Effects of Tillage Practices on Peanut Production in Virginia

Abstract

Abstract A 3-year study was conducted in Virginia to evaluate tillage practices on peanut yield and crop value. Treatment factors included time of plowing, four seedbed preparations, and two cultivations. Pesticides were used to control insects and diseases. Commercially available field implements were used to perform all tillage operations. Peanut yields were higher when the moldboard plowing operation was performed in the fall (Dec) than those when the plowing operation was performed in the spring (Mar). Yields were similar for the four seedbed preparation methods: flat, rotary tiller with shaper, disk bedder, and ripper-bedder. Cultivation (two) did not improve peanut yields. The above tillage treatments affected crop value similarly to peanut yield. The cone index (resistance to cone penetration) was considerably less in the ripper-bedder treatment than in other seedbed treatments. The economic advantage of field equipment to decrease the resistance for root penetration should be evaluated further.