Can Grazing Make Organic No-Till Possible? Harun Cicek, Caroline Halde, Kristen Podolsky, Martin Entz, Keith Bamford, Joanne Thiessen Martens and David Feindel WCCA, Winnipeg 2014 ICARDA
reduced tillage tool box Blade roller Flail mower Wide blade cultivator Rotary hoe Chisel plough Strip tillage Bio-herbicides Strategic tillage Grazing
Roles of livestock Nutrient distribution (Haynes and Williams 1999) Weed control (Myers and Squiers 1970; Symth et al. 1997) Disease control (Mayfield and Clare 1984) Pest control (Goosey et al. 2005) Stubble management (Lilley and Moore 2009) Montana- Hatfield et al. (2011)
Rotation Its all about biomass and its management Annual forages Perennial forages Failed crops Dual purpose crops (Francia et al. 2006) Intercropping (e.g. relay cropping) (Cicek et al. 2014) Stubble and weed grazing (Lessen et al. 2013)
Strengths and weaknesses of green manure management systems Tillage Efficacy Usability Erosion protection Weed control Nitrogen availability Main crop yield Energy Savings 18 Blade roll + tillage Blade roll Flail mow Wide blade cultivation Grazing ** *** *** **** **** **** 18 17 12.5 15.5 20 (Kristen Podolsky 2013)
Challenges for Organic No-Till (> 400 mm) Limited N availability (Vaisman et al. 2011) Weeds (Halde et al. 2014) Limited options for mulches (Halde et al. 2014) e.g., paradox of N availability and weed suppression Cold soils at seeding (Podolsky 2013) achieving synchrony for weed suppression, N supply and optimum soil o C Barley Hairy vetch -barley
Soil nitrate (kg/ha) Soil nitrate-n at seeding after Pea-Barley Green Manure 2011 2012 200 a 150 bc b a 100 50 cd cd d b ab a b 0 Tillage BR + Till = Wide Blade Blade Roll = Flail Mow (Kristen Podolsky 2013)
Halde et al. 2014 WEEDS
Soil depth (cm) 0-30 0-30 Soil NO 3 - (kg N ha -1 ) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0GGM2009-Year 40 601 80 100 120 140 GGM2009-Year 1 Soil nitrate after grazing Soil NO 3 - (kg N ha -1 ) Species (S)* Management (M) * S x M ns 30-60 30-60 60-90 60-90 Total NO 3 S* M* S x M ns 90-120 90-120 Grazed oat Grazed pea/oat Ungrazed oat Ungrazed pea/oat 10 Cicek et al. (2013)
Dry matter (kg/ha) no-till seeding after grazing 3500 3000 2500 Direct seeding Conventional seeding 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Exp 1 Exp 2
Soil nitrate in the first autumn after grazing Soil NO 3 (kg ha -1 ) 0 10 20 30 40 Wheat yield 0-30 Soil depth (cm) 30-60 60-90 90-120 Reduced tillage Conventional tillage Cicek et al. (2014)
Rotation Its all about biomass and its management Annual forages Perennial forages Failed crops Dual purpose crops (Francia et al. 2006) Intercropping (e.g. relay cropping) (Cicek et al. 2014) Stubble and weed grazing (Lessen et al. 2013)
Relay cropped red clover waiting for rye harvest
Relay cropped red clover in autumn
Barley no-till seeded into grazed green manure residue in August
No-till double cropped field pea in autumn
Oilseed radish seeded after grazed green manures Barley seeded in autumn after grazed green manures
Challenges for Organic No-till (<400mm) Limited opportunities for green manures Government subsidies favoring wheat Unavailable/expensive legume and forage seeds Competition for water from non-cash crops Competition for biomass (soil vs. animals)
Stubble and weeds waiting to be grazed
Anything green?
Alley cropping
Weeds or pasture? 23
Bailing??? Bailing and grazing weeds at the same time
Mulch N content (kg N ha-1) Mulch biomass (kg ha-1) Mulch biomass 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 Barley Pea Barley/pea Barley/radish Barley/sunflower Barley/pea/radish Barley/pea/sunflower Barley/pea/radish/sunflower 0 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 At rolling in Year 1 Fall of Year 1 Spring of Year 2 Mulch N content At rolling in Year 1 Fall of Year 1 Spring of Year 2 Vetch Barley/vetch Barley Pea Barley/pea Barley/radish Barley/sunflower Barley/pea/radish Barley/pea/sunflower Barley/pea/radish/sunflower Vetch Barley/vetch (Caroline Halde 2013)
400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Rolled only Spring tillage pea/oat green manure Total N (kg ha -1 ) (soil + green manure biomass) Rolled three times Rolled two times Rolled once Yield of wheat in tilled treatment were higher than other treatments Tilled only (Vaisman et al. 2011)
Bell et al., 2011
Optimizing the rotation NO 3 leaching? Spring Summer Autumn catch crop Spring Summer Autumn 29
Optimizing the rotation (options) Winter cereals relay and double crops Full season forages Season long grazing with perennials and annuals Winter grazing of crop residues and forages Spring grazing of fall seeded crops 30
integrated crop-livestock rotation example Corn-soybean-winter wheat rotation autumn (Year 0) Seed winter wheat spring (Year 1) Seed red clover summer (Year 1) Harvest wheat and graze clover autumn (Year 1) Seed winter cereal No-till No herbicide? No fertilizer? spring (Year 2) Graze winter cereal autumn (Year 2) Seed corn No-till No herbicide? No fertilizer? 31
Grazing in practice Spring Summer Autumn catch crop Spring Summer Autumn
Grain Green manure $ Grain Green manure systems Full season Late season Warm season Cool season Pulse/ Pulse/ oilseed oilseed Green manure $ Options with green manures Incorporate Mulch, flail mow, wide blade 33 Graze
tilled residue August 06, 2010 Oil seed radish Barley September 28, 2010
NO 3 - (kg ha -1 ) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 GGM2011-Year 1 Soil depth (cm) 0-30 30-60 60-90 90-120 M* ns M * Total NO3 - S * M *** S xm 0.0723 S * M *** S xm * GGM2011-Year 2 0-30 S * M ** S xm ns Soil depth (cm) 30-60 60-90 90-120 Total NO3 - S * M ns S xm ns G-oat G-pea/oat G-Mix G-H.vetch UG-oat UG-pea/oat UG-Mix UG-H.vetch
Kirkegaard et al. 2014 Surprisingly little objective data exists to determine the legitimacy ofthese concerns, though a recent review (Bell et al., 2011) and newdata (Hunt et al., 2011) suggest little significant impact to follow-ing crops from the shallow surface compaction caused by livestock.
Smyth, MJ, Sheppard, AW and Swirepik, A (1997) The effect of grazing on seed production in Echium plantagineum. Weed Research 37, 63-70. Southwood, OR (1971) The effect of superphosphate application, 2-4 DB and grazing on broomrape (Orobanche minor SM.) in a subterranean clover pasture. Weed Research 11, 240-246 Schoenbaum, I, Kigel, J, Barkai, D and Landau, S (2009) Weed infestation of wheat fields by sheep grazing stubble in the Mediterranean semi-arid region. Crop and Pasture Science. 60, 675-683. White, P, Treacher, T and Termanini, A (1997) Nitrogen cycling in semi-arid Mediterranean zones: Removal and return of nitrogen to pastures by grazing sheep. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 48, 317-322. Holst, P, Allan, C, Campbell, M and Gilmour, A (2004) Grazing of pasture weeds by goats and sheep. 2. Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius L.). Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 44, 553-557. Fisher et al. 2006-The use of grazing livestock as a method of weed control has been recognised for many years (Cuthbertson 1964; Myers and Squires 1970; Piggin 1979; Schmidl 1972; Smyth et al. 1997). The effectiveness of livestock for weed control is affected by the timing of grazing relative to the germination of weeds and the type of livestock employed. Piggin, CM (1979) Control of Echium plantagineum L. with 2, 4-D and grazing management. Weed Research 19, 17-23. Myers, L and Squires, V (1970) Control of barley grass (Hordeum leporinum) by grazing management in irrigated pastures. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 10, 151-155. Lilley, JM and Moore, AD (2009) Trade-offs between productivity and ground cover in mixed-farming systems in the Murrumbidgee catchment of New South Wales. Animal Production Science 49, 837-851. Heenan, D, McGhie, W and Collins, D (1998) Impact of lupins, grazed or ungrazed subterranean clover, stubble retention, and lime on soil nitrogen supply and wheat nitrogen uptake, grain yields, and grain protein. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 49, 487-494. Heenan, DP, McGhie, WJ, Thomson, FM and Chan, KY (1995) Decline in soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in relation to tillage, stubble management, and rotation. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 35, 877-884.
Mulch decomposition rates
Rolled Grazed