CROP ROTATION, TILLAGE, AND DRAINAGE EFFECT ON GRAIN PRODUCTION
Agronomy & Pest Management
Alan Sundermeier
Extension Educator
The Ohio State University Extension
BOWLING GREEN
Abstract
Most of northwest Ohio was converted from swamp land into productive farmland by the installation of drainage systems. Even with good drainage, growing corn and soybeans is a challenge for conservation tillage systems. Some of the earliest no-till research in the country began on this Hoytville silty clay loam (tile drained) in the 1960s and that work continues. Since 1984 research has been conducted on the plots we will continue to use to evaluate the effects of drainage, rotation, and tillage on corn and soybean yield. Since 1998, the plots with subsurface drainage have yielded 10 bu/acre more soybeans and almost 50 bu/acre more corn than plots with only surface drainage. Corn in rotation with soybeans averaged 20 bu/acre more than continuous corn. Soybeans in rotation with corn averaged 2 bu/acre more than continuous soybeans. For corn in rotation on drained plots, the three tillage systems (no-till, strip-till, and chisel plow) averaged about the same, but for continuous corn no-till averaged 15 bu/acre less than chisel plow. On the plots without tile drainage, no-till and strip-till corn after soybeans averaged 20 bu/acre more than chisel plow. For continuous corn on these plots, no-till and chisel plow averaged about the same. Crop productivity can be increased on this silty clay loam soil by installing subsurface drainage, using crop rotation, and no-till.
Authors: Sundermeier, A.
-
Sundermeier, A. Extension Educator, The Ohio State University Extension, Ohio, 43402