Surface water runoff of different tillage technologies for maize

ArticleThe present paper is focused on the evaluation of efficiency of soil-conservation technologies to reduce surface water runoff in Central Bohemia Region. In the last years, there has been an increase in maize planting on hillslope plots due to the construction of many biogas plants in conditions of Czech Republic. It enhances the risk of water erosion because the occurrence of sloping lands in the Czech Republic is high. To evaluate the technologies of stand establishment a field trial was laid out with four treatments of maize planting. The trial was laid out on a plot with light soil and slope of around 12%. It was a multi-year trial. To measure erosion parameters a rainfall simulator was used (measurement of surface runoff). The values obtained in two seasons show a positive effect of the soil surface cover by organic matter when reduced soil tillage was used. Soil loss also decreased at the same time compared to treatments with conventional soil tillage. It was found up to six-fold reduction in surface runoff by appropriate soil tillage technology during two seasons of measurement