Technological characteristics and quantitative analysis of different conservation tillage patterns

Conservation tillage (CT) is a kind of sustainable agricultural technique to control soil erosion, protect agro-ecosystem environment and maintain the sustainable land productivity. At present, there exist many types of development patterns and technologies of China’s CT, but it is lack of unified standards to identify the technological characteristics of different CT patterns. Therefore, based on the basic principles of “Three-Min. and Two-High” (minimum soil disturbance, minimum land-surface bareness, minimum field pollution, high resource conservation and high economic efficiency), an indicators system for quantitative analysis on the characteristics of CT was developed, and four kinds of CT patterns (which were “wide/narrow row alternation planting and high stubble mulching”, “direct-sowing on ridge side and stand-stubble returning”, “stubble mulching and direct-sowing on ridge” and “cutting stubble combine ridge with subsoiling”) on maize production areas in Jilin Province were taken as case study in this paper. The results showed that the four models of CT, compared with traditional production methods, showed a certain “protective” effect, but the values of comprehensive “conservation degree” (Cd) were difference, in which “direct-sowing on ridge side and stand-stubble returning” had the highest value of Cd (26.65), the value of “direct-Sowing on ridge side and stand-stubble returning” was 25.37, and the one of “wide/narrow row alternation Planting and High stubble mulching” and “cutting stubble combine ridge with subsoiling” were 16.01 and 13.45, respectively.. Therefore, the choice of CT extending should give preference to the pattern with relatively high Cd value, and it is need to further enhance technological research in order to improve the pattern with low value of Cd.