No-tillage compared to moldboard plow on corn yield in the northeast quarter of USA

摘要

No-till (NT) corn production can be successful anywhere in the USA, As you go north and east in the US there tends to be a slight advantage to using moldboard plowing, from a strictly short-term yield standpoint, without considering potential soil loss or soil quality problems, energy or economic ramifications related to the use of extensive tillage. As one researcher put it however, the" individual farmer's skills, management, and attitude toward conservation tillage must also be considered in predicting success of a new tillage system". Better drainage tends to favor success with NT as does the use of crop rotations.