Elwyn Taylor, Iowa State University climatologist, reported that 200-bushel corn needs 19 to 23 inches of water during the growing season. For 200-bushel corn at 75 degree F (soil temperature), corn needs 1-acre inch of water per week, doubling to 2 inches at 85 degrees F, and doubling again to 4 inches at 95 degrees F. Read more in this article from Ohio's Country Journal.
After harvest in the fall, farmers take the harvested crops to market or store them on their farm. They don't take the whole plant from the field, though. The leftover parts of the plant, like the stalk and leaves from corn, remain in the field. This debris is called crop residue. Read more in this article from Phys.org and the American Society of Agronomy.
Three years of data from South Dakota State University clearly suggest a positive impact of crop residue and cover crops on soil hydrological properties and overall soil health.
A common question when incorporating cover crops into a production system is, will the cover crop interfere with the performance of residual herbicides included with the burndown treatment? This article from Iowa State University Extension will discuss the fate of residual herbicides applied to crop residue and living cover crops, and how this may influence herbicide effectiveness.
The next time you’re in one of those seemingly hopeless debates with a clean-tilling neighbor about the value of no-till practices, turn to these talking points from the NRCS.
The removal of crop residue can address some challenges with reduced-tillage systems, but doing so should be weighed against the potential impact on soil productivity, environmental consequences and food availability, says an Extension agent from Colorado.
A long-term study of no-till plots adjacent to conventional tillage plots on wheat farms in Washington and Idaho comes to some interesting conclusions about the dynamics of bacterial and fungal communities.
Penn State Extension explains why continuous no-till is your best defense against soil crusting and what to do if you’re experiencing crusting this season.
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