An Innovative Way to Handle Residues in a No-Tillage Maize-based System Under Sprinkler Irrigation in Southern Spain

摘要

Residues management is a major limitation for no-tillage adoption in irrigated maize-based cropping systems in southern Spain. Average maize yield for the common 700 cycles in the region are higher than 12 t ha~(-1) (Aguilar et al., 2007). This implies that more than 20 to ha of residues may be left in the field after harvest. The residues are necessary for improving soil quality as well as for limiting soil erosion, particularly in the slopping lands in this region (Boulal et al., 2007). However, there is a drawback to maintaining them as they affect negatively the establishment of the following crop, typically cotton, because of the reduced soil heating during seedling germination and emergence and the increased damages by armadillo bugs and slugs(Griffith et al., 1977). The main objective of this work is to present and characterize an innovative system developed in a commercial farm that overcomes these problems.