Preplant Tillage Effects on Irrigated Corn Grown on a Sandy Soil
1990
Miller, D. E. | Aarstad, J. S.
Sandy soils are extremely vulnerable to wind erosion when bare. Crop residue on the soil surface is an effective control. Crop responses to tillage systems that leave crop residue on the soil surface may differ from clean tillage of sandy soils. A 4-yr study on a sandy soil compared mold board plowing (MP) with two residue conserving tillage systems, no preplant tillage (NPT) and Paraplow (PP), on field corn (Zea mays L.) production. Corn silage yields were similar (about 34 ton/acre) with all three tillage systems. Averaged over the 4 yr, grain yields were significantly affected by tillage in the order PP > MP > NPT with yields of 5.9, 5.6, and 5.2 ton/acre, respectively. Where herbicides had not been applied, large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.] populations in MP were 11.1 plants/sq ft compared with 1.6 with PP and 2.6 with NPT. Grain yields on the moldboard plowed plots were about 0.5 ton/acre higher with than without herbicides. These results indicate that tillage systems that leave plant residue on the surface may be used on sandy soils without serious loss of production, especially if the subsoil is loosened.
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