I’m fed up with talking about the weather, but I can console myself with the fact we have grabbed every opportunity so far and progress is not too bad.Mouldboard ploughing still common
DESPITE the potential economic and environmental benefits of conservation and other forms of reduced tillage, mouldboard ploughing is still the most common tillage practice in the temperate regions of north west Europe, an RRA workshop in the West Midlands heard.
According to Chris Watts, of Rothamsted Research, of the 5.4 million hectares (13.34m acres) cultivated annually in the UK, around three million ha (7.4m acres) are still ploughed each year.
“With this in mind, we are seeking to evaluate the relative influence of soil texture - or clay content - management practice and soil organic carbon on soil strength and the energy required for ploughing,” he told the meeting.
The work is being carried out on the Broadbalk wheat experiment plots at Rothamsted. These were established in 1843 to test the effects of inorganic fertiliser and FYM on wheat yields.
“What we’ve found on the plots where FYM has been added, is that the specific draught or energy required for ploughing is around 20 per cent less than where no fertiliser was applied,” said Dr Watts.
“This equates to using a five-furrow instead of a four-furrow plough and expending the same energy.
“One possible reason for this is that the bulk organic material reduces soil density over time.
“In addition, the presence of soil organic carbon at more than two per cent leads to increases in both water holding capacity and aggregate stability, resulting in a well-aggregated soil structure, which persists through the growing season and subsequent cultivation.”
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