No-Tillage Agriculture Principles and Practices No-Tillage Agriculture Principles and Practices Edited by Ronald E. Phillips Department of Agronomy University of Kentucky Shirley H. Phillips Associate Director for Extension College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky rnm5f VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD COMPANY ~ NEW YORK CINCINNATI TORONTO LONDON MELBOURNE Copyright © 1984 by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1984 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 83-5827 ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-1469-1 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-1467-7 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4684-1467-7 All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means-graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems-without permission of the publisher. Manufactured in the United States of America Published by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc. 135 West 50th Street New York, New York 10020 Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Limited Molly Millars Lane Wokingham, Berkshire RG11 2PY, England Van Nostrand Reinhold 480 Latrobe Street Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia Macmillan of Canada Division of Gage Publishing Limited 164 Commander Boulevard Agincourt, Ontario MIS 3C7, Canada 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: No-tillage agriculture, principles and practices. Includes index. 1. No-tillage. I. Phillips, Ronald E. II. Phillips, Shirley H. S604.N6 1983 631.5'8 83-5827 ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-1469-1 Contributors Robert L. Blevins, Professor of Agronomy, University of Kentucky Wilbur W. Frye, Associate Professor of Agronomy, University of Kentucky Ronald E. Phillips, Professor of Agronomy, University of Kentucky Shirley H. Phillips, Associate Director for Extension, College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky M. Scott Smith, Assistant Professor of Agronomy, University of Kentucky Grant W. Thomas, Professor of Agronomy, University of Kentucky William W. Witt, Associate Professor of Agronomy, University of Kentucky Preface No-tillage cropping systems and concepts have evolved rapidly since the early 1960s and are attracting attention worldwide. The rapid growth and interest is associated with increasing pressures for food production from a fixed land resource base with degrading effects of erosion, soil compaction and other factors becoming more noticeable. Research programs have provided many answers and identified new technology needed for success of the no-tillage crop production system in the past two decades and this has resulted in a rapid rate of adoption. Farmers played an important role in the early stages· of development of the system and continue to play an important role in its improvement and rapid rate of adoption. This book provides an inventory and assessment of the principles involved in no-tillage concepts and addresses the application of the technology to practical production schemes. Selected authors and contributors have long been associated either in no-tillage research or application. They represent many disciplines interfacing with the complex interactions of soil, plant and environment. Personal obser vations by the authors in many geographic sectors of the world indicate the principles to be valid but application of the principles to be less uniform. The application of no-tillage principles requires considerable modification as variations in soil and/or climatic condi tions are encountered in different regions of the world. No-tillage today appears to be relevant to the large commercial producer as well as the smaller farmer producing food and fiber for his family; the principles of no-tillage crop production apply equally well for both. Reduction of energy, whether it be fossil fuel or manpower, will remain an important consideration in the future, with specific implications for the spread of no-tillage to all parts of the world. It has been estimated that U.S. farmers, in preparing land for row crops, move annually the equivalent amount of soil required to build a superhighway across the continent. The energy cost and soil vii viii PREFACE erosion losses associated with this soil disturbance will be reduced as more hectares of crops are grown by the no-tillage production system. Recent research indicates that legumes can be used as winter cover crops in the no-tillage system and provide significant biological nitrogen to the row crops which follow, resulting in a decrease of the amount of nitrogen fertilizer needed. This will often result in less pollution of ground water by nitrogen. In addition, pesticides applied to soils in no-tillage have been observed to be inactivated more and degrade faster. For this reason higher pesticide rates may be required for adequate control. On the other hand, this and the reduction in surface run-off minimize the possibility of pesticide contamination of the environment. The start of the twenty-first century may signal the end of a period of 200 years in developing the plow and the initiation of a new system that deletes or at least minimizes the use of this imple ment in crop production. The deletion of the moldboard plow in no-tillage could have as great an impact on agriculture in the future as the moldboard plow has had in the past. However, continued research and application of new technology in no-tillage will be required in order that this happen. Future demands on land resources require that modifications in production practices be made in order to supply the ever-increasing demand of food and fiber. No-tillage will doubtless continue to be one of the most important of these production practices, one that protects the soil, conserves water and reduces energy consumption. Shirley H. Phillips Ronald E. Phillips Lexington, Kentucky Contents Preface / vii 1. INTRODUCTION S.H. Phillips / Reasons for Tillage / 3 Factors that Contributed to the Increased Interest in No-Tillage Systems / 4 Advantages of No-Tillage / 5 Disadvantages of No-Tillage / 8 Present Philosophy in No-Tillage / 9 2. EFFECTS OF CLIMATE ON PERFORMANCE OF NO-TILLAGE R.E. Phillips / 11 Precipitation and Evapotranspiration / 11 Soil Temperature / 17 Corn Seedling Growth as Related to Soil Temperature / 20 Time of Planting / 34 3. SOIL ADAPTABILITY FOR NO-TILLAGE R.L. Blevins 42 Some Factors Affecting Adoption of No-Tillage / 42 Soil Drainage / 45 Suitability for Sloping Land / 48 Soil Water Erosion / 50 Erosion Control by No-Tillage / 55 Controlling Soil Wind Erosion by No-Tillage / 59 Steeplands / 62 4. SOIL MOISTURE R.E. Phillips / 66 Effect of Mulch on Evaporation of Soil Water / 66 Effect of Soil Texture, Pans and Drainage Class on Soil Water Evaporation / 71 Soil Water in Field Studies / 73 Effect of No-Tillage on Root Growth / 81 ix x CONTENTS 5. FERTILIZATION AND LIMING G.W. Thomas and W.W. Frye / 87 The Soil Environment Under No-Tillage Versus Conventional Tillage / 87 Nitrogen Requirements for No-Tillage Crops / 91 Pathways of Nitrogen in the Two Systems / 91 Methods of Nitrogen Application / 96 Phosphorus Requirements / 97 Potassium Distribution and Availability in the Soil 102 Soil Acidity and Lime / 105 Sulfur / 109 Micronutrients / 111 Role of Cover Crops in Nitrogen Fertilization of No-Tillage 111 6. ENERGY REQUIREMENT IN NO-TILLAGE W.W. Frye 127 Energy Use in Agriculture / 127 Need for Energy Conservation in Agriculture / 130 Energy Use and Efficiency in Tillage Systems / 131 Tillage Operations / 133 Planting / 133 Field Machinery / 134 Seeding Rates / 135 Weed Control / 135 Comparison of Tillage System / 136 Energy Efficiency in Fertilizer Management / 138 Tillage and Nitrogen Fertilizer Efficiency / 139 Time of Application and Nitrogen Fertilizer Efficiency 143 Effect of Fertilizer Placement on Efficiency / 145 Nitrogen from Legume Cover Crops / 145 Energy Efficiency in Forage Production / 147 7. RESPONSE OF WEEDS AND HERBICIDES UNDER NO-TILLAGE CONDITIONS W.W. Witt / 152 Some Factors Affecting Weed Control in No-Tillage / 152 Effect of Surface Plant Residue on Herbicide Persistence / 161 8. OTHER PESTS IN NO-TILLAGE AND THEIR CONTROL S.H. Phillips / 171 Insects / 171 Soil Insects / 172 Above-Ground Insects / 176 CONTENTS xi Diseases / 180 Corn / 182 Sorghum / 183 Soybeans / 183 Wheat / 185 Summary / 186 9. CHANGES IN SOIL PROPERTIES UNDER NO-TILLAGE R.L. Blevins, M.S. Smith and G.W. Thomas / 190 The Microbial Environment / 191 Number and Activity of Soil Microorganisms / 192 Tillage Effects on Soil Animals / 197 Decomposition of Organic Matter / 198 Mineralization and Immobilization of Nitrogen / 201 Effects of Tillage on Nitrification and Denitrification / 203 Soil Physical Properties / 206 Influence of Mulches on Soil Physical Properties / 206 Effect of Tillage on Soil Density and Porosity / 210 Chemical Properties / 215 Phosphorus and Potassium / 222 Magnesium / 223 Summary of Chemical Properties / 225 10. MULTICROPPING S.H. Phillips and G.W. Thomas / 231 Multicropping With No-Tillage Techniques / 231 Beginnings of Multiple Cropping in the United States / 234 Requirements for Successful Multiple Cropping / 235 Length of Growing Season / 235 Water / 239 Weed Control / 241 Fertilizer Practices / 242 Equipment / 243 Management of Multiple Cropping / 243 Profitability of Multiple Cropping / 244 The Future of Multiple Cropping / 246 Winter-Summer Double Cropping / 247 Summer-Summer Double Cropping / 248 Winter-Summer-Summer Double Cropping / 249 Other Multiple Cropping Systems / 249 External Factors Affecting Profitability of Multiple Cropping / 250 Combining Agronomic Practices for Multicropping on Sloping Land / 251