D26—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 11,1982 To plant no-till use the old rows NEWARK, DE Farmers who want to plant no-till into row crop residues often ask if they should plant directly over old rows or in the row middles. A second year of research at the University of Delaware Agriculutural Experiment Station confirms that row placement can have important effects on no-till com planted after soybeans, especially on sandy soil such as Evesboro loamy sand. Cheryl Stevens, master’s degree candidate in the department of plant science, has been working on this project with her advisor, agronomist William H. Mitchell. She recently reported on their findings. The seed placement study was conducted at the university's Georgetown substation. It was undertaken because soybeans in a reduced tillage program are rarely followed by cover crops on Delmarva, and this can lead to compacted soil. Additional com paction results from wheel traffic especially between rows. Compaction in the wheel tracks can extend well below the soil surface, reducing water in filtration and restricting root growth, Stevens said. Recent samples taken in a chisel-plowed field showed that water infiltration rates were 9/16-inch per hour over the row versus a much slower V - inch per hour in row middles compacted by the tractor at planting. Also, no-tillage soil is usually colder than plowed and disked soil. For this reason, no-tillage plan tings are often delayed until soil warms. “With these factors in mind,” Stevens said, “we have been comparing no-till corn planted fSM Fertilizer... Bag or Bulk! jS? ESsSSBf flSttrlfeiiaT / FERTILIZER / / nHVLUU / ' See Us At The MID-ATLANTIC NO-TILL CONFERENCE Dec. 16, 1982 York, Pa. • Booth No. 33 /^\ / § r/k agri service * \ * LANCASTER, PH. " \ ik 717-299-2541 / \V / Stop By And Pickup Your No-Till Conference Commemorative Pin! LANCASTER, PA RICHLAND. PA. 717-299-2541 717-866-5701 DANVILLE, PA. 717-275-4850 directly over the previous year’s soybean rows with com planted in soybean row middles. In 1981, and again this year, we observed a real advantage to planting right over those soybean rows into a seedbed that had not been compacted by wheel traffic for two cropping seasons.” Decomposing soybean roots, besides providing nitrogen, may leave channels in the soil and so contribute to this on-row ad vantage. At Georgetown, no-tillage planting on the row produced com plants that were taller in the early part of the season, with larger leaf areas. Where banded diam monium phosphate was used as a planter fertilizer, on-row plantings had less visible symptoms of manganese deficiency than those in row middles. These results were most apparent in early plantings (April 7,1981, and March 31, 1982) when soil temperatures were relatively low at planting, Stevens said. In both years, mid-silking oc curred two to five days earlier in plots planted on the row. Though 1982 yields won’t be available until later in September, 1981 results showed better yields for on-row placement than for plots planted m row middles (152 versus 113 bushels per acre). In Pa. 1-800-732-0398 Stevens said some type of row modifications may also benefit no till corn. “Farmers who are sold on the moisture saving, soil building advantages of a no-tillage cover crop are sharing their ideas on how to improve corn seedling she said. “This year, for example, the Ross brothers in Laurel, Del., observed faster seedling emergence and growth in areas where the vetch mulch was pulled slightly away from the seed slot. They’re now experimenting with a device placed between the fluted coulter and double disk openers that will accomplish this for their 1983 plantings.” Their experience suggests that some type of row modification of the no-tillage seedbed may be the key to improved soil mositure/temperature conditions under a cover crop mulch, Stevens said. This may be especially im portant as farmers shoot for high yields by planting no-till corn early. Stevens and Mitchell’s row placement experiments have in cluded plots where the soil directly over the row was worked into a ridge using hiliers attached to the planter unit. Though this type of ridge planting has not yet led to significant improvements in no tiUage stands, they feel it is a step toward achieving the desired results. More ideas are needed from farmers, researchers and the farm machinery industry, Stevens said, to perfect a method of row modification that improves no tillage performance under a wider range of planting conditions. R/K AGRI SERVICE , INC. rAI „ IIIMIuITB4TC 500 Running. Pump Rd., Box 6177 N RATE Lancaster, Pa. 17603 CHARLOTTE HALL, mi/. 301884-4604 301-932-6527 CHICAGO, 111. Conservation tillage practices have become very popular in recent years and the trend to conservation planting is gaining momentum, according to Joe Neville, the International Harvester Product Information Manager for crop production implements. Neville said the key to making the switch to minimum-till or no till planting is finding a planter that can handle tough planting conditions. “Reduced tillage and no-till planting presents several major challenges for a planter,” said Neville. The planter has to cut through surface trash, open the seed trench, achieve good seed-soil contact, maintain uniform depth control and adequately cover the seed. Major farm equipment manufacturers are meeting the challenge of producing minimum Outside Pa. 1-800-233-3822 UPPER MARLBORO, MD. Three M Farm Service 301-627-8700 301-627-3300 ideal for conservation planting practices, as well as con ventional methods. IH develops planter 46-0-0 UREA 33 AMMONIUM NITRATE 30-0-0 NITROGEN SOLUTION 21-0-0 AMMONIUM SULFATE 38-0-0 NITRO-FORM 18-46-0 DAP 13-52-0 MAP 0-460 TRIPLE 00-50 SULFATE OF POTASH 00-60 MURIATE OF POTASH 00-22 K-MAG 20% ZINC 90% SULPHUR 32% BORATE 37-0-0 SULPHUR COATED UREA 0-20-0 SUPER MICRO-MIX NITRATE OF SODA-POTASH tillage or no-till planters in a number of ways. One way-is to add a coulter (a sharp cutting disk) in front of the seed furrow opener and weight and strength to the planter framing so it penetrates tough soil and withstands the roughness of trashy fields. “International Harvester took a different approach,” Neville said. “Many fanners are likely to change their tillage practices freon time to time to control weeds, insect or disease problems that could develop under surface residue preserving practices. That’s one reason International Harvester developed a planter that is ideal for conservation planting practices as well as the more traditional planting methods,” he said. FERTILIZER MATERIALS BAG OR BULK JAMES H.McKENNY Sales Representative Southern Maryland
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers