Abstract:

In order to explore the most suitable tillage to reach high and stable yield in summer maize in sub-humid and drought areas in Shandong province, with ten different tillage treatments during wheat-maize whole season, the effects of tillage managements on the stem and ear characteristics and grain yield in summer maize were studied. The results showed that, effect of different tillage managements on plant height and ear height was not significant, but indeed affected stem diameter and coefficient of ear height significantly, among all tillage managements, stem was the thinnest and coefficient of ear height was the highest in CK (rotary tillage at wheat season + direct seeding maize + no straw returning), and the stem diameter was the highest in treatments A1B11, A2B21, A3B31 and A4B41, i.e. rotary tillage at wheat season + rotary tillage at maize season + straw returning, no-tillage at wheat season + no-tillage at maize season + straw returning, subsoiling tillage at wheat season + subsoiling tillage at maize season + straw returning, deep tillage at wheat season +deep tillage at maize season + straw returning,. Compared with conventional tillage management, all other tillage managements significantly increased kernel numbers per ear and 100-kernel weight, decreased bald length, and increased yield and biomass. The yield was the highest in treatment A1B11, i.e. rotary tillage at wheat season + rotary tillage at maize season + straw returning, and was 35.83% higher than that of CK.