Traditionally, no-till and organic have been considered opposing strategies. As both systems mature, we have the opportunity to learn from each other and move together to more sustainable production.
New technology now tested in the United States combines the advantages of no-till with the benefits of organic production.
Organic producers rely on green manure crops to provide nitrogen, build soil organic matter and reduce weed pressure. Traditionally, the green manure crop was killed and tilled into the soil.
The no-till crimper-roller developed by the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania allows farmers to terminate their green manure without the use of tillage or chemicals and to seed the next crop in the same pass.
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The no-till crimper-roller is a modified roller with a 16-inch diameter drum and four-inch blades. The blades aren’t meant to cut the crop. Instead, they push it over and crimp the stems, forcing them into contact with the soil.
In preliminary trials, researchers found that timing was key to success. The crop would bounce right back if it was vegetative, but up to 90 percent would be killed if it was crimp-rolled at flowering, in which at least 20 percent and preferably 50 to 75 percent was in bloom.
Terminating at the full flowering stage also allows the greatest nitrogen benefit from a legume green manure. Researchers found that the killed green manure or cover crop formed a mulch layer that suppressed or at least delayed weeds and reduced evaporation from the soil surface.
The design of the implement has been refined over the last few years. The blades are welded onto the drum in a chevron pattern to avoid bouncing and facilitate steering. They are angled back from the direction of motion to reduce the amount of soil that is kicked up. The drum can be filled with water to increase its weight.
Additional weight is particularly useful in dry soil.
The crimper-roller is front mounted to avoid the difficulties in obtaining good crop-soil contact in the compacted tire tracks and to allow seeding equipment to follow the roller in a single pass.
The crimper-roller is being tested at a number of U.S. locations using different crops and under different environmental conditions. The technology will need further fine-tuning and region specific testing.
Of particular concern to prairie farmers will be the balance between biological activity that moves the green manure nitrogen into the soil and loss of nitrogen to the air in a dry year.
Weeds will also be a concern. Plow-down tillage traditionally reduces weed pressure. In areas with lower growth potential, the mulch produced by the green manure may be less effective at suppressing weeds.
For no-till farmers, the crimper-roller offers the possibility of soil building and reducing nitrogen costs without increasing herbicide use. For organic farmers, it offers the possibility of reducing the time, energy and moisture loss associated with tillage of green manures. This technology appears to be a promising development in the search for a no-till organic system.
Organic producers are exploring other ways of reducing tillage. Increasingly, they are moving to a direct seeding system. Some avoid fall tillage, using crop residues and fall weeds for winter grazing. This provides valuable feed while at the same time managing weeds, retaining stubble for snow trapping and reducing erosion potential.
Other producers take land out of an annual tillage cycle by seeding it to perennial soil building and forage crops, expanding their hay and grazing lands.
There is interest in perennial food crops, particularly perennial cereal crops. If mixed with perennial legumes, these might offer a sustained yield with a minimum of seeding and tillage.
Frick is the prairie co-ordinator for the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada located at the University of Saskatchewan. She can be reached at 306-966-4975, at brenda.frick@usask.ca, or www.organicagcentre.ca.
