Covering management, furrowing mechanisms and working speed over direct seeding of corn cultivation

The stubble covering left over represents the biggest difference of the direct seeding cultivation, providing improvement on biological, chemical and physical soil conditions. Nevertheless, the dry matter remaining may difficult the seeding process, demanding additional management of covering. The aim of this study was to evaluate the development and yield of corn cultivation submitted to different methods of stubble management, furrowing machinery and working speed. A block outlining was used at random with sub-divided lots consisting of 16 treatments and four repetitions, totalizing 64 experimental unities. The treatments consisted of a combination between four stubble managements (harrowed, rolled, grinded and desiccated stubble), two furrowing machines (double disc and furrowing shank) and two seeding velocities (4.5 e 7.0 km h-1). Deposition depth was evaluated, as well as mobilized soil area, eeding distribution, initial plant stand, rows per corn spike, grain per row, weight of thousand grains and crop yield. The data were submitted to the analysis of variance and since there were significant differences, the averages were compared by the Tukey test, at 5% of significance. The working speed of 7.0 km h-1 increased faulty and double spacing. The method proposed herein did not affect crop yield and its components.

direct seeding; Zea mays; Avena strigosa; seeding quality; crop yield