Influence of Incorporating Shredded Corn Stover on some Physicochemical Properties of the Soil and Corn Crop Production

Proper management of corn stover could simultaneously affect the soil quality and crop productivity especially in new reclaimed areas. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of incorporating dried and shredded corn stover directly in the soil during the preparatory tillage stage on some physicochemical properties of the soil (bulk density, infiltration rate, pH, electrical conductivity, available nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P), and organic carbon) as well as on the crop yield in two successive cultivation seasons of corn (Zea mays, L.). A field experiment was conducted over two cropping seasons in the farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt to evaluate the impact of incorporating different levels of corn stover accumulated from the previous season at rates of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% (equivalent to 0, 3.33, 6.67, 9.99 and 13.33 tons ha^-1). The obtained results revealed that incorporating 25% (3.33 tons ha^-1) of corn stover significantly improved the soil physicochemical properties accompanied with increasing the corn yield up to 19.00 tons ha^-1 and the stover yield up to 11.5 tons ha^-1. However, incorporating greater amounts of corn stover up to 100% (13.33 tons ha^-1) in the soil decreased corn yield and stover yield to 9.68 and 8.11 tons ha^-1, respectively.