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Soil
Management and Fertilizer Use:
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| Author: | OMAFRA Staff |
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| Creation Date: | 01 March 2002 |
| Last Reviewed: | 01 March 2002 |
| Agronomy Guide > Pub 811: Soil Management and Fertilizer Use > Choosing A Tillage System |
As previously discussed, there are many factors to consider when deciding which tillage system to use. Other considerations include:
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The tillage program used on a farm may be the same every year or it may change based on the residue from the previous crop or the crop to be grown. Some no-tillers use strictly no-till, and others use tillage before the corn crop. A common example of this is in a corn, soybean and winter wheat rotation where the soybeans and wheat are no-tilled, but the wheat stubble receives some form of tillage (a light disking, chisel plowed or moldboard plowed) in preparation for corn. Table 2-3, Tillage System Effects on Crop Yields at Woodstock, Ontario (1996-2000), shows the yield impact of tillage in no-till systems.
The first five years of this study suggest that maximum corn and soybean productivity can be achieved by chisel plowing before corn followed by no-till soybean planting. The treatment where tillage occurred only for corn (i.e., chisel prior to corn, otherwise no-till) produced corn and soybean yields that were greater than continuous no-till.
Therefore, if tillage is required to correct problems associated with long-term no-till (i.e., excessive residue cover, nutrient stratification, harvest compaction, uneven seedbed conditions, etc.), then the best time to conduct tillage is prior to corn. On loam soils similar to the soil at the Woodstock site, it appears that chisel plowing can produce yields similar to moldboard plow systems. However, on clay-textured soils similar to the soil at Winchester, moldboard plowing may be a more preferable option for conducting intermittent tillage than chisel plowing.
In a three-year cropping rotation, performing tillage once (fall prior to corn planting) did not result in subsequent no-till soybean or no-till wheat yields that were lower than where the no-till system was applied consistently each year. In fact, there is some evidence to suggest that occasional tillage (i.e., 1 year before) actually enhanced no-till soybean yields.
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Remedial tillage is intended as a fix for a problem such as rutting from harvest, wet spots, compaction, etc. Remedial tillage can be as simple as a disking to fill in heavy rutting from a wet harvest but can also include subsoiling and land levelling. This type of tillage generally has limited use and is only utilized under special circumstances. Subsoiling is further discussed in the section Soil Compaction.
Land levelling takes place in a controlled (laser) or uncontrolled manner. Laser levelling attempts to put a consistent slope on a virtually flat field. This, combined with erosion control measures, such as rock chutes, will move surface water safely off the field. It is done only once or twice in a grower's lifetime and is a costly operation. Uncontrolled methods attempt to level the field by scraping soil off high areas and filling in the low areas. Done on relatively flat fields, the leveller is pulled back and forth across the field.
A major disadvantage is that the extensive tillage depletes organic matter, destroys soil structure and leaves the soil susceptible to wind and water erosion. Compaction and crusting are also concerns. The depth of topsoil on the knolls is also reduced, which may lower crop yields in subsequent years.
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