EFFECT OF VARIOUS TILLAGE PRACTICES ON SOIL PROPERTIES AND MAIZE GROWTH

Appropriate tillage practices are vital for good tilth that is pre-requisite for aggregate formation, soil aeration, better root development and plant growth. A field experiment of maize was carried out at the experimental site of Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam during two consecutive growing seasons 2009 and 2010. A randomized complete block design with three treatment conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT) and no tillage (NT) was used in the study. Significant differences between tillage treatments were observed in the soil properties, growth and root development of plants. The NT treatment retained higher soil water contents (15.8 and 16.0%) measured at 0-20 cm depth during 2009 and 2010, respectively. Likewise, the soil bulk density (1.4 and 1.4 cm-(3)) was higher at this depth consequently; it resulted in greater soil strength (81 N m(-2) and 79 N m(-2)) during 2009 and 2010, respectively. The negative and significant correlations were recorded between root dry weight and soil strengths. On the other hand, positive and significant relationship of root dry weight with mean total dry matter production and LAI was observed. Moreover, the root development related observations were significantly enhanced under CT as compared to RT and NT treatments. The results indicate that conventional tillage improve maize growth and root development by improving soil properties.