Jiri Masek

Comparison of tillage systems in terms of water infiltration into the soil during the autumn season

The soil belongs to the most valuable parts of the planet Earth. It is, endangered by water erosion, which causes huge destruction every year, or damage to farmland. More than half of the agricultural land in the Czech Republic is threatened by water erosion. The measurement was performed in the location Nesperská Lhota. The trial has been established on loamy sand Cambisol. In the field experiment, there were created 6 different variants which wad differed by soil tillage and crop. In the individual variants maize and oats were located. The field trial has been existing for a long time, as it was founded in 2009. Two measuring methods of water infiltration were used for the measurements: a mini disk infiltrometer and a single ring. The measurement was performed in the period of September 2016 before the harvest of maize. The soil aggregates were already stabilized at that time after all tillage operations. The measurement result showed the difference between the methods of soil tillage. The greatest ability of infiltration had a variant of maize with inter-row oats. Surprisingly, it was followed by maize, which was processed by ploughing technology. The lowest infiltration capacity was showed by oats reduced by soil tillage. A variant without vegetation had the second lowest infiltration. Our results obtained at rate of water infiltration into the soil affirm the need to control measures in the late vegetative stages. It is important for most of the rainfall to be quickly infiltrated so that it prevents the formation of massive surface runoff.