EC Nebraska | scmn_06 - 11/21/2012 07:24
How does cultivation work with the pile of residue between rows? Corn on corn ridge till
It can be an issue but it's usually not THAT big of a problem. You need a high clearance cultivator that can handle the trash. We use B&H cultivators, they have a straight coulter to cut the trash ahead of the sweep. I have a fairly aggressive point that digs underneath the trash to mix it with plenty of soil. It seems that third year COC and on the microbes get better at degrading the residue.
Having the corn up on ridges helps, the slopes seem to help a little to hold the trash away from the plants and keep it flowing through the machine.
ETA: I've done this up to four years of COC, on furrow irrigated ground that yields 210-240 bpa. That leaves a LOT of trash, but we normally get through it w/o a problem.
I always broadcast 200 lb AMS near planting time on COC. It's possible that does a lot to help degrade the residue in the weeks before cultivating.
Edited by NE Ridger 11/21/2012 13:13
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