Wheat (Triticum aestivum) residue management before growing soybean (Glycine max) in Manitoba
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Date
2019
Authors
Bartley, Gregory
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Abstract
Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) is a relatively new, long season crop for Manitoba that has experienced significant growth in hectares within the past 10 years. There is a lack of applied research to accompany the expansion of soybean into the short growing season regions of Manitoba, including how to manage the residue of the preceding crop that facilitates soil warming and quick emergence of soybean in the spring that does not rely on the use of tillage. In this study, a soybean test crop was established at three site years into fall wheat residue management treatments that include fall conventional tillage (disc), strip till, no-till tall stubble (40 cm), no-till short stubble (15 cm), and a no-till fall rye cover crop. The effect of wheat residue management treatments on soil moisture and soil temperature at 5 cm during the early growing season was inconsistent between site years. The effect of wheat residue management treatments on cumulative soil temperature (growing degree hours) was consistent between site years before planting, with the strip till (in-row) residue management treatment accumulating the most growing degree hours followed by the disc and tall stubble treatments. Overall, the in-row portion of strip till often had one of the warmest soil temperatures at 5 cm during the day after planting, and often had a significantly drier soil at the time of planting compared to all other residue management treatments. There was no significant difference in soybean yield between residue management treatments at one out of two site years. In the other site year, the strip till and tall stubble treatment were significantly greater than the short stubble and fall rye treatments. However,, the no-till tall stubble treatment was not significantly different from the disc and strip till residue management treatments. This research indicates that conventional tillage is not necessary before growing soybean in Manitoba to achieve soil warming and quick emergence of soybean in the spring.
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Keywords
Soybean, Residue management, Soil temperature, Soil moisture