Conservation agriculture practices such as strip tillage are increasingly promoted in South Asia to reduce labor demand, conserve soil moisture, and manage crop residues; however, the performance of strip tillage systems strongly depends on the design of furrow openers and blades, particularly under different residue management conditions. A field experiment was conducted in farmers’ fields of the Barisal District to evaluate the effects of different strip tillage practices on hybrid maize productivity. The study examined how varying furrow openers and blade types influenced germination, seed coverage, root depth, and yield attributes under two residue management practices: anchored straw (20 cm height, A1) and loose straw (20 cm height, A2). Treatments included three furrow openers—Chinese type (T1), modified T-inverted with 50° rake angle (T2), and modified T-inverted with 75° rake angle (T3)—and two blade types, modified curve blades with 45° tip angle (B1) and 15° tip angle (B2). The experiment followed a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results showed that residue management, furrow opener, and blade type were associated with significant differences in maize growth and yield components. The combination of anchored straw, a 75° furrow opener, and a 15° blade angle (A1T3B2) showed the highest germination (83.9%), seed coverage (84.6%), root depth (5.53 cm), plant density (6.67 plants m⁻2), 100-grain weight (31.67 g), and grain yield (8.96 t ha⁻1). The loose straw treatment combined with the 75° furrow opener and 45° blade (A2T3B1) showed the highest number of seeds per cob (488.2). Overall, the anchored straw with a 75° furrow opener and a 15° blade (A1T3B2) demonstrated the most consistent performance. These findings indicate that appropriate matching of residue management and opener–blade configuration in a Power Tiller Operated Seeder may support improved performance of strip tillage-based maize cultivation in farmers’ fields. These findings are based on observations from a single growing season and location and should therefore be interpreted within this specific experimental context.
Faisal et al. (Fri,) studied this question.