by 0–100%). T. aestivum was characterized by the highest yield and the yield stability in various locations and tillage methods. Ancient wheat species (T. sphaerococcum and T. persicum) had a higher yield in shallow tillage compared to plowing tillage (by 64% and 30%, respectively) only under effective weed control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an energy-saving control strategy based on instantaneous optimization is proposed to improve the energy efficiency of hybrid tractors. Using a parallel diesel–electric hybrid tractor as the research object, the topological and working characteristics were analyzed, and a coupled dynamic model of rotary tillage and tractor plow was constructed. Aiming to minimize the equivalent fuel consumption of the entire machine, the motor and diesel engine torques were taken as the control variables, and the state of charge of the power battery was taken as the state variable. Subsequently, an energy-saving control strategy based on instantaneous optimization is proposed. Finally, a simulation experiment was carried out using MATLAB to verify the effectiveness of the energy-saving control strategy based on instantaneous optimization. Compared with the energy-saving control strategy based on power-following, the results show that energy-saving control strategy based on instantaneous optimization can reasonably control the operating state of the diesel engine and motor. Therefore, the diesel engine and motor work in the high-efficiency area, and effectively reduce the equivalent fuel consumption of the tractor during field operation. Under rotary tillage and plowing conditions, equivalent fuel consumption is reduced by 4.70% and 6.31%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium contamination and toxicity on plants and human health is a major problem in China. Safe rice production in Cd-contaminated alkaline soils, with acceptably low Cd levels and high yields, remains an important research challenge. To achieve this, a small-scale field experiment with seven different soil amendment materials was conducted to test their effects performance. Two best-performing materials were selected for the large-scale field experiment. Combinations of humic acid, foliar, and/or soil silicon fertilization and deep or shallow plowing were designed. It was found that the combination, including humic acid, soil and foliar silicate fertilization, and shallow plowing (5–10 cm), produced the most desirable results (the lowest soil bioavailable Cd, the lowest grain Cd concentrations, and the highest grain yield). Rice farmers are therefore recommended to implement this combination to attain high grain yield with low Cd concentrations in alkaline soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of tillage during summer fallow can effectively store precipitation in summer and increase the soil water content in the dryland wheat fields of the eastern Loess Plateau; however, its influencing mechanism is still unknown. Three tillage measures were implemented in 2018, namely, no-tillage during summer fallow (NTF), subsoiling during summer fallow (STF), and plough tillage during summer fallow (PTF), to investigate the changes in soil porosity in different growth periods of winter wheat and their contribution to the soil water storage. The results showed that soil total porosity (Pt) at the 0.2–0.3 m soil depth under the PTF treatment increased significantly from 5.64% to 34.72% compared with that under the STF treatment from pre-seeding to anthesis and significantly increased from 8.67% to 11.56% compared with that under the NTF treatment from pre-seeding to the overwintering stage. In the overwintering period, aeration porosity (Pa) in the 0.1–0.3 m profile under the PTF treatment increased from 31.59% to 73.98% compared with that under the NTF treatment, and that of the 0.2–0.3 m soil layer under the STF treatment increased by 82.47% compared with that under the STF treatment. At the overwintering stage and jointing stage, capillary porosity (Pc) at 0.2–0.3 m soil depth under the NTF treatment increased significantly by 17.45–17.72% compared with that under the STF treatment. The Pt and Pa of the 0–0.1 m soil layer promoted soil water storage in the 0.1–1 m soil profile, while the Pc of the 0–0.3 m soil profile was significantly negatively correlated with the gravimetric water content of the 0.1–0.6 m soil profile. In summary, compared with the NTF treatment, the PTF and STF treatments increased the soil water content and soil water storage at a depth of 0–1 m by increasing Pt and Pa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yield and grain composition play an important role in food production. The aim of this study was to determine the content of phytosterols, squalene, and tocopherols in four varieties of common buckwheat grains: Kora, Panda, Smuga, and Korona depending on the tillage and nitrogen doses employed. The grains were cultivated at the Experimental Station of the State Research Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation in Osiny, Poland, with plow tillage, without plow tillage cultivation, and with nitrogen fertilizers (0, 50, and 100 kg N2 ha−1). Gas chromatography with a mass spectrometer was used to assess all the parameters studied. The cultivation methods did not affect the levels of phytosterols, tocopherols, and squalene, but the highest levels of phytosterols were seen in the Kora variety with 50 kg N2 ha−1 (ranging from 1198 μg to 1800 μg·g−1 of sample weight); therefore, the variety was the best source of phytosterols investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil micro-food webs play an essential role in maintaining or improving the stability of agricultural soils, and they can be influenced by tillage. However, little is known with respect to soil microbial and faunal communities and their relationships shaped by long-term tillage practices. The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of 38 years of no-tillage (NT), subsoil tillage (ST), moldboard plow tillage (MP), and rotary and ridge tillage (CT) practices on soil microbial and faunal communities, and their relationships with soil properties using high-throughput sequencing technology and structural equation modeling (SEM) at 2 soil depths (0–20 cm and 20–40 cm). The results indicate that, after the 38-year (1983–2020) period, the bacterial, fungal, protozoan, and metazoan gene copy numbers under the NT treatment at 0–20 cm were 1.31–6.13 times higher than those under the other treatments. Conversely, the microbial and protozoan alpha diversities were reduced under the NT treatment compared with the CT treatment. However, MP significantly increased microbial and faunal gene copy numbers at 20–40 cm. Moreover, the bacterial community composition remarkably varied relative to the community composition of the fungi and fauna in response to the tillage practices and soil depths. Additionally, the highest and lowest average connectivities of the soil micro-food web networks were observed under the ST and MP treatments, respectively. The SEM demonstrated that tillage practices and soil depths explained 73–98% of the microbial and faunal abundances, diversities, and compositions. Additionally, tillage and depth demonstrated direct quantitative effects and indirect quantitative effects by altering the soil mean weight diameter of aggregates, soil organic carbon, and total nitrogen. Overall, subsoil tillage is recommended as the optimal practice for application in northeast China, and it could improve soil properties and aid in forming a more complex soil micro-food web structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the development of the reliability test method for the hydraulic pump of a tractor during major agricultural operations (plow, rotary, baler, and wrapping) at various driving and PTO (power take-off) gear stages. The hydraulic-pressure-measurement system was installed on the tractor. The measured hydraulic pressure and engine rotational speed were converted to the equivalent pressure and engine speed for each agricultural operation using a mathematical formula. Additionally, the overall equivalent pressure and overall engine speed were calculated to determine the acceleration lifetime. The average equivalent pressure and engine speed for plow tillage were calculated at around 5.44 MPa and 1548.37 rpm, respectively, whereas the average equivalent pressure and engine speed for rotary tillage were almost 5.70 MPa and 2074.73 rpm, accordingly. In the case of baler and wrapping operations, the average equivalent pressure and engine speed were approximately 11.22 MPa and 2203.01 rpm, and 11.86 MPa and 913.76 rpm, respectively. The overall hydraulic pressure of the pump and the engine rotational speed were found to be around 10.07 MPa and 1512.93 rpm, respectively. The acceleration factor was calculated using the overall pressure and engine speed accounting for 336. In summary, the developed reliability test method was evaluated by RS-B-0063, which is the existing reliability evaluation standard for agricultural hydraulic gear pumps. The evaluation results proved that the developed reliability test method for the hydraulic pump of a tractor satisfied the standard criteria. Therefore, it could be said that the developed reliability test method could be applicable to the hydraulic pump of the tractor during agricultural field operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field margin (FM) provides refuges for earthworm survival in rape-rice system after flooding, while the effects of FM with different size on earthworm in arable field (AF) is unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of different FM sizes, a conventional size (FM I) and three expanding sizes (FM II, FM III, FM IV), on earthworm population characteristics in FM and AF. The results showed that the mean abundance of earthworm under the expanding sizes at 1 day and 60 day of flooding after rape harvest was 16.5 and 20.2 times higher than that of FM I, respectively. After stopping flooding, juveniles first migrated from FM to AF, whereas more than half of them were killed by subsequent rotary tillage, and the mortality decreased with expanding FM size. Subsequently, expanding FM sizes promoted earthworm to distribute evenly through the AF at faster speeds. At rape maturity, the mean abundance and total biomass of earthworm of AF under expanding FM sizes were significantly greater than that of FM I, and this positive effect increased with expanding FM size. The results indicated that expanding FM size can mitigate the hazard of rotary tillage to earthworm and promote rapid recovery of earthworm population in AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to analyse the physicochemical properties and chemical composition of soil after years of applying varied tillage systems and pre-crops. The field experiments were carried out in Lipnik in Poland. The experiment was conducted over 25 years, with factor I–3 tillage systems: ploughing (A), ploughless (B) and direct sowing (C), factor II-pre-crop–1–faba bean, 2–sugar beet. Simplified tillage systems were used, and increased acidity was found in both layers due to lower pH, as well as an increase in exchangeable aluminum, hydrolytic acidity and exchangeable acidity of soil. The simplification of tillage system resulted in no significant effect on the following soil parameters: sum of base cations (TEB), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and electrical conductivity (EC). In both layers, there was a marked increase in the content of total nitrogen, carbon and available magnesium in soil with ploughless (B) and direct sowing (C) tillage systems. The change of the tillage system, which implied tillage reduction, was found to be the factor which has a significant effect on the physicochemical properties and chemical composition of soil. Tillage resulted a greater effect on the physicochemical properties, whereas pre-crop was found to affect the changes in chemical composition of soil to a greater extent. The results obtained in the research indicate that the tillage systems ploughless (B) and direct sowing (C) can be applied in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the existing single-motor agricultural tractors, which often have a mismatch between power and working conditions and a poor operation effect under different tillage modes, this paper designs a torque allocation strategy for agricultural electric tractors under different tillage modes. Firstly, the torque is divided into basic and compensating, and a calculation model is established. Then, the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is used to find the optimal demand torque position, and fuzzy control rules allocate the motor torque in combination with the battery SOC. Finally, the strategy's effectiveness in different tillage modes is verified by MATLAB/Simulink simulation and bench test. The test results show that the strategy can distribute the motor torque stably according to the load torque change and pedal opening under three PTO transitions and the plowing and rotary tillage modes. The main and speed control motors respond in about 3 s with good real-time performance. The drive wheel torque can reach 1600 N·m during plowing and rotating operation. The PTO torque can reach 60 N·m during the rotating process. The maximum torque of the output shaft can reach 150 N·m with good plowing performance. During all operations, the SOC of the battery shows a steady linear decrease, and the battery discharge has stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In temperate monsoon areas, major constraints of soybean production in drained paddy fields are excess soil water during monsoon seasons. To further understand how agronomic practices and weather course affect the yield of soybeans, we conducted field experiments at Gwangju, Korea (35°10′ N, 126°53′ E) over three years (2018–2020). Double-crop soybeans were grown at two tillage systems (TS) [rotary tillage (RT), deep plowing followed by rotary tillage (DPRT)] and three sowing dates (SD) (June 10–15, June 25–30, and July 10–15) in drained paddy fields. Flowering phenology (R2) was accelerated by 5 days with each 15-day delay in SD. This resulted in a significant reduction in vegetative growth up to R2, with subsequent reductions in CGR and NAR through R2–R5 (beginning of grain filling). With a 30-day delay in SD, yield was significantly reduced by 27.0%. The better performance of RT over DPRT was demonstrated by greater yields (13.7%). In addition, yield was greatly varied with weather volatility among years, ranging from 123.8 to 552.0 g m−2. Weather volatility was the greatest contributor to yield variability (30.4%), followed by SD (17.0%) and TS (10.3%). Our results suggest that the yield might be mainly determined by how much growth has already been achieved before flowering and through R2–R5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the effects of catch crops (white mustard, lacy phacelia, and a mixture of legumes—faba bean + spring vetch) and two tillage systems (plough tillage and no-tillage) on some quality parameters of spring wheat grain. A field experiment in growing spring wheat in monoculture was conducted in the period 2016–2018 in Czesławice (central part of the Lublin region, Poland). An assumption was made that the nutritional composition of wheat grain could be influenced already at the stage of selection of agronomic practices by modifying the soil chemical and enzyme composition—being the "starting point" for grain quality. It was proven that all the catch crops tested in this study contributed to an improvement in the chemical composition of the soil used in the experiment (a significant increase in humus, P and Mg content). Both the catch crops and the conservation (no-tillage) system stimulated the activity of soil enzymes: dehydrogenase and urease. This resulted in more favorable soil conditions for spring wheat grown in monoculture. The cultivation of the catch crops (particularly white mustard) indirectly contributed to an increased content of dietary fiber and o-dihydroxyphenols in wheat grain. Moreover, the content of most of the amino acids determined and the essential amino acid index (EAAI) in wheat grain were found to be more favorable in the treatments with the catch crops. The highest content of all the macro- and micronutrients analyzed in wheat grain was found in the catch crop treatments (especially that with white mustard). It should be noted that spring wheat responded favorably to the reduced tillage system (no-tillage). Since the grain content of o-dihydroxyphenols, magnesium, calcium, copper, manganese, iron, selenium, and some amino acids (especially essential ones: Lys, Met, Trp) was found to be higher compared to plough tillage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to analyze the tillage depth effect on the tractor-moldboard plow systems in various soil environments and tillage depths using a field load measurement system. A field load measurement system can measure the engine load, draft force, travel speed, wheel axle load, and tillage depth in real-time. In addition, measurement tests of soil properties in the soil layer were preceded to analyze the effect of field environments. The presented results show that moldboard plow at the same tillage depth had a wide range of influences on the tractor's working load and performance under various environments. As the draft force due to soil–tool interaction occurred in the range of 5.6–17.7 kN depending on the field environment, the overall mean engine torque and rear axle torque were up to 2.14 times and 1.67 times higher in hard and clayey soil, respectively, than in soft soil environments. In addition, the results showed tractive efficiency of 0.56–0.73 and were analyzed to have a lugging ability of 67.8% with a 44% maximum torque rise. The engine power requirement in hardpan was similar within 3.6–9.6%, but the power demand of the rear axle differed by up to 18.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimizing soil properties to match ecological conditions can alleviate stress damage and promote crop growth. However, the suitable soil conditions for wheat growth in an integrated rice–wheat breeding scheme under high rainfall and the mechanisms that affect yield production are not well known. Field experiments were carried out at two sites, which were all located in Jiangsu Province, China, a subtropical monsoon climate zone during two wheat growing seasons, to assess the effects of plow tillage followed by rotary tillage (PR) and no-tillage (NT) on soil physical and chemical properties, wheat seedling growth, grain yield, and spike amounts and quality. The finding indicates that with the reduction in soil mixing, soil bulk density was higher in NT than in PR, which helped to maintain moisture in dry soil. In soils with high water content, in NT, when the wheat field was subjected to waterlogging stress, the drainage decreased to deeper soil possibly due to reduced infiltration and a higher evaporation of surface water. The diurnal variation in soil temperature decreased in NT, and when the soil was cold, NT helped to insulate soils at 0–25 cm. Compared with PR, the contents of available nitrogen and phosphorus increased at 0–20 cm in NT. Root biomass and root activity of wheat seedlings at 0–20 cm were also greater in NT than in PR. Compared with PR, wheat also had more culms at the beginning of the overwintering stage, more spikes, and higher grain yield in NT, but the differences were not significant under excessive soil moisture. Therefore, the soil hydrothermal environment and spatial distributions of nutrients in NT promoted shallow root growth and tiller development in the early phase of wheat growth, which led to higher amounts of spikes per plant that resulted in high-yielding wheat crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of paddy rice ploughing techniques on water use and the yield of rice crop, as well as water use efficiency for rice growing in small-holder irrigation schemes. The study was conducted at a farmer's field in Powo B sub-block of Maugo Irrigation Scheme. The period of study was from July 2019 to January 2020, which is the rice season. The experimental site was located in the vicinity of Olare Shopping Centre, Kamenya Sub-location, Kochia East Location, Kochia Ward, Rangwe Sub-County, Homa Bay County, Nyanza Region, Kenya in Maugo rice scheme in Kenya. In the study, four irrigation tillage practices were applied: ox-plough, conventional ox-plough, hand hoe and tractor ploughing. The results showed that conventional ox-ploughing consumed the highest amount of water at 1240 mm. The highest water use efficiency of 0.49 kg/m³ and highest yield of 5.7 tons/ha were observed for hand hoe ploughing. Use of the hand hoe ploughing technique increased yields by 20 percent, as compared to the conventional ox-ploughing. Therefore, the use of water for ploughing is not necessary in the study area. Future research will be needed to see how farmers are adopting the technology before scaling up to full mechanization, as partial mechanization was not profitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spiral bevel gear in a tractor, unlike the other gears in the transmission, is one of the most vulnerable gears in terms of fatigue life, as it is consistently driven throughout the operations of the tractor. Conventional fatigue life tests of transmission gears require expensive equipment and repeated tests, and do not reflect dynamic field loads. The aim of this study is to develop a simulation model which can replace conventional fatigue life tests for actual gears, in order to evaluate the fatigue life of a tractor using dynamic field load data. A transmission simulation model including a spiral bevel gear was developed using commercial software. In order to measure the dynamic load of the tractor according to various field operations, an axle torque measurement system was developed, and field experiments were performed for major agricultural operations occurring in the field. Fatigue life was calculated using Rainflow cycle counting (RFC), the Smith–Watson–Topper (SWT) model, and S–N curves based on torque data measured in the field. The fatigue life under moldboard plow tillage, subsoiler tillage, rotary tillage, and baler operation were 13,599, 285, 278,884, and 525,977 h, respectively. The fatigue life of the tractor, according to subsoiler tillage and baler operation, was 0.104 and 192 times the service life, respectively, where the difference between these two operations was about 1846 times. The fatigue life of the tractor, according to the attached implement type, was significantly different. Therefore, it can be seen that the fatigue life of a tractor can be significantly different, depending on agricultural operation type which the farmer uses most often; this can be used as basic data for tractor design and evaluation. In addition, it is considered that the developed simulation model can be applied to fatigue life evaluation using dynamic field load data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional Maize Monoculture (MM), a dominant Cropping System in South-Western France, is now questioned for environmental reasons (nitrate leaching, pesticide use and excessive irrigation). Three low-input Cropping Systems (CS) using diverse weeding strategies (MMLI, a Low-Input MM implementing ploughing, a combination of on-row spraying and in-between row cultivation and cover crops; MMCT, Conservation Tillage MM implementing chemical control and cover crops; Maize-MSW, maize managed similar to MMLI but rotated with soybean & wheat) were compared to a reference system (MMConv, a conventional MM with tillage and a high quantity of inputs). Potential of Infestation of weeds (PI), weed biomass and crop production of these CS were compared during the first five years after their establishment. Yields were also assessed in weed-free zones hand-weeded weekly in 2014 and 2015. Weed communities did not drastically differ among CS. PI and weed biomass were higher in MMCT, especially for Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv. and were comparable between MMConv, MMLI and Maize-MSW. Analysis of covariance between CS and weed biomass did not reveal a significant interaction, suggesting that weed biomass affected yield similarly among the CS. Comparison between weedy and weed-free zones suggested that weeds present at maize maturity negatively affected yields to the same extent for all four CS, despite having different weed biomasses. Grain yields in MMConv (11.3 ± 1.1 t -1) and MMLI (10.6 ± 2.3 t -1) were similar and higher than in MMCT (8.2 ± 1.9 t ha-1. Similar yields, weed biomasses and PI suggest that MMLI and Maize-MSW are interesting alternatives to conventional MM in terms of weed control and maize productivity and should be transferred to farmers to test their feasibility under wider, farm-scale conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is experiencing energy crisis and a widening gap between energy supply and demand. The country is, however, endowed with considerable, commercially and technically available renewable resources, from which surplus agro-biomass is of great importance and a relatively untapped resource. In the policy making process, knowledge of existing biomass use, degree of social reliance, and degree of biomass availability for energy production is unequivocal and pre-conditional. Field observations, documentation, and fill-in sheet tools were used to investigate the potential of biomass resources and the existing domestic, commercial, and industrial uses of biomass in selected Indian states. To do so, a team of field observers/supervisors visited three Indian states namely: Maharashtra (MH), Madhya Pradesh (MP), and Tamil Nadu (TN). Two districts from each state were selected to collect data regarding the use of biomass and the extent of biomass availability for energy production. In total, 471 farmers were interviewed, and approximately 75 farmers with various land holdings have been interviewed in each district. The existing uses of biomass have been documented in this survey study and the results show that the majority of biomass is used as fodder for domestic livestock followed by in-site ploughing, leaving trivial surplus quantities for other productive uses. Biomass for cooking appeared to be insignificant due to the availability and access to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders in the surveyed districts. Opportunities exist to utilize roadside-dumped biomass, in-site burnt biomass, and a share of biomass used for ploughing. The GIS-based maps show that biomass availability varies considerably across the Taluks of the surveyed districts, and is highly dependent on a number of enviromental and socio-cultural factors. Developing competitive bioenergy market and enhancing and promoting access to more LPG fuel connections seem an appropriate socio-economic and environmental approach to reduce the use of biomass for indoor cooking and increasing the share of surplus biomass for energy production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, in the Polish Carpathians, agriculture has undergone major changes. Our goal was to investigate whether the former management (plowing or mowing and grazing) had an impact on the current species composition, diversity and conservation status of the vegetation of grazing areas. We carried out vegetation studies on 45 grazing sites with traditional methods of grazing (transhumant pastoralism). The survey covered both old (continuous) grasslands and grasslands on former arable land. The most widespread were Cynosurion pastures and mesic Arrhenatherion grasslands. Wet Calthion meadows occurred at more than a half of grazing sites, while nutrient-poor Nardetalia grasslands were only recorded at several grazing sites. For each grazing site, we used soil maps from the 1960s to read land use in the past. We mapped present grassland and arable land area. Compared with the 1960s, there was a significant decrease in the area of arable land and an increase in grasslands. Species diversity was greater in grazing sites where grasslands developed on former arable land. However, this diversity was associated mainly with the occurrence of common grassland species. Cynosurion pastures and wet Calthion meadows had the best conservation status, while nutrient-poor Nardetalia grasslands were the worst preserved. We concluded that the conservation status of mesic grasslands and pastures is dependent on the present diversity of land use within a grazing site, rather than the land use history 60 years ago. This is the first study of the natural, not economic, value of pasture vegetation in the Polish part of the Carpathians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fenlong-ridging (FL) is a recently proposed conservation tillage technology which has dramatic differences to traditional ones. Previous studies have demonstrated in many crops that FL has yield-increasing effects without additional inputs. However, little is known about the role that microbes play in mediating the growth-promoting effects of FL, which restricts its further application and improvement. Here, we characterized variation in the soil and root microbial diversity of sugarcane (GT44) under FL and traditional turn-over plough tillage (CK) by conducting 16S rRNA and ITS metabarcoding surveys. We also measured several phenotypic traits to determine sugarcane yields and analyzed the chemical properties of soil. We found that: (i) plant height (PH) and total biomass weight (TW) of sugarcane plants were 9.1% and 21.7% greater under FL than those under CK, indicating\increased biomass yield of the sugarcane in FL operation; (ii) contents of organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium were lower in soil under FL than those under CK, which indicates the utilization of soil nutrients was greater in FL soil; (iii) FL promoted the activity of endophytic microbes in the roots, and these diverse microbial taxa might have an effect on sugarcane yield and soil chemical properties; and (iv) Sphingomonas, Rhizobium, and Paraburkholderia and Talaromyces, Didymella, and Fusarium were the top three most abundant genera of bacteria and fungi, respectively, in soil and root samples. In addition, strains from Rhizobium and Talaromyces were isolated to verify the results of the metabarcoding survey. Overall, our study provides new insights into the role of microbes in mediating the growth-promoting effects of FL. These findings could be used to further improve applications of this novel conservation tillage technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]