Row Crop Response to Strip Tillage.

Field trials were conducted at the North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center to examine row crop response to tillage systems including fall and spring strip till, no-till, and conventional till. Crop and test years included: Corn (Zea mays L.), 2007; pinto bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), 2007; soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], 2005 and 2006; and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), 2006 and 2007. Experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications. The dryland trials were established on a Heimdal-Emrick loam soil with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as the previous crop. Conventional-till treatments were tilled at a 5.1- to 10.2-cm depth in the fall and spring before planting, and also between crop rows during the growing season. Strip-till treatments were established in the fall (October or November) and in the spring (April) using a Yetter strip-till unit set at a depth of 5.1 to 12.7 cm that produced 20.3- to 30.5-wide tilled strips.  Crops were planted with a John Deere 750 single-disk drill in 53-cm rows in 2005, and a John Deere Max-Emerge II planter in 76.2-cm rows in 2006 and 2007. Sunflower flowering was delayed one day with no-till compared to other tillage treatments in 2006. Corn silk date was delayed two to three days with no-till compared to other tillage treatments. Corn, soybean, and sunflower seed yield were similar among tillage systems. Fall strip-tilled dry bean had a greater seed yield compared to other tillage treatments. Tillage trials will continue in 2008 with corn, dry bean, and sunflower.