The objective of this study was to determine conservation tillage techniques suitable for semiarid regions in North China. Ten different mechanized patterns of no-till or reduced-tillage for two crops (winter wheat and summer maize) within one year were set up at the Experiment and Demonstration Site for Mechanized New Techniques and Machinery at Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China, and these conservation tillage patterns were compared with conventional tillage. Results showed that wheat yield increased by 53% and summer maize yield increased by 25%, average soil water storage increased from 1% to 1.2% at different depths, and average organic matter increased by 1.03 g/kg relatively for the conservation tillage system with wheat residue cover and no-till seeding of maize immediately after wheat harvest, compared with conventional bare soil ploughing. Moreover, the efficiency of yield increase and water storage for deep soil loosening was higher than that for deep ploughing. No-till seeding of maize on high stubble mulching was better than seeding on low stubble. Finally, cost-benefit analysis results showed that conservation tillage resulted in great economic returns than convention tillage due to greater yields and lower production costs resulting from reduced tillage.
