Vertical Tillage

[Klause]

If you berry the straw soil bacteria will decompose it by spring...


Leaving it all on top covering the ground you may as well leave the tractor in the shed.


The point of these machines is to incorporate residue for quick breakdown blacken the earth and firm it for seeding without causing compaction layers or mixing of soil horizons.

[Hopperbin]

Oh give us a break with the bullshit.

[cottonpicken]

Lol,and get your seeder through it.

[furrowtickler]

Most guys found out here that 'burying' the wheat straw last fall was a big mistake unless it was heavy harrowed first, especially CPS white wheat, It does not break down fast enough. Buried straw plugs far worse than standing stubble.

[Hopperbin]

In one month time will be frozen for six months Unthawed just in time for planting.

[Tucker]

Buried residue will use nitrogen from the soil to decompose. Residue on the surface inoculated with dirt with use nitrogen from the air. I agree that not much decomposition happens for 6 months at -20c. Standing stubble holding trash goes through the seedhawk in the spring very well for that first and hopefully only pass. That old surface trash decomposes through the summer. By fall the only residue left will be from new crop. That's the promise and holy grail of zero-till.

After 6 years of zero-till I have that. There is still some standing stubble from past years but the ground below between the stems is bare black at swathing time. Any spade-full of dirt from any of my fields is now full of earthworms. Those first years trying this sucked but true zero-till is working here very well.

$100K? LOL I'll never own a vertical tillage machine. I did work the ruts from getting stuck with the hawk and spraying with a shallow cultivator. It's your farm. Spend the money if you want but I don't think it's needed.

[sumdumguy]

Black soil warms up a lot faster in the spring. The crop gets a more vigorous start. Wind can also dry it out better than if stubble is standing.

[furrowtickler]

Loose 2 or 3 fields of canola due to all that stubble to frost - makes these machines a lot cheaper. Also wheat stubble can stay overly wet for too long in wet springs - seen that first hand south of here a few years ago - canola struggled and died in those fields - pre worked fields were fine . Again just ask the guys out in east Sask

[Hopperbin]

So what is forecast for next year? We should do opposite.

[freewheat]

I am in east sask and I had some of the highest yielding canola I have heard of in this area. No tilled into very tall standing wheat/canary stubble.

I agree, in theory blackened soil CAN help to an extent. But there are more factors at play too. My theory is that with tall stubble, there is less horizontal surface residue, and the drill makes definite blackened furrows, which warm up faster than in a horizontal residue situation.

Plus the better infiltration from long term zero till, and the no tillers are not any bit later seeding than the recreational tillers.

At least here. My mass tillage neighbor tried one year of no till with a seedmaster. One poor result and they are massacring their soil once again this fall. Talk about letting no till have a chance. I wonder how the master will perform on deeply spiked stubble fields next year?

The theory is IMO not sound. The problem is not cold wet soils because of "unblackened" soil. The soils are cold and wet no matter what you do on the tillage front in this area every single year: The problem IMO is simply too much rain...

Tillage practices IMO do not matter like the theory says.

But that is just my opinion, don't bash me for it. It also depends on your land and landscape. I do farm a bit of cursed potholey land where I would fall till if possible, for ruts, and so I can see where the water is in spring.

Lotsa ways to skin a cat. Bottom line here, is whether you tilled or not, yield was affected by too much rain and flooded areas.