92-1 Crop Yield Benefits of No-till in Semi-Arid Dryland Cropping Systems of the Northern and Central Great Plains.

See more from this Division: ASA Section: Agronomic Production Systems
See more from this Session: Symposium--Rigor and Relevance in Semiarid Dryland Cropping Systems

Monday, November 16, 2015: 1:05 PM
Minneapolis Convention Center, 101 C

Merle F. Vigil, USDA-ARS, Akron, CO, David C. Nielsen, 40335 County Rd. GG, USDA-ARS, Akron, CO, Perry R. Miller, Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, Gary A. Peterson, Soil & Crop Sciences Dept., Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, Alan J. Schlegel, Kansas State University, Tribune, KS and Brian G. McConkey, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Swift Current, SK, CANADA
Abstract:
Many published manuscripts document yield improvement with no-till practices in semi-arid regions. On the other hand, a recent review of 610 experiments from a variety of climatic conditions documented overall reduced yields with no-till. In that paper the authors also mention that under certain conditions no-till results in higher or equivalent crop yields. Our objective is to share data from several long-term field experiments from the Northern and Central Great Plains that document grain yield increases with no-till practices. Some of these experiments reported wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yields in no-till winter wheat-summer fallow (WF-nt) systems that are on average 35% greater than wheat planted in conventionally tilled wheat-fallow (WF-ct). No-till technology and more intensive cropping (reduced frequency of fallow results in annualized grain yields that are as much as 66% greater than annualized grain yields in conventionally tilled WF. Increased soil water evaporation resulting from tillage results in significantly lower grain yield compared with no-till systems where herbicides control weeds. Our analysis indicates that the most favorable no-till rotations in the Central and Northern Great Plains are more diverse than WF. For example, in the Central Great Plains the best rotations are winter wheat-summer crop-fallow (W-SC-F), where the summer crops used include corn, (Zea Mayes L.) sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor L.), proso millet (Panicum miliacium L.) and sunflower (Helianthis annuusL), and no-till four-year rotations of W-SC-SC-F. The poorest performance was always measured with WF-ct.

See more from this Division: ASA Section: Agronomic Production Systems
See more from this Session: Symposium--Rigor and Relevance in Semiarid Dryland Cropping Systems

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