Effects of Different Tillage Methods on Soil Organic Matter Content and Aggregate Stability

The conventional tillage disturbs aggregates, specially, in loamy and sandy loam soils and increases the susceptibility of soil to water and wind erosion. Thus, use of other tillage methods, especially in rain fed agriculture, is recommended. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impacts of different tillage methods on soil organic matter, soil aggregate stability, and linear development of gullies. The treatments included conventional tillage (preparation of seed bed by a disc plow), conservation tillage (sowing with Combinator device without any soil plowing while conserving 100% of the residues on soil surface), minimum tillage (sowing with Combinator device without any soil plowing while conserving about 30% of the residues on the soil surface), and control (without sowing and tillage). Treatments were arranged as randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the head cuts of the existing gullies in a rain fed wheat farm. The results showed that minimum and conservation tillage significantly increased soil organic matter and water aggregate stability compared to the conventional tillage. In addition, the three mentioned treatments decreased the linear development of gullies significantly as compared to the control. Results, suggest that gully development may be mitigated by using conservation or minimum tillage.