Tillage influence on agrophysical soil properties and crop productivity in the irrigated conditions of the steppe zone of Ukraine

The main goal of the study was to establish the influence of various tillage systems on the agrophysical properties of dark-chestnut soil under short-grain crop rotation in the irrigated conditions of southern Ukraine. The research was carried out during 2021-2022 in a stationary experiment on a four-field crop rotation: grain maize – winter rapeseed – winter wheat – soybeans. The experimental field was in the semi-arid steppe climate zone at the Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine. Three tillage systems were studied for their influence on soil bulk density, porosity, and water permeability, namely: mouldboard-differentiated ploughing tillage; differentiated chisel tillage; and differentiated ploughless tillage with soil slitting. Soil bulk density was determined using the core method. Soil porosity was calculated as the ratio of total bulk density to solid fraction bulk density. Water infiltration rates, established through the water absorption test method, were used to measure soil water permeability. The results of the study were statistically analysed using the common ANOVA procedure with Fisher’s least significant difference test at P