1
Special Farm Section, Thursday, February 24, 1983 Page S
frozen soil below. Snow melt and puddies drill furrows, leading to
or rain on top of this soil quickly severe erosion.
Morrow Co. farms monitored for erosion
Maintaining a good straw mufcli near the soil surface insulates the
ground against evaporation, Improves moisture infiltration, and
saves soil.
s
J
Jrrfc sir it
r
, in -
- . ., t ,--v; .?
Interest in tile drainnne has increased in Northern Morrow County
during this past year. Five projects were completed with many being
recycled back into existing irrigation systems.
results of mold board plowing.
Several farms in Morrow Coun
ty are being evaluated for their
susceptibility to water erosion.
Farms with significantly con
trasting amounts of residue have
been selected for this study. The
primary objective is to consider
the value of crop residue for
reducing soil erosion.
Decisions to maintain crop res
idue must begin after harvest.
For optimum water storage,
stubble should be left standing
over winter. An exception to this
is serious weed problems or
restrictive tillage pans, which
.may need to be treated immedi
ately. Primary tillage should be de
layed in the spring for as long as
possible to avoid working wet
ground F.arly tillage in wet
conditions typically reduces the
largest amount of residue cover,
does a marginal job of controlling
weeds, and causes compaction
and tillage pans. In addition,
early tillage tends to be too deep,
which buries too much residue.
A good example of this last
point is running a disk four inches
deep. Surprisingly, surface resi
due will be reduced 50 percent or
more. With a 20 bushel wheat
yield, initial residue cover of
2.000 pounds per acre will be
reduced 1 ,000 pounds per acre or
more after disking. Running a
disk deeper can approach the
Succeeding tillage may bring
buried residue back to the soil
surface, but in the meantime
your field is susceptible to ero
sion An early herbicide applica
tion is probably a better alterna
tive to early tillage. A well-timed
herbicide treatment will accom
plish better weed control, enable
you to delay your first tillage and
help you store more moisture by
not disturbing the stubble.
Fall tillage can create similar
problems as early spring tillage.
Kodweeding this fall had a dra
matic impact in the top few
inches of soil at our monitoring
sites in the county. Abundant
rainfall in September and Octo
ber stimulated a seemingly un
ending supply of cheatgrass
plants. Many fields were rod
weeded two to three times this
fall alone, but cheatgrass kept
emerging with additional rain.
Two problems have become evi
dent this winter on these soils
with additional rainfall. First, a
tillage pan formed by the rod
weeder acts as a barrier to
moisture penetration. Second,
soil structure above the rod pan is
destroyed by weeding, The rate
of moisture penetration through
the soil is strongly influenced by
the structure. The more the soil is
pulverized, the slower the per
meability. With both of these
tTil TURNER
VAN MARTER
3 & BRYANT
107 WORTH MAM IIIHIT WIWWH, OMOOM tM
wox au uoux Lfmuxanct
LoVKXNE VMSiFTtR. JK HOWARX PHTANT
ntzAs.
associated problems, very small
amounts of rainfall readily pud
dle the soil surface. A saturated
soil is extremely susceptible to
evaporation losses and runoff.
Obviously, dryland farmers can
not afford to lose either moisture
or soil.
An unfortunate consequence of
numerous fall rodweedings was
late seedings. The wheat growth
is poor throughout the entire
winter erosion period when the
planting is late. As of mid-January,
fields planted in the begin
ning of November had less than
one percent growing ground
cover. Fields planted in mid-October
had about five percent
growing ground cover. Both of
these ground covers are not
adequate in themselves to pre
vent soil erosion. Consequently,
crop residue must be relied upon
almost exclusively to provide soil
protection.
Observations indicate that
maintaining about 1.500 pounds
- acre of residue at seeding time
provides excellent protection
against water erosion on moder
ate slopes. The above photo
shows a field with 1,500 pounds
per acre of residue on the sur
face, and there is an additional
l.(KK) pounds per acre of residue
incorporated in the top four
inches. A well mulched soil con
dition increases water infiltration
and penetration compared to a
bare ground condition. The form
er also tends to freeze less
densely and shallower than the
latter. This characteristic is crit
ical in the winter when warm
temperatures begin soil thawing.
An unprotected soil thaws slowly,
leaving a layer of saturated soil
on top of dense, impenetrable
Whoro can you find
good farm holp?
HAPA
XZZZJ
Farm Equipment Bearings
"We take farming seriously"
Heppner Auto Parts
f . f
Heppner 676-9481
SUDDEN SERVICE
ON THE FARM
1
at?
-U ' r-
Sorvico Truck
Available 24 Hours A Day
After hours call:
Dale Thompson 676-5464 or
John Smith 676-5106
f Q Ml I
j y i E.I! J
"All Your Irrigation Needs I
For Less9 B
vi rni rai fa
l3TBTiyB
f TKWJt I LOT'
SPRINKLERS
VALVES
TIMERS
PUMPS
PVC pipe
Vi-inch to 12-inch
HERMSTON ELECTRIC &
PLUMBING SUPPLY
Ilermiston-McNary Hwy 567-3317