Arkansas farmer, scientist win national conservation tillage awards
Feb. 3, 2005Contact Information:Merle Anders, Rice Research & Extension Center/ 870-673-2661/ manders@uark.edu Howell Medders, Communication Services/ 479-575-5647 / hmedders@uark.edu
NO-TILL RICE - Dr. Merle Anders shows stubble in a no-till rice research plot. He has found that reduced tillage to prepare the seedbed makes the clay pan under the topsoil less resistant to root penetration by soybeans that are often planted in rotation with rice.
The awards were presented to Scott Matthews of Weiner and Dr. Merle Anders, assistant professor of crop, soil, and environmental sciences, based at the Division of Agriculture's Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart.
The annual conference provides a forum for researchers, crop consultants and farmers to share information about conservation tillage in rice and cotton.
Anders has been conducting a long-term rotation study since 2000 comparing conventional tillage and no-till systems in rice, soybeans, corn and wheat in collaboration with other scientists and organizations.
"We see a significant reduction in runoff of soil and phosphorus from the no-till treatments," Anders said. He also cited benefits such as:
- less clay-pan resistance to root penetration, which helps soybeans that follow the rice crop;
- no soil crusting after heavy rain, which saves water normally used to flush a field when soil is crusted over before seedlings emerge; and
- increased organic nitrogen uptake, which suggests the potential to reduce nitrogen inputs.
- No-till systems are widely used in cotton and soybeans, but have been slow to catch on in rice, Anders said.
Matthews said he uses no-till exclusively, when possible, on his 1,150 acres, which are all in a rice and soybean crop rotation.
"The bottom line is that no-till saves time, labor, equipment repairs, fuel and water," Matthews said.
"Early is what makes it go for me," Matthews said. "I am very aggressive in using new, earlier varieties and other technology."
By early planting of varieties that mature early, Matthews hopes each year to harvest beans and rice before fall rains begin. Combines in wet fields cause rutting, which often requires using tillage equipment to prepare the seedbed for the next planting.
Matthews sometimes has to work rutted fields in the fall, but, he said, "I don't remember the last time I worked a field in the spring."
Conservation tillage includes the three levels of minimum-till, which includes using equipment for minimal preparation of a seedbed in the spring; con-till, which includes working land after harvest but not in the spring; and no-till.
"No-till works the best for me," Matthews said, "but every farmer should match the system to his ground."
Keeping tillage equipment parked allows major savings in fuel, labor and repairs, he said.
Matthews said he is very pleased with the yields from his no-till system, especially in soybeans. And he has reduced watering of his soybeans, which are all irrigated, from three or four using conventional tillage to one or two with no-till.
Matthews' advice for other farmers who want to try a conservation tillage system is to match the system to their soils and, "I would stress, use the new technology." He said he is looking into precision systems that use Global Positioning System (GPS) technology as the next innovation in his operation.