Effect of Tillage System and Organic Matter Management Interactions on Soil Chemical Properties and Biological Activity in a Spring Wheat Short-Time Cultivation

Abstract

Properly selected tillage methods and management of the available organic matter resources are considered important measures to enable farming in accordance with the principles of sustainable agriculture. Depending on the depth and intensity of cultivation, tillage practices affect soil chemical composition, structure and biological activity. The three-year experiment was performed on the soil under spring wheat (cv. Tybalt) short-time cultivation. The influence of different tillage systems and stubble management on the soil’s chemical and biological parameters was analyzed. Organic carbon content (OC); content of biologically available phosphorus (Pa), potassium (Ka), and magnesium (Mg); content of total nitrogen (TN), mineral nitrogen forms: N-NO3 and N-NH4 were determined in various soil samples. Moreover, the total number of microorganisms (TNM), bacteria (B), actinobacteria (A), fungi (F); soil respiratory activity (SR); and pH in 1 M KCl (pH) were also investigated. The results show that organic matter amendment is of greater influence on soil characteristics than the tillage system applied. Manure application, as well as leaving the straw in the field, resulted in higher amounts of organic carbon and biologically available potassium. A significant increase in the number of soil microorganisms was also observed in soil samples from the experimental plots including this procedure.

Effects of Eco-Friendly Product Application and Sustainable Agricultural Management Practices on Soil Properties and Phytosanitary Condition of Winter Wheat Crops

“…The values of these parameters in the variant combining their operation with leaving straw on the plots were statistically significantly higher than the others, amounting to 67.8 × 10 6 cfu•g −1 (B) and 72.5 × 10 6 cfu•g −1 (TNM) (Table 4). We observed similar dependencies in our previous experiments, which could indicate the stable tendency [41]. Other researchers have formed the opposite opinion, however, suggesting that the possibility for concentrations of microorganisms in microbiologically rich environments to be modified by the introduction of EM are limited.…”

Evaluation of Microbiological and Chemical Properties of Soils as a Result of Anthropogenic Denudation

“…This is particularly important in precision agriculture, which focuses on improving the efficiency of agricultural production. Precision agriculture technologies allow for optimizing fertilization, the use of plant protection products, and the amount of fuel needed for cultivation operations [61,62]. This enables better utilization of agroecosystem capabilities, especially concerning non-renewable soil cover exposed to anthropogenic denudation.…”