Reduction of soil erosion by the no-till system in the Southern Piedmont

Langdale, G.W. and Barnett, A.P. and Leonard, R.A. and Fleming, W.G. (1979) Reduction of soil erosion by the no-till system in the Southern Piedmont. Transactions of the ASAE, 22 (1). pp. 82-86.

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Abstract

A 2.71 ha watershed, with an average slope of 3.4% was equipped with a 0.76 m H-flume to study runoff and soil losses from row crop land. The watershed treatments were conventional till, without terraces or grassed waterways, during the first 2 yr in a soyabean-fallow sequence, and then 2 yr of zero tillage and double cropped barley, followed by grain sorghum with fescue grassed waterway. Annual runoff was decreased from 22.5 cm (17.6%) with conventional tillage to 12.0 cm (9.7%) with double cropping and zero tillage. Runoff was reduced 90% during the main sediment and chemical transport summer season. Annual flume measured sediment decreased from 26.26 t/ha with conventional tillage to 0.13 t/ha with zero tillage. Crop row direction does not affect soil loss when zero tillage is accompanied with grassed waterways. Barley and grain sorghum both produced 15.43 t/ha of grain during the zero tillage period. Annual erosion was 71.23 and 1.30 t/ha for conventional and zero tillage.ADDITIONAL ABSTRACT:In field trials in 1972-6 on a research watershed established on kaolinitic soils near Watkinsville, Georgia, the effect of runoff, sediment and seed/grain yield from (a) single crop conventional tillage (involving a fallow yr followed by soyabeans) or (b) double crop/no-tillage systems (involving barley followed by sorghum) were examined. Annual runoff decreased from 17.6% for (a) to 9.7% for (b). Runoff was reduced by 90% during the vulnerable sediment and chemical transport season of May, June and July. Over 4 yr, 2.55 t seed/ha was produced in (a) and 15.43 t grain/ha in (b)

Item Type: Article
Author Affiliation: USDA, Watkinsville, GA, USA
Subjects: Soil Science and Microbiology > Soil Sciences
Divisions: Sorghum
Soyabean
Depositing User: Ms K Syamalamba
Date Deposited: 10 Oct 2012 11:03
Last Modified: 10 Oct 2012 11:03
URI: http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/8366

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