Taking Tillage Out of Organic Grain Production with Ecology, Tools, and Technology
Project Director
Matthew R. Ryan
Year Funded
2020
Award Number
2020-51300-32183
Funded Institution
Cornell University
Grant Program
OREI (Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative)
USDA NIFA Report
Project Overview
Organic no-till planting into roller-crimped cover crops can reduce costs and improve soil health, but weed growth through cover crop residues and reduced yields hinder adoption. This project aimed to develop adaptive management strategies to manage weeds, sustain yields, and minimize tillage throughout a field crop rotation. Multisite trials were conducted to identify a wider range of workable cover crop – cash crop pairs for no-till planting, fine-tune practices for no-till soybean in roller-crimped cereal rye, and evaluate interrow mowing, electrical weed zapping, and increased seeding rates for weed suppression. Trials included multiple combinations of cover crops roll-crimped ahead of summer and winter cash crops.
Farmer Takeaways
(1) Organic no-till soybean planted into roller-crimped cereal rye or triticale can give top yields in the MidAtlantic, North Central and Northeastern regions.
(2) Dry conditions at planting can hurt no-till soybean yields; proper planting equipment and deeper seed placement mitigates this problem.
(3) For organic no-till soybean, do not apply N, sow at ~140% of standard rate, manage weeds with interrow mowing, and use electrical control to minimize weed seed set.
(4) Winter wheat can emerge, establish, and yield well with satisfactory weed suppression if no-till planted through summer cover crop residues up to about 9,000 kg/ha (4 tons/ac).
(5) Researchers and farmers are developing other successful cover-crop-cash crop pairs to build longer organic minimum till crop rotations, including dry bean and sunflower.
Project Outputs
Workman, K., Darby, H., Ryan, M.R., Ristow, A. 2023. Making cover crops work in the Northeast: Termination strategies for success. The Manager. Progressive Dairy.
Menalled, U.D., Ryan, M.R. 2022. Searching for successful no-till crop sequences. Hudson Valley Farm Hub.
Organic No-Till Planted Soybean Production Guidebook | Cornell University
Allen J., Pelzer C.J., Brockmueller, B., Silva, E.M., and Ryan, M.R. 2023. No yield benefit from starter fertilizer in soybean no-till planted into rolled- crimped cereal rye. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment 6, e20434.
Rowland, A. V., Menalled, U. D., Pelzer, C. J., Sosnoskie, L. M., DiTommaso, A., & Ryan, M. R. (2023). High seeding rates, interrow mowing, and electrocution for weed management in organic no-till planted soybean. Weed Science, 71(5), 478–492.
Liebert, J., Mirsky, S. B., Pelzer, C. J., & Ryan, M. R. (2023). Optimizing organic no-till planted soybean with cover crop selection and termination timing. Agronomy Journal, 115(4), 1938–1956.