| Abstract: | Placement of seeds on a firm, moist seedbed bottom has proved important for crop establishment in spring in Sweden. However, most modern seed drills can place the seed at the desired depth independent of a firm seedbed bottom. This was not the case with older equipment. In this work, the importance of a firm seedbed bottom was evaluated, where germination of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) under dry weather conditions was studied on a clay, a silty clay loam and a sandy loam with or without a firm seedbed bottom. The experiments were carried out in lysimeters protected from precipitation. Time-domain reflectometry was used for soil water content measurements, and thermocouples to monitor soil temperature. A firm seedbed bottom greatly improved seed germination on the clay soil with a small content of plant available water, but not on the other soils. On all soils, a loose seedbed bottom increased maximum surface soil temperature. |
