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Farming Systems Trial (FST)Advisory Board Meeting
February 2009Rita Seidel
Main crops in 2008
• Oats (organic only)
• Soybeans (conventional only)
• Corn (organic & conventional)
Oats• Two entry points in both the Organic Manure (MNR) and Organic
Legume (LEG) systems
• Drilled at 3 bu/a on April 8th into moldboard plowed soil, variety ‘Spurs’.
– MNR 1: Oats only (compost plow down as N source).
– MNR 2: Oats with alfalfa/orchard grass for hay - following soybeans
14 lbs/a alfalfa + 8 lbs/a orchard grass
– LEG 1: Oats only, following soybeans.
– LEG 2 tilled reps: Oats only, following corn.
– LEG 2 no-till reps: Oats with 15 lbs/a Nordell clover mix 2:2:1 (yellow blossom sweet clover, medium red clover, ladino white clover), following corn
• Harvest on July 25th.
2008 FST Oat Yields (oat variety: Spurs)
80
33
62
67
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
MNR-after corn MNR-after beans LEG-after beans LEG-after corn
Yie
lds
(bu/
a @
12%
moi
stur
e)
b
a
cb
with compost
(210 lbs N/a)
no additionalfertilizer
no additionalfertilizer
noadditional fertilizer
2008 FST Oat Yields (oat variety: Spurs)
2008 FST weed biomass in oats
1,381
454
1,100
1,301
523
410
1,161 1,188
-
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
tilled no-till tilled no-till tilled no-till tilled no-till
MNR-after corn & withcompost
MNR-after beans LEG-after beans LEG-after corn
wee
d b
iom
ass
(kg/
ha)
b
a
bb
aa
bb
Oats plushay
Oats plusclover
*
Companion crop significantly reducedamount of weeds
2008 FST Weed Biomass in Oats
2008 FST Oat data
1,969
466
2,517
7,585
1,341
2,120
7771,038
1,174
7,221
8,998
4,012
-
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
Oat biomass Weed biomass Yields
crop
, wee
d bi
omas
s, y
ield
s (k
g/ha
)
MNR-after corn & with compost
MNR-after beans
LEG-after beans
LEG-after corn
62 bu
33 bu
67 bu
80 bu
b c b a
b a b a b c b a
FST 2008 Oat Data
Clover after Oats in August
Oats with Clover (after Corn)in July
Soybeans
• No soybeans in the organic rotations in 2008.
• Conventional beans were drilled on May 23rd:
–4 reps into chisel plowed soil, 4 reps no-till
• Variety: Pioneer 93M11 (RR).
• Rate: 210,000/acre
• Post-emergence herbicide: Roundup
• Harvest on October 8th.
• Post-harvest application of Roundup in no-till plots before winter wheat planting
2008 FST Soybean Data in Conventional System(no sign. differences between tilled and no-till)
3,124 3,076 3,100
190 64 127
8,017
8,350
7,683
-
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
tilled no-till overall
Cro
p b
iom
ass,
yie
ld, w
eed
bio
mas
s (k
g/h
a)
Crop biomass
Yield
Weed biomass
53 bu/a
53 bu/a
53 bu/a
averagepopulation:147,000/a
2008 FST Soybean Data in the Conventional System
(no significant differences between tilled and no-till)
Conventional Soybeans in August
Conventional Corn• Planted May 6th with Monosem planter (both tilled and no-till
plots)
• Variety: Pioneer 33N58 (113-day, Bt, RR)
• Rate: 33,136/acre
• Starter fertilizer 30-30-10
• Pre- and post emergence herbicides (Degree Xtra and Callisto/Atrazine) – no Roundup was used in the corn
• Side-dress with UAN at 120 lbs N/a
• Harvest on November 19th
• Corn residue was mowed
• Rye was planted (John Deere no-till drill) at 3 bu/a in no-till reps
Organic Tilled Corn
• Hairy vetch was moldboard plowed on May 15th.
• Corn was planted on May 23rd with Monosem planter
• Variety: Blue River 68F32 (113-day)
• Rate: 36,624/acre
• Weed management:
tine weeder (2x), rotary hoe (1x), cultivator (4x)
• Harvest on November 19th
• Corn residue was mowed and rye was planted (John Deere no-till drill) at 3 bu/a
Conv. no-till corn in July & August Organic tilled corn in July & August
Organic No-till Corn
• Hairy vetch was rolled & corn was planted on June 16th with Monosem planter
• Variety: Blue River 68F32 (113-day)
• Rate: 36,624/acre
• No cultivation
• Harvest on December 3rd
• Corn residue was mowed and rye was planted (John Deere no-till drill) at 3 bu/a
Hairy vetch before and 2 weeks after rolling
Hairy vetch mat in September
2008 FST Hairy Vetch Data(N input for organic corn)
4,046
7,959
4,851
8,009
266166263 215
-
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
MNR-tilled MNR- no-till LEG-tilled LEG- no-till
vetc
h bi
omas
s an
d N
inco
rpor
ated
(kg
/ha)
dry biomass
kg N/ha
23,618 kg/hafresh biomass@ 65% moisture
Tilled = moldboard plow: May 15No-till = rolled: June 16
27,342 kg/hafresh biomass@ 69% moisture
AB BAB
a
b
a
b
2008 FST Hairy Vetch Data(N input for corn)
34,61033,150
26,201
30,27329,122
26,909
-
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
MNR MNR LEG LEG CNV CNV
Tilled No-till Tilled No-till Tilled No-till
pla
nts
/acr
e ab
dcd
a
bc
a
2008 FST Corn Plant Population at Harvest Time
Seeding rate for organicsystems: 36,624/a
Seeding rate for conventional systems: 33,136/a
2008 FST weed abundance in organic corn
Organic Cropping System Treatments
MNR LEG
Wee
d B
iom
ass
(g m
-2)
0
100
200
300
400
500WBgm WBgm
Conventional Cropping Systems Treatments
CNV1 CNV2
Wee
d B
iom
ass
(g m
-2)
0
2
4
6
8
10No-Till Tilled
Conventional Cropping Systems Treatments
CNV1 CNV2
Wee
d B
iom
ass
(g m
-2)
0
2
4
6
8
10No-Till Tilled
Fertility SourceManure Legume
No Significant Difference
Abundance of annual vs. perennial weed species in corn
Weed biomass (%) as Annual or Perennial
Tilled No-Till
System Annual Perennial Annual Perennial
Manure 100 0 64 36
Legume 100 0 64 36
Conventionalw 57 43 55 45
ConventionalS 58 42 55 45
Weed biomass in organic systems did not increase as a result of no-till management.
No-till affected systems differently leading to an increase in perennials in the organic systems, but not the conventional.
Tilled organic
Annual Species
Wild Buckwheat
Common Ragweed
Lady’s Thumb
Giant Foxtail
Velvetleaf
PA Smartweed
Giant Ragweed
Smooth Crabgrass
Perennial Species
None
No-till organic
Annual Species
Redroot Pigweed
Hairy Galinsoga
Shepherd’s Purse
Common Lambsquarter
Wild Radish
Devil’s Beggar Tick
Perennial Species
Hedge Bindweed
Curly Dock
Yellow Wood Sorrel
Canada Thistle
Tilled & no-till conventionalAnnual Species
Redroot Pigweed
Large Crabgrass
Common Purselane
Wild Lettuce
Hairy Vetch
Perennial Species
Common Milkweed
Smooth Groundcherry
Dandelion
Yellow Nutsedge
Weed species in corn
33
7,105
16,482
2,359
20,385
5,281
2,995
6,301
14,817
2,929
2,060
21,458
5,020
9,235
20,449
8,814
67
20,350
-
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
crop BM grain yield weed BM
kg/
ha
Tilled MNR
No-till MNR
Tilled LEG
No-till LEG
Tilled CNV
No-till CNV
2008 FST Corn Data
a b a b c c
134 100 119 95 174 166 bu/a
ab bc a c bc bc
b b b b a a
• Organic no-till corn never reached black layer.
• 113-day corn needs ~2,700 Growing Degree Days (GDD).
• GDD in 2008:
• GDD for previous 10 years
• Test weights of organic no-till corn was 20% lower than that of organic tilled and conventional corn:
– Tilled organic & conventional: 63 lbs/bu
– No-till organic: 51 lbs/bu
What caused the lower yield in the organic no-till corn?
CNV ORG tilled ORG no-till
2,779 2,646 2,209
May 15-Oct 31 June 15-Oct 31
2,600-3,046 GDD 2,265-2,566 GDD
111-126 day corn 94-106 day corn
Challenges in 2008
Low oat yields
• Probable causes: insufficient N, relatively high weed biomass in some entry points
• Course of action: supply more N after corn – we will test this in the legume overseeding trial
Some weeds in conventional soybeans (mostly dandelion and lambsquarter)
• Probable cause: Herbicide was applied too late
• Course of action: Work more closely with our advisors to time application
Low yields in organic no-till corn
• Cause: not enough GDD if planted in mid June
• Course of action: use 85-95 day corn
Rotations
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Manure system 8 year rotation
No-Till Manure System - 8 year rotation
Compost Compost Prye Wheat Hay Hay Wheat
Oats FSHay
roll hvNTCorn
roll ryeNTSoybean
PCorn(silage)
Phv(cc)
NTrye (cc)
Prye(cc)
PWheat Hay Hay Hay PWheat Phv(cc)
Manure system 7 year rotation
No-Till Manure System - 7 year rotation
Compost Compost Prye Wheat Hay Hay
Oats FSHay
PCorn(silage)
roll hvNTCorn
roll ryeNTSoybean
Hay Hay HayPhv(cc)
Phv(cc)
NTrye (cc)
Prye(cc)
PWheat
Manure System
Year 1 2 3 4
No-Till Legume System - 4 year rotation
P rye Wheat
Oats/clover
Tilled Legume System - 4 year rotation
Prye Wheat
Oats
PhvCorn
PryeSoybean
Phv(cc)
NTrye (cc)
Prye(cc)
PWheat
Phv(cc)
NTrye (cc)
Prye(cc)
roll hvNTCorn
PWheatPhv(cc)
roll ryeNTSoybean
Phv(cc)
Legume System
Year 1 2 3
No-Till Conventional System - 3 year rotation
Wheatburndown
Tilled Conventional System - 2 year rotation
No cover crops
CPSoybeanCPCorn
NThv(cc)
burndownNTCorn
burndownNTSoybean
NThv(cc)
NTrye (cc)
NtWheat
Conventional System
Stale seedbed before ryeRye cover crop to be plowed in 2009 Drilled rye: 3 bu/a
Rye to be rolled for soybeans in 2009:2 bu/a drilled, 1 bu/a walked on
Varieties for 2009Corn:
• Blue River 85-day and 112-day corn for organic plots
• Pioneer 113-day corn for conv system (Bt, RR) – same as last year
Soybeans:
• Blue River early Group 2 bean for organic plots (to be followed by wheat)
• Pioneer early Group 3 bean for conv plots (RR) – same as last year
Oats:
• Spurs or Blaze
Wheat:
• Seedway 50 for conv plots: locally available and tested variety, averaged 83 bu/a over last 3 years
• no wheat in organic systems until fall 2009 – we will wait for results from the variety trial to identify a variety for the organic systems
Satellite trials in 2009
Wheat Variety Trial
• 4 varieties, plus a mix of the 4 varieties, were planted on October 10, 2008:GH 4532 (Great Harvest, IN), WS 44 (Welter Seed, IA), Vigoro 9723 (Hundley Seed, IL), and W 106 (Wilken, IL)
• We will evaluate general plant growth and health, weed biomass and yields.
Oat Variety Trial
• Several organic varieties have been identified and will be planted in spring 2009 Spurs, Blaze, Buckskin, Excel, Baker, Ogle, Rodeo, Esker, Robust
• Evaluation the same as for wheat
Compost trial to determine N availability of compost
• Treatments: compost application rates, compost types (or different C:N ratios)
• Data collection: soil samples for nitrate, yields
• tested in a field that had no compost application in the fall of 2008 and no over-winter vetch cover crop
• Corn or oats will be planted after compost application. Soil samples taken throughout the growing season, coupled with yield determination, will help us get a better understanding of in-field N availability.
Satellite trials in 2009
Over-seeding of legume cover crops into corn as N source for following oats
• Treatments: legume species, seeding rate, seeding time, means of establishment
• Data collection: evaluate legume under-story, winter survival, biomass and N contribution, oat yields
• The legume would be plowed down in spring to serve as N source for oats, eliminating the need to plant a rye cover crop after corn.
• This can be tested in any tilled corn field (it will not be viable in organic no-till corn plots, due to the hairy vetch mat).
Satellite trials in 2009
Questions for the Advisory Board
• Should we set biomass threshold levels for organic no-till system cover crops, below which we would moldboard plow? If so, what levels?
• Should we establish minimum levels for each soil nutrient, below which we will apply amendments? (i.e. apply K below 90 ppm or apply lime when pH is below 6.2) If so, what levels?
• Do you have suggestions for the satellite trials (e.g. what legumes to use, how to establish them, compost rates etc.)?
• Can we improve the rotations further?
The calm before the storm…
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