Tillage and Weed Control Timing Influence Soybean Performance in a Short Growing Season.
(W-essah984491-poster)
Authors:
S.Y.C. Essah* - Colorado State Univ.
C.W. Honeycutt - USDA-ARS, Orono, ME
Abstract:
The introduction of early maturity group soybeans (Glycine max) has made it possible to cultivate this crop in regions with short growing seasons. Tillage system and weed management are among the factors that influence soybean yield. Field studies were conducted in northern Maine, a cold climate with a short growing season to determine the performance of a '00' maturity group soybean (cv. Alta) under
conventional tillage and no-tillage using pre- and post-emergence weed control. In a wetter than
average year (2000), soybean in conventional tillage with pre-emergence weed control produced higher yield than all other treatments, but in a drier year (2001), no-till soybean with pre-emergence weed control produced the highest yield. When averaged across tillage systems, pre-emergence weed control increased yields by 52 and 10% in 2000 and 2001, respectively, compared to post-emergence weed control, due primarily to increased number of seeds produced. Yields were similar for conventional and no-till soybeans when results were averaged across weed control programs. On a dry weight basis, no-till produced fewer new weeds than conventional till following weed control. These data indicate that no-till soybean production with pre-emergence weed control is a viable management strategy in climates with a short growing season.
Speaker Information: Samuel Essah, Colorado State Univ., San Luis Valley Research Center, 0249 East Rd. 9, Center, CO 81125; Phone: (719)754-3594; E-mail: [email protected]