Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu
THRALL – With rainfall scarce and soil moisture critical for any crop to produce a decent yield, conservation tillage is a recommended option for Texas farmers, according to experts.
“Conservation tillage doesn’t necessarily increase the soil moisture holding capacity,” Dr. Charles Stichler, a recently retired Texas Cooperative Extension agronomist, told a group of farmers at the fall conservation tillage clinic in Thrall. “Rain is beneficial only if you can catch it for later use.”
With drought conditions prevailing throughout Texas for much of the year, several key aspects of conservation tillage were discussed at the clinic. For starters, about 40 pounds of lint can be produced for every 1 inch of water, Stichler said.
“You can get six-and-a-half bushels of corn for every inch of rain you can maintain,” he said. “Maintaining that soil moisture, preventing runoff, is going to increase growing potential.”
Strip tilling about 1 inch away from the old plant reduces compaction, he said.
“Most adapted systems for dryland in Texas are ridge tillage,” Stichler said.
Essentially, it’s remaking old beds from the same row “year after year,” Stichler said. The process involves making taller beds within the furrow dikes, and applying pre-plant fertilizer on the same row and winter weed control with herbicides.
“A bed creates a drainage ditch, but it also gives you soil moisture in the spring,” Stichler said.
He gave one example where one producer moves over and plants cotton next to the side of cotton stubble.
“How much of that 3.2 or 3.5 inches of rain did you catch today?,” Stichler asked the group, the same day it rained three inches in portions of the Central Texas Blacklands region.
Rain causes an explosion when it hits the ground, Stichler explained. The clay particles are “so small, you would have to have a microscope to see them.” When the rain drop hits the soil, it scatters particles a great distance and leads to runoff problems, he said. By using conservation tillage methods, it will help prevent potential runoff when large rain events occur, preserving precious moisture in the soil.
Another practice is to shred remaining crop stubble, but only if residue “is large and thick, or if you plan to use a stalk chopper.”
Above all, why use conservation tillage?
To “Reduce cost,” Stichler said.
Producers wanting more information about conservation tillage can download Extension publication “Best Management Practices for Conservation/Reduced Tillage” at http://tcebookstore.org/pubinfo.cfm?pubid=2313 .
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