Effects of Tillage Methods on Population Quality of Winter Wheat at Early Stage and Soil Moisture in Hilly Areas of Sichuan

In order to research the effects of tillage methods on the growth of wheat at early stage and soil moisture in Sichuan hilly areas,three tillage methods (no-tillage,rotary tillage and conventional tillage) were used as main plots and straw-mulching or no straw-mulching as sub-plots,and the effect of tillage methods on reducing the negative influence of seasonal drought on the growth of wheat at early stage in those regions were discussed under split plot field experiments. The results showed that straw-mulching could significantly accelerate the happening of tillers and improve the chlorophyll contents (SPAD value),leaf area index (LAI) and population dry matter accumulation,respectively,however,the root activity was lower than that of no straw-mulching treatment at tillering stage. Under no-tillage condition,the winter wheat had stronger tillering ability,higher LAI and population dry matter accumulation,but there was not significant between rotary tillage and conventional tillage. There were no significant effects of three tillage methods on the SPAD value and root activity of winter wheat. In addition,straw-mulching had remarkable effect on soil water preservation,especially at 0- 20 cm soil layer,and the soil moisture with strawmulching was higher by 8. 0 %- 16. 7 % as compared to no straw-mulching. Furthermore,no-tillage could also promote soil water preservation,but this function reduced along with the growth of winter wheat. Based on these results,it was concluded that straw-mulching and notillage could significantly promote the growth of wheat at early stage as well as soil water preservation effect and could effectively reduce the negative effects of seasonal drought on the growth of wheat at early stage in this region.