2022: Comparing Conventional-till versus No-till in NE ND
(Research Report, Langdon REC, November 2022)Topsoil blowing is a common sight in North Dakota. A 2012 NDSU study that revisited several sites in North Dakota, concluded that the average loss of topsoil in the last 50-years was around eight to nine-inches. A reduced form of tillage such as no-till or minimum-till can result in minimal soil disturbance thus loss of topsoil. However, the wetter and cooler environment in northeast North Dakota compared to rest of the State is a cause of concern for producers wanting to plant their crops as soon as possible in a short growing-season.
Considering the legitimate worries of the local producers, the NDSU Langdon Research Extension Center in Langdon, ND started a long-term (10-years or more) demonstration, which will compare the conventional-till versus no-till side-by-side in the northeast region. Unlike small plot research, this demonstration site includes big chunks of land that is very comparable to farmer fields.
Conventional tillage practices and the soil disturbance and loss they cause are well documented, especially in western North Dakota. Early adopters of no-till in western ND stopped using tillage for planting several decades ago. The main reasons were to conserve soil moisture and protect topsoil. However, in the northeast, producers mostly kept tilling their soils in fall and then again in spring. The common reason was and still is to dry the soils for timely planting as northeast ND has a slightly shorter growing-season compared to the other parts of the state. Recent wet weather cycle that started in 1993 also made switching to no-till difficult as producers became wary about wet field conditions in the spring resulting in late planting. A shorter growing season resulting in late planting can not only cause significant yield losses but there could be difficulties during harvest due to a wet-fall or early frost. Depending upon soil type and landscape and agronomic practices, it can take several years for the no-till practices to improve soil structure and water infiltration to help overcome challenges posed by a wet spring or fall. Several producers in the NE in the past tried no-till. Due to the wet weather, they faced numerous challenges such as muddy and saturated fields, cooler soil temperatures, poor seedbed, late planting, soil crusting, poor germination and stands during spring and muddy fields during harvest in the fall. Most of them gave up no-till and went back to conventional-till.
If we compare the weather and accumulated growing degree days of major crops grown around Langdon (NE) versus other parts of the state, Langdon weather is slightly cooler and wet. It has the lowest number of accumulated growing degree days for growing most crops.
For comprehensive comparisons, weather data from the Langdon North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) station was compared with the stations in Carrington, Dickinson, Fargo, Hettinger, Minot and Williston (Figure 2 and 3). Based on the 2018-2022 average data (Figure 2), Langdon area had the lowest average maximum temperature versus all other NDAWN stations. In terms of lowest average minimum temperatures, only the Hettinger station recorded slightly lower temperature versus Langdon (42.60° versus 43.00°). For average rainfall during 2018-2022, the Langdon area received more rain than Minot and Williston.
Figure 2. Average maximum and minimum temperatures (°F) and total rainfall (inches) from April 1 to October 31 for 2018-2022.
Figure 3 shows the NDAWN Station accumulated growing degree days for growing canola, wheat, sunflower and soybean around Carrington, Dickinson, Fargo, Hettinger, Langdon, Minot and Williston in 2022. The selected dates for canola, wheat and sunflower are from April 1 to October 31. For soybean, accumulated growing degree days are shown at 00.1 relative humidity. The starting time period for all stations is April 1, but the times for the end of the growing season are slightly different. For the Minot station, it is October 3, for Carrington, Hettinger and Langdon it is October 6 and for Dickinson, Fargo and Williston stations, it is October 7.
Figure 3. 2022 accumulated growing degree days for canola, wheat, sunflower and soybean at Langdon and other NDAWN Stations.
