| Arable land ensures food production,and the black soil area in northeast China is one of China’s most significant commercial grain production bases,ensuring national food supply.Tillage has a substantial influence on crop yield and is an important aspect of agricultural production,but primitive tillage practices have destroyed the soil structure,and deep loosening,as one sort of conservation tillage approach,may restore the soil environment and affect maize output.To maintain effective production practices,it is critical to evaluate the impact of various deep loosening procedures on soil physical qualities,moisture characteristics,and maize yield.In this study,we used a long-term locational experiment to investigate the soil physical and chemical properties under different deep loosening treatments（conventional tillage（RC）,no-till straw mulch（NTS）,continuous summer deep loosening 20 cm no-till straw mulch（20FS）,continuous autumn deep loosening 30 cm no-till straw mulch（30FS）,and1 year autumn deep loosening 30 cm+2 years no-till straw mulch（FS））.To understand the impacts of various deep loosening procedures on soil physical properties,moisture characteristics,and maize yield,and to offer a theoretical foundation for their use in production practice.The study’s findings are as follows:（1）Deep loosening has a major impact on soil tillage’s physical and chemical qualities.During the maize growth and development period,the deep pine treatment’s average soil bulk weight was 1.29 g·cm-3,which was reduced by 11.03%compared to the control;at the same time,total soil porosity was affected,and the average compactness of the 30FS,FS,and 20FS treatments was reduced by 31.11%,22.48%,and 11.87%,respectively.The soil structure is getting closer to optimal.After deep loosening,the distribution of soil agglomerates changed,the number of big agglomerates（R>0.25 mm）rose considerably,and the mean MWD increased by 29.98%compared to before deep loosening.As compared to conventional tillage,30FS,FS,and 20FS treatments lowered the unstable agglomeration index by 61.36%,50.12%,and 43.00%,respectively;deep loosening dramatically increased the index.Deep tillage considerably enhanced soil organic matter and nutrient content,with 30 FS being the most effective in enhancing the soil environment.（2）Gardner’s equation was used to fit the soil moisture characteristic curve and determine the soil moisture constants and specific water capacity.The deep pine treatment may greatly improve soil water storage by increasing soil water holding capacity,changing the soil moisture constant,and changing the soil moisture constant.The 100 k Pa soil specific water capacity value can reflect the soil’s water supply capacity,and deep pine tillage increases the specific water capacity value significantly.The effective water content of soil after deep pine treatment increases 21.32%on average compared to that without deep pine treatment,with 30FS having the greatest effect.（3）Deep tillage increased maize yield greatly,and the general trend of growth indicators such as plant height and stalk thickness over the maize growth and development period was30FS>FS>20FS>NTS>RC.Deep tillage could greatly boost maize plant longitudinal growth,and the average dry matter mass of maize in the subterranean section was 88.95g,an increase of 75.00%on average compared to the treatment without deep tillage.The cumulative length of the complete maize root system rose by 63.97%on average following the deep loosening treatment,and the 30FS treatment stimulated the most growth and development of the maize plant root system.In conclusion,the study found that deep loosening can reduce soil bulk weight,regulate soil three-dimensional structure,get more stable agglomerate structure,improve soil moisture content,enhance soil water storage and water supply capacity,effectively improve the physical structure and nutrient content of the soil tillage layer,promote crop growth and development to improve crop yield,taking into account the improvement condition of the soil environment,moisture characteristics,and till.Of the numerous deep loosening methods investigated,the 30 FS deep loosening approach may be best suited for the western half of northeast China. |
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