Effects of a 3-year reduced tillage on the yield and quality of grain and weed infestation of spring triticale (Triticosecale Wittmack)

This study was aimed at analyzing the yield, grain quality and weed infestation of spring triticale sown in 3 tillage systems: a) conventional tillage (CT)-shallow ploughing and harrowing after harvest of the previous crop, ploughing in the autumn; b) reduced tillage (RT)-only cultivator after harvest of the previous crop, and c) no-tillage (NT)-only glyphosate (360 g L-1) after harvest of the previous crop. Depth of tillage varied according to intended purpose with shallow ploughing at a depth of 10-12 cm, autumn ploughing at a depth of 25-30 cm and cultivator tillage at a depth of 10-15 cm. The yield of spring triticale of ‘Legalo’ cultivar sown in the CT was higher than grain yields from RT and NT systems. The lower productivity of triticale in the NT and RT systems, compared to the CT system, resulted from a reduced number of spikes as well as a lower weight and number of grains from spike. Grain of triticale harvested from CT plots was characterized by a higher content of starch and by lower contents of protein and crude fiber than the grain from the RT and NT systems. The RT and NT systems significantly increased the number and air-dry weight of weeds in triticale crop, compared to the CT system. Keywords: Spring triticale; Grain quality; Grain yield; Weeds; Tillage systems.