Impact of Rotation Length and Crop Sequence On Winter Wheat Yield in a Semiarid Environment.

The effects of rotation length and crop sequence on yield of winter wheat were investigated for nine rotations over 16 years in a semi-arid environment in western South Dakota. The long-term rotation study was established in 1994 to compare the traditional winter wheat-fallow to no-till, diversified rotations. All phases of each rotation were grown each year. Reduced and no-till production practices were used to grow all crops except in the winter wheat– fallow rotation. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with treatments replicated four times. The yield and grain quality of winter wheat in the conventional winter wheat-fallow and in diversified no-till rotations will be compared.  The influence of crop sequence and rotation length on winter wheat productivity will be discussed.