Effects of Direct and Conventional Planting on Soil Properties and Yield Characteristics of Second Crop Maize

Conventional tillage CT , a commercial direct planter DP1 , and a modified direct planter DP2 were used in this study to determine the performance of DP compared to CT and DP1 in second crop maize after winter wheat. Experiments were conducted with six replications through complete randomized block design. Average seed spacing was about 18 cm and the quality of feed index was about 90% in all methods. Multiple index was the smallest 0.56% in CT, suggesting best horizontal seed distribution whereas DP1 had the highest rate 3.89% . Variation about the mean seed spacing was less than the upper limit of 29% in precision in spacing in all cases. The adjusted seeding depth was 6.0 cm in CT 5.99 cm with the best placement and the poorest placement was found in DP2 2.90 cm . Seed depth distribution was different in the three cases P