Lecture 4: Principles and Practices of Agricultural operations – Tillage and Tilth –

Definition, Types and Objectives

Tillage
Tillage operations in various forms have been practiced from the very inception of
growing plants. Primitive man used tools to disturb the soils for placing the seeds. The word
tillage is derived from ‘Anglo-Saxon’ words Tilian and Teolian, meaning ‘to plough and
prepare soil for seed to sow, to cultivate and to raise crops’.
Jethrotull, who is considered as father of tillage suggested that thorough ploughing
is necessary so as to make the soil into fine particles.

Tillage is the mechanical manipulation of soil with tools and implements for obtaining
conditions ideal for seed germination, seedling establishment and growth of crops.

Tilth is the physical condition of soil obtained out of tillage (or) it is the result of tillage. The
tilth may be a coarse tilth, fine tilth or moderate tilth.

Objectives of tillage
The main objectives of tillage are,
 To prepare a good seed bed which helps the germination of seeds.
 To create conditions in the soil suited for better growth of crops.
 To control the weeds effectively.
 To make the soil capable for absorbing more rain water.
 To mix up the manure and fertilizers uniformly in the soil.
 To aerate the soil.
 To provide adequate seed-soil contact to permit water flow to seed and seedling roots.
 To remove the hard pan and to increase the soil depth.

To achieve these objectives, the soil is disturbed / opened up and turned over.

Types of tillage:
Tillage operations may be grouped into
1. On season tillage – Done during cropping season (Kharif) and (Rabi)
2. Off-season tillage - Done during fallow- non cropped season (summer)
3. Special types of tillage- Done at any time with some special purpose / objective
1. On-season tillage
Tillage operations that are done for raising crops in the same season or at the onset of
the crop season are known as on-season tillage. They may be preparatory cultivation and after
cultivation.
A. Preparatory tillage: This refers to tillage operations that are done to prepare the field for
raising crops. It consists of deep opening and loosening of the soil to bring about a desirable
tilth as well as to incorporate or uproot weeds and crop stubble when the soil is in a workable
condition.
Types of preparatory tillage
a. Primary tillage
b. Secondary tillage
c. Seed bed preparation

a.Primary tillage: The tillage operation that is done after the harvest of crop to bring the land
under cultivation is known as primary tillage or ploughing. Ploughing is the opening of
compact soil with the help of different ploughs. Country plough, mould board plough, bose
plough, tractor and power tiller drawn implements are used for primary tillage.

b. Secondary tillage: The tillage operations that are performed on the soil after primary
tillage to bring a good soil tilth are known as secondary tillage. Secondary tillage consists of
lighter or finer operation which is done to clean the soil, break the clods and incorporate the
manure and fertilizers. Harrowing and planking is done to serve those purposes.Planking is
done to crush the hard clods, level the soil surface and to compact the soil lightly. Harrows,
cultivators, Guntakas and spade are used for secondary tillage.

c) Seed bed preparation:

This is also one of the components of preparatory tillage. Leveling board, buck
scrapers etc. are used for leveling and markers are used for layout of seedbed.
B. After cultivation (Inter tillage / Inter cultivation): The tillage operations that are carried
out in the standing crop after the sowing or planting and prior to the harvesting of the crop
plants are called after tillage. This is also called as inter cultivation or post seeding/ planting
cultivation. It includes harrowing, hoeing, weeding, earthing up, drilling or side dressing of
fertilizers etc. Spade, hoe, weeders etc. are used for inter cultivation.

2. Off-season tillage: Tillage operations done for conditioning the soil suitably for the
forthcoming main season crop are called off-season tillage. Off season tillage may be, post
harvest tillage, summer tillage, winter tillage and fallow tillage.

3.Special purpose tillage: Tillage operations intended to serve special purposes are said to
be special purpose tillage. They are,
a.Sub-soiling: To break the hard pan beneath the plough layer, special tillage operation
(chiseling) is performed to reduce compaction. Sub-soiling is essential and once in four to
five years where heavy machineries are used for field operations, seeding, harvesting and
transporting. Advantages of sub-soiling are, greater volume of soil may be obtained for
cultivation of crops, excess water may percolate downward to recharge the permanent water
table, reduce runoff and soil erosion and roots of crop plants can penetrate deeper to extract
moisture from the water table.
b.Clean tillage: It refers to working of the soil of the entire field in such a way no living
plant is left undisturbed. It is practiced to control weeds, soil borne pathogen and pests.
c.Blind tillage: It refers to tillage done after seeding or planting the crop (in a sterile soil)
either at the pre-emergence stage of the crop plants or while they are in the early stages of
growth so that crop plants (sugarcane, potato etc.) do not get damaged, but, extra plants and
broad leaved weeds are uprooted.

d.Dry tillage: Dry tillage is practiced for crops that are sown or planted in dry land condition
having sufficient moisture for germination of seeds. This is suitable for crops like
broadcasted rice, jute, wheat, oilseed crops, pulses, potato and vegetable crops. Dry tillage is
done in a soil having sufficient moisture (21-23%). The soil becomes more porous and soft
due to dry tillage. Besides, the water holding capacity of the soil and aeration are increased.
These conditions are more favourable for soil micro-organisms.
e. Wet tillage or puddling: The tillage operation that is done in a land with standing water is
called wet tillage or puddling. Puddling operation consists of ploughing repeatedly in
standing water until the soil becomes soft and muddy. Puddling creates an impervious layer
below the surface to reduce deep percolation losses of water and to provide soft seed bed for
planting rice. Puddling is done in both the directions for the incorporation of green manures
and weeds. Wet tillage destroys the soil structure and the soil particles that are separated
during puddling settle later. Wet tillage is the only means of land preparation for
transplanting semi-aquatic crop plant such as rice. Planking after wet tillage makes the soil
level and compact. Puddling hastens transplanting operation as well as establishment of
seedlings. Wet land ploughs or worn out dry land ploughs are normally used for wet tillage.
Depth of ploughing
The desirable depth of ploughing is 12 to 20 cm for field crops. The ploughing depth
varies with effective root zone of the crop. The depth of ploughing is 10-20 cm for shallow
rooted crops and 15-30 cm for deep rooted crops.
Number of ploughing
Number of ploughing depends on soil conditions, time available for cultivation
between two crops and type of cropping systems. Zero tillage is practiced in rice fallow
pulses. Minimum number of ploughing is taken up at optimum moisture level to bring
favourable tilth depending on need of the crop.

Time of ploughing
The optimum soil moisture content for tillage is 60% of field capacity.

MODERN CONCEPTS IN TILLAGE:

Conventional tillage involves primary tillage to break open and turn the soil followed
by secondary tillage to obtain seed bed for sowing or planting. With the introduction of
herbicides in intensive farming systems, the concept of tillage has been changed. Continuous
use of heavy ploughs create hard pan in the subsoil, results in poor infiltration. It is more
susceptible to run-off and erosion. It is capital intensive and increase soil degradation. To
avoid these ill effects, modern concepts on tillage is in rule.

1. Minimum tillage: It aims at reducing tillage operations to the minimum necessity for
ensuring a good seed bed. The advantages of minimum tillage over conventional tillage are,
•The cost and time for field preparation is reduced by reducing the number of field
operations.
•Soil compaction is comparatively less.
•Soil structure is not destroyed.
•Water loss through runoff and erosion is minimum.
•Water storage in the plough layer is increased.

Tillage can be reduced in 2 ways

1. By omitting operations which do not give much benefit when compared to the cost.
2. By combining agricultural operations like seeding and fertilizer application.

Till planting
Till planting is one method of practicing zero tillage. A wide sweep and trash bar
clears a strip over the previous crop row and planter opens a narrow strip into which seeds are
planted and covered. Here, herbicide functions are extended. Before sowing, the vegetation
present has to be destroyed for which broad spectrum non selective herbicides like glyposate,
paraquat and diquat are used.

Advantages
•Zero tilled soils are homogenous in structure with more number of earthworms.
•Organic matter content increases due to less mineralization.
•Surface run-off is reduced due to presence of mulch. Disadvantages
•Higher amount of nitrogen has to be applied for mineralization of organic matter in zero
tillage.
•Perennial weeds may be a problem.
•High number of volunteer plants and buildup of pests.

3.Stubble mulch tillage or stubble mulch farming

Soil is protected at all times either by growing a crop or by leaving the crop residues
on the surface during fallow periods. Sweeps or blades are generally used to cut the soil up to
12 to 15 cm depth in the first operation after harvest and depth of cut is reduced during
subsequent operations. When large amount of residues are present, a disc type implement is
used for the first operation to incorporate some of the residues into the soil. This hastens the
decomposition but still keeps enough residues on top soil.

4.Conservation tillage: The major objective is to conserve soil and soil moisture. It is a
system of tillage in which organic residues are not inverted into the soil such that they remain
on surface as protective cover against erosion and evaporation losses of soil moisture. If
stubble forms the protective cover on the surface, it is usually referred to as stubble mulch
tillage. The residues left on soil surface interfere with seed bed preparation and sowing
operations. It is a year round system of managing plant residue with implements that undercut
residues, losses the soil and kills the weeds.

Advantages
•Energy conservation through reduced tillage operations.
•Improve the soil physical properties.
•Reduce the water runoff from fields.