Corn Residue Management for Soybean Production in Manitoba: On-Farm Trial.

The large amount of corn residue left after harvest is associated with low spring soil temperatures. This is a challenge for farmers interested in growing corn in the shorter growing season areas of Manitoba and has the potential to impede the proposed expansion of corn in western Canada. As soybean acres are growing in Manitoba and soybeans often followed after corn in eastern Canada and in the USA, this project looks at the impact of different tillage equipment to manage corn residue on soybeans and soil conditions. The experiment was set up as an on-farm trial in Winkler and MacGregor, MB in 2015. The design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four and three replicates at Winkler and MacGregor, respectively. Four tillage practices were compared: 1) conventional double disc; 2) vertical till high disturbance; 3) vertical till low disturbance; 4) strip till. Soil temperature and moisture were recorded hourly at 5 and 30cm. Soybean emergence, flowering and maturity were observed three times a week. Soybeans were harvested using commercial combines and weigh wagons. Fuel consumption and horsepower requirements were measured to compare the equipment included in the study. During soybean emergence, surface (5cm) soil temperature fluctuated in strip till more than all other treatments, with both lower night and higher daytime temperatures. Soybean emergence and final plant stands were similar over all treatments at both locations. Grain yield in MacGregor in strip till was 65 kg/ha (p=0.0999) lower than vertical till high disturbance but not significantly different than all other treatments. Winkler showed no differences in yield (p=0.3634). Strip till used 2.5 times less fuel per ha than all other tillage treatments compared in the study. This experiment will be repeated again in 2016 and the results will be used to conduct an overall economic analysis.

Keywords: strip till, vertical till, conventional till, UAV, zone tillage