Effect of different tillage practices on soil physical properties under wheat in semi-arid environment

To study the effect of different tillage practices on physical properties of a silty clay loam soil under irrigated wheat in a semi-arid environment, a field experiment was conducted at the research farm of the University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan during 2009-10 and 2010-2011, The tillage practices consisted of five treatments i.e. tine cultivator twice (TC-2), chisels plow (CR), moldboard plow (MR), disk plow (DR) and tine cultivator once (TCR), each followed by a rotavator except the first treatment. Soil moisture content, bulk density and soil penetration resistances were recorded. The results showed that tillage practices had significant (p < 0.05) effect on soil moisture content, soil penetration resistance and bulk density at both soil depths (0-20 cm, 20-40 cm). The highest soil moisture content and lowest bulk density or soil penetration resistance were recorded for soil tilled with chisel plow or moldboard plow at both soil depths. Soil physical conditions were generally improved with time as moisture conservation in soil increased while soil bulk density and soil penetration resistance decreased at both soil depths in second year as compared to first year of study. These results suggested that deep tillage practices (chisel plow, moldboard plow) performed better than shallow tillage practices (tine cultivator), and hence is recommended to improve soil moisture conservation and reduce both soil bulk density and penetration resistance under semi-arid environment.