Evaluation of soil tillage and direct sowing systems in terms of soil physical quality and crop quality for sustainable agriculture in Tokat Kazova

In the research conducted under Tokat, located in the transition climate zone, silage triticale-vetch mixture and second crop silage corn rotation were applied. The study aimed to determine the sustainable tillage system for silage triticale-vetch mixture and silage corn using four different tillage systems. In the study, conventional tillage system (mouldboard plough + disc harrow + combination cultivation machine + sowing) (M1), reduced tillage system-1 (chisel plough + disc harrow + sowing) (M2), reduced tillage system-2 (rotary cultivators with vertical axes + sowing) (M3) and direct sowing (M4) systems were applied. To determine the effect of tillage systems on soil physical quality, soil moisture content, bulk density, penetration resistance, degree of compaction, aggregate stability, hydraulic conductivity, degree of soil fragmentation, surface roughness, soil water retention curves, and S-index values were determined. Measurements regarding soil properties were made at depths of 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm during the first and second crop periods, after tillage and harvest time. The multiples ratio and the miss ratio, acceptable plant spacing, and planting depth were used to determine sowing quality in the second crop. It was determined that bulk density, penetration resistance, compaction degree, and aggregate stability values were higher in the direct seeding system. Soil tillage systems affected surface roughness statistically significantly in the second crop period, and there was no difference between M1, M2, and M3 systems. Soil tillage systems were evaluated in terms of the physical quality of the soil using the S-index value. Although there is no statistical difference between the systems, the highest S-index value was determined in the M2 application, and the lowest S-index value was determined in the M1 application. According to the S-index values determined in all four systems, it is understood that the soil shows good physical quality. Sowing quality parameters in the conventional tillage system are better than those of other systems. Soil tillage systems silage triticale-vetch mixture in terms of green grass yield: M4>M1>M2>M3; silage corn is listed as M4>M1>M3>M2 in terms of green grass yield. According to the results obtained, the fact that the S-index value is higher in alternative tillage systems than in conventional tillage systems shows that these methods will make significant contributions to sustainability in the long term.