From a Technical Perspective

By Larry Peach

Klamath Basin No-till Update

The Klamath Soil and Water Conservation District purchased its first no-till drill for educational and demonstration purposes in the spring of 2002. Prior to this time the Klamath Basin historically has not been involved with direct seeding. Today the District has two no-till drills that are rented out to growers, plus a number of basin farmers have purchased their own drills.

It is estimated that up to 15,000 acres were no-tilled in the Klamath Basin this spring. There has been a variety of crops planted on several different soil types and under a variety of different conditions. The results have been equal to or in some cases better than conventional tillage. Some of the crops planted include double cropping grain and forage crops for silage, fall and spring grains, alfalfa, grass, and inter-seeding grass into old alfalfa stands.

The main advantage of no-till over conventional tillage is a reduction in fuel and labor use, due to the substitution of herbicide for tillage. It has been estimated that from 12 to 36% energy savings can be achieved with no-till wheat and barley over conventional tillage methods. Other advantages are the reduction in wind erosion, which is caused by tillage, and conservation of soil moisture. With each tillage operation you have the potential of losing a 1/2 inch of soil moisture.

We have found that residue management is the key to success, especially in the Klamath Basin, with our high yielding irrigated grain and heavy crop residue. Residue management begins at harvest with good straw and chaff dispersion. In the case of large amounts of straw, swathing and bailing the straw is recommended. It is also important to leave the stubble standing rather than chopping it. Chopping the stubble creates a thick mat of straw on the soil surface that the disk openers must cut through to place the seed into the soil.

A major problem we have encountered with no-tilling spring grain into previous years stubble, is trying to plant too early. The soils are cold and wet and the straw is damp and tough. The disk openers want to push the straw into the soil rather than cut through it and mud plugs the seed tubes, thus resulting in poor seed to soil contact and poor germination. Waiting until the soil and residue dries out will not only help planting but will also improve weed and volunteer grain control, as it  allows more weeds to germinate before applying the preplant application of roundup. Sometimes if your straw is heavy you may just have to burn it so the soil can dry out and warm up. Seeding a little deeper than normal is also helpful if planting in heavy residue to insure good seed to soil contact. Soils that have been worked prior to planting may be too loose and fluffy, and may need to be packed. When planting into fluffy soils, the no-till drill’s depth bands tend to ridge the soil over the planted seed, burying the seed too deep. Reducing the down pressure on the disk openers can help.

In no-till farming, like any other new practice, one has to go through a learning curve to fully adapt the practice to his specific operation.