Conservation tillage obstacles on dryland

Excerpt

PIONEER farmers lacked equipment to till and plant dryland wheat adequately. Poor crops after weedy fallow or from volunteer stands emphasized the need for better mechanization.

Between 1950 and 1960 there was only casual interest in the use of herbicides for chemical fallow. Yield results from chemical fallow trials did not signal a need to redirect farm management toward this practice because yield increases resulting from mechanization overshadowed the advantages of using herbicides. More problems seemingly were created than solved when herbicides were substituted for tillage—plant diseases, nutrient deficiencies, phytotoxic effects, and so forth.

The recent concern that conservation tillage controls soil erosion has renewed interest in the use of conservation tillage in dryland farming.

The problems

Several factors are involved when attempts to use conservation tillage result in lower crop yields. These include problems with soil moisture, soil structure, soil temperature, soil fertility, phytotoxic effects, weed control, plant pathogens, and other pests (rodents, insects).

Some of these problems …