Power Consumption of No-tillage Seeder under Different Cover Crop Species and Termination for Soybean Production

Abstract

To achieve the maximum benefit of no-tillage with cover crop in the sustainable farming system, we conducted experiments on the performance and power consumption of a no-tillage seeder under different combinations of cover crop species, residue management and termination in soybean production. The results showed that the power consumption of the no-tillage seeder was higher with rye than hairy vetch and mixed-seeding, and increased with higher quantity of cover crop residue. The termination and management of cover crop significantly affected the cover crop biomass accumulation and power consumption of the no-tillage seeder. The results revealed that late cover crop termination increases the biomass while the performance of the no-tillage seeder declined. Therefore, flail mower cutting and mix seeding were appropriate for improving the no-tillage seeder in soybean production.