%0 Journal Article %A F. Ghidey %A E. E. Alberts %T Runoff and soil losses as affected by corn and soybean tillage systems %D 1998 %J Journal of Soil and Water Conservation %P 64-70 %V 53 %N 1 %X Runoff and soil loss data were collected from seven cropping and tillage treatments over a 12-year period (1983–1994) from 28 (3.2 m wide by 27.4 m long) natural rainfall erosion plots located on a silt loam soil (Udollic Ochraqualf) near Kingdom City, MO. The treatments were continuous corn and soybean cropping under conventional, chisel, and no-till tillage methods, and continuous cultivated fallow. Although cropping slightly influenced runoff and soil loss, the differences were not statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05). When averaged over tillage, mean annual runoff and soil loss from soybean were 3 and 12% higher than those from corn, respectively. Cropping effect on runoff was only significant (p ≤ 0.05) during the residue (P4) cropstage period. Most of the soil loss (approx. 80% of the annual loss) occurred during the rough fallow (F) and seedbed (SB) periods. For these periods, cropping had no significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) on soil loss. Mean annual runoff and soil loss from continuous fallow were substantially greater compared to those from corn or soybean. Tillage, particularly no-till, had significant effects (p ≤ 0.05) on runoff and soil loss. When averaged over crop, no-till increased mean annual runoff by 14 and 20% compared to conventional and chisel, respectively. On the other hand, chisel decreased runoff by 5% compared to conventional. Soil loss from no-till method was 7 times lower than conventional and 5 times lower than chisel. Chisel lowered soil loss by 31% compared to conventional. The effects of tillage on runoff and soil loss were substantially greater during the F and SB cropstage periods. Overall, the study showed that (1) cropping had little effect on runoff and soil loss, and (2) no-till significantly increased runoff and substantially reduced soil loss when compared to the conventional method. %U https://www.jswconline.org/content/jswc/53/1/64.full.pdf