Jim Hoorman, Extension Agriculture/Natural Resources Agent
Dave Lotz, Hardin County Producer
Phil Rzewnicki, On-Farm Research Coordinator
To compare yields and stand counts for corn receiving strip tillage and no tillage as well as to investigate fertilizer placement programs for strip tillage.
| Nearest Town: | Kenton | Fertilizer: | 10 gal. 28% N and |
| Previous Crop: | Soybeans | 5 gal. 10-34-0 at planting | |
| Soil Test: | pH 6.7 | 40 gal. 28% N sidedress | |
| P 31 ppm | Herbicide: | 0.5 pt 2,4-D | |
| K 205 ppm | & 0.75 lb. Princep | ||
| OM 3.3% | Planting Date: | May 14 | |
| CEC 13.9 | Emergence Date: | May 21 | |
| Variety: | Midwest 7667 | Harvest Date: | October 27 |
Experiment design was a randomized complete block design with three replications of each treatment. Strip tillage was performed in late November of 1997. Broadcast and deep placement (8" deep in zone) of 150# 0-46-0 and 200# 0-0-60 was applied to the two strip till treatments in the fall. Individual strip plots were 24 rows in width and varied in length from 750' to 950' in length.
| Emerged Population (plants/acre) | Harvest Population (plants/acre) | Yield (bushels/acre) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No-till/No pre-fertilizer | 27,000 A | 26,333 A | 134.3 A |
| Strip till/No pre-fertilizer | 31,667 A | 32,667 B | 147.5 A |
| Strip till/Broadcast fertilizer | 29,833 A | 27,667 A | 138.4 A |
| Strip till/Deep fertilizer | 30,000 A | 28,000 A | 140.4 A |
| F-statistic | 2.00 | 4.68 | 1.20 |
| CV (%) | 8.0 | 7.7 | 6.2 |
| Treatment means followed by same letter are not significantly different from each other at P = 0.05 | |||
Overall, strip tillage plots yielded 7.8 bushels/acre more than the no-till plots. However, no statistically significant differences among yields were found at the 5% and 10% levels of probability. When a contrast comparison is made between the strip-till treatments as a group (average = 142.1 bushels/acre) and the no-till treatment, the F-statistic is 1.80 with the probability of a greater F being 23%. This means the odds are about 3:1 that there is a real difference between strip till yields and the no-till yield which is not due to chance variation.
Averages of emerged and harvest populations among the four treatments were not significantly different from each other at the 5% level of significance. However, at the 10% level of significance (10% probability differences are due to chance alone), there are significant differences among the harvest population means. Pairwise comparisons indicate harvest plant population for strip-till/no pre-fertilizer was significantly higher than all other treatments.
However, the population comparison of more interest is the contrast between strip till populations as a group versus the no-till treatment. The emerged and harvest populations of the strip till treatments as a group (average 30,500 emerged and 29,444 harvested) were significantly different from the no-till treatment (27,000 emerged and 26,333 harvested) at the 10% level of probability.
With relatively high phosphorous and potassium soil test levels, no yield advantage was shown with the extra pre-fertilizer applied either broadcast or deep placement in the strip tillage plots in the fall.
For additional information, contact:
Jim Hoorman
Ohio State University Extension, Hardin County
1 Court House Square, Suite 40
Kenton, OH 43326
419-674-2297
jhoorman@postoffice.ohio-state.edu