Another pathway between tillage and maize yield through soil moisture was also highlighted by SEM model (Fig. 2).
It is worth noting that this pathway indirectly contributed to maize yield through maize height, which can be considered as a morphometric predictor of maize yield (Boomsma et al., 2010; Yin et al., 2011).
However, only height at the V12 stage was included in this study (Fig. 2), indicating that the maize height at the V12 stage rather than at the V6 stage can serve as an accurate indicator of maize yield.