Strip-Till Soybean ProductionJohn Gaska, Derek Potratz, Spyridon Mourtzinis

and Shawn ConleySenior Research Agronomist, Graduate Student, Post Doc

and Professor of AgronomyCollege of Agricultural and Life Sciences,

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Does Strip Tillage or Fertilizer Placement Influence the Soybean Row Spacing Yield Response?

• Strip tillage adoption in corn and soybean has increased• Can alleviate cold, compacted soils in rotated production systems• Potential agronomic benefits

– earlier planting dates– warmer soil temperatures– greater fertilizer efficiencies– less soil disturbance and fertilizer incorporation– soybean yield response to strip till has tended to be less consistent

than in corn The Objective of this study is:• Quantify the effect of strip tillage and fertilizer placement on

soybean stand establishment and seed yield

2016-17 Strip Tillage Research

• Two small-plot studies at Arlington Agricultural Research Station– Previous crop corn– Replicated RCB design– 4 row by 30” Remlinger strip-till unit with shanks set to till 6” deep– All strip till treatments in 30” spacing regardless of the soybean row spacing– Fertilizer (15-38-131 lbs/a N-P-K ) was applied either on the surface prior to

strip tilling or deep banded with the strip tiller• Two large field-scale trials in Sharon, WI

– Previous crop corn– Replicated RCB design– Kuhn Krause Gladiator strip till unit (12 row by 30”)– All strip till treatments in 30” spacing– Fertilizer (15-38-131 lbs/a N-P-K ) was applied either on the surface prior to

strip tilling or deep banded with the strip tiller

Strip tillage equipment

4 row by 30” Remlinger strip-till unitGandy fertilizer applicator boxes

Kuhn Krause Gladiator strip-till unit12 row by 30”Montag fertilizer applicator

Small plot research Field scale research

Field scale plots

Strip-till treatmentsAll strips were on 30” centers

On-farm treatments

Treatment Tillage Soybean row space Fertilizer

1 Spring strip 15" Surface2 Spring strip 30" Surface3 Spring strip 15" Banded4 Spring strip 30" Banded5 No-till 15" Surface

Small plot #1 treatmentsTreatment Tillage Soybean

row space Fertilizer

1 Fall strip 15" Surface2 Fall strip 30" Surface3 Spring strip 15" Surface4 Spring strip 30" Surface5 No-till 15" Surface6 No-till 30" Surface7 Spring strip 15" Banded8 Spring strip 30" Banded

Small plot #2 treatmentsTreatment Tillage Soybean

row space Fertilizer

1 Spring strip 15" Surface

2 Spring strip 30" Surface

3 Spring strip 15" Banded

4 Spring strip 30" Banded

5 No-till 15" Surface6 No-till 30" Surface

Strip tillage and planter alignment

30” corn row spacing

Strip

till

for 3

0” so

ybea

n pl

antin

g

For 30” soybean planted into 30” corn, set strip-till steering shift 15”For 15” soybean planted into 30” corn, set strip-till steering shift 7.5”

Penetration resistance by depthSmall plot experiments. 2017

0

2.5

5

7.5

10

12.5

15

17.5

20

22.5

25

27.5

30

32.5

35

37.5

40

42.5

45

47.5

0 500 1000 1500

Dept

h (c

m)

Penetration Resistance (kPa)

No-till

Strip-till

-----Shank depth-----

Custom leaf barrier

Penetration resistance by depthOn-farm and small plot. 2017

0

2.5

5

7.5

10

12.5

15

17.5

20

22.5

25

27.5

30

32.5

35

37.5

40

42.5

45

47.5

0 500 1000 1500

Dept

h (c

m)

Penetration Resistance (kPa)

No-tillStrip-till

-----Shank depth-----

On-farm experiments

0

2.5

5

7.5

10

12.5

15

17.5

20

22.5

25

27.5

30

32.5

35

37.5

40

42.5

45

47.5

0 500 1000 1500

Dept

h (c

m)

Penetration Resistance (kPa)

No-till

Strip-till

All trials

Canopy closureCanopeo: rapid green canopy cover measurement tool

App or desktop version with MatLab

Effect of row spacing on canopy closureSmall plot data with fall strip-till treatments. 2017

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Cano

py C

losu

re (%

)

Date

15"

30"

SignigficantlyDifferent

Effect of row spacing on canopy closureSmall plot data combined over all spring treatments. 2017

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Cano

py C

losu

re (%

)

Date

15"

30"

LSD (0.10) = NS

Effect of strip tillage on plant populationOn-farm trials. 2017

103000

104000

105000

106000

107000

108000

109000

Banded30

Strip-till4

On Farm

Surface15

No-till5

Surface15

Strip-till1

Banded15

Strip-till3

Surface30

Strip-till2

Plan

ts/a

LSD (0.10) = NS

Effect of strip tillage on soybean yieldSmall plots trials. 2016-17

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70Yi

eld

(bu/

a)

30” row spacingNT ST

A

B

61.27

60.47

60.01

58.04

56.39

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

Surface30

Strip-till2

Banded30

Strip-till4

Surface15

Strip-till1

Banded15

Strip-till3

Surface15

No-till5

Yiel

d (b

u/a)

Effect of strip tillage on soybean yieldOn-farm trials. 2017

AB

BC

AB

A

C

Effect of strip tillage on soybean yieldOn-farm trials. 2016-17

72.16

71.78

71.35

70.33 70.30

69.0

69.5

70.0

70.5

71.0

71.5

72.0

72.5

Banded30

Strip-till4

Surface15

Strip-till1

Banded15

Strip-till3

Surface30

Strip-till2

Surface15

No-till5

Yiel

d (b

u/a)

LSD (0.10) = NS

Early season growth of plants in strip-till (ST)and non-strip tilled (NST) rows

ST STST NSTNST

Determining yield of individual rows

Visual difference in growth Individual row harvest

Yield of individual row harvestOn-farm experiments. 2017

59.89

35.17

75.21

27.64

51.95

35.42

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

In Strip Between Strip In Strip Between Strip No-till No-till

on 30 on 15 on 30 on 15 on 30 on 15

1 3 5

Yiel

d (b

u/a)

A

B

A

A

BB

Treatment # Tillage Row Spacing Fertilizer1 Strip 15" Surface2 Strip 30" Surface3 Strip 15" Banded4 Strip 30" Banded5 No-till 15" Surface

Daily high soil temperature by dateSmall plot data with fall strip tillage treatments. 2017

38

48

58

68

78

88

98

Soil

Tem

pera

ture

(o F)

No-Till High

Spring Strip-tillHigh

Fall Strip-Till High

Air

optimal germination temperature.

Begin planting temperature.

Daily average soil temperature by dateSmall plot data with fall strip tillage treatments. 2017

Begin planting temperature.

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

Soil

Tem

pera

ture

(o F)

No-till Avg

Spring Strip-till Avg

Fall Strip-till Avg

Air

Strip-Till Soybean ProductionConclusions and lessons learned

• Hybrid between no-till and conventional till• Ability to apply fertilizer below soil surface (P)• Strip-till and planter guidance setup very

important if using 15” soybean rows and 30” strips

• Early growth of soybean rows in non-strip tilled rows were visibly less vigorous than those in the adjacent strip tilled rows

Strip-Till Soybean ProductionConclusions and lessons learned

Small plots– Penetration resistance was reduced in the top 7” of the soil

profile where strip tillage was used vs no till– Plant stands at V1 in the 30” row spacing were significantly

higher than in 15” row spacing 2 year results:– In no-till only, 15” row spacing significantly outyielded 30” row

spacing by 14.9 bu/a– In 30” no-till plots, in-furrow fungicide application significantly

improved yield by 7.7 bu/a– Strip tillage significantly out yielded no-till by 10.4 bu/a in 30”

row spacing plots.

Strip-Till Soybean ProductionConclusions and lessons learned

On-farm– 2017All strip tillage 30” row treatments yielded significantly higher than the no-till 15” row treatment– 2016-2017No differences among tillage or fertilizer placement treatments were noted

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