Die Bodenkultur - Journal for Land Management, Food and Environment

P. LIEBHARD:

Influence off primary tillage on pH-value, calcium-, potassium- and phosphatecontent of farming soil in the centre of Upper Austria (part 2)

Summary

In a long term experiment with various long-tillage methods, the availability of selected macronutrients and the pH-value of the topsoil were investigated. Experiments were carried out from 1980 to 1990 to check the influence of primary tillage in combination with the application of fertilizer and calcium, customary in this region. An increase in the calcium concentration in the topsoil was observed in all tillage treatments except the rotary tiller variants. A small, but not significant rise of the pH-value was observed during the experiment. This tendency was larger under the ploughing treatment as compared with the grubhing one. In plots which were cultivated with the rotary tiller, a measurable decrease of the pR by 0.05 units was detected. The mean P20 5-concentration ascended from 16 to 22 mg/l0D g fine soil because of higher yearly application than the absorption by the crop could remove. No significant differences in phosphate concentration between cultivation variants and cultivation depths were detected. Beside the general increase of the K20-concentration in the topsoil, significant differences between the different cultivation methods were observed. The highest value of 44 mg was measured in rotary tillered plots. In the grubbed plot this concentration varied from 37.5 to 41 mg, the lowest values ranging from 27 to 29 mg were found after continuous ploughing. Key-words: primary tillage, pH-value, calcium-, phosphate-, potassium content.