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No-till is one of this century's biggest breakthroughs in
agricultural technology. It gives meaning to the term "sustainable
agriculture", because it is practical, profitable, maintains
production targets, and protects soil and water quality on and
off the farm.
For centuries, the moldboard plow was used to till land.
It works well on flatter, wetter, fine-textured ground where
solid manure, hay and pasture are part of a cropping system.
But where moldboard tillage is used repeatedly on sloping, lighter,
and medium-textured soils, it is a major cause of soil erosion.
Most of us have witnessed one or more of the following: degraded
farmland, eroded topsoil during snowmelt and rainstorms, dust
storms in spring, sediment-choked streams, reduced yields, increased
inputs, and dwindling returns.
In the past 30 years, innovative farmers have turned their
attention to soil conservation. One area they've examined in
partnership with researchers, extension staff and agribusiness
is tillage. Their imaginative explorations have led us to the
subject of this book.
Many who have adopted no-till, now swear by it. There are
some farmers for whom no-till hasn't worked. Others are in the
process of implementing it.
Whether you're a cash cropper, livestock producer or vegetable
grower, you'll find information and tips in these pages that
will help make no-till work in your operation. It's based on
the combined experience and talents of no-till farmers, researchers,
agri-business professionals, and soil and crop experts.
In a no-till crop production system:
- the field is left virtually undisturbed from harvest
to planting, except for nutrient injection.
- fields are no longer plowed, and plant residues remain
on the soil to offer protection from erosion.
- a narrow seedbed is prepared by the planter or drill
during the planting operation, to allow adequate seed and
fertilizer placement
- alternatively, the row strip may be pre-tilled during
a separate pass
- weed control is accomplished primarily with herbicides,
but shallow inter-row cultivation may still be used for
emergency weed control.
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No-till is a system.
Take the time to evaluate each component to perfect it.
Laurence Taylor, Huron County |
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This photo from
1914 shows that no-tilling wheat after soybeans is not a new
idea.
JC Allin and Sons Inc/Rural Life |
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| No-till farming
will reduce cropland erosion and runoff. When soil and crop
inputs stay on cropland, water quality can be maintained. Less
sediment in surface waters means less costly ditch and harbour
clean-outs. |
LESSONS LEARNED FROM
T-2000
In 1985, 23 farmers
working 40 farms across Ontario began cooperating in
T-2000, a five-year research project. They were all
committed to trying to make a conservation tillage system
work.
Aided by soil conservation advisors, within two years
cooperators had overcome common difficulties and were
sharing many concepts with their neighbours. By Year
3, it was obvious that results were as good as, if not
better than, conventional systems. Conservation tillage
and no-till systems were being accepted.
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| Strip Till.
Planters and drills are set up with one or more
courters per seed row, and sometimes row cleaners,
to prepare narrow strips of soil that optimize
seed-to-soil contact. Strip till can be adapted
to many conditions, regardless of crop. |
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| Pre-till.
A narrow strip is tilled with one of a variety
of implements. The process encourages the loosening
and decomposition of residue over winter, and
speeds drying in the spring. Come spring, soils
are ready to plant earlier. Pre-tilled strips
speed germination and emergence, and help keep
cereals in rotation. An extra pass over the
field is required, but for some farmers, it's
worth it. |
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| Slot Planting.
A slot is opened
in untilled soil, and seed is placed at an appropriate
depth. Several combinations of seed-firming
devices and press wheels are used to close the
slot, helping achieve adequate seed-to-soil
contact. This is no-till in its purest form,
and is especially suited to soybeans, wheat
and other cereals on many soils. Slot planting
doesn't work well in heavy crop residue, and
moist, fine-textured soil. |
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| Ridge Till.
Using sweeps, Disc
openers, courters or row cleaners, the ridge
is cleared for planting. Residue is left on
the surface, between ridges. Warmer soil temperatures
in the ridges encourage seedlings to push through
earlier. Ridges are re-formed with a cultivation.
This also provides mechanical weed control,
reducing herbicide use. Ridges require controlled
wheel traffic and reduce seedbed crusting. Ridge
till also works well in fine-textured soils,
especially during cold, wet springs. |
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In nearly all cases, conserving soil and water is
a given in a no-till system. Today, the focus of making
no- till work is to reduce costs. No-till saves money
by:
- reducing labour
- reducing fuel requirements
- in a 1986 Ontario study, no-till was three
times more fuel-efficient than a system based
on the moldboard plow
- reducing investment in capital
- investment in equipment in a typical 1000-acre
operation can be slashed by a third
- increasing long-term productivity.
Experienced no-till farmers will tell you that the
first three years require commitment, compromise and
courage.
A SYSTEMS APPROACH
TO CHANGE
(ADAPTED FROM DON LOBB)
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A crop production system includes all the components
that you control while producing the crop - such as
management practices, crop inputs and soil conditions.
For overall effectiveness, each component in the
system should be considered on its own and as part of
the whole system.
In a management system, an introduced change in practice
will always affect more than one component in the system.
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The diagram on the right illustrates
the principles of the no-till system concept.
Key components of the system are placed around
the perimeter. The arrows in the diagram point
in both directions to show that each component
affects the whole system - and the system affects
each component. (Each component is interactive.)
Understanding the systems
approach is the key to malting work.
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The remainder of the book is earmarked according
to the components of the wheel by the shading of the
wedges in the wheel.
Further, where there are interactions in each section,
the interacting components will be highlighted.
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In 1973, I did 500 acres,
and now in 1996 I crop more than 1,000 [without an increase
in labour]. All because of no-till.
T-2000 participant
Clinton Pottruff,
Brant County
A crop system is like
an ecosystem. Every time we change one component, all
of the other components are affected - often in a chain
reaction.
Don Lobb,
Huron County
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| HOW IT WORKS-A
CASE STUDY |
A cash crop producer wants to try no-till
soybeans into corn residue. The following outlines how this change will
affect other components within the system.
| WEED CONTROL AND VARIETAL
SELECTION |
Primary and secondary tillage are no
longer part of the system. Tillage will no longer destroy weeds ahead
of planting. Also, over time, a new weed spectrum will develop, requiring
a new weed control strategy. The strategy may include herbicides that
decrease yield. This may in turn require different varieties that are
more tolerant of the herbicides used. A yield reduction, which at first
is associated with the tillage change, may in fact be caused by a different
level of tolerance to a new herbicide.
| RESIDUE AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT |
Reduced tillage will leave more residue
on the soil surface, making it more difficult to plant the crop. This
results in the soil being cooler and wetter, and having a greater potential
to cause root disease.
Check the system for the following opportunities
to reduce this risk:
- add tillage courters to the planter
to loosen and dry the soil along the crop row
- delay planting date if necessary
to allow the soil to warm and dry
- select a disease-tolerant variety,
and
- use crop rotation (i.e., soybeans
after corn; not soybeans after soybeans) to reduce the risk of root
disease problems.
Disregarding any of these solutions can
cause a yield reduction that need not be attributed to the change to
no-till. Check the system for all opportunities to reduce the potential
for a yield reduction. Watch for further interactions within the system.
For example, in time, earthworm populations will increase, improving
aeration and drainage in the soil, and reducing the need for aggressive
strip tillage.
A successful no-till program starts at
harvest ... and goes all year round. It takes planning to help no-till
work. The following calendar provides general guidelines to help you
get ready.
Last Updated:
Sunday, May 03, 2009 03:14:15 PM |
