Date of Award

2017

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Awarded

Master of Science (MS)

Program

Environmental and Conservation Sciences

Department

Biological Sciences

College

Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies

Faculty Advisor

Daigh, Aaron

Description

Concerns over delayed soil warming and drying have hindered adoption of conservation tillage practices in frigid environments. Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of chisel plow (CP), vertical tillage (VT), strip tillage with coulters (STC), and strip tillage with shanks (STS) on soil warming and drying and their potential consequences to crop yields. A two-year study was conduct at three full-scale, producer-managed, corn-soybean fields in the Red River Valley of eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. Tillage treatments were assessed to measure crop residue cover, soil temperatures, soil volumetric water contents, crop yields, and other metrics. Our study indicated significant differences for many soil physical and chemical parameters, but little to none for soil warming and crop yields. Yield differences were attributed to varying fertilizer management practices, timing, and application method. These findings emphasize the importance of field management practices that compliment conservation tillage for obtaining competitive crop yields.

Rights

NDSU Policy 190.6.2

Handle Identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/28405

Download

Share

COinS