Moving to No-till: Are We Progressing in the Right Direction? - Dr. Sjoerd Duiker, Extension Agronomist, Penn State University, from the 2020 Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference, held March 3-4, 2020, Ada, OH, USA.

1. NO-TILLAGE – ARE WE MOVING IN THE
RIGHT DIRECTION?
Sjoerd W. Duiker

2. Back to Basics:
Benefit of No-Till for Soil Erosion Control
Simulation Study, Corn NE, 10% slope
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Moldboard Chisel No-till
Residuecover(%)
Soilloss(t/ac)
Soil loss
Residue

3. Back to Basics:
Importance of Soil Cover for Erosion Control
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Soil cover (%)
Soilloss(%)
MidWest Plan Service, 2000. Conservation Tillage Systems and Management.
More than 30% cover
results in greatly
reduced erosion

6. Back to Basics:
High Mulch Cover for Increased Infiltration
More than 70% cover
results in greatly
increased infiltration
Roth et al., 1988. Effect of mulch rates and tillage systems on infiltrability and other physical properties of an Oxisol in Parana, Brazil. Soil Tillage Res 11:81-91

7. Tillage Effects on Infiltration
Importance of Cover
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
Plowed, bare No-till, bare No-till, 40% cover No-till, 80% cover
Infiltration(inches)
MWPS-45, 2000

8. Tillage and Runoff from Watersheds
(inches of runoff/yr)
No-Till Conventional Till
1979 0.1 5.5
1980 0.2 12.5
1981 0.0 5.6
1982 0.4 4.4
Average 0.2 7.0
Percent of
precipitation 0% 16% Coshocton, OH

9. Chisel/Disk
Moldboard
No-Till
Zone-Till
Our Challenge : How to Maintain Enough Residue!

10. Tillage in Rotation Decreases Residue Levels
and Loosens the Soil

11. Soil depth
Soil organic matter content
Conventional till
No-till
Organic Matter
Stratification in No-Till
1) improves water use efficiency by
reducing runoff and increasing retention
in soil
2) Improves nutrient cycling by slowing
mineralization and immobilizing
nutrients in organic fractions
3) Resists degradative forces of erosion
and compaction
4) Improves soil biological activity
5) Enhances long-term productivity of
soils.
Franzluebbers, 2002

12. Tillage Effect on Soil Structure
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0-2" 2-6" 6-10"
Sampling depth
Aggregatestability(%)
Long-term NT
Short-term NT
Chisel/disk
Moldboard

13. Back to Basics: More Deep-Burrowing
Earthworms in Long-Term No-Till
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
yr 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr 7 yr 8
#/m2
Deep burrowing earthworms
No-till Chisel plow Moldboard plow
Edwards and Lofty, 1982
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
yr 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr 7 yr 8
Shallow working spp

14. Long-Term No-Till:
Greater Microbial Biomass
Andrade, Colozzi-Filho and Giller, 2003

15. 0.100
0.150
0.200
0.250
0.300
0.350
0.400
0.450
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0
Conv Till
6-yr No-Till
Native (never-tilled)
Cited in: Bruns et al. 1999. Appl Environ Microbiol 65:2994, 1994-1995 data from
Long-Term Ecological Research in Row Crop Agriculture http://lter.kbs.msu.edu/
Long-Term No-Till: More Microbial Biomass Carbon
Microbial
Biomass
Carbon
μ kg-1
Soil organic carbon (g kg-1)

16. Long-Term No-Till: More Soil Fungi
Frey, Elliott, and Paustian, 1999

17. Soil Profile Modification in Long-Term No-Tillage
Kooistra and Boersma, 1994

18. Better Structure Improves Trafficability
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Trafficabledays(#/month)
Well-structured pasture
without plow-pan
Arable land with plowpan
Kooistra and Boersma, 1994

19. Long-Term No-Till Soil Resists Compaction
Long-
term
no-till
2 yrs old
no-till
1 yr old
no-till
Subsoiled
this spring

20. Zulauf, C. and B. Brown. "Tillage Practices, 2017 US Census of Agriculture." farmdoc daily (9):136, Department of
Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, July 25, 2019.

21. Zulauf, C. and B. Brown. "Tillage Practices, 2017 US Census of Agriculture." farmdoc daily (9):136, Department of
Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, July 25, 2019.

22. Zulauf, C. and B. Brown. "Tillage Practices, 2017 US Census of Agriculture." farmdoc daily (9):136, Department of
Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, July 25, 2019.

23. Zulauf, C. and B. Brown. "Tillage Practices, 2017 US Census of Agriculture." farmdoc daily (9):136, Department of
Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, July 25, 2019.

24. Zulauf, C. and B. Brown. "Tillage Practices, 2017 US Census of Agriculture." farmdoc daily (9):136, Department of
Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, July 25, 2019.

25. Zulauf, C. and B. Brown. "Tillage Practices, 2017 US Census of Agriculture." farmdoc daily (9):136, Department of
Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, July 25, 2019.

26. Source: NRCS144p2_029257

27. Continuous No-Till in Western Lake
Erie Basin
Source: NRCS144p2_029257

28. Continuous No-Till Rare in NW Ohio
• “ No-till is the system of choice for soybeans. 65% of the soybeans planted are grown
using no-till.
• No-till is seldom practiced on corn, with only 19% of the planted corn acres grown
using the no-till system.
• Nearly 7 of every 10 corn acres are still grown without any form of conservation
tillage, using either moldboard plowing or a system which aggressively stirs the soil.
• If tillage were distributed uniformly [over the entire western Lake Erie Basin], over a
10 year period a field would be no-tilled every other year, (half the time, 5 years),
conventional tilled 4 of remaining 5 years, and mulch tilled one of the remaining 5
years.“
Source: Western Lake Erie Basin Conservation Tillage Study (2006 - 2010) Study, and

29. P Stratification in Long-Term No-Till
Depth(in)
Soil P Concentration (ppm)
363024181260
0 30 60 90 120 150
Zone of
Interaction
with runoff
Tilled
No-till

30. Lower Total P loss in Long-Term No-Till
1980 1985 1990 1995
Conventional
till wheat
Converted
to no-till
Total P
mg/L
6
4
2
0
-
-

31. Greater Soluble P-Concentration in
Long-Term No-Till
Conventional
till wheat
1980 1985 19951990
Algal-availableP,mg/L
0.5
1.0
0
Converted to
no-till wheat

32. No-Till Not Likely Cause of
Increased P-Losses to Lake Erie
• “Davis lists changes such as the methods and timing of fertilizer application, more
broadcast surface application versus row fertilizer, application of fertilizer in
winter months or on frozen ground, increased soil compaction from larger
equipment, and a trend towards applying two years worth of fertilizer on a corn
crop as other contributors to the phosphorous increase.”
“Continuous No-Till Lacking In Lake Erie Drainage Area”, No-Till Farmer, May 8, 2011.

33. Bright residue: High reflectance
Residue: Low thermal
conductivity
High moisture: * Heat capacity of water 2x that of minerals
* Thermal conductivity of wet soil 3-5 times that of dry soil
Cold Soil Syndrome in No-Till

34. Soil Temperature Effects of Tillage
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
5/16
5/18
5/20
5/22
5/24
5/26
5/28
5/30
6/1
6/3
6/5
6/7
6/9
6/11
6/13
6/15
Soiltemperature(F)
No-till
Zone-till
Strip-till
Chisel/Disk
2-3 degree difference

35. Soil Temperature Effects of No-Till
May 17, 20025 degree diff
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
12:01
AM2:01
AM4:01
AM6:01
AM8:01
AM10:01
AM12:01
PM2:01
PM4:01
PM6:01
PM8:01
PM10:01
PM12:01
AM
No-till
Zone-till
Strip-till
Chisel/Disk

36. Cold soils: corn problem

37. Southern
Indiana
Northern
Indiana
Tillage system Temp. (oF) Height
(“)
Temp. (oF) Height
(“)
Plow
Chisel
Ridge
No-till
79.3
75.9
77.5
74.5
82b
76c
81b
87a
71.4
67.6
69.8
65.1
43a
42a
40a
34b
MWPS-45, 2000, p49
Soil temperature and early corn growth
Indiana
8 wks after planting

38. 50
70
90
110
130
150
170
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Year
Yield(bu/A)
No-Till
ZT to 04
ST to 04
CD
NS
NS NS
NSNS
Strip/Zone Till vs No-Till on Well-Drained
Soil in SE PA
Continuous corn well-drained Hagerstown soil

39. Strip-Till vs Long-Term No-Till
Continuous corn, fragipan soil, Central PA
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
2012 2013 2014 Average
CornYield(bu/A)
No-Till
Strip-Till

40. Andover silt loam – Fragipan soil
Summer Spring

42. Zone till study in New York
Silage yield
(T DM/A)
Aerway 8.34 a
Aerway + 7 inch deep zone-till 8.88 b
Aerway + 14 inch deep strip till 8.79 b
Corn yield (2006-07 average) on Erie and Langford fragipan soils

43. Pennsylvania Zone-Tillage Evaluation

45. 17.5 18.2
0
5
10
15
20
25
No-till Zone-till
Silageyield(T/A@65%)
17.9 17.8
0
5
10
15
20
25
Chisel/Disk Zone-till
Silageyield(T/A@65%)
5.9
4.4
0
5
10
15
20
25
No-till Zone-till
Silageyield(T/A@65%)
5.3 6.1
0
5
10
15
20
25
No-till Zone-till
Silageyield(T/A@65%)
119 117
123
117
75
100
125
No-till Zone-till Chisel/disk Deep-till
Cornyield(bu/A)
100 98
75
100
125
150
No-till Zone-till
Cornyield(bu/A)
118
129
75
100
125
150
No-till Zone-till
Cornyield(bu/A)
107 109
75
100
125
150
No-till Zone-till
Cornyield(bu/A)
130
122
75
100
125
150
No-till Zone-till
Cornyield(bu/A)

46. No-Till Conv.Till
Continuous Corn 112 125
Corn-Soybean 129 129
Corn/Soy/Meadow 127 133
20-yr average corn yields (Bu/A) on a poorly drained Hoytville sicl, Ohio
Crop Rotation to Alleviate
No-Till Continuous Corn Problems

47. Instead of focusing on tillage, there is a need
for greater crop diversity and use of cover
crops in no-till systems to improve our soils
and water
Lal, Kimble, Follett, and Cole, 1998. The potential of U.S. cropland to
sequester carbon and mitigate the greenhouse effect.

48. Which Direction?
• How can we make continuous
no-tillage a reality in NW Ohio?
• How can we increase use of
cover crops in NW Ohio?
• Can we increase greater cover
crop diversity?
• Are there crop alternatives to
corn and soybeans?
• Can greater livestock
integration be accomplished?
• Can we bring people back to
the rural areas?