ABSTRACT:
The Palouse region of eastern Washington and northern Idaho experiences high erosion rates on fall-planted wheat fields during the winter season. Increasing surface macroporosity through subsoil tillage can increase water infiltration, thereby decreasing erosion potential. Deep rip and paratill tillage treatments were established on an Ultic Argixeroll under a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum)/spring pea (Pisum sativum) rotation. Steady-state infiltration rates were measured using an unconfined infiltrometer following the seeding of winter wheat. Although both paratill and deep rip infiltration rates were higher during the fall, 0.41 cm min−1 and 0.30 cm min−1, respectively, compared to the non subsoiled control, 0.20 cm min−1 (0.08 in min-1), only the paratill was signifiantly greater (P =0.006). A paratill operation in conjunction with conservation tillage could greatly decrease the potential for soil loss from winter wheat fields in the Palouse region.
Footnotes
Midori M. Mizuba and John E. Hammel are in the Division of Soil Science at the University of Idaho.
- Copyright 2001 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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