Short Term Tillage Comparisons Lewiston, NC Rocky Mount, NC Cotton - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Short Term Tillage Comparisons Lewiston, NC Rocky Mount, NC

Cotton lint yield in conventional* and strip tillage cotton Lint yield Economic return Tillage 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 + 2013 _____________ lbs/acre ______________ ______________ $/acre ________________ Conventional 1049 753 313 83 396 Strip 1045 496* 312 -128 * 184 * Conventional was bedded.

Materials and Methods • Subplots – Six tillage systems with and without a wheat cover Tillage System Fall Tillage Spring Tillage 1 - Bed 2 Strip - 3 Bed - 4 - Strip (before planting) 5 - Strip (at planting) 6 Bed Strip Everything was ripped

2014 Growth Rate: 35 DAP* Lewiston Rocky Mount Tillage May 5 May 28 May 9 May 29 ---------- Growth (gram per day) ---------- Conventional (spring bed) 0.506 0.885 bc 0.281 bc 0.321 Fall strip (flat) 0.441 0.717 c 0.358 abc 0.437 Fall bed 0.598 0.983 bc 0.244 c 0.477 Spring strip at-plant (flat) 0.536 0.838 c 0.253 c 0.380 0.604 1.424 a 0.429 a 0.381 Spring strip pre-plant (flat) 0.568 1.150 ab 0.390 ab 0.513 Fall bed + Spring strip - 0.281 0.120 - LSD *Means followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly different according to Fisher’s Protected LSD at p ≤ 0.05

2015 Growth Rate: 35 DAP* Lewiston Rocky Mount Tillage May 6 May 21 May 8 May 22 ---------- Growth (gram per day) ---------- Conventional (spring bed) 0.497 bc 0.451 c 0.384 0.625 Fall strip 0.392 c 0.181 d 0.304 0.494 Fall bed 0.577 ab 0.641 b 0.352 0.620 Spring strip at-plant 0.671 a 0.648 b 0.364 0.727 Spring strip pre-plant 0.681 a 0.895 a 0.413 0.780 Fall bed + Spring strip 0.617 a 0.482 bc 0.396 0.536 0.108 0.187 LSD - - *Means followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly different according to Fisher’s Protected LSD at p ≤ 0.05

Summary • Early season cotton growth rates were the highest in strip-tilled plots two weeks before planting.

2014 Yield* Lewiston Rocky Mount Tillage May 5 May 28 May 9 May 29 -------------------- kg/ha -------------------- Conventional (spring bed) 1767 b 1812 ab 1871 1122 b Fall strip (flat) 1927 a 1291 d 1815 1359 a Fall bed 1962 a 1628 c 1822 1366 a Spring strip at-plant (flat) 1897 ab 1740 bc 1823 1262 ab Spring strip pre-plant (flat) 2018 a 1923 a 1815 1364 a Fall bed + Spring strip 1905 ab 1882 ab 1841 1176 b LSD 154 150 - 161 *Means followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly Everything was ripped different according to Fisher’s Protected LSD at p ≤ 0.05

2015 Yield* Tillage Lewiston Rocky Mount ----- kg/ha ----- Conventional (spring bed) 1341 1253 ab Fall strip (flat) 1303 1198 b Fall bed 1226 1244 ab Spring strip at-plant (flat) 1354 1375 a Spring strip pre-plant (flat) 1223 1331 ab Fall bed + Spring strip 1277 1363 a LSD - 150 *Means followed by the same letter within each location are not significantly Everything was ripped different according to Fisher’s Protected LSD at p ≤ 0.05

Summary • When yields differed, strip-tilled plots two weeks before planting had the highest yield or was not different than the highest yielding treatment.

Long Term Tillage Comparisons Clayton, NC

Materials and Methods Tillage System Initial Fall 2013 Tillage Annual Tillage Fall Rip/Bed - Fall Rip/Bed Fall Bed Rip/Bed Fall Bed No-Till Rip/Bed - Continuous No-Till - - Strip-Till - Spring Strip-Till Conventional - Spring Rip/Bed

Lint yield differences by tillage practices 2000 1- Fall rip/bed a a 1950 2- Fall bed after initial rip/bed in fall 2013 1900 Yield (lbs lint/A) ab* ab 3- No-till after initial 1850 rip/bed in fall 2013 1800 b b 4- No-till 1750 5- Strip (rip) till 1700 6- Conventional rip/bed 1650 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tillage *Means followed by the same letter not significantly different at p < 0.05 according to Fisher’s protected LSD .

2015 Soil Resistance Harvest* Soil Depth (cm) Tillage 0-5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 ----------------------------------- MPa ----------------------------------- Fall rip/bed 0.172 0.363 bc 0.915 b 1.246 b 1.609 2.710 Fall Bed (2013 rip&bed) 0.131 0.295 bc 0.675 bc 0.869 b 1.506 1.649 No-Till (2013 rip&bed) 0.213 0.499 bc 0.727 bc 1.161 b 2.305 2.981 No-Till 0.274 0.872 a 2.319 a 2.829 a 3.314 1.683 Strip-Till 0.137 0.544 b 0.889 b 0.927 b 1.425 2.577 Conventional 0.120 0.234 c 0.363 c 0.678 b 1.170 1.934 LSD - 0.285 0.423 0.891 - - *Means followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly different according to Fisher’s Protected LSD at p ≤ 0.05

Summary • Soil resistance was greatest in no-till plots, while conventional raised beds had the least soil resistance at both planting and after harvest. • After two full growing seasons, no-till 2013 had similar soil resistance measurements to conventional raised beds.

Yield* Tillage 2014 2015 ----- kg/ha ----- Fall rip/bed 2092 ab 1085 Fall Bed (2013 rip&bed) 2085 ab 1027 No-Till (2013 rip&bed) 2206 a 972 No-Till 1982 b 978 Strip-Till 1982 b 1029 Conventional 2180 a 1083 LSD 138 - *Means followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly different according to Fisher’s Protected LSD at p ≤ 0.05

Summary • In 2014, yields were higher in plots that had any form of raised beds, including stale beds raised in the fall of 2013. • There were no differences in yields between tillage treatments in 2015.

Table 2. Effect of input treatments on lint yield of cotton in Edgecombe County in 2015. Treatment Lint Yield (kg ha -1 ) 1-Base Extension Recommendation 1012 ab* 2-Base + 150% Soil Fertility 1082 a 3-Base + In-Furrow Fungicide 917 b (Ridomil Gold 106 ml ha -1 ) 4-Base + In-Furrow Insecticide 1001 ab (Admire Pro 672 ml ha -1 ) 5-Base + Foliar Fungicide 998 ab (Quadris 584 ml ha -1 ) 6-Base + Potassium Nitrate 1073 a (50lb/A total, 5 applications) 7- Base + “Kitchen Sink” (Inputs 2 -6) 1098 a LSD 113

Table 3. Lint Yield Gain and Return by Additional Input Above Current Extension Recommendations Yield Gain above Base (kg Net Return Above Base ($) † Treatment Cost per kg lint gained ($) ha -1 ) 1-Base Extension Recommendation - - - 2-Base + 150% Soil Fertility 70 -12.17 1.71 3-Base + In-Furrow Fungicide -95 -164.23 - (Ridomil Gold 106 ml ha -1 ) 4-Base + In-Furrow Insecticide -11 -46.48 - (Admire Pro 672 ml ha -1 ) 5-Base + Foliar Fungicide -14 -126.86 - (Quadris 584 ml ha -1 ) 6-Base + Potassium Nitrate 61 28.78 1.07 (50lb/A total, 5 applications) 7- Base + “Kitchen Sink” (Inputs 2 -6) 86 -205.46 3.93

Lint Yield and Return by Treatment Averaged Across All Locations Yield Gain Price per lb lint Net Return Above Treatment above Base (lbs Base ($) † gained ($) lint/A) 1-Base Extension - - - Recommendation 40 -20.57 1.21 2-Base + 150% Soil Fertility 3-Base + In-Furrow Fungicide 32 15.14 0.23 (Ridomil Gold 106 ml ha -1 ) 4-Base + In-Furrow Insecticide 52 24.44 0.23 (Admire Pro 672 ml ha -1 ) 5-Base + Foliar Fungicide 14 -32.83 3.05 (Quadris 584 ml ha -1 ) 6-Base + Potassium Nitrate 26 -8.18 1.01 (50lb/A total, 5 applications) 7- Base + “Kitchen Sink” 104 -64.00 1.32 (Inputs 2-6) † Based on cotton priced at $0.70 lb -1 and costs of inputs obtained December 2014, does not include application costs

Year Rainfall Rainfall + Irrigation Non-Irrigated Yield Irrigated Yield --------------- cm --------------- ---------- kg/ha ---------- 2001 21.84 35.05 900 1140* 2002 33.02 46.99 515 1010* 2003 48.01 61.98 941 952 2004 63.25 80.77 1030 1131 2005 30.99 46.48 952 1456* 2006 49.53 70.61 907 963 2007 29.21 54.10 521 1138* 2008 35.05 64.01 432 935* 2011 50.55 99.31 538 898* 2012 45.97 67.79 1529 1622 2013 50.29 55.27 1605 1671 2014 67.31 84.63 1299 1238 2015 32.72 64.97 534 1054* Mean 42.90 64.00 900 1170 *Significance at p≤0.05 within each year

Summary • Response to irrigation 54% of the time • Increase due to irrigation averaged 270 pounds lint/acre • Increase due to irrigation averaged 463 pounds lint/acre in the 7 out of 13 years with statistically significant response to irrigation • Lint yield of irrigation was only numerically lower in 1 of 13 years

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Early Bloom Strategy ? Vegetative Squaring Bloom Low Rate Multiple Strategy Vegetative Squaring Bloom Modified Early Bloom Strategy ? Vegetative Squaring Bloom Last effect bloom 1 st square 1 st bloom Planting Aug. 21 May 1 June 10 July 1

Early Bloom Strategy ? X Vegetative Squaring Bloom Low Rate Multiple Strategy X Vegetative Squaring Bloom Modified Early Bloom Strategy ? X Vegetative Squaring Bloom Last effect bloom 1 st square 1 st bloom Planting Aug. 21 May 1 June 10 July 1

Acknowledgements • Peanut Belt, Upper Coastal Plain, Central Crops Research Station staff • Shep Lassiter

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