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Kingston, Iowa | We try to do as little residue removal as possible outside the row. Inline ripper if it needs it, rotary harrow in the spring. Lower the population in the worst of it. And side dress the bulk of the N.
I tried straight notill for several years. The moisture conserving part worked well. I have infared pictures comparing worked ends vs untouched for proof. After a few years though I found that the sandy soils don't "eat" residue like heavier soils. I ended up with lots of leftover residue. That meant the ground didn't warm up as fast and I had a hard time cleaning the rows. I started inline ripping the bean stubble with a DMI ripper with the narrow shanks and an added on wavy coulter bar. This sized the residue a little more and allowed a little soil to get mixed with it. It has helped get rid of the excess while still leaving enough for moisture conservation.
We vrt the corn population from 34k down to 20k and use a flex ear hybrid. Last year even the 20k pops were running 175+. In 2013 we were dry, but the corn in the 20k spots still had a nubbin of an ear. Prior to the vrt they would of been a blank stalk if planted at an average of 28k across the field. | |
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Sandy Corn
