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Evaluating the Response of Cotton and Corn Rotation to Various Tillage
Practices in the Alto Magdalena Warm Valley
ABSTRACT
At the CI Nataima experimental research center of the Corporación Colombiana de Investigación
Agropecuaria (Agrosavia) located at N 4° 11’ 14” W 74° 57’ 22” and 381 meters above sea level, an
experiment was carried out on sandy loam Typic Haplustepts. Four tillage systems were evaluated with
rotated corn (Zea mays L.) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) crop yields, and the effect was assessed
based on some physical and chemical properties of soil. The tillage systems were conventional, reduced
with ridges, vertical with a rigid chisel, and direct seeding (zero tillage). The physical characteristics
analyzed were apparent density, actual density, total porosity, usable water and infiltration, chemical
pH, organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur content, and adequate
cation exchange capacity. The corn crop results showed that, with reduced tillage plus ridging, the plants
reached the maximum height (239 cm), while conventional tillage had the lowest values (209 cm). Grain
weight per ear and yield per hectare showed the highest values with vertical tillage, reaching 102 g/ear
and 5475 kg ha-1, respectively. Reduced tillage with ridging had the highest yields for cotton crops,
reaching an average production of 1290 kg ha-1 of fiber, being 557 kg ha-1 higher than that obtained
with vertical tillage. Resistance to soil penetration exhibited an inverse relationship with cotton yields,
involving a significant reduction by 3 Megapascals. A direct relationship was observed between the
length of the primary root and the crop yield of cotton and between the percentage of humidity at field
capacity (CC) and yields, reaching the highest production with values over 12 % humidity at CC. The
infiltration rate was similar for the different tillage methods. The chemical properties of the soil
evaluated for the cotton-corn rotation system did not have significant statistical differences. However,
reduced tillage tended to accumulate a higher percentage of organic matter and higher magnesium
content.
Keywords: tillage, soil, yield, reduced tillage, cotton.
Artículo recibido 08 agosto 2024
Aceptado para publicación: 10 setiembre 2024