CROP ROTATIONS TO COMPLEMENT WINTER WHEAT

Transcription

1 CROP ROTATIONS TO COMPLEMENT WINTER WHEAT Kent A McVay Extension Cropping Systems Specialist Southern Ag Research Center Montana State University kmcvay@montana.edu

2 CAN WHEAT FALLOW BE INTENSIFIED?

3 DIVERSIFY CROPS

4 Cool season crops vs warm season crops Oilseed vs grass vs legume Annual vs perennial Grass vs broadleaf Deep rooted crops vs shallow rooted SO WHAT IS DIVERSITY?

5 PRO S Yield benefit to rotation Lower pest pressure Stabilize income through multiple markets Nitrogen management pulse crops Soil quality Sustainability Con s?

6 B a r le y Y ie ld ( b u / a c ) N vs. Non-N Benefit Beckie and Brandt Nitrogen (lb/ac) Previous Stubble Crop Wheat Canola Pea

7 Barley Grain Yield (bu/a) ) Huntley, 2011 Bozeman, Camelina Fallow S. Pea W. pea W. wheat N Rate (lbs/a) Camelina Fallow S. Pea peagm W. wheat N Rate (lbs/a) EFFECT OF PREVIOUS CROP ON BARLEY YIELD

8 Mandan, ND Froid, MT Akron, CO Wall, SD Huntley, MT A TOUR OF CROP ROTATION STUDIES IN OUR BACKYARD

9 Annual Precip Mandan ND Multi-year Dryland Quantify rotation benefit normals CROP SEQUENCE STUDY

10 STUDY DESIGN: STRIP-PLOT Year 1, strips of 10 crops Canola Crambe Dry bean Dry pea Flax Safflower Soybean Sunflower Spring Wheat Barley Year 2, same crops strips planted perpendicular to 1 st year crops

11 QUANTIFYING CROP ROTATION RESPONSE Mandan, ND 1999 Previous crop Canola Crambe Dry bean Dry pea Flax Safflower Soybean Sunflower Spring wheat Barley lbs / acre Canola Crambe Dry bean Dry pea Flax Safflower Soybean Sunflower Spring wheat Barley Tanaka et al Agron J. 97:

12 QUANTIFYING CROP ROTATION RESPONSE Mandan, ND 1999 Previous crop Canola Crambe Dry bean Dry pea Flax Safflower Soybean Sunflower Spring wheat Barley Canola Crambe Dry bean Dry pea Flax Safflower Soybean Sunflower Spring wheat Barley average One possibility: Wheat Dry pea Canola Wheat Tanaka et al Agron J. 97:

13 Combined years, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004 Combined crop types into: CS Pulse: dry pea, lentil CS grass: spring wheat, barley WS grass: corn, grain sorghum, proso-millet Sun or Saf: sunflower & safflower Canola CONDENSING THEIR DATA TO RELEVANT MONTANA CROPS

14 Data from Tanaka et al & Crop to be grown Residue CS grass WS grass CS Pulse Canola Sun or Saf CS grass WS grass CS Pulse Canola Sun or Saf average RELATIVE YIELD RESPONSE EXPECTED

15 LONG-TERM TILLAGE/CROP SEQUENCE STUDY Rotation study near Culbertson, MT Established in 1983 by Aase and Pikul, USDA-ARS (data collected till 2004) Dooley sandy loam soil Comparing tillage and crop rotations All crop rotation phases present each year Annual Precip normals Sainju et al., Agron J 101:

16 TILLAGE AND CROP TREATMENTS 1) No Till-Continuous Spring Wheat 2) Spring Till-Continuous Sp. Wheat (sweep plow) 3)Fall & Spring Till Continuous Sp. Wheat 4) Fall & Spring Till Wheat/Barley ( 83-99) Wheat/Pea ( 99-04) 5) Spring Till Sp. Wheat/Fallow Sainju et al., Agron J 101:

17 AVERAGE SPRING WHEAT YIELDS Near Culbertson, MT Tillage Crop Sequence Yield by Precip Range* bushels/acre Low Med High 1 NT SW Till (Sp) SW Till (Fall+Sp) SW Till (Fall+Sp) SW/B/P Till (Sp) SW/Fallow Total number of years * Low < 8 in., Med 8-10 in., High > 10 in. growing season precipitation Sainju et al., Agron J. 101:

18 AVERAGE SPRING WHEAT YIELDS Near Culbertson, MT Tillage Crop Sequence Yield by Precip Range* % of Fallow Low Med High 1 NT SW Till (Sp) SW Till (Fall+Sp) SW Till (Fall+Sp) SW/B/P Total number of years * Low < 8 in., Med 8-10 in., High > 10 in. growing season precipitation Sainju et al., Agron J. 101:

19 CHANGES IN SOIL PROPERTIES AFTER 21Y Near Culbertson, MT Tillage Crop Sequence Organic C Organic N OM Lbs/acre lbs/acre % 1 NT SW 26,786 2, Till (Sp) SW 26,786 2, Till (Fall+Sp) SW 25,268 2, Till (Fall+Sp) SW/B/P 24,107 1, Till (Sp) SW/Fallow 19,286 1, Sainju et al., Agron J. 101:

20 Crop rotation study near Akron CO Weld loam soil, No-till, reduced-till RCB design with 16 different crop rotations including: Wheat/fallow CI of 0.5 Wheat/corn/fallow CI of 0.67 Wheat/corn/millet/fallow CI of 0.75 Wheat/corn/sunflower/fallow CI of 0.75 Annual Precip Wheat/corn/millet CI of normals CROPPING INTENSITY ON SOIL OM Bowman et al., 1999, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 63:

21 Soil organic matter properties after 5 years, 0 to 5-cm depth, Akron CO Intensity Soil OC Total N POM C POM N Sol C Mg ha b 0.63 c 2.10 c 0.20 b 0.40 b b 0.67 bc 2.70 b 0.20 b 0.39 b b 0.72 b 2.90 b 0.17 b 0.44 b a 0.79 a 4.20 a 0.26 a 0.55 a 0 to 15-cm depth Intensity Soil OC Total N POM C POM N Sol C Mg ha b 1.46 a 3.80 b 0.32 b 0.88 c ab 1.48 a 4.20 ab 0.40 ab 0.97 bc ab 1.50 a 4.60 ab 0.44 ab 1.05 b a 1.58 a 5.00 a 0.50 a 1.19 a Cropping intensity: 0.5=wheat/fallow, 1.0=continuous cropping Different letters within a column indicate significance at 0.05 using Fisher s LSD Bowman et al., 1999, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 63:

22 SDSU CROP ROTATION STUDY, WALL, SD Objectives Determine crop productivity Determine economic return Annual Precip Procedures Eight different rotations established in Data presented Rotations are 2 to 6 years in duration No-till and strip-till production methods used for all except baseline wheat-fallow Plots are 25 X 80 All phases of crop rotations are present each year Environment normals Elevation 2818 ft. Soil type: silt loam to clay loam Note: No farm program payments except loan deficiency payments when applicable, are used in the economical analysis of results.

23 ROTATIONS 1. winter wheat(ww) / fallow 2. ww / sunflower / millet hay/ ww / corn / fallow 3. ww / safflower / millet 4. ww / millet 5. ww / corn/ sunflower/ spring wheat or barley 6. ww / ww / sunflower/ dry pea 7. ww/ ww / safflower / pea hairy vetch 8. ww/ corn/ millet Near Wall, SD

24 Average Yields from , Wall SD (bu, lbs, tons) Rot Crop Yield S dev cv 1 W wheat fallow 0 2 W wheat Sunflower Millet - hay W wheat corn fallow 0 3 W wheat Safflower Millet W wheat Millet W wheat Corn Sunflower S wheat/barley

25 Average Yields from , Wall SD (bu, lbs, tons) Rot Crop Yield S dev cv 6 W wheat W wheat Sunflower Dry Pea W wheat W wheat Safflower Pea or h. vetch 8 W wheat Corn Millet Precipitation (in) (April Aug)

26 EXAMPLE OF INPUT RECORD Rotation 1: winter wheat / fallow Date Description Cost 10/24/06 24 oz Roundup Original Max + 50 ml/gal Am. Sulfate 8 gpa 5/12/07 16 oz Roundup Original Max + 50 ml/gal Am. Sulfate + 4 oz/a Banvel 8gpa $10.47 $ /12/07 Tillage w 24 sweeps $7.50 7/19/07 Tillage w 24 sweeps $7.50 8/22/07 Tillage w 24 sweeps $7.50 Land charges, 2007 $42.50 Total $86.26

27 Average Profit from , Wall SD (bu, lbs, tons) Rot Crop Return Net 1 W wheat 138 fallow W wheat 199 Sunflower -17 Millet - hay -18 W wheat 46 corn -42 fallow W wheat 53 Safflower 76 Millet W wheat -7 Millet W wheat 38 Corn -65 Sunflower -53 S wheat/barley

28 Average Profit from , Wall SD (bu, lbs, tons) Rot Crop Return Net 6 W wheat 69 W wheat -26 Sunflower 91 Dry pea W wheat W wheat Safflower Pea/hairy vetch 8 W wheat 74 Corn -63 Millet

29 bu/acre Corn yield Rot VARIABILITY IN CORN YIELDS -> HIGH RISK

30 Inclusion of broadleaf crops along with warm season grass crops like corn Break weed cycles Reduce disease presence Improve wheat yields and profitability SOME SDSU CONCLUSIONS

31 IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY FOR WHEAT Rotation Winter Wheat Yields Continuous crop Bu/acre Millet + broadleaf or corn 38.3 Millet alone 32.7 Rotation ww / fallow in control rotation ww/ fallow in diverse rotation Winter Wheat Yields Bu/acre

32 LONG-TERM ROTATION STUDY HUNTLEY, MT

33 Research Question: How can we improve from wheat/fallow Economics Soil quality Sustainability Initial year = 2008 Large plots to be more similar to farmer fields Plots: 30 ft x 90 ft Only treatment is Rotation (sequence) Annual Precip normals CROP SEQUENCE STUDY HUNTLEY

34 Crop Sequence Treatments Huntley, MT Trt Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 1 Winter wheat Fallow 2 Winter wheat Spring wheat Fallow 3 Winter wheat Spring pea Fallow 4 Spring Pea Winter wheat Fallow 5 Winter wheat Spring wheat Lentil cover crop 6 Winter wheat Spring wheat Spring Pea (or Lentil) 7 Winter wheat Spring wheat Camelina 8* Winter wheat Spring wheat Pea Camelina * *2012 Winter wheat Barley Pea Camelina Winter wheat Lentil Spring Wheat Camelina

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36 METHODS RCB Design with 4 replications Lohmiller silty clay grading to Thurlow clay loam Varieties have varied but generally Yellowstone Vida CDC Redberry Mozart Sustainable oils SO-30 Fertilizer as per MSU guidelines. Yield goals based on previous year yields. Fall soil samples

37 ECONOMIC NUMBERS Herbicide costs: Annual NDSU Weed Guide Wheat price: USDA AMS from PNW Lentil price: USDA AMS from PNW Barley, peas: Local feed value Camelina: Sustainable Oils contract price Seed costs: Local Billings price Fertilizer costs: USDA-NASS NW Region

38 Seasonal Precipitation, Huntley, MT Year Precip (in) % of LT avg GDD

39 Grain yield for each crop for Huntley lbs/acre Crop Mean CV % Winter wheat Spring wheat Spring pea Lentil cover Lentil grain Feed barley Camelina

40 Grain yield by previous crop for Huntley lbs/acre Crop Previous Mean CV % Winter wheat Fallow Lentil Cover Spring Pea Camelina Spring pea Fallow Winter wheat Barley Camelina Spring pea Spring wheat

41 Annualized Grain Yield (lbs/a) ( ) a ab 659 a 654 ab 797 a ab 674 ab b ww sw pea lentil cam 1) Columns with the same letter are not significantly different using Fisher s LSD(.05)

42 1a Date Treatment Cost Fall 2011 Soil sample $ /28/2011 Fert 200 lbs urea/acre $ /24/2011 RT3 22 oz/a + ams 2lbs/a $2.45 Fall 2011 Seeded Yellowstone 60 lb/a $ /2/2012 Huskie 11 oz/a + Rimfire 2.2 oz/a 8/2/2012 Harvest $ c Date Treatment Cost Fall 2011 Soil sample $ /24/ oz/a + 2lbs/a AMS $2.45 3/28/ oz/a + 2lbs/a AMS $2.45 INPUT COSTS PER TREATMENT PHASE

43 ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES Income: Yields x Avg annual market price (Aug Oct) Summed over each phase of each rotation Expenses: (Not a full economic analysis ) Seed + fertilizer + herbicide Annualized Income= (sum income expenses)/# years in rotation

44 Annualized Returns/acre for Various Crop Sequences Huntley Sequence mean CV (%) 1 ww/f $ 164 a $ 245 ab $ 283 a $ 244 a $ 160 d $ 209 a ww/sw/f $ 147 a $ 273 a $ 287 a $ 158 b $ 152 d $ 193 ab ww/p/f $ 157 a $ 222 b $ 202 b $ 177 b $ 266 ab $ 195 ab p/ww/f $ 113 b $ 227 b $ 169 b $ 46 c $ 215 c $ 145 ab ww/sw/cov(l) $ 150 a $ 262 a $ 284 a $ 120 c $ 109 e $ 172 ab ww/sw/l $ 160 a $ 277 ab $ 318 a $ 14 b $ 281 a $ 198 a ww/sw/c $ 106 bc $ 249 ab $ 291 a $ 32 c $ 141 de $ 151 ab * ww/l/sw/c $ 96 c $ 176 c $ 123 c $ 33 c $ 233 bc $ 121 b 63.1 Different letters within a column indicate significant difference at 5% probability level. Abbreviations used : ww winter wheat; sw spring wheat; p spring pea; L lentil; C camelina; cov cover crop *Treatment 8 has been altered over the course of this study.

45 It s clear why wheat/fallow remains a dominant practice But some other rotations can compete ww/sw/fallow ww/pea/fallow ww/sw/lentil ww/sw/camelina Lentil as cover has little impact on economics If fallow ground is available, winter wheat is a better choice than spring pea CONCLUSIONS FROM SARC

46 Diverse rotations can be successful both agronomically and economically Diversity can improve or sustain soil organic matter Fallow should be minimized where possible CONCLUSIONS OVERALL?

47 Thanks Contact info: Kent A McVay Extension Cropping Systems Specialist Southern Agricultural Research Center 748 Railroad Hwy Huntley, MT