Abstract
In the waxy maize production of Zhejiang Province, China, conventional straw management often causes planting difficulties and nutrient competition. Although no-till with straw retention is known to benefit soil structure, its long-term impacts on local soil health and productivity remain poorly understood. Hence, a six-year field experiment (2016–2021) was conducted with four treatments, i.e., no-till with residue retention (NTRR), no-till with residue removal (NTR0), plow tillage with residue incorporation (PTRR), and plow tillage with residue removal (PTR0), to investigate the long-term effects of tillage and residue management. The results demonstrated that plow tillage (PT) significantly improved soil physical properties, reducing soil compaction and decreasing bulk density compared to no-till (NT) practices. Meanwhile, residue retention (RR) enhanced soil chemical fertility, increasing soil organic matter by 7.8–9.8% and substantially improving available potassium levels. The PTRR treatment achieved the most favorable soil conditions with the lowest compaction and bulk density values among all treatments. PTRR consistently yielded the highest maize production, showing a 1.7–6.9% advantage over PTR0 and a substantial 15.4% yield increase in spring maize compared to residue removal (R0) treatments. Correlation analyses revealed significant relationships between soil quality and productivity, with the Soil Quality Index (SQI) showing strong positive correlations with both yield (r = 0.74, p < 0.01) and economic returns (r = 0.67, p < 0.05). These findings demonstrate that PTRR represents an optimal agricultural management strategy for simultaneously enhancing soil health and ensuring sustainable crop production in fresh maize cultivation.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Plow tillage significantly reduced soil compaction and bulk density versus no-till.
- Treatment
- plow tillage (PT)e0
- Outcome
- soil compaction and decreasing bulk densitye0
- Direction
- reducinge0
- Comparator
- no-till (NT)e0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“plow tillage (PT) significantly improved soil physical properties, reducing soil compaction and decreasing bulk density compared to no-till (NT) practices.”
Claim · model-written summary
Residue retention increased soil organic matter by 7.8–9.8%.
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“residue retention (RR) enhanced soil chemical fertility, increasing soil organic matter by 7.8–9.8%”
Claim · model-written summary
Residue retention improved soil available potassium.
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“residue retention (RR) enhanced soil chemical fertility, increasing soil organic matter by 7.8–9.8% and substantially improving available potassium levels.”
Claim · model-written summary
PTRR produced the lowest soil compaction and bulk density among treatments.
- Treatment
- PTRRe0
- Outcome
- compaction and bulk density valuese0
- Direction
- loweste0
- Comparator
- all treatmentse0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“The PTRR treatment achieved the most favorable soil conditions with the lowest compaction and bulk density values among all treatments.”
Claim · model-written summary
PTRR maize production exceeded PTR0 by 1.7–6.9%.
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“PTRR consistently yielded the highest maize production, showing a 1.7–6.9% advantage over PTR0”
Claim · model-written summary
PTRR increased spring maize yield by 15.4% versus residue removal treatments.
- Treatment
- PTRRe1
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 15.4%e0
- Comparator
- residue removal (R0) treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a substantial 15.4% yield increase in spring maize compared to residue removal (R0) treatments.”
e1“PTRR consistently yielded the highest maize production”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil Quality Index correlated positively with maize yield (r = 0.74, p < 0.01).
- Material
- Soil Quality Index (SQI)e0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- positive correlationse0
- Value
- r = 0.74, p < 0.01e0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“the Soil Quality Index (SQI) showing strong positive correlations with both yield (r = 0.74, p < 0.01) and economic returns (r = 0.67, p < 0.05).”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil Quality Index correlated positively with economic returns (r = 0.67, p < 0.05).
- Material
- Soil Quality Index (SQI)e0
- Outcome
- economic returnse0
- Direction
- positive correlationse0
- Value
- r = 0.67, p < 0.05e0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“the Soil Quality Index (SQI) showing strong positive correlations with both yield (r = 0.74, p < 0.01) and economic returns (r = 0.67, p < 0.05).”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors judge PTRR optimal for soil health and sustainable fresh maize production.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“PTRR represents an optimal agricultural management strategy for simultaneously enhancing soil health and ensuring sustainable crop production in fresh maize cultivation.”
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