There are four basic technical elements about mechanized conservation tillage:
①Minimum or no-tillage seeding
②Straw and residue management
③Weed and pest control
④Subsoiling and surface soli tillage
1.Minimum or no-tillage seeding.Different from conventional tillage,in the conservation tillage the seeds and fertilizers must be sowed and sprayed into the straw-covered ground,some of which are no-tillage lands,so we must use a special no-tillage fertilizer seeder(Fig.4).Availability of using the appropriate no-tillage fertilizer seeder is the key whether or not to take conservation tillage.The machine must have good functions of preventing clogging、soil piercing、heavy fertilization、in-deepth fertilization and soil covering and compaction.
2.Straw and residue management.Post-harvest straw and residue leaving on the surface is the key to reduce soil and water loss,prevent sandstorm.However,the accumulation of straw or uneven surface will seriously affect the quality of planting,so it needs the processes of crushing straw and scattering straw smoothly and so on.
3.Weed and pest control.Generally speaking,after the implementation of conservation tillage,soil environment will change that will lead to an increase of weed and pest.Therebefore,the success of weed and pest control is often the key to implement conservation tillage successfully.In the arid zones of northern China,due to low temperature and drought weeds and pests in general will not be too serious.But it still requires real-time observation,identifies problems and takes timely treatments.It always uses herbicides spraying,mechanical or manual methods to control weed.In the process of pest control,it relys on the chemical seed dressing and the spraying of insecticides.
4.Subsoiling and surface soil tillage.Conservation Tillage mainly depends on crop roots and earthworms and other biological creatures to loosen the soil.In the initial implementation of conservation tillage, the ability of loosing soil is not strong,so the subsoiling operation is also necessary.According to the different situations,it usually takes subsoiling operation one time in 2-3 years until the soil has the ability to self-loose.But some soil may need to be loosened regularly. Subsoiling operation is taken under the conditions of large mounts of straw covering on the surface,so it requires the subsoiler to have a strong ability of preventing clogging.