Comparison of different soil tillage methods in the chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivation

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of six different tillage methods on some physicomechanical properties of the soil, product yield, yield elements, operating characteristics and cost in chickpea cultivation. The study was carried out in Kazova Region of Tokat province for three years and Gökçe cultivar of chickpea was used in trials (2008-2009-2010). Tillage methods applied in the study were; A (moldboard plough in autumn, cultivator and tooth harrow in spring), B (moldboard plough, cultivator and tooth harrow), C (rotary tiller), D (chisel, disc harrow and slider), E (strip tillage with router rotary hoe) and F (direct seeding). The trials were arranged in randomized block design with three replications. After the cultivation of the soil with different tillage methods the lowest and the highest values for the gravimetric moisture content were 22.17 and 26.34 %, for the bulk density 1.31 and 1.524 g cm-3, for the soil porosity 43.20 and 49.57 %, for the penetration resistance 0.23 and 0.94 MPa, for the organic matter content 1.43 and 1.86 %, for the fragment size distribution 16,29 and 43.10 %, for the surface residue burial percentage 21.97 and 87.62 %. As plant characteristics; the duration for emergence of the chickpea plant was 13.67-14.33 days, the number of plants per square meter was 17.02-20.64 pcs m-2, the plant height was 28.61-37.26 cm, the first pod height was 15.49-18.07 cm, the number of branches in the plant was 1.24-2.36 pcs plant-1, the pod per plant was 8.01-26.71 pcs plant-1, the number of seeds per plant was 8.21-29.59 pcs plant-1, the plant yield per square meter was 163.06-470.74 kg da-1, the grain yield per square meter was 80.60-260.63 kg da-1, the weight of 100 seeds was 43.44-47.46 g, the harvest index was 52.51-56.43 % and the number of grains in the pod was 1.11-1.13 pcs pod-1. In addition, it was found that the average costs of the methods varied between 174.25 and 192.10 ₺ da-1, and the input-output ratio varied between 0.50 and 1.51. The results revealed that C and D methods can be applied as alternative tillage methods in the region.