Influence of soil conservation practices on legume crops growth

Abstract

In a three-year experiment, three types of soil conservation techniques were tested in the legumes cultivation systems. Our treatment types were no-till, standard tillage to the depth of 8 cm and deep tillage to 20 cm. The study evaluated winter pea (cv. Enduro), spring pea (cv. Eso), white lupine (cv. Amiga), narrow-leaved lupine (cv. Boregine) and soybean (cv. Merlin) in two autumn terms (winter pea only) and in spring term (all legume species). In no-till technology, the average yield of all legumes was 2.24 t/ha. For standard tillage (2.58 t/ha) and deep tillage (2.62 t/ha), yields were significantly higher than in no-till technology. From the monitored parameters, deep tillage appeared as the best soil treatment. Although the yield was similar to standard tillage, the soil was less stiffened, resulting in a higher content of nitrogen in the seed and a better use of the pre-crop value of the legumes. In the experiment, winter pea spring sowing term (2.93 t/ha) was better than both autumn sowings (2.68 t/ha and 2.65 t/ha).