No-Till Soybeans

Soybean acreage in Kentucky more than tripled during the 1970s from less than 500,000 acres in 1969 to more than 1.6 million acres by 1979. Currently, 1.2 million acres or more of soybeans are planted annually. A great concern for soil erosion developed due to this expansion onto marginal erodible land. No-till systems of soybean production make it possible to maintain productivity on erodible land while keeping erosion losses within tolerable levels

Grian Sorghum Performance Tests - 1971

Grain sorghum varieties were evaluated at four locations (Carlisle, Daviess, Hopkins, and Todd Counties) in Kentucky in 1971

Row Cleaners in No-Till Corn

Row cleaners are planter attachments mounted in front of the double-disc openers on planters. They are designed to move most of the surface residue to the sides of the row, allowing no-till planting into a band with a fairly clean surface. This attachment is best suited for wet, cool soils to allow a more rapid warming of the soil surface, on rough soil to allow some smoothing before planting, and in heavy residue to prevent hairpinning of residue into the planting slot. There is evidence that cleaning the residue from the row raises soil temperatures which results in quicker corn emergence and sometimes increased yield. The approach has been of particular interest to farmers that are no-tilling wetter and cooler soils early in the spring, where no-till has not been as consistently successful as conventionally tilled systems

Effect of Crop Rotation on Corn and Soybean Yields

Yield of both corn and soybeans has been shown to increase when grown in a rotation as compared to continuous cropping of either of the two crops. These yield improvements are commonly associated with fewer disease, insect and weed problems; better soil tilth; and in the case of corn, a nitrogen contribution from the preceding soybean crop. One or a combination of these factors are believed to have an effect. In the past few decades the yield benefits of rotations were often overlooked as fertilizers and pesticides were used as a substitute for crop rotation. However, research has shown that regardless of all the management inputs, even beyond optimum levels of fertility and pest control, that there is still a yield advantage for rotation from some unknown factor(s) that hasn\u27t been adequately explained. This is commonly called the rotation benefit

Tips for Small Grain Seeding

TEST YOUR SOIL AND SUPPLY THE SUGGESTED LIMING AND FERTILIZER MATERIALS. A soil test is the first step to profitable small grain production. A pH of 6.0 to 6.5 is best, and nitrogen should be applied both in the fall and spring. If your small grains are part of a double cropping system the P and K requirements for both crops should be applied in the fall

Canola: A New Cash Crop for Kentucky

For the past few years, Kentucky farmers have become more interested in alternative cash crops for their farming operations. One such crop that is starting to receive attention is Canola. Classified as an oil crop, Canola is a type of oilseed rape. Rape is a member of the mustard family and is closely related to turnip. cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and mustards. It is a cool-season annual and an important oilseed crop in many parts of the world that is used for both human consumption and industrial purposes. Major rapeseed production areas are in Europe and Canada. The seed contains approximately 40- 45% oil content (dry basis) and 35% protein (oil-free dry basis). Two products are made from processed rapeseed; an oil that has industrial or edible uses and a high protein meal which can be used in animal feed. There are two types of rape. One type is used for industrial purposes and sometimes called industrial rape. The other is Canola which is used for human and animal consumption. The oil from the varieties of industrial rape contains a high amount of erucic acid (50% or more) and is not suitable for human or animal consumption. It is used in the rubber industry, textiles, detergents, leather, plastics and special lubricants. The meal from these varieties contains high levels of glucosinolates which make it unsuitable for livestock consumption. The current Canola varieties were made possible by breeding improvements which greatly reduced the undesirable components in rapeseed (erucic acid and glucosinolates) and made it suitable for human and animal consumption. The name given to this type of rapeseed is Canola , which is an international registered trademark of the Canola Council of Canada and the name used to identify the modern rapeseed varieties known as double low with 2% or less erucic acid content and less than 30 micromoles of glucosinolates per gram of oil-free meal. One of the strong selling points for Canola oil is its very low saturated fat level and favorable mixture of mono-and polyunsaturated fats. Like other vegetable oils, it contains no cholesterol. Many feel the edible rapeseed oil market will improve as new vegetable oil products made from rapeseed continue to be developed. In addition, there are strong foreign markets, particularly in Europe and Japan, with demand on the increase. The Canola meal is 35% protein and has an economic worth of about 703 the value of soybean meal (44% protein). The value of the meal is also limited by its high fiber and low lysine content

Effect of Planting Dates of No-Till and Conventional Corn on Soils with Restricted Drainage

No-till corn is best adapted to well drained soils. It is on these soils that no-till has been most successful and the practice most widely accepted. On soils that are moderately well to somewhat poorly drained, no-till corn can also be successful but more management is required. Three areas which require more attention are weed control, nitrogen management and planting. It has long been recognized that no-tilling results in cooler soil temperatures which can delay and reduce seed germination and seedling emergence. Additional research also indicates that diseases which attack the corn seedling in the emergence stage are more prevalent in no-till stands. These diseases are most active when the soil is both wet and cold, thus causing an already slowly growing seedling greater potential stress. It is presently recommended that no-till corn producers delay the start of planting four to five days on well drained soils to allow these cooler soils to warm sufficiently

2002-2003 Kentucky Canola Variety Performance Test

Winter canola is a crop that is well suited for Kentucky’s climate and crop rotation, but production peaked at 20,000 acres in 1989and has since declined mainly due to winter hardiness concerns. Changes in the 2002 farm bill have once again caused farmers to consider converting some of their wheat acreage to canola production. For the past several years, plant breeders have been working to improve canola’s winter hardiness and have released several varieties that seem to be better suited for Kentucky’s variable winters than the varieties grown in the late 1980s. A study was initiated in the fall of 2002 to evaluate emergence, winter hardiness, and yield of 10 canola varieties thought to have characteristics well suited for production in Kentucky. Results presented in this paper are for the first year of the study and do not reflect variety performance over a wide range of climatic conditions. Results from the University of Missouri’s canola variety trials are available at http://www.psu.missouri.edu/ cropsys/Alternative_Crops/ and should also be consulted before deciding on a variety

Considerations in No-Till Small Grain Production

Small grains have become an important component of many crop rotations in Kentucky. Seedbed preparation has typically involved various degrees of tillage in which much of the residue from the previous crop is buried. Under such conditions, a field may be vulnerable to severe soil loss during periods of heavy rainfall until the plants have produced enough vegetative growth to cover the soil surface. Eliminating tillage in small grain production would not only reduce soil loss but also reduce labor cost and increase the timeliness of planting. Interest in no-till small grain production is growing. One survey reports that in 1983 approximately 50,000 acres of small grains were planted using no-tillage in Kentucky. Research information on winter survival, seed placement, residue management, and nitrogen fertilization is now becoming available