Abstract: Under long-term conventional tillage,plow pan resulting from soil compaction is one of the key constraint factors of soil quality and crop growth.To address this problem,a three-years field experiment was conducted on the Nanhua Farm in Yuncheng,Shanxi Province,China (April 2013 to April 2016).The effects of microhole deep tillage on soil environment and the growth development and seed quality traits of cotton were examined by comparing with conventional tillage.Compared with the control,microhole deep tillage significantly reduced soil hardness (7 849.1 to 991.4 kPa) in the plow pan,the soil bulk density of 1.86 g/cm³ to reduce to 1.03 g/cm³;In the soil profile below 30 cm,major soil nutrient N,P,K,organic matter and moisture contents were significantly increased due to microhole deep tillage.Correspondingly,the grain number increased to 1.82 from 1.56 grain/layer with an increased number of seeds per cotton pulp.Cotton seed index,proportion,and fiber length were significantly increased by microhole deep tillage,the same as seed fat and soluble sugar contents.In contrast,seed protein content was significantly reduced in the experimental treatment,cotton seed-cotton yield up to 4 864.89 kg/ha,increased 14.98% than CK.This study reveals that microhole deep tillage effectively breaks the plow pan,thus improving soil environment,further promoting cotton growth and improving seed quality.It provides an experimental reference for application of this technique in the agricultural production.

Key words: Cotton, Microhole deep tillage, Seed quality, Soil effect

CLC Number: 

• S341.1