ARS | Publication request: ANNUAL AND BIANNUAL DEEP TILLAGE FOR DOUBLE CROPS IN THE SE COASTAL PLAIN

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: October 26, 1997
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: In many southeastern Coastal Plain soils, deep tillage is required to break up subsoil hardpans that reform quickly. Our purpose was to find out whether deep tillage in the fall, spring, or both for a wheat-soybean double cropping system would produce the greatest yield. Our treatments included deep tillage and surface tillage. Surface tillage was disked or not disked. These were combined with four deep tillage treatments - no deep tillage or deep tillage with a paratill before planting wheat, soybean, or both - in eight plots. Disked treatments with no deep tillage had a disk pan at the 10- to 15-cm depth. Non-disked treatments with no deep tillage had a hardpan at 20- to 30-cm depths. Deep-tillage treatments had disruption to about 40-cm depths. These pans or disruptions increased or decreased mean profile cone index (PCI). Furthermore, the lowest PCI was measured in the most recently deep-tilled treatments. Plots with lower PCI yielded more wheat or soybean. The most wheat and the most soybean were obtained with deep tillage before planting both crops.