Section 3 (Crop Management)

Proceedings of the 8 th Asian Regional Maize Workshop, Bangkok, Thailand: August 5-8, 2002
Tillage Practices in Corn Production
Romeo V. Labios 1 *, Jocelyn D. Labios 1 , Leonardo L. Tamisin Jr. 1 , Manuel Q. Esguerra 1 ,
Romulo C. Cambaya 2 , Jupiter S.Tividad 3 and Jasper O. Manalo 4
1 Farming Systems and Soil Resources Institute (FSSRI), College of Agriculture (CA),
University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), College, Laguna 4031
2 BIARC DA-RFU 5, Pili, Camarines Sur;
3 OPA San Jose, Mindoro Occidental;
4 Monsanto Philippines, Inc, E-mail: rvl@lgn.csi.com.ph
Abstract
The potential of conservation tillage systems to improve corn yields while reducing production costs
and conserving soil and water resources was tested through on-farm trials in two sites, namely: San Jose,
Mindoro Occidental and Calabanga, Camarines Sur. A total of 9 farmer-partners cooperated in the
conduct of the trial. Treatments include conventional tillage, minimum tillage, zero tillage and farmer’s
tillage practices, which are tested in factorial with variety or fertilizer. Results in Mindoro reveal that
variation in grain yield is mainly due to tillage practices. Moreover, conservation tillage practices i.e.,
zero and minimum tillage, resulted to the higher grain yield of about 5.29 t ha -1 in Mindoro. In the case of
Camarines Sur, yield was not significantly affected by any of the treatments combinations applied (tillage
x variety). Zero tillage obtained higher grain yield (2.88 t ha -1 ) followed closely by minimum tillage with
2.79 t ha -1 . From these trials it is evident that conservation tillage management generally resulted to
higher grain yield compared with the farmer’s tillage practice. Conservation tillage practice is thus a
viable option for corn production. Benefits obtained in adopting conservation tillage will be further
realized in terms of economic returns, where highest net benefit is obtained due to lower production costs.
In addition, when the soil surface is left undisturbed, soil moisture is conserved at a time when dry
periods are a problem.
Introduction
Land preparation is one of the major farm operations which require considerable labor or capital
resource that farmers are willing to invest in. Tillage operations are performed to create a suitable soil
condition for seeding and further establishment of the crop. Conventional tillage systems consist of a
series of plowing, harrowing and disking to produce a fine seedbed and provide an environment free of
weeds. Depending on the intensity, it is also known that this operation is a cause of soil erosion especially
in sloping lands, soil structure destruction and soil water loss (via evaporation and runoff). Further,
intensive tillage systems result to a decrease in soil organic matter and biodiversity (Biamah et al., 2000).
Tillage practices contribute greatly to the total labor cost in any crop production system resulting to lower
economic returns (Labios et al., 1999). Hence, conservation tillage practices, such as zero and minimum
tillage, may be introduced to offset the production cost and other constraints associated with land
preparation. Reduced or conservation tillage systems are gaining more attention in recent years with the
rising concern over natural resource degradation.
Conservation tillage is the practice of limiting the intensity and frequency of tillage operation while
retaining plant residues in situ. It also decreased the time and power required for crop establishment with
reduction in or complete elimination of the number of tillage applied (Triplett, 1976). Further, when the soil
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