Tilth and Tillage

Soil is the medium in which crops are grown but in its natural state, it is not in an ideal
condition to grow them satisfactorily. Surface soil in which seed are to be sown, should not
be hard & compact, but soft & friable, so that tender shoots of germinating seeds can push
above the soil surface without any difficulty and the young roots penetrate easily into the
lower layers of soil in search of food, water & air, Soil should also be free from weeds which
otherwise rob the crop of water & nutrients. It should also have sufficient water & air which
are very necessary for plant growth.

Such ideal condition of soil can be achieved by manipulating the soil properly & bringing it in
good filth through a series of mechanical operations like ploughing, clod crushing, dicing,
harrowing, leveling, compacting, interculturing etc. by tillage implements.

Tillage:  Tillage is as old as Agriculture, Primitive man used to disturb the soil for placing
seed Jethro Till considered as ‘Father of Tillage’ Who Written’ Horse hocing Husbandry’
book. Tillage of the soil consists of breaking the hard compact surface to a certain depth
and other operations that are followed for plant growth. Tillage is the physical manipulation
of soil with tools & the tilling of land for the cultivation of crop plants i.e. the working of the
surface soil for bringing about conditions favorable for Raising of crop plants. Tillage is the
manipulation of soil with tools & implements for loosening the surface crust & bringing about
conditions favorable for the germination of seeds and the growth of crops.
Soil Tilth: Soil Tilth is the term used to express soil condition resulting from tillage. Hence
it is the resultant of the tillage. A soil is said to be in good Tilth when it is soft, friable &
properly aerated. The Tilth is the physical condition of the soil brought out by tillage that
influences crop emergence, establishment, growth and development. Tilth is a loose,
friable, airy, powdery granular & crumbly structure of the soil with optimum moisture
content suitable for working & germination or sprouting seeds & propagates Soil Tilth is that
kind of physical condition of soil when it is loose. Not very powdery but granular & when
these granules are felt between fingers they are soft,  friable, & crumble easily under
pressure, Such soils permit easy infiltration of water & are retentive of moisture for
satisfactory growth of plants.

Characteristics of good tilth/Measurement of soil tilth: Tilth indicates two properties

of soil, viz the size distribution of aggregates and mellowness or friability of soil.

Size distribution of soil aggregates: The relative proportion of different sized soil

aggregates is known as size distribution of soil aggregates. Higher% of larger aggregates
i.e. more than 5 mm are necessary for irrigated agriculture while higher% of smaller
aggregates(1-2mm) are desirable for dry land agriculture.  Theoretically, the best size of
granules or aggregates ranges from 1 to 6 mm. However, it depends on soil, type, soil
moisture content (at which ploughing is done) & subsequent cultivation.
Mellowness or friability:  is that property of soil by which the clods when dry become
more crumbly.  They do not crumble into dust but remain as stable aggregates of smaller
size. 
A soil with good tilth is quite porous and has fee drainage up to water table.  The capillary &
non-capillary pores should be in equal proportion so that sufficient amount of water is
retained in the soil as well as free air,  The soil aggregates would be quite from or stable  &
would  not be easily eroded by water or by wind.
Soil tilth: is easy to describe but rather difficult to measure/ Theoretically, best size of
granules ranges from 1-6 mm differs with country e.g. England as more than 15mm and
Russia 2-3 mm.  Besides this, study of pore space, equal distribution of macro & micro
pores is good tilth.

Ideal soil tilth :  An ideal soil tilth is not the same for all types of crops & all types of soils
e.g. small seeded crops like bajara, ragi, lucerne, Sesamum, mustard require a much finer
seedbed, Jowar & cotton require a moderately compact & firm seed bed and not cloddy or
loose. Bold seeded crops like gram, maize germinate even in cloddy seedbed.

As regards soil type, a very fine, powdery condition of the surface soil is decidedly bad for a
heavy clay soil as it forms a caked surface under rainy condition and all the rain water is
then liable to be lost by run-off, taking away also with loamy & lighter soils.

Tilth and Tillage - Objects of Tillage

Objects of Tillage: These can be summarized in brief as below.

1. To make the soil loose & porous: It enables rain water or irrigation water to enter the
soil easily & the danger of loss of soil & water by erosion and run-off, respectively, is
reduced. Due to adequate proportion of microspores (capillary), the water will be retained in
the soil & not lost by drainage.

2. To aerate the soil: Aeration enables the metabolic processes of the living plants & micro
organisms, etc. to continue properly. Due to adequate moisture and air, the desirable
chemical & biological activities would go on at a greater speed & result in rapid
decomposition of the organic matter and consequently release of plants nutrients to be used
by crops. Similarly, the evolution of CO2 gas in this process will result in forming weak
carbonic acid in the soil which will make more nutrients available to crops.

3. To have repeated exchange of air / gases:  There should be an exchange of air

during the growing period of crops. As the supply of O2 from the air that is being constantly
utilized in several biological reactions taking place in the soil; should be continuously
renewed. At the same time CO2 that is released should be removed & not allowed to
accumulate excessively decomposition of org. residues by micro- organisms where O2 is
utilized & CO2 released. Deficiency or excess of O2 may reduce the rate of reactions.

O2 in soil air & atm. Air is more or less same i.e. 20 to 21% CO2 in atmospheric air is about
0.03% & in soil air 0.2 to o.3% which is 8to 10 times more than atmospheric air. It is,
therefore, very necessary to often introduce atmospheric air in the soil to keep the
concentration of CO2 under by suitable tillage operations.
 
4. To increase the soil temperature: This can be achieved by controlling the air- water
content of soil & also by exposing more of the soil to the heat of sun. This helps in
acceleration of activities of soil bacteria & other micro organisms.
5. To control weeds: It is the major function of tillage; Weeds rob food & water required
by crop & competition results in lowering of crop yield.

6. To remove stubbiest: Tillage helps in removing stubbles of previous crop and other

sprouting materials like bulbs, solons etc in making a clean field/seedbed.

7. To destroy insect pests: Insects are either exposed to the sun’s heat or to birds that
would pick them up.  Many of the insect-pests remain in dormant condition in the form of
pupae in the top soil during off season & when the host crop is again planted, they reappear
on the crop.  Some may harbor on stubbiest or other eminent of the crop. Grubs &
cutworms can be destroyed by tillage.

8. To destroy hard pan: Specially designed implements (Chisel plough) are helpful to

break hard pan formed just below the ploughing depth which act as barrier for root growth
& drainage of soil.

9. To incorporate organic & other bulky manures: Organic manures should not only be
spread but properly incorporated into the soil.  Sometimes bacterial cultures or certain soil
applied insecticides require to be drilled into the soil for control of pests like white grub. 
White ants, termites, cut worms e.g. Aldrin.

10. To Invert soil to improve fertility: By occasional deep tillage the upper soil layer rich
in org. matter goes down thus plant roots get benefit of rich layer and lower layer which is
less fertile comes to top.

Current Category » Principles of Agronomy

Tilth and Tillage - Factors Influencing Preparatory or Tillage

Operations

Factors Influencing Preparatory or Tillage Operations:

The preparatory cultivation of the lands done in various ways which is influenced by several
factors but more important ones are:

1. The crop: The crop to be grown decides the type & preparatory tillage given to the land.
Hardy crops like sorghum & other millets are not sensitive about tilth. Production of fine tilth
will increase the cost of cultivation which is not economic. Small seeded or delicate crops
like tobacco, chilli, coriander,sesamum, mustard etc. Require a fine seedbed for which land
is repeatedly cultivated to get required fine tilth.  Sugarcane & other root crops require deep
cultivation of land to lose the soil to the required depth.

2. Type of soil:  A clayey soil is amenable to cultivation only within a narrow range of
moisture. Outside this range, the soil can’t be worked satisfactorily & increases the draft
required. Too wet or to dry soils are difficult to cultivate. The lighter soils can be worked
under a wide range of moisture & the draught required for their manipulation is much less.
Loamy soils are easily brought to good tilt with little cultivation & expenditure of energy.
3. Climate:  It in influences the moisture in the soil, the draught required for cultivation
and depth & types of cultivation done, For example, in scarcity areas the rainfall is low & the
moisture in the soil prior to sowing does not ordinarily permit deep cultivation which tends
to dry up soil to a greater depth & reduce moisture available to the crops eventually (finally)
Sowings cannot be done till depth of cultivated soil is properly moistened. This results in
delayed sowing & consequently the effect on growth & yield of crop Deep cultivation is
beneficial in regions having better rainfall, particularly temperate regions for promoting
aeration, summer showers are received in South India which favors moist condition &
ultimately beneficial for preparing the land for next season crops.

4. Type of farming:  There are two types, irrigated & dry land/ rained farming. Under
irrigated farming intensive farming is followed which includes cultivation of more than two
crops. In a year continuously without much interval between them. During this narrow
period of interval the land is to be cultivated repeatedly to bring required title without
subjecting the soil for natural weathering for a long period. The frequency & extent of tillage
operations increase the cost of cultivation which serious as the profitable crops is raised in
an intensive manner. Dry land faming depends entirely on rains & in such areas only one
crop is taken in a year. The interval between crops & successive cultivation operations is
long. Weathering plays an important role than cultivation. Hence they are limited with wide
intervals between them. The cost of cultivation is kept down & the low productivity of land
does not warrant a higher investment.

Tilth and Tillage - Effects of Tillage on soil & Plant growth

Effects of Tillage on soil & Plant growth:

A) Effect on soil: 
1) loosens the soil which favors the germination & growth of crop, 
2) Improves the soil structure due to alternate drying and cooling,
3) Improves soil permeability, soil aeration & soil inversion, 
4) Facilitates the movement of water in soil, 
5) Results in soil & water conservation through higher infiltration, reduce run-off & increase
depth of soil for moisture storage, 
6) Holds more water in the soil, 
7) Increased soil aeration helps in multiplication of micro-organisms, 
8) Org. matter decomposition is hastened resulting in higher nutrient “availability, 
9) Increase aeration helps in degradation of herbicide and pesticide residues & harmful
allelopathic chemicals exuded by roots of previous crops or weeds.

Tillage operations also influence the physical properties of soil like:

1) Pore space: Tillage increase the pore spaces i.e. space between the soil particles, due
to equal amount of capillary & non- capillary (Macro & microspores) pores. This facilities
free movement of air & moisture in the soil & increases infiltration.
 
2) Soil structure: Soil with crumble & granular clods are considered as soil with good
structure which can be achieved by proper tillage operations at optimum moisture. This
reduces the soil loss due to erosion.
3) Bulk density:  when soil is loosened, the soil volume increases without any effect on
weight. Therefore, bulk density of tilled soil is less than untilled soil which is favorable in
many ways for crop, micro organisms, etc.

4)  Soil colour: Tillage increases oxidation and decomposition resulting in fading of colour
The org. matter is mainly responsible for the dark brown to dark grey colour of soil.

5)  Soil water:  Tillage improves soil water in different ways which depends on soil
porosity, soil depth & roughness. also increases rate of infiltration, water holding capacity
(WHC) & hydraulic conductively.

6)  Soil temperature: Tillage creates up to soil temperature for seed germination & seed
establishment. Tillage loosens the soil surface resulting in decrease of thermal conductivity
(rate of heat transfer at which the heat penetrates) and heat capacity (heat storage / unit
area)

B) Effects on crop growth:

1) Tillage loosen the soil thereby favors the germination & establishment of seeding. 
2) Tillage helps in maintaining the optimum plant stand, 
3) Increases depth of root penetration, 
4) Roots proliferate profusely in loose soil & increase the growth of seminal & lateral roots. 
5) Reduce the competition within crop & weeds for light, water, nutrients & space thereby
helps in better growth of crop,
6) Tillage reduce the pest attack on succeeding crop, 
7) Tillage helps in availability of nutrients to crop in proper amount.

Tilth and Tillage: Types of Tillage Operations

Types of Tillage Operations: Tillage includes use of different kinds of implements at

different times are classified on the basis of their timing into-3types:

1. Preparatory tillage: Tillage operations that are carried out from the time of harvest of a
crop to the sowing of the next crop are known as preparatory cultivation/ Tillage. OR
Operations carried out in any cultivated land to prepare seedbed for sowing crops are
preparatory tillage. These are time consuming & costly but are to be performed at right
stage of soil moisture & with right implements, otherwise it will not helps in good growth of
crop. These includes in sequence, plouging, clod crushing, leveling, discing , harrowing,
manure mixing & compacting the soil and implements to be used are ploughs, clod
crushers, disc ploughs or harrow , bladed harrow etc.

It includes primary & secondary tillage:

a) Primary tillage: It mainly includes the ploughing operation which is opening of the
compacted soil with the help of different ploughs. Ploughing is done to: 
1) Open the hard soil, 
2) Separate the top soil from lower layers, 
3) Invert the soil whenever necessary and 
4) Uproot the weeds & stubbles.
The cutting & inverting of the soil that is done after the harvest of the crop or untitled fallow
or to bring virgin or new land under cultivation is called primary tillage. It may be done once
or twice a tear in normal or settled agriculture or once in four to five years in dry land
agriculture.

 b) Secondary tillage :  Lighter or finer operation performed on the soil after primary
tillage are known as secondary tillage which includes the operations performed after
ploughing, leveling, discing, harrowing etc. 
2. Seedbed preparation:  when the soil is brought to a condition suitable for germination
of seeds & growth of crops, called as SEEDBED. 
After preparatory tillage the land is to be laid out properly for irrigating crops if irrigation is
available for sowing or planting seeding which are known as seedbed preparation: It
includes harrowing, leveling, compacting the soil, preparing irrigation layouts such as
basins, borders, rides & furrows etc. and carried out by using hand tools or implements like
harrow, rollers plank, rider etc. After field preparation, sowing is done with seed drills.
Seeds are covered & planking is done so as to level & impart necessary compaction.
 
3. Inter tillage/ Inter cultivation/ Interculture/ after care operation: The tillage
operations that are carried out in the standing crop are called inter tillage operations. The
tillage operation done in the field after sowing or planting and prior to the harvesting of crop
plants known as inter cultivation. It includes gap filling , thinning , weeding , mulching, top
dressing of fertilizers, hoeing, earthling up etc. unless these are carried out at right time,
with suitable implements mainly hoes & hand tools the crop will not attain   a vigorous
growth. These operations are carried out in between the crop rows.

Tilth and Tillage- Tillage Operations and Implements

Tillage operations and implements:

A) Preparatory tillage:

 i) Ploughing:  It is considered to be the most essential operation for growing crops. It is
done by different ploughs which are of 3 types: 
1) Deshi or wooden or Indigenous plough
2) Iron mould board ploughs 
3) Special purpose ploughs.

The iron mould board plough may be:

1) Reversible or Turn –wrest mould board plough and
2) Non-reversible or fixed mould board plough. Former is drawn by bullocks and later with
the tractor. Depending up on the weight and no. of bullocks to be used the 
Reversible I.M.B. plough s may be: 
a) Light R.I. M.B. plough drawn by one bullock pair.
b) Medium R.I.M.B.  Plough had drawn by two bullock pairs & 
c) Heavy R.I.M.B. plough drawn by three bullock pairs.

 The special purpose ploughs are

a) Disc plough used for discing or loosening of the soil.
b) Sub soil plough used to break hard layers or pans without bringing them to the surface.
c) Chisel plough used breaking hard pans & for deep ploughing (60-70cm) with less
disturbance to the top layers. 
d) Rider used to split the field in top ridges & furrows.

ii) Clod crushing: It is not always necessary. When there are the clods the rains received
will soft & break the clods. It is necessary in Rabi season. Clods are broken by a plank,
blade harrow or hand mallet, indigenous implement (a big log of wood) called maind. The
best implement for this purpose is the Norwegian harrow which breaks the clods by piercing
& breaking action.

iii) Leveling of land: It is required in irrigated area & carried out after ploughing to ensure
even distribution of rain & irrigation water to avoid stagnation of water in low lying areas
and also to stop soil erosion Implements such as bamboo petari, blade harrow tied with
rope round the prongs, planker, plank- leveler, buck scraper, float, keni are used for
leveling.

 iv) Manure mixing:  Manures are spread over the prepared bed by manually or with the
help of country plough, shovel tooth cultivator, a blade harrow, disc harrow.

v) Compacting the soil: It is done by working an inverted harrow or single/ double plank.

vi) Cultivator: It is used to break & loose the soil.

B) Implements used for seedbed preparation:  

i) Harrowing: is done by a blade harrow with the purpose of clod crushing, leveling,
collecting stubbles, destroying germinating weeds and compacting the soil, a multipurpose
implement commonly used by the farmer. Disc harrow drawn either by bullocks or tractor is
an improvement which cuts & pulverizes the soil.

ii) Covering of seed: is carried by a light blade harrow or a plank.

iii) Ridging: Riders are used for opening ridges and furrows for sugarcane, vegetables, and
irrigation layouts field channels

iv) Implements for sowing: Sowing may be done by putting the seeds behind plough,
seed drills which may be doff an, tiff an or Chou fan, Seeding & fertilizer application are
done at the same time by providing two separate bowls, called as feri-cum-seed drill. Seed
may be sown mechanically to maintain row to row & plant to plant(R/R & p/p) distance.
There may be sowing of seed and fertilizer application at the same time.

C) Implements for inter cultivation: Operations carried out in between the crop rows
called 
Intercultivation or inter tillage or inter culture operations. 
These are necessary for destroying weeds, preventing cracking of soil, aerating the soil to
absorb more moisture, pruning of roots, ear thing up of plants, destroying insects &
thinning of crop plans.
1. Thinning & gap filling: These are done by manual labour/hand in which plants are
uprooted from dense places and the gaps are filled to maintain the optimum plant
population. 
2. Wedding: It is done either by hand with the help of a khurpi/sickle or hoes drawn by
hand or bullocks.  Hoes may be of entire blade, slit blade, spring teeth or Akola hoe
Japanese/Rotary paddy weeder, karjat hoe/Touchy gurma etc.
3. Ear thing up: may be done by country plough or rider in S.cane, banana, 
Potato.  Sometime it is done by manual labour with kudali.
4. Spraying: is done by sprayers which may be manually operated, mechanical/power
drawn to control insects-pests & diseases. 
5. Dusting:  is done by duster used for dusting insecticides to control insect-pests.

D) Special purpose implements:

1) Reapers & harvesters used to harvest wheat or paddy. 

2) Threshers used for threshing which may be bullock (olpad) drawn, tractor drawn, or
electric motor driven.
3) Potato digger used to harvest potatoes
4) Groundnut digger used to harvest Gnat
5) Gnat Sheller used to separate kernels from the pods.
6)  Maize Sheller used to separate maize grains from cobs.
7) Seed dressing drum used to treat the seed with chemicals.
8) Hand gin used to separate lint from seed cotton.

Tools used in agriculture: 1) Khurpi: To remove weeds

 2) Kudali: To dig the pits & earthling up 
3) Axe: To cut the wood & harvest sugarcane 
4) Pickaxe: To dig out the pits.
5) Sickle: To cut the hardy weed & crop plants & forages.
6) Ghumella:  To transport soil or produce from the one place to other.
7) Crop-bar: To open the hole in soil while fencing the thomy bushes. 
8) Dibbler: For dibbling the seeds. (For other tools, refer practical manual)

Tilth and Tillage- Modern Concepts of Tillage

Modern Concepts of Tillage:

Tillage is time consuming, laborious & costly, owing to this new concepts like minimum
tillage & zero tillage are introduced.

1. Minimum Tillage:  It is aimed at reducing tillage operations to the minimum necessary

for ensuring a good seedbed, rapid germination, a satisfactory stand & favorable growing
conditions, Tillage can be reduced by: 
1) Omitting operations which do not give much benefit when compared to the cost and 
2) Combining agricultural operations like seeding & fertilizer application.

Advantages: 
1) Improve soil condition due to decomposition of plant residues in situ, 
2) Higher infiltration caused by decomposition of vegetation present on Soils & channels
formed by decomposition of dead roots.
3) Less resistance to root growth due to improved structure.
4) Less soil compaction by reduced movement of heavy tillage vehicles.
5) Less soil erosion compared to conventional tillage.
Disadvantages: 
1) Less seed germination,
2) More ‘N’ has to be added as rate of decomposition of organic matter is slow.
3) Nodulation may affect in some legumes. 
4) Sowing operations are difficult with ordinary implements.
2. Zero tillage: It is an extreme form of minimum tillage.  Primary tillage is completely
avoided & secondary tillage is restricted to seedbed preparation in the row zone only.  
It is followed where: 
1) Soils are subjected to wind & water erosion, 
2) Timing of tillage operations is too difficult &
3) Requirements of energy & labour for tillage are too high.

Advantages: 
1) Soils are homogenous in structure with more no. of earth worms. 
2) Organic matter content increased due to less mineralization.
3) Surface runoff is reduced due to presence of mulch. Several operations are performed by
using only one implement. In these weeds are controlled by spraying of herbicides.
Disadvantages:
1) Higher ‘N’ is too applied due to slower mineralization of org. matter.
2) Large population of perennial weeds appears. 
3) Build up of pests is more.

3. Stubble mulch tillage: The soil is protected at all times either by growing a crop or by
crop residues left on the surface during fallow periods. It is year round system of managing
plant residue with implements that undercut residue, loosen the soil and kill weeds. Soil is
tilled as often as necessary to control weeds during the interval between two crops.
However, it presents the practical problem as the residues left on the surface interfere with
seedbed preparation & sowing operations. The traditional tillage & sowing equipment is not
suitable under these conditions.
Modern methods of tillage are not practiced in Indian condition because:   
a) Left over residue is a valuable fodder & fuel.
b) Limited use of heavy machinery & therefore problem of soil compaction is rare.
4. Peddling: Pudding is ploughing the land with standing water so as to create an
impervious layer below the surface to reduce deep percolation losses of water and to
provide soft seedbed for planting rice. This followed in rice as the growth and yield are
higher when grown under submerged conditions. Maintaining standing water throughout the
crop period is not possible without pudding. It aims at destroying soil structure and
separates individual soil particles i.e. sand, silt & clay, during operation and settles later.
The sand particles reach the bottom, over which silt particles settle & finally clay particles fill
the pores thus making impervious layer over the compacted soil. It is done with several
implements depending on the availability of equipment and the nature of land such as
spade, wetland plough, worn out Dryland plough, mould board plough, wetland puddler,
country plough, etc. It consists of ploughing repeatedly in standing water until the soil
becomes soft & muddy. Initially, 5-10cm of water is applied depending upon the water
status of the soil to bring saturation and above and the first ploughing is carried out after 2-
3 days. By this operation, most of the clods are crushed and majority of the weeds are
incorporated. Within 3-4 days, another 5cm of water is given & third ploughing is done in
both the directions. Planking or leveling board is run to level the field.

5. Conservation tillage: It is disturbing the soil to the minimum extent & leaving crop
residues on the soil. It includes minimum & zero tillage which can reduce soil loss up to
99% over conventional tillage. In most cases, it reduces soil by 50% over conventional
tillage. Conventional tillage includes ploughing twice or thrice followed by harrowing &
planking. It leaves no land unploughes & leaves no residues on the soil.