About 2–3 ◦C lower soil temperatures in no-tillage compared with tillage systems decrease the performance of maize
seedlings (Chassot et al., 2001). However, it is not clear which trait is most severely affected by the temperature. There aretwo contrasting hypotheses: (i) the temperature acts directly on the shoot development, and (ii) the weak plant performance is due to the indirect effect of poor root growth and, thus, of an insufficient supply of nutrient and water to the shoot