Abstract
A field experiment was executed to investigate the influence of different tillage practices and herbicide
application on the physical properties of soil and yield of maize crop at the research farm of the University of
Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan during 2018 and 2019. In this experiment four tillage practices (viz., mould
board plough followed by rotavator, disc harrow twice, rotavator twice and cultivator twice followed by
planking) and three times of herbicides application (viz., pre-emergence, post emergence and control) were
arranged in a RCB design with split plot arrangements. Tillage practices were kept in main plots and
herbicide application in sub-plots. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that tillage practices had shown
significant effect on soil bulk density (g cm-3
), moisture contents (%), penetration resistance (N cm-2
),
biological yield (kg ha-1
) and grain yield (kg ha-1
) of maize crop. The use of mould board plough and rotavator
were better for improving the physical properties of soil at 0-20 cm depth. The bulk density and penetration
resistance of the soil were lowest and moisture retention was highest with the application of mould board
plough, and vice versa with the use of cultivator twice followed by planking. The same trend was obtained for
biological and grain yield of maize in response to corresponding tillage practices. Moreover, herbicide
application at the pre-emergence stage significantly increased the biological and grain yield of maize crop but
exerted no significant effect on the physical properties of soil measured at any stage. In light of these results,
deep tillage practices (such as mould board plough and rotavator) could be recommended for improving the
physical properties of soil and yield of maize crop.
Subhan Uddin, Muhammad Amin, Muhammad Ramzan, Zahid Hussain, Salim Shah. (2020) Influence of different tillage practices and herbicide application on physical properties of soil and yield of maize crop, The Journal Soil & Environment , Volume 39, Issue 2.
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