Effect of Tillage and Sowing Technologies Nexus on Winter Wheat Production in Terms of Yield, Energy, and Environment Impact

Crop production is considered one of the most important agricultural areas in the world, supplying humanity with raw food materials. However, intensive farming very often has a detrimental effect on the environment. The aim of this study was to investigate and assess the efficiency of strip tillage and a sowing machine as well as a direct sowing machine in differently prepared soils in terms of yield, energy, and environmental impact. The experiments were performed with winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown using three different tillage techniques and two sowing machines. The results show that the inputs of diesel fuel, energy, and time are directly affected by the number and complexity of technological operations throughout the production chain. The highest inputs of diesel fuel, working time, and energy consumption were needed using conventional tillage technology with strip tillage and a sowing machine (CT-STS), amounting to 130.2 l ha(-1), 6.65 h ha(-1), and 18,349 MJ ha(-1), respectively. The best yields were obtained using no tillage-direct sowing technology (NT-DS), where were reached 7.54 t ha(-1). The lowest environmental impact was achieved in the winter wheat production system using NT-DS, where the CO2 emissions were as high as 15%, lower than those under conventional tillage-direct sowing (CT-DS) and CT-STS. The costs of winter wheat production can be reduced by up to 23.6%. The main conclusion regarding the use of strip tillage and sowing and direct sowing machines in traditional tillage technology is that energy and environmental indicators have deteriorated compared to no tillage, but no significant difference in winter wheat yields has been identified.

Automated summary

Crop production is vital for providing raw food materials to humanity, but intensive farming can harm the environment. This study investigated the efficiency of different tillage techniques and sowing machines in terms of yield, energy, and environmental impact. The results showed that conventional tillage with strip tillage and a sowing machine had the highest inputs of diesel fuel, working time, and energy consumption. However, no tillage-direct sowing technology had the best yields and lowest environmental impact.