Management creates legacy on soil health and grain productivity

Authors: Kitchen, Newell; SVEDIN, JEFF - University Of Missouri; Ransom, Curtis; Veum, Kristen; MYERS, ROBERT - University Of Missouri

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/2022
Publication Date: 11/6/2022
Citation: Kitchen, N.R., Svedin, J.D., Ransom, C.J., Veum, K.S., Myers, R.L. 2022. Management creates legacy on soil health and grain productivity [abstract]. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, November 6-9, 2022, Baltimore, Maryland. Available: https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2022am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/145348

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Adjacent fields with contrasting histories present an opportunity to evaluate the legacy of management on soil health (SH) and grain productivity. In 2011, two fields transitioned to no-till grain production. During the previous 25 years, one was pasture (pasture-to-grain; PTG) while the other was annually tilled for grain cropping (long-term grain; LTG). The study objectives were to contrast these two fields relative to SH and productivity. Soil health samples were collected in 2021 to align with yield map data (2011-2021). Over this decade, PTG out-yielded LTG by 46% on average. Metrics of SH for PTG averaged 62% higher than LTG. When examined across fields, SH metrics were related to yield (r^2 0.46-0.80), but these relationships weakened when assessed within each field. These findings affirm SH indicators are sensitive to the legacy of management and are meaningful indicators of productivity across sites but are less informative for within-field variability.