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2026 Vol.59, Issue 3 Preview Page

Original research article

Long-term effects of no-tillage on maize yield stability, nitrogen use efficiency, and soil chemical properties under green manure application
Yeomyeong Lee1
,
Yeon Ho Kim25
,
Sung Jun Hong3
,
Sang Min Lee3
,
Ji-Won Kang1
,
Hyun Young Hwang4*
1Postdoctoral Fellow, Regenerative organic Agriculture Division, Department of Agricultural Environment, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
2Research Assistant, Regenerative organic Agriculture Division, Department of Agricultural Environment, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
3Senior Researcher, Regenerative organic Agriculture Division, Department of Agricultural Environment, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
4Researcher, Regenerative organic Agriculture Division, Department of Agricultural Environment, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, RDA, Wanju 55365, Korea
5Doctoral Student, Department of Bio-Environmental Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea
*Corresponding Author
31 August 2026. pp. 302-317
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Abstract

Purpose: Green manure and no-tillage are considered sustainable soil management practices for maintaining soil fertility and reducing soil disturbance in upland cropping systems. However, their long-term combined effects on maize productivity, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), yield stability, and soil chemical properties remain insufficiently documented. We hypothesized that under green manure application, long-term no-tillage would maintain maize productivity and NUE comparable to tillage, while preserving yield stability and soil chemical properties.

Methods: A 10-year field experiment (2015-2024) was conducted to compare three treatments: no fertilizer, green manure with tillage (GM_T), and green manure with no-tillage (GM_NT). Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) was used as green manure, and hairy vetch was incorporated into the soils at the same amount of N annually based on the recommended N rate for maize cultivation. Soil chemical properties and NUE and nitrogen harvest index (NHI) were determined.

Results: Maize grain yield varied markedly across years, while the 10-year mean yield was similar between GM_T (8.53 Mg f.w. ha-1) and GM_NT (8.46 Mg f.w. ha-1). Interestingly, GM_NT (5.30 Mg f.w. ha-1) maintained a significantly higher yield than GM_T (1.49 Mg f.w. ha-1) under unfavorable weather conditions in 2023, which was closely associated with the higher sustainability yield index observed in GM_NT (0.438) than in GM_T (0.337). This suggests that no-tillage may contribute to maintaining more stable maize productivity under long-term green manure application. Although NUE showed large annual fluctuations, its 10-year mean was similar between GM_T (25.0%) and GM_NT (24.6%), whereas NHI was higher in GM_NT, indicating that no-tillage did not reduce N utilization and may have altered N allocation toward grain. After 10 years, soil organic matter was lower in GM_NT than in GM_T, probably due to loss of GM from the soil surface. However, most other soil chemical properties were comparable between the two treatments.

Conclusions: Long-term no-tillage with green manure application could be a sustainable option to maintain maize productivity, yield stability, and NUE without markedly deteriorating soil chemical properties in maize cropping systems. However, it was cautioned that no tillage may increase loss of GM retained in the soil surface.

Annual changes in maize grain yield and 10-year mean yield with sustainability yield index under green manure with tillage and no-tillage.
Keywords
Conservation agriculture
Hairy vetch
Long-term experiment
NUE
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국토양비료학회
  • Journal Title :Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국토양비료학회 학회지
  • Volume : 59
  • No :3
  • Pages :302-317
  • Received Date : 2026-07-27
  • Revised Date : 2026-08-20
  • Accepted Date : 2026-08-20
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7745/KJSSF.2026.59.3.302
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