Economic and energy efficiency of no-till sowing technology for corn production | Ekonomska i energetska efikasnost u proizvodnji kukuruza tehnologijom direktne setve

Reviewed in this paper are the results of economic, energy, and environmental efficiency of mercantile corn production within a conservation system of direct sowing. The recorded data on soil condition prior to sowing were within the tolerances for successful implementation of direct corn sowing. For the forecrops, beans and soybean, within the sowing depth range (5 to 8 cm), the soil compaction went up to 10 daN/square cm, while at depths up to 5 cm, the compaction was as low as 5 daN/square cm. There were no longer surface crop residues, thus seed depositors were not subject to clogging or obstruction. Experimental sowing was performed with 2 types of sowing machines with direct-sowing capability. Both types allowed satisfactory germination, and crop emergence within 89,7 to 101% of the given seeding norm. However, the recorded standard deviation was high, 5,5 to 7,9 cm, while the coefficient of variation of the precision of longitudinal distribution ranged from 28 to 35,6%. Compared to its conventional counterpart – which consists of basic ploughing, soil preparation, and sowing in separate traversals – the energy efficiency of direct corn sowing reflects in following savings: fuel - 15 l/ha, energy - 100 kWh/ha, machine labour - 0,9 h/ha, human labour - 0,8 h/ha. Economic efficiency is expressed in lower costs of tillage and sowing, below 53 EUR/ha, as well as in higher profit from yield improvement, around 20 EUR/ha. There were no significant differences in forecrop impact on yield. Both sowing machines performed well as regards sowing quality. However, small advantage can be given to type A, regarding the precision of sowing depth, and germination consistency. This also had an effect on the yield, as well as the profit. Environmentally speaking, emission of exhaust gases is proportional to input machine labour, and was reduced in direct sowing by 50%, soil treading was lower by 80%, while the biological activity of soil, and number of earthworms were higher by 60-80%.