Abstract
We evaluated the performance of the triple-disc no-tillage (NT) seeder for corn cropping when the seeder was used immediately after the harvesting of two winter crops, Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and rye (Secale cereale L.), with two levels of cutting height. We examined the amount of plant residues, root biomass and physical soil properties of the winter crop fields and assessed the relationships between these factors and the seeding accuracy and early growth. The root biomass of the Italian ryegrass sward was higher than that of the rye, though there was no difference in the aboveground biomass. The percentage of inaccurate sowing after the Italian ryegrass sward harvesting was 40.5-44.8%, which was higher than that after the rye sward harvesting of 1.8-9.7%. As a result, the percentage of seedling establishment after the Italian ryegrass sward harvesting was lower than that after the rye sward harvesting. Cutting height did not influence seeding accuracy. It appeared that the root biomass of the Italian ryegrass sward affected the cutting of seed slots by the colter, which in turn influenced the accuracy of seed sowing.
