Farming Systems Trial (FST)Advisory Board Meeting

February 2009Rita Seidel

Main crops in 2008

• Oats (organic only)

• Soybeans (conventional only)

• Corn (organic & conventional)

Oats• Two entry points in both the Organic Manure (MNR) and Organic

Legume (LEG) systems

• Drilled at 3 bu/a on April 8th into moldboard plowed soil, variety ‘Spurs’.

– MNR 1: Oats only (compost plow down as N source).

– MNR 2: Oats with alfalfa/orchard grass for hay - following soybeans

14 lbs/a alfalfa + 8 lbs/a orchard grass

– LEG 1: Oats only, following soybeans.

– LEG 2 tilled reps: Oats only, following corn.

– LEG 2 no-till reps: Oats with 15 lbs/a Nordell clover mix 2:2:1 (yellow blossom sweet clover, medium red clover, ladino white clover), following corn

• Harvest on July 25th.

2008 FST Oat Yields (oat variety: Spurs)

80

33

62

67

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

MNR-after corn MNR-after beans LEG-after beans LEG-after corn

Yie

lds

(bu/

a @

12%

moi

stur

e)

b

a

cb

with compost

(210 lbs N/a)

no additionalfertilizer

no additionalfertilizer

noadditional fertilizer

2008 FST Oat Yields (oat variety: Spurs)

2008 FST weed biomass in oats

1,381

454

1,100

1,301

523

410

1,161 1,188

-

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

tilled no-till tilled no-till tilled no-till tilled no-till

MNR-after corn & withcompost

MNR-after beans LEG-after beans LEG-after corn

wee

d b

iom

ass

(kg/

ha)

b

a

bb

aa

bb

Oats plushay

Oats plusclover

*

Companion crop significantly reducedamount of weeds

2008 FST Weed Biomass in Oats

2008 FST Oat data

1,969

466

2,517

7,585

1,341

2,120

7771,038

1,174

7,221

8,998

4,012

-

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

Oat biomass Weed biomass Yields

crop

, wee

d bi

omas

s, y

ield

s (k

g/ha

)

MNR-after corn & with compost

MNR-after beans

LEG-after beans

LEG-after corn

62 bu

33 bu

67 bu

80 bu

b c b a

b a b a b c b a

FST 2008 Oat Data

Clover after Oats in August

Oats with Clover (after Corn)in July

Soybeans

• No soybeans in the organic rotations in 2008.

• Conventional beans were drilled on May 23rd:

–4 reps into chisel plowed soil, 4 reps no-till

• Variety: Pioneer 93M11 (RR).

• Rate: 210,000/acre

• Post-emergence herbicide: Roundup

• Harvest on October 8th.

• Post-harvest application of Roundup in no-till plots before winter wheat planting

2008 FST Soybean Data in Conventional System(no sign. differences between tilled and no-till)

3,124 3,076 3,100

190 64 127

8,017

8,350

7,683

-

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

tilled no-till overall

Cro

p b

iom

ass,

yie

ld, w

eed

bio

mas

s (k

g/h

a)

Crop biomass

Yield

Weed biomass

53 bu/a

53 bu/a

53 bu/a

averagepopulation:147,000/a

2008 FST Soybean Data in the Conventional System

(no significant differences between tilled and no-till)

Conventional Soybeans in August

Conventional Corn• Planted May 6th with Monosem planter (both tilled and no-till

plots)

• Variety: Pioneer 33N58 (113-day, Bt, RR)

• Rate: 33,136/acre

• Starter fertilizer 30-30-10

• Pre- and post emergence herbicides (Degree Xtra and Callisto/Atrazine) – no Roundup was used in the corn

• Side-dress with UAN at 120 lbs N/a

• Harvest on November 19th

• Corn residue was mowed

• Rye was planted (John Deere no-till drill) at 3 bu/a in no-till reps

Organic Tilled Corn

• Hairy vetch was moldboard plowed on May 15th.

• Corn was planted on May 23rd with Monosem planter

• Variety: Blue River 68F32 (113-day)

• Rate: 36,624/acre

• Weed management:

tine weeder (2x), rotary hoe (1x), cultivator (4x)

• Harvest on November 19th

• Corn residue was mowed and rye was planted (John Deere no-till drill) at 3 bu/a

Conv. no-till corn in July & August Organic tilled corn in July & August

Organic No-till Corn

• Hairy vetch was rolled & corn was planted on June 16th with Monosem planter

• Variety: Blue River 68F32 (113-day)

• Rate: 36,624/acre

• No cultivation

• Harvest on December 3rd

• Corn residue was mowed and rye was planted (John Deere no-till drill) at 3 bu/a

Hairy vetch before and 2 weeks after rolling

Hairy vetch mat in September

2008 FST Hairy Vetch Data(N input for organic corn)

4,046

7,959

4,851

8,009

266166263 215

-

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

MNR-tilled MNR- no-till LEG-tilled LEG- no-till

vetc

h bi

omas

s an

d N

inco

rpor

ated

(kg

/ha)

dry biomass

kg N/ha

23,618 kg/hafresh biomass@ 65% moisture

Tilled = moldboard plow: May 15No-till = rolled: June 16

27,342 kg/hafresh biomass@ 69% moisture

AB BAB

a

b

a

b

2008 FST Hairy Vetch Data(N input for corn)

34,61033,150

26,201

30,27329,122

26,909

-

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

MNR MNR LEG LEG CNV CNV

Tilled No-till Tilled No-till Tilled No-till

pla

nts

/acr

e ab

dcd

a

bc

a

2008 FST Corn Plant Population at Harvest Time

Seeding rate for organicsystems: 36,624/a

Seeding rate for conventional systems: 33,136/a

2008 FST weed abundance in organic corn

Organic Cropping System Treatments

MNR LEG

Wee

d B

iom

ass

(g m

-2)

0

100

200

300

400

500WBgm WBgm

Conventional Cropping Systems Treatments

CNV1 CNV2

Wee

d B

iom

ass

(g m

-2)

0

2

4

6

8

10No-Till Tilled

Conventional Cropping Systems Treatments

CNV1 CNV2

Wee

d B

iom

ass

(g m

-2)

0

2

4

6

8

10No-Till Tilled

Fertility SourceManure Legume

No Significant Difference

Abundance of annual vs. perennial weed species in corn

Weed biomass (%) as Annual or Perennial

Tilled No-Till

System   Annual Perennial   Annual Perennial

Manure 100 0 64 36

Legume 100 0 64 36

Conventionalw 57 43 55 45

ConventionalS 58 42 55 45

Weed biomass in organic systems did not increase as a result of no-till management.

No-till affected systems differently leading to an increase in perennials in the organic systems, but not the conventional.

Tilled organic

Annual Species

Wild Buckwheat

Common Ragweed

Lady’s Thumb

Giant Foxtail

Velvetleaf

PA Smartweed

Giant Ragweed

Smooth Crabgrass

Perennial Species

None

No-till organic

Annual Species

Redroot Pigweed

Hairy Galinsoga

Shepherd’s Purse

Common Lambsquarter

Wild Radish

Devil’s Beggar Tick

Perennial Species

Hedge Bindweed

Curly Dock

Yellow Wood Sorrel

Canada Thistle

Tilled & no-till conventionalAnnual Species

Redroot Pigweed

Large Crabgrass

Common Purselane

Wild Lettuce

Hairy Vetch

Perennial Species

Common Milkweed

Smooth Groundcherry

Dandelion

Yellow Nutsedge

Weed species in corn

33

7,105

16,482

2,359

20,385

5,281

2,995

6,301

14,817

2,929

2,060

21,458

5,020

9,235

20,449

8,814

67

20,350

-

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

crop BM grain yield weed BM

kg/

ha

Tilled MNR

No-till MNR

Tilled LEG

No-till LEG

Tilled CNV

No-till CNV

2008 FST Corn Data

a b a b c c

134 100 119 95 174 166 bu/a

ab bc a c bc bc

b b b b a a

• Organic no-till corn never reached black layer.

• 113-day corn needs ~2,700 Growing Degree Days (GDD).

• GDD in 2008:

• GDD for previous 10 years

• Test weights of organic no-till corn was 20% lower than that of organic tilled and conventional corn:

– Tilled organic & conventional: 63 lbs/bu

– No-till organic: 51 lbs/bu

What caused the lower yield in the organic no-till corn?

CNV ORG tilled ORG no-till

2,779 2,646 2,209

May 15-Oct 31 June 15-Oct 31

2,600-3,046 GDD 2,265-2,566 GDD

111-126 day corn 94-106 day corn

Challenges in 2008

Low oat yields

• Probable causes: insufficient N, relatively high weed biomass in some entry points

• Course of action: supply more N after corn – we will test this in the legume overseeding trial

Some weeds in conventional soybeans (mostly dandelion and lambsquarter)

• Probable cause: Herbicide was applied too late

• Course of action: Work more closely with our advisors to time application

Low yields in organic no-till corn

• Cause: not enough GDD if planted in mid June

• Course of action: use 85-95 day corn

Rotations

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Manure system 8 year rotation

No-Till Manure System - 8 year rotation

Compost Compost Prye Wheat Hay Hay Wheat

Oats FSHay

roll hvNTCorn

roll ryeNTSoybean

PCorn(silage)

Phv(cc)

NTrye (cc)

Prye(cc)

PWheat Hay Hay Hay PWheat Phv(cc)

Manure system 7 year rotation

No-Till Manure System - 7 year rotation

Compost Compost Prye Wheat Hay Hay

Oats FSHay

PCorn(silage)

roll hvNTCorn

roll ryeNTSoybean

Hay Hay HayPhv(cc)

Phv(cc)

NTrye (cc)

Prye(cc)

PWheat

Manure System

Year 1 2 3 4

No-Till Legume System - 4 year rotation

P rye Wheat

Oats/clover

Tilled Legume System - 4 year rotation

Prye Wheat

Oats

PhvCorn

PryeSoybean

Phv(cc)

NTrye (cc)

Prye(cc)

PWheat

Phv(cc)

NTrye (cc)

Prye(cc)

roll hvNTCorn

PWheatPhv(cc)

roll ryeNTSoybean

Phv(cc)

Legume System

Year 1 2 3

No-Till Conventional System - 3 year rotation

Wheatburndown

Tilled Conventional System - 2 year rotation

No cover crops

CPSoybeanCPCorn

NThv(cc)

burndownNTCorn

burndownNTSoybean

NThv(cc)

NTrye (cc)

NtWheat

Conventional System

Stale seedbed before ryeRye cover crop to be plowed in 2009 Drilled rye: 3 bu/a

Rye to be rolled for soybeans in 2009:2 bu/a drilled, 1 bu/a walked on

Varieties for 2009Corn:

• Blue River 85-day and 112-day corn for organic plots

• Pioneer 113-day corn for conv system (Bt, RR) – same as last year

Soybeans:

• Blue River early Group 2 bean for organic plots (to be followed by wheat)

• Pioneer early Group 3 bean for conv plots (RR) – same as last year

Oats:

• Spurs or Blaze

Wheat:

• Seedway 50 for conv plots: locally available and tested variety, averaged 83 bu/a over last 3 years

• no wheat in organic systems until fall 2009 – we will wait for results from the variety trial to identify a variety for the organic systems

Satellite trials in 2009

Wheat Variety Trial

• 4 varieties, plus a mix of the 4 varieties, were planted on October 10, 2008:GH 4532 (Great Harvest, IN), WS 44 (Welter Seed, IA), Vigoro 9723 (Hundley Seed, IL), and W 106 (Wilken, IL)

• We will evaluate general plant growth and health, weed biomass and yields.

Oat Variety Trial

• Several organic varieties have been identified and will be planted in spring 2009 Spurs, Blaze, Buckskin, Excel, Baker, Ogle, Rodeo, Esker, Robust

• Evaluation the same as for wheat

Compost trial to determine N availability of compost

• Treatments: compost application rates, compost types (or different C:N ratios)

• Data collection: soil samples for nitrate, yields

• tested in a field that had no compost application in the fall of 2008 and no over-winter vetch cover crop

• Corn or oats will be planted after compost application. Soil samples taken throughout the growing season, coupled with yield determination, will help us get a better understanding of in-field N availability.

Satellite trials in 2009

Over-seeding of legume cover crops into corn as N source for following oats

• Treatments: legume species, seeding rate, seeding time, means of establishment

• Data collection: evaluate legume under-story, winter survival, biomass and N contribution, oat yields

• The legume would be plowed down in spring to serve as N source for oats, eliminating the need to plant a rye cover crop after corn.

• This can be tested in any tilled corn field (it will not be viable in organic no-till corn plots, due to the hairy vetch mat).

Satellite trials in 2009

Questions for the Advisory Board

• Should we set biomass threshold levels for organic no-till system cover crops, below which we would moldboard plow? If so, what levels?

• Should we establish minimum levels for each soil nutrient, below which we will apply amendments? (i.e. apply K below 90 ppm or apply lime when pH is below 6.2) If so, what levels?

• Do you have suggestions for the satellite trials (e.g. what legumes to use, how to establish them, compost rates etc.)?

• Can we improve the rotations further?

The calm before the storm…