Strip-till : faire plus, avec moins.

Transcription

1 French experiences and and strategies for for cover cover crops crops Victor Leforestier Strip-till : faire plus, avec moins. Fredericia, 30th October 2015

2 Healthy soil, definition and do we reach it Introduction Soil life Organic matter Tillage, beyond «no-till» Cover crops beyond «nitrogen scavengers» Companion cropping More complex and resilient systems

3 Soil Structurer structure Structurer le sol le sol Litter on the soil surface Vertical soil structure Root channel Roots connected to the subsoil

4 Organic matter Soil organic matter is made up of different pools which vary in their turnover time or rate of decomposition. 10% OM labile biological and chemistry low, little physical SHORT TERM 85% Protected humus Effects : physical, structural, stability, water retention LONG TERM 2.5% living OM all the living organism VERY SHORT TERM 2.5% OM potentially mineralisable VERY SHORT TERM

5 Structurer le sol

6 Life in the soil : rhizosphera Plants exude 15-20% of the photosynthesis back in the soil to feed soil life in the rhizopshera Each specie exude specific compound in the soil : crop and cover crop diversity able to feed a rich and diverse soil ecosystem

7 Life Structurer in the Structurer soil le : rhizosphera sol le sol In 1 g. de sol: 10 6 à 10 9 bacteria, kms of fungus hyphea and millions of different species

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10 Healthy soil There is life in every soil Soil organisms need food and a home Earthworms are good indicators of soil life Diversity is the key to a balance soil ecosystem

11 Tillage Structurer Structurer? le sol le sol Vertical soil structure

12 Tillage? Till if you want/have to, but keep 40% residue on top : to feed soil life Make it «vertical» like strip-till, Claydon etc It s okay to till if it s to plant right after otherwise it may be «recreationnal»

13 #rootsnotiron Different roots = different effects at different depths «tillage radish» 66cm deep! Nitrogen factory

14 #rootsnotiron Winter wheat seeding into «biomax» cover crop

15 «BIOMAX» mixtures

16 Drill early

17 Diversity Don t look for the perfect specie, they all have pros and cons, mixing them together is smarter! Test to determine wich plants like to grow together and wich one don t Adjust densities : cut the seeding rate by the number of species in the mix

18 Nitrogen factory Phacelia + faba beans 8,7T/ha of DM kg/ha of N with 170 kg/ha potentially available for the next maize crop (crédit : J. Hamot)

19 Other minerals

20 Animals back on cropland Eat cover crop and weed at the same time Eat/ trample slugs, trample mices Spread manure

21 Rotation Peas Wheat Problems with straw, slugs, nitrogen tie up, and drilling difficulties Wheat Rape

22 Rotation Réduction du risque de salissement par les dicotylédones (2 ou 3 ans avant retour) Peas Rape Rape volunteers Maize Wheat Wheat Wheat Multi species cover crop) Réduction du risque de salissement par les graminées (2 ou 3 ans avant retour)

23 Cover crops open new opportunities In sunny central/southern France : Rape + buckwheat + red clover => buckwheat harvest in october + rape / clover cover crop Rape harvest Clover cover crop = 1 seeding : 3 potential harvest

24 Rape and companion crops

25 Rape and companion crop Rape + faba beans + vetch + peas + clover Rape roots are always longer in Colza au association ST (47)

26 Companion cropping Companion plants were able to reduce geranium biomass by 70% Geranium biomass (g/m2) Geranium number perm2 Rape alone Rape + chickling vetch + fenugreek + lentils

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31 A step toward permanent cover?

32 Conclusion «no»till is not the goal IMPROVE soil life is! Thinking soil health will lead you to : Improved soil : water infiltration, nutrient retention, Better profitability : less fuel, less time in the field Better quality of life : more time with your family! More complexity = more stability We can be «stewart» of the soil

33 Where will this quest lead us?

34 Thank you! Any questions : victor.leforestier@gmail.com Strip-till : faire plus, avec moins

35 A step towards permanent cover? Cover control Cover control Cover control Rape + cover cover Winter wheat + cover cover Winter barley + cover cover Maize