Deep Tillage Investigations on Five Soil Types of the South African Sugarbelt

The effects on sugarcane yields of deep tillage for land preparation on five different soil types in the coast lowlands of Natal are presented. Yields from the. rainfed plant and first ratoon crops indicate that, in general, there is little advantage in ploughing or subsoiling to depths greater than the conventional 20-25 cm. The only worthwhile response to deep tillage was obtained in a recent sand, and data are presented which may, help to explain this unexpected occurrence. It is considered that the extra costs of deep tillage are not warranted unless specific soil problems are known to exist.