The appropriate management of coverage crops in no tillage has been shown as an excellent alternative to improve seedling conditions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of the agricultural tractor in management (knife-rolls and straw shopper) of the sorghum residues and the tire inflation pressure (525 and 385 kPa) of sowing-fertilizer machine for establishing corn crop in no tillage. The experiment was done at the São Paulo State University in the city of Jaboticabal - SP, Brazil, with delineation in randomized blocks with split plot, and the treatments were composed by the management of coverage soil crop and tire inflation pressures of sowing with four repetitions. It was measured in the machines: displacement speed, field capacity, fuel consumption, tractor slippage; on the soil and on the plants; initial soil coverage, number of days for seedling, initial and final population of plants, longitudinal distribution and productivity. In the sorghum mulch management, the rotating knife provided higher field capacity and lower fuel consumption. The management and pressures did not interfere in soil coverage, number of days for corn seedling and longitudinal distribution.
slippage; no tillage; Zea mays
