No-tillisa techniqueandtooltoachievethefarmer’sobjectivesofreducingtillage andbuildingsoilhealth.Itisalsoawholefarmsystem.Andthesetechniquesand toolscanworkequallywellonallfarms.Thetermbasicallydescribeswaystogrow cropseachyearwithoutdisturbingthesoilthroughtillageorplowing.Atrueno-till systemavoidsdisturbingthesoilwithtoolslikechiselplows,fieldcultivators,disks, andplows.No-tillcanhelpyourfarminanumberofdifferentwaysbutitisimperative thatthesystembeimplementedin awaythatencouragessuccess. Herearejustafewofthekeyconceptstothinkabout: •No-tilldependsonthecovercropstoprovidethenutritionneedsofthecashcrop.Of course,thenutrientsfromthecovercropsarenotavailableimmediately.Theyarepartially availablethefirstyearandpartiallyavailableinsuccessiveyears.Ifyoursoilislowin organicmatter,orifyouhavenotfarmedorganicallybefore,itmaytakeawhiletobuildthe soil.Thinkofitasmoneyinthebank.You’reinvestinginyoursoil,andastimeprogresses youwillbeabletocashinonthedividendsorinterestfromyouraccount. •Killisachievedwitharoller-crimperratherthansyntheticherbicides.Itworksbyrollingthe covercrop plantsinonedirection,crushingthemandcrimpingtheirstems.The roller-crimpercanbefront-mountedonatractor,freeinguptherearofthetractorforano-till planter,drillortransplantertoplantdirectlyintotherolledcovercrop.Whileothertools,such asastalkchopper,rollingharrows,andmowershavebeenusedforthispurpose,the roller-crimperhasseveraladvantagesoverothertools. •Therolledcovercropactsasamulch,preventingannualweedsfromgrowingthroughthe entireseason.Toachieveadequateweedcontrol,thecovercropshouldbeplantedatahigh rateandproduceapproximately3to 4tonstotheacreofdrymatter.Forthisreason,cover cropsthat yieldahighamountofbiomassworkbestfortheno-tillsystem.It’salsoimportant toselectcovercropswithacarbontonitrogenratiohigherthan20:1.Thehighertheratio, themorecarbon,andthemoreslowlythecropwillbreakdown.Thiswillprovideconsistent weedmanagementthroughtheseason. Herearesomesuggestionsabouthowtogetstarted—withoutplantingasingleseed.The followingideaswillhelpyoubecomeasuccessfulno-tillfarmer,whilemanagingtherisksof adjustingtoanewsystem. Readingandlearning Findoutasmuchasyoucanaboutwhichcovercropsdowellinyourarea.Thismight includetalkingtootherno-tillfarmers,takingadvantageofresourcesavailableatyourlocal Extension office,andfollowingupbyconsultingreferenceguides. Assessyourfarm Lookatyoursoiltypes,thecropsyouintendtoplant,theequipmentandresourcesyouhave andthetimeyouhavetoexplorenewplantingsystems.Likeanychangesonyourfarm, knowledgeispowerandunderstandinghownewcovercropmanagementtoolswillfitinto youroperationwillbecriticaltoyoursuccess.
Sourcelocalseed Locallyadaptedcovercropseedwillgiveyouanedge,providingacropthat’salready adaptedto yourarea.Itwillbelesslikelytowinterkillandmayperformbetteronyourfarm. Sinceitmaytakesometimetotrackdownalocalsource,youshouldbeginearly.Thisis especially truefororganicseedsincequantitiesmaybelimited. Testplot Perhapsthebiggestsourceofriskcomesfromtransitioningtoanewmanagementsystem andacompletelynewtechnology.Duringthefirstcoupleofyears,thelearningcurvemay be fairlysteep.It’sagoodideatostartwithasmall,experimentalareaortestplotonyourfarm.
Covercropsareanessentialpartofanyorganicsystembutareespeciallycrucialtothe successofno-tillinanorganicoperationandprovideamultitudeofbenefits: Increasesoilorganicmatter No-tillisanintensivesystemwhichrequiresatleast3to4tonsofdrymatterperacretobe effective.Covercropsaregrowntotheirfullpotential,insteadofbeingtilledinatanearlier growthstage.Thismeansthat,ingeneral,theorganicmatterwillbehigherincarbonand lowerinnitrogenmakingforlong-lastingbenefitsasmulchforweedmanagement. Provideyear-roundcoverforthesoil Coveringthesoilincreasesinfiltration,reducesevaporation,stabilizessoiltemperatures, provideshabitatforsoillife,andreducessoilcrusting. Decrease erosion Therootsofthecovercropstabilizesoilandreducerunoff,whiletheabove-groundportion oftheplantsprotectsthesoilagainst thedestructiveforceofraindrops.Inanorganicno-till system,activelygrowingcovercrops(or,therolledandkilledcovercrops)areinplace duringkey timeswhenerosioncanoccur,includingspringmelt,winterthaws,andsummer storms. Capture,holdandstabilizenutrients Manycovercrops(alsocalled“catch crops”)areexcellentscavengersofnitrogenandother nutrients.Rye,inparticular,canscavenge25%-100%ofresidualnitrogenleftbehindfrom thepreviouscrop.Ascoversarerolleddownandbegintodecompose,thisnitrogenisslowly releasedforusebythesubsequentcashcrops.Buckwheatisespeciallygoodatcapturing phosphorusandreleasingitforusebycashcrops.Covercroprootscanalsoforagedeeper inthesoil,bringingcalciumandpotassiumupfromuntappedsoillayers.Unlikechemical fertilizers,organicamendmentsaremorelikelytoprovideaslowreleaseofnutrients. Increasebiologicalactivity No-tillincreasesdiversityonthefarm byprovidingyear-roundhabitatandminimizingsoil disturbance.Covercropsproviderootswhichnourishmicroorganismsandstabilizeorganic matter.Aboveground,beneficialinsectsfindbothhabitatandnectarsourceswhichmay
lessenthe severityofpestinsectproblems. Reducefieldoperations Inorganic no-till,theyearlyfieldoperationscanbeasfewastwo:onepasstorollthecover cropandplant,andanothertoharvestthecrop.Additionalfieldoperationsmaybeusedat otherpointsintherotationtoestablishthecovercrops;however,thesecropsgenerallydon’t requireanycultivationtomanageweeds. Saveenergy According tosomeestimates,upto80%oftheenergyusedintheproductionofcornis conserved byconvertingtoorganicno-till.Whiletheproductionsystemmayrequire approvedorganicfertilizers,energysavingsarerealizedthroughtheeliminationof conventionalnitrogenfertilizer. Providenon-chemicalweedmanagement Fororganicfarmers,weedmanagementisrankedasthenumberonechallengeinmost surveys.No-tillcanhelpbybreakingweedcyclesandbyprovidingcoverthroughmuchof thegrowingseason. Althoughthenumerousadvantagesandpositiveeffectsoftheno-tillsystemofsoiltillageare wellknown,itsapplicationhasnottakenholdintheCroatianagriculturalpracticeasmuch asitcouldhavedone.Oneofthereasonscanbethelackofadequateinformationabout landsuitabilityfortheapplicationoftheno-tillsystem.TheRepublicofCroatiacurrentlyhas about220 000haofstate-ownedagriculturalland,predominantlyplough-fieldsinthe low-lyingcontinentalpart,whichusedtobeownedbythestateagriculturalenterprises. Ifno-tilltrendcaughton,itcouldhaveafewbigclimatebenefits.Itwouldlockmorecarbon inthesoilandcurtailfossil-fueluseinfarmoperations.TheUNEPestimatesthatno-tillage operations intheUnitedStateshave helpedavoid241millionmetrictonsofcarbon-dioxide sincethe1970s.That'sequivalentto theannualemissionsofabout50millioncars. CroatianCenterofRenewableEnergySources(CCRES)