3.4. The relationships between tillage induced factors and maize yield
The SEM revealed that the predictors explained 77% of the
variation in maize grain yield during the 12 years trial period
(Fig. 2). Maize height and C/N directly contributed to maize yield.
Soil moisture was associated with maize yield through maize
height. It was worth noting that tillage influenced maize yield
indirectly through C/N and soil moisture. For the latent variables,
SM-BS and SM-V12, ST-BS and ST-AS were successfully represented
as soil moisture and temperature, respectively, whereas only MHV12
served as an indicator of maize height (Fig. 2).