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Posted 28 January 2009. Crop Management. K-State No-Till Study: Water Erosion Curbed Even When Surface Residue Is Sparse Kansas State University. www.ag.ksu.edu Hays, Kansas (January 22, 2009)--Even when surface residue is thin, no-till farming practices improve soils and reduce water-related erodibility. That’s the bottom line from a recent study across the central Great Plains by Kansas State University researcher Humberto Blanco.
“This regional study shows that no-till farming has large and positive effects on improving soil structural properties, increasing soil organic carbon content and reducing soil’s water erodibility -- even if surface crop residue levels are sparse,” said Blanco, who is a soil management researcher with K-State Research and Extension. Blanco added, however, that no-till’s impacts on soil aggregate properties influencing wind erosion appear to be limited. This suggests producers will have to maintain adequate surface crop residue levels for no-till to reduce wind erosion. “The ability of no-till to control water erosion has enormous implications, though, because intense rainstorms can cause large losses of soil in semiarid regions,” Blanco said. “Increasing soil organic concentration through no-till and other best management practices is crucial for reducing soil erosion, while also improving soil quality and sustaining crop production.” Details of the study can be found on the K-State Extension Agronomy Web site: www.agronomy.ksu.edu/extension. (Click on “e-Updates/Current Topics” and on the Jan. 9, 2009, newsletter.) Humberto Blanco can be reached at 785-625-3425 or hblanco@ksu.edu. Contact: |
