Zerotill crops and drought

[Farmer Roy]

Seth Byrd‏ @OKStateCotton Jun 28




Pretty impressive visual of dryland #cotton planted into a terminated wheat cover (left) vs. wheat cut and baled (right). Same planting date and variety. #OKcottonpic.twitter.com/0RT2XlLARa

4:29 PM - 28 Jun 2018

 

[Farmer Roy]

ok, the above pic / comment is from Oklahoma, but we find the EXACT same scenario, it is especially obvious in hotter / dryer extremes with all crops

 

[stroller]

These are my spring oats, DD into a cover crop on 30th April, since then I think we only had about 1/2" of rain, the headlands which have had more compaction and less fym are noticeably shorter. If I had ploughed/powerharrowed I don't think there would be any crop.

 

[yellow belly]

The lower early biomass in a dry year may be an advantage for notill winter crops but could be a disadvantage in a wet year assuming the crops are all managed the same
But I try to establish thicker crops and apply n earlier now I notill

For spring crops not drying out the soil in a dry time could be an advantage but later drilling could be a disadvantage
This year will be a test later crops are filling grain when it is hotter compared to those 2 weeks earlier although cooler weather next week could help

The one certainty is that this year we have had high sunlight levels which will have helped crops where they have access to moisture under neath

The question I ask does undusturbed soil give more water from deeper
Down
This is well known on chalk soils compared to other shallow soils
Could this be the case on Deeper soils in longer term notill that have continuous pores undisturbed from cultivations down the soil profile
Helping later spring crops produce descent yields
If this is the case later notill crops in wetter springs will be crops that are not feared and much lower costs low disease and weed problems
Spread work load
I have had mid April spring crops regularly but early May this year

If this years crops are not disastrous the patience in the spring will be easier In future

 

[Clive]

The lower early biomass in a dry year may be an advantage for notill winter crops but could be a disadvantage in a wet year assuming the crops are all managed the same
But I try to establish thicker crops and apply n earlier now I notill

For spring crops not drying out the soil in a dry time could be an advantage but later drilling could be a disadvantage
This year will be a test later crops are filling grain when it is hotter compared to those 2 weeks earlier although cooler weather next week could help

The one certainty is that this year we have had high sunlight levels which will have helped crops where they have access to moisture under neath

The question I ask does undusturbed soil give more water from deeper
Down
This is well known on chalk soils compared to other shallow soils
Could this be the case on Deeper soils in longer term notill that have continuous pores undisturbed from cultivations down the soil profile
Helping later spring crops produce descent yields
If this is the case later notill crops in wetter springs will be crops that are not feared and much lower costs low disease and weed problems
Spread work load
I have had mid April spring crops regularly but early May this year

If this years crops are not disastrous the patience in the spring will be easier In future

I agree re thicker crops and earlier drilling / n on earlier

As for moisture deeper down I believe that as well as bringing nutrition soil biology essential in the supply of water to crops so the more of it we leave intact through lower disturbance the more able it is to do its job ?

Maybe also something in what you say re the undistrubed pores creating better physical access to water ?

All I know is my crops on light soils should be an absolute disaster zone in a year like this and although they won’t break records they are far from a disaster

 

[Kiwi Pete]

in our experience, we don't want too much early biomass for that very reason. We want to ensure there is enough soil moisture later on to fill the grain, rather than relying entirely on rainfall . . .

Yes that was why I topped my grass going into the dry - reduction of capillary action and to cover the soil better.
I had no means of trampling the whole farm area so the mower had to do it.
Armour on the soil is a major factor, even if only in the short term when unseasonally hot - better to oxidise some grass than to lose the last remnants of available soil moisture IMO
The principles are exactly the same whether growing olives and grapes, or grass in a swamp, it's really good to see some heartening results from your efforts @Clive - or lack of efforts

Not tilling never meant yield loss - ask an orchardist!

 

[Feldspar]

Any idea idea what varieties in both pictures, Clive? Biggest difference here is between varieties and drilling date rather than tillage.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I agree re thicker crops and earlier drilling / n on earlier

As for moisture deeper down I believe that as well as bringing nutrition soil biology essential in the supply of water to crops so the more of it we leave intact through lower disturbance the more able it is to do its job ?

Maybe also something in what you say re the undistrubed pores creating better physical access to water ?

All I know is my crops on light soils should be an absolute disaster zone in a year like this and although they won’t break records they are far from a disaster

Theories are wonderful but as water infiltrates through the profile, the combination of the surface tension, gravity, and the air following causes vertical capillaries to form in the soil profile - very much like the negative of the crop growing above it.
The taller your grass or cereal, the more force it can generate to draw water upwards; combined with zero "fudgement" of the profile via steel, the water cycle functions more as nature intended.

Capilliarity in the soil is impossible to replicate with artificial means, obviously ANY soil disturbance lessens this function to a degree.

 

[Clive]

Any idea idea what varieties in both pictures, Clive? Biggest difference here is between varieties and drilling date rather than tillage.

Affraid not but will ask neighbours next time I speak to them

Varieties on my land in that picture are Trinty (closest) and Montana (distant)

 

[ollie989898]

Seth Byrd‏ @OKStateCotton Jun 28




Pretty impressive visual of dryland #cotton planted into a terminated wheat cover (left) vs. wheat cut and baled (right). Same planting date and variety. #OKcottonpic.twitter.com/0RT2XlLARa

4:29 PM - 28 Jun 2018

Stubble shelters the seedlings nicely?

 

[chaffcutter]

All the neighbours wheat in that photo is Skyfall, I was steward for the crop competition when we went there.

 

[Farmer Roy]

take the time to watch this vid - although obviously not all is relevant, there are some important take home messages & concepts

I think comments at 7.41, 8.00, 8.18, 9.00 & 9.25 are relevant no matter where you crop

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=421612841648731

 

[cows r us]

I think so but obviously there is probably difference in variety, drilling date and agronomy etc. There is more than one neighbours crops in the second picture where as all the land in the first picture is farmed by us

Both neighbours are very good farmers that grow very good crops that I’m sure will have good agronomy and application timing etc

Not claiming this is a replicated trial, just interesting comparison, soil type in both pictures will be very similar and rainfall obiously same

I've got some great pictures on my camera showing the differents in moisture stress in conventionally established winter wheat compared to our no till stuff. Ill save them for the magazine. I've already had some positive comments from skeptics of no till on this years crop.

 

[Mr Charisma]

All the neighbours wheat in that photo is Skyfall, I was steward for the crop competition when we went there.

Skyfall starts off as a very light green colour and trinity is much darker
Neighbour went from Skyfall to Trinity in the same field and the difference is huge , Skyfall looks like it's had a couple of lts of glypho

Still impressive photos tho

 

[D14]

Skyfall starts off as a very light green colour and trinity is much darker
Neighbour went from Skyfall to Trinity in the same field and the difference is huge , Skyfall looks like it's had a couple of lts of glypho

Still impressive photos tho

Skyfall is an early harvest crop and always goes off 2-3 weeks before anything else. We have had it cut 3 weeks before any other wheat in the past.

 

[DrWazzock]

I think I have done alright with direct drilling all of my spring crops as I have conserved moisture but I do wonder if my direct drilled winter crops suffer from more restricted rooting particularly where soil conditions aren't idea. A wet winter, followed by a dry spring summer leaves shallow roots unable to draw moisture from depth, maybe? Down to soil structure I suppose but where it isn't very forgiving then I reckon direct drilling leads to poor rooting over a wet winter.

I really ought to do a proper trial on my difficult land.

1. Plough

2. Paraplow

3. No cultivation at all.

My money is on the Paraplow system as I once did a trial with stubble turnips and had twice the yield where paraplowed compared to zero tilled.

Some soils self structure or drain freely. Some don't IMO.

 

[britt]

My neighbour drilled his spring beans into ground that was max tilled in the autumn, then cultivated a couple more times before it got too wet.
He drilled a couple of days earlier than me (late April), into a crust on top of sludge with a tine drill (the tractor broke through in a few places) and they have been a bit better than mine since emergence, but he did use a much higher seed rate.
Mine were disc drilled (Weaving big Disc) into a cover crop.
On Friday (33c and no rain since May) his died during the course of the day, you could almost see them change colour. They are now dead and will not use the leaves to fill the seed anymore.
Mine are still green except for a small patch over a filled in pond and where a muck heap was.
I suspect that mine rooted deeper and are still finding moisture in the more uniform soil profile. Whereas his were happy to stop in the wet layer.

 

[Stoosh]

What is your neighbors tillage system @Clive?

This has to be mainly to do with soil structure and roots. I'd guess.

 

[CornishTone]

This shows the value a little stubble/crop residue retention has in a tough season...

Right hand side was burnt prior to zero tillage, left hand side was not. We’ve had a very tough start to the season (not as tough as NSW obviously), subsoil moisture is zero and these crops are living on small, single figure mm rainfall events every 10 days or so. This highlights why Australian farmers do things the way they do, it’ll mean the difference between breaking even and making a loss in this sort of season.

 

[Clive]

What is your neighbors tillage system @Clive?

This has to be mainly to do with soil structure and roots. I'd guess.

more than one neighbour but a mix of plough based and high hp mintill with roots in the rotation