Possibilities and limits of reduced primary tillage in organic farming (original) (raw)

Introduction In two organically cultivated field trials, located in Germany and Greece, effects of reduced primary tillage systems on root and shoot growth of cereals were investigated. The field trial in Rommersheim near Mainz, Germany, was established in 1994 by the foundation "Stiftung Ökologie und Landbau". The Agricultural University of Athens established in 1995 a similar experiment in a field trial carried out by The Laboratory of Crop Science, located in Athens, Greece. Materials and methods Mouldboard plough, two-layer plough and layer cultivator were used in Germany. Mouldboard plough, rotary hoe and zero tillage were applied in Greece. The field experiment in Germany was performed on a clay loam soil (Calcaric Regosol, FAO) with a 5-year crop rotation (green fallow, winter wheat/catch crop, peas, winter rye/catch crop, spring barley) in a split-plot design. The investigated crop was spring barley. Tillage systems were implemented after cereal harvests only. The ...

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