No till spring beans

[britt]

Is anybody doing any good with notill spring beans ?
I had a good crop about 6 years ago, but done no good since.
There always seems to be a reason, wet spring late sowing, dry spring after drilling, too shallow because the discs were too worn etc.
A friend that ploughs before drilling often, but not always, does better.
How is anyone else getting on ?

 

[EddieB]

I suspect that a tine drill might be better suited than a disc drill to beans?

 

[britt]

I am now using a tine drill, a Horsch CO with 1" Dutch coulters.
It puts them in and covers them fine, they started ok, but just didn't grow away and ended up short.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Always no till my beans and always do ok with them.

But I simply cannot get disc drilled no till oilseed rape to work. Tried and tried. Back to light cultivation sadly on that

 

[britt]

Disc drilled rape works well here (Weaving Big disc) and is more reliable and gets better plant populations than after cultivation.
The beans establish OK, just don't grow as they should.

 

[Hampton]

@Wheatland drilled mine in April with his Sumo Dts. I’ve finished harvesting them today and they’ve averaged just under 2t/ac over 70 acres

 

[EddieB]

I’ve only just bought a disc drill (GD) having previously run a Mzuri. I’m getting a neighbour with a Mzuri to drill my winter beans for me this autumn as the establishment was so good behind my Pro-Till last year.

 

[britt]

The Mzuri and DTS both move more soil than notill and I assume Will is using a 750A with a disc that cuts bellow seed depth.
I'm on ground that is 10 - 16 years notill. The best beans were on the 16 year notill, but it is the best ground, which is why it went into notill first.
I'm thinking of an autumn subsoil before beans to loosen the soil. A deep tine on our ground in spring will just smear. Waiting until the soil dries enough at depth will just be too late.

 

[Adeptandy]

Disc drilled rape works well here (Weaving Big disc) and is more reliable and gets better plant populations than after cultivation.
The beans establish OK, just don't grow as they should.

I’ve been thinking that

 

[britt]

I’ve been thinking that

About the beans, rape or both ?

 

[cows r us]

We drill ours straight into a thick mat of cereal volunteers in the spring. We use our simtech drill and place them 3to 4 inches down. They seem to yield well. Last year (very dry) we did 4.5 ton per ha. This year our lighter ground did 4.5t and the heavier ground will be around 6t, but haven't had the yield data back yet. I've tried it with our crossslot but didn't do a very good job on the clay. Make sure you get them deep enough if using a pre em. It will clobber them if not.

 

[Adeptandy]

About the beans, rape or both ?

Both, Beans establish well, but don't seem to yield as well, OSR and chopped straw DD hasn't worked as yet, ended up redrilling after a light run over with the discs

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Always no till my beans and always do ok with them.

But I simply cannot get disc drilled no till oilseed rape to work. Tried and tried. Back to light cultivation sadly on that

It's the opposite with me, gave up on spring beans after 3 goes. Each one worse than the last. Trying winters now instead.

 

[britt]

Both, Beans establish well, but don't seem to yield as well, OSR and chopped straw DD hasn't worked as yet, ended up redrilling after a light run over with the discs

I've always baled the straw before OSR. But would have used the CO this time if I hadn't got a customer and had to chop it.

 

[britt]

We drill ours straight into a thick mat of cereal volunteers in the spring. We use our simtech drill and place them 3to 4 inches down. They seem to yield well. Last year (very dry) we did 4.5 ton per ha. This year our lighter ground did 4.5t and the heavier ground will be around 6t, but haven't had the yield data back yet. I've tried it with our crossslot but didn't do a very good job on the clay. Make sure you get them deep enough if using a pre em. It will clobber them if not.

The year we left chopped straw in the autumn was the year they did best (5t/ha). It amazed me where the straw had gone by spring, the wildlife dealt with it.
I though that they were deep enough, but the pre-em did "catch" them after rain.

 

[britt]

It's the opposite with me, gave up on spring beans after 3 goes. Each one worse than the last. Trying winter's now instead.

I had thought about winters to give them more time to root, but I like being able to hit the grass with Glyphosate in spring. The pre-em did a good job on the grass weeds also this year.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Was intending to use kerb. I have heard beans will tolerate a low dose of glyphosate, so might do that in the spring. I'm half expecting not to be able to get them in, so rotation still in flexible stage.

Edit, also you get more time with winters to get glyphosate on pre em

 

[Will Blackburn]

The Mzuri and DTS both move more soil than notill and I assume Will is using a 750A with a disc that cuts bellow seed depth.
I'm on ground that is 10 - 16 years notill. The best beans were on the 16 year notill, but it is the best ground, which is why it went into notill first.
I'm thinking of an autumn subsoil before beans to loosen the soil. A deep tine on our ground in spring will just smear. Waiting until the soil dries enough at depth will just be too late.

I’ve never established beans conventionally, but I feel the too late thing is overblown, when conditions to grow are there it’s time to drill. Having small plants in a holding state until the the season catches up with them is not conducive to a healthy crop.

 

[farmerm]

Was intending to use kerb. I have heard beans will tolerate a low dose of glyphosate, so might do that in the spring. I'm half expecting not to be able to get them in, so rotation still in flexible stage.

Edit, also you get more time with winters to get glyphosate on pre em

low dose glyphosate, that sounds like a recipe for creating a selecting pressure towards glyphosate tolerant weeds to me.....

 

[alomy75]

The Mzuri and DTS both move more soil than notill and I assume Will is using a 750A with a disc that cuts bellow seed depth.
I'm on ground that is 10 - 16 years notill. The best beans were on the 16 year notill, but it is the best ground, which is why it went into notill first.
I'm thinking of an autumn subsoil before beans to loosen the soil. A deep tine on our ground in spring will just smear. Waiting until the soil dries enough at depth will just be too late.

I’d argue a deep tine (as in subsoiler/flatlift) on any ground in spring will just smear. For them to work properly and shatter they need dry soil at depth which usually only occurs between 3 and 6pm on September the 20th before the Autumn monsoon starts