Diverse no-till irrigated crop rotations instead of burning and plowing continuous wheat

Abstract

Field burning of residue is a traditional management tool for irrigated wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) production in the Inland Pacific Northwest of the United States (PNW) that can result in reduced air quality. A 6-year no-till field experiment to evaluate two complete cycles of a 3-year irrigated crop rotation of winter wheat–spring barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.)–winter canola ( Brassica napus L.) was sown (i) directly into standing residue of the previous crop, (ii) after mechanical removal of residue and, (iii) after burning of residue. The traditional practice of continuous annual winter wheat sown after burning residue and inverting the topsoil with a moldboard plow was included as a check treatment. Over-winter precipitation storage efficiency (PSE) was markedly improved when residue was not burned or burned and plowed after grain harvest. Grain yield of winter wheat trended higher in all no-till residue management treatments compared to the check treatment. Average grain yields of spring barley and canola were not significantly different among the no-till residue management treatments. Winter canola failed in 5 of 6 years due to a combination of a newly identified Rhizoctonia damping-off disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-1 and cold temperatures that necessitated replanting to spring canola. Six-year average net returns over total costs were statistically equal over all four systems. All systems lost from $358 to $396 ha −1. Soil organic carbon (SOC) increased linearly each year with no-till at the 0–5 cm depth and accumulated at a slower rate at the 5–10 cm depth. Take-all of wheat caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici was most severe in continuous annual winter wheat. The incidence and severity of Rhizoctonia on roots of wheat and inoculum of R. solani AG-8, was highest in the no-till treatments, but there was no grain yield loss due to this disease in any treatment. Residue management method had no consistent effect on Rhizoctonia root rot on barley. The annual winter grass downy brome ( Bromus tectorum L.) was problematic for winter wheat in the standing and mechanically removed residue treatments, but was controlled in the no-till residue burned and the burn and plow check. Another winter annual grass weed, rattail fescue ( Vulpia myuros L.), infested all no-till treatments. This was the first comprehensive and multidisciplinary no-till irrigated crop rotation study conducted in the Pacific Northwest.