2016
Maximizing Soil Warming and Health Under Different Tillage Practices in a Corn-Soybean Rotation
Contributor/Checkoff:
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
Field management Soil healthTillage
Parent Project:
This is the first year of this project.
Lead Principal Investigator:
Aaron Daigh, North Dakota State University
Co-Principal Investigators:
Abbey Wick, North Dakota State University
Jodi DeJong-Hughes, University of Minnesota
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Project Code:
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
Institution Funded:
Brief Project Summary:

The goal of this project is to improve soybean (and corn) yields while simultaneously building soil health. We are evaluating which tillage approach (chisel plow, vertical tillage, strip till with shank, and strip till with coulters) maximizes early-season soil warming, crop yields and soil health on subsurface-drained and naturally-drained soils in the Red River Valley (RRV), This proposal is to request funds for year two of the project. In year one, full production-scale plots have been delineated, all full-sized equipment has been lined up and tillage treatments are initiating this fall, 2014,
This project includes four on-farm locations: (l) naturally-drained silty loam site...

Unique Keywords:
#soil and tillage management
Information And Results
Project Deliverables

Due to the timeline of the study, we will use the SHARE Farm annual field day (and other field days) for an on-site visit to one of the southern Valley sites and as the outlet to deliver information to producers.
Information will be readily available to producers, including, circulars, videos, and additional information posted on NDSU Soil Health and Land Management (www.ndsu.edu/soilhealth) and UMN websites.
High visibility using the strategically located field locations that serve the southern and northern Red River Valley and signage.

Final Project Results

Updated December 2, 2016:
Final Progress Report is downloaded in the File (optional) below

View uploaded report Word file

Maximizing Soil Warming and Health under Different Tillage Practices in a Corn-Soybean Rotation
Dr. Aaron Daigh, NDSU Soil Science Dept., Principle Investigator
Jodi DeJong-Hughes, UMN Extension,
Dr. Abbey Wick, NDSU Soil Science Dept.

There are many advantages of reducing soil tillage for building soil health. However, reducing tillage creates concerns of yield reductions due to cool and wet soils in the poorly-drained landscape that dominates much of North Dakota and the Red River Valley. The objective of this study is to:
1. monitor soil warming and water contents under chisel plow, vertical tillage, strip till with shank, and strip till with coulter on various soil series
2. evaluate soil health and crop emergence and yields, and
3. transfer information to producers through field days, videos, etc.
This is a multi-state effort, involving North Dakota and Minnesota and is in year two of a four year field study. Four on-farm locations are under a corn-soybean rotation and rotate each year. At each location, the four tillage practices are demonstrated using full-sized equipment in plots of 40 or 66 feet wide by 1800 feet long in a replicated design. Soil series evaluated are Fargo silty clay, Lakepark clay loam, Barnes-Buse loams, Delamere fine sandy loam, and Wyndmere fine sandy loam. These soil series cover over 67 million acres of prime farmland in the Northern Great Plains regions.
Soybean yields from 2015 did not significantly differ among treatment. Soil temperatures and water contents differed among tillage treatments briefly in the spring of 2016 but then converged together during the following cool, dry weeks through planting. In spring of 2016, crop residue cover tended to differ among tillage treatments as expects for farms planted to soybean and farms planted to corn in these corn-soybean rotations. However, stand counts and plant heights did not differ among tillage treatments at any of the farms. One interested observation was the fluffy soil in the chisel plow treatments at some of the farms. This was also observed in spring of 2015 (a relatively dry spring similar to 2016). The planter down pressure and residue managers needed to be adjusted due to this. The residue managers were raised up and the lightest down pressure made for seeding; otherwise the planter dug into the soil about six inches.
Soil samples have been collected to determine soil health and are currently being analyzed in the laboratory. Crop residue cover, crop populations, and yields are also being evaluated in the summer and fall months. One video was produced to deliver study findings to North Dakota producers. Information obtained during this year will be presented at joint NDSU and UMN Extension events including the 2016 Soil Health Tour and the 2016 Conservation Tillage Conference as well as at the joint International America Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, and Crop Science Society of America Conference in Pheonix, AZ in November, 2016.

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.