Effect of different tillage systems on wheat (Triticum aestivum) crop

An experiment was conducted for two consecutive years to study the effect of different levels of tillage on wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend. Fiori & Paol.) after paddy (Oryza sativa L.) harvest. The tillage systems included one zero-tillage or direct drilling treatment and five tillage treatments varying from one harrowing to six harrowing. Two cultivator and one planking were common in all tillage treatments. The experiment was laid out in randomized black design (RBD) with three replications. Bulk density and clod mean-weight diameter decreased with increase in the number of tillage operations, which varied from 1.49 to 1.23 g/cc and 13.8 mm to 12.5 mm respectively. In the first year of experiment the zero-tillage yield was on a par with that of tillage treatments and the yields were statistically non-significant in different treatments. However, during the second year of trial the difference in yield and tiller count was statistically significant. Based on e-year data, it could be inferred that there was no consistency in results of zero-tillage being on a par with that of tillage treatments. Reduced tillage with two harrowings followed by two cultivator and one planking treatment was better from economic return point of view.