No-Till: Making It Work - Varietal Selection

The same criteria are used to evaluate varieties in no-till as in other cropping systems. High yield and suitable heat unit ratings remain important. However, disease resistance and early growth characteristics are slightly more important. The best advice is to check trial records and verify with test plots on your own property.

The following varietal selection criteria are more important for many crops in no-till.

Criteria: Seedling Vigour

Rationale:

• no-till seedbed conditions are usually cooler and wetter
• vigorous emergence and early growth characteristics help performance of varieties

Criteria: Cold Tolerance

Rationale:

• no-till seedbed is cooler
• varieties should be slightly 'earlier' or demonstrate a cold germination rate of at least 80% (soybeans)

Criteria: Disease Resistance

Rationale:

• no-till favours those diseases that thrive in cooler, wetter conditions, e.g., eye spot in corn, (see Disease Management on page 62) phytophtora in soybeans
• check for disease resistant varieties

Criteria: Moisture Content

Rationale:

• corn harvest moisture content will be slightly higher (up to 2%)
• choose varieties that have consistently lower moisture content

Criteria: Herbicide Tolerance

Rationale:

• weed species will change in no-till - a change in herbicide can affect variety performance

Generally, look for varieties that can withstand and perform in the tougher growing conditions afforded by no-till. No-till variety plots should be observed early in the season to evaluate emergence and early growth. Yield results are more reliable if each variety is in the plot two or three times. Yield results from more than one year for a variety are more reliable.

Figure 1. Harvesting

Available in Published Version of No-till

• Corn and Soybean Variety Selection
  

No-till and Ridge Till Case Studies

Available in Published Version of No-till

• Cooperators: Sam and Ross Langman
• Cooperator: Bob McIntosh
• Cooperators: Shawn and Ron McRae

 

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No-Till: Making it Work

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