The study compared different ways of planting winter wheat in the Appalachian Piedmont region. They tested methods like no-tillage, moldboard plowing, disk tillage, and chisel plowing on different types of soil. Moldboard plowing consistently gave higher grain yields compared to no-tillage. No-tillage led to lower yields due to soil compaction, higher soil density, and wetter soil conditions. These factors made it harder for roots to grow and for the plants to get enough oxygen, affecting their growth and productivity.