Natural Resources and Sustainable Development Volume 11, Issue 2, 2021 DOI: 10.31924/nrsd.v11i2.075 # Corresponding author 157 LONG-TERM TILLAGE EFFECTS ON CROP YIELD IN THE TRANS-TISZA REGION OF HUNGARY Bichi Abdulwahab Abdulrazaq*#, Zsembeli József**, Nagy Attila*** *Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina, Nigeria, e-mail: aabdulrazaq@fudutsinma.edu.ng **University of Debrecen, Center of Agricultural Sciences, Research Institute of Karcag, Karcag, Hungary ***University of Debrecen, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, Institute of Water and Environmental Management, Böszörményi St., no. 138, Debrecen 4032, Hungary Abstract This research was conducted to test the effect of tillage techniques Conventional Tillage (CT) and Reduced (RT) on the yield of three crops; Corn, Sunflower and Winter Wheat; in a long-term tillage experiment. The objective was to determine the effect of the tillage methods on yield of the various crops. Data of the long-term tillage experiments were collected from Karcag Research Institute of the University of Debrecen. The data were then analysed using independent samples t-test on SPSS. The CT plots on average produced the highest amount of yield for all the three tested crops. Although the mean difference in all the tested crops where not large. For sunflower, CT recorded an average yield of (2858.67 kg/ha) compared to RT’s (2505.42 kg/ha). For winter wheat, CT produced an average yield of (5689 kg/ha) compared to (5529.9 kg/ha) for RT. And for corn, CT recorded an average yield of (7629.56 kg/ha) compared to (6991.78 kg/ha) for RT. The results obtained from the independent samples t-test for all three crops showed that there was no significant difference in crop yield between the two tillage techniques i.e. CT and RT. A significance level of 0.005 was chosen for the test and the p value for winter wheat, Sun flower and corn were; p=0.831; p=0.264; p=0.647 This research concluded that yield is not significantly affected by tillage technique for this region (Trans-Tisza Hungary) and for this soil type (meadow chernozem soils). It is recommended that reduced tillage may be preferred in this region because of its soil and water conservation potential as yield performance can be overlooked. However, improved weed and soil compaction control should be practiced along with it to improve yield. Key words: tillage, conservation, crop yield, no till, reduced tillage, conventional tillage INTRODUCTION Tillage, defined as the operations for seedbed preparations is necessary for the effective germination, emergence and growth of crops. Tillage may be carried out to control weeds, incorporate residues into soil, conserve soil and water, or improve the environmental conditions for plant growth. However, Tillage is one of those factors in farming that can induce soil degradation either through fragmentation or compaction (Kay, 1990). Although, different tillage methods may modify the soil properties differently depending on the soil type, climate, and even cropping systems (Karlen et al., 1991; Borresen, 1999; Pena et al., 2005).