No-tillage versus conventional tillage: ten years of comparison | Comparaison du semis direct et du labour pendant 10 ans
2005
Chervet, A. | Ramseier, L. | Sturny, W.G. (Office de l'agriculture du canton de Berne, Ruetti, Zollikofen (Switzerland)) | Tschannen, S.
Over the last ten years, conventional plow tillage has been compared to no-tillage on six crop rotation plots in the long-term field trial «Oberacker» at the Inforama Ruetti in Zollikofen, on a deep cambisol with 15% clay and 3% organic matter. The absence of tillage operations in no-tillage makes a more complex strategy for weed control necessary. Options such as a balanced crop rotation, permanent soil cover, adapted crop residue management and immediate seeding of subsequent crops are used besides chemical, mechanical and thermal strategies of weed control. Land use is sustainable in the no-tillage system: no-tilled soil has a higher structural stability and load capacity while being markedly less prone to erosionless machine usage and traffic reduce (fuel) costs. After seven years of no-tillage, continuous release of soil-borne nitrogen leads to crop yields and qualities at least equal to those obtained with conventional tillage. Two challenges remain only partly solved: the greater dependence on herbicides such as glyphosate and the greater risk of mycotoxin formation encountered in no-tilled winter cereal crops that follow corn. Remedies include adaptations of the crop rotation, chopping of residual corn straw/stalks and cropping of cereal varieties less susceptible to fusarium.
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