DATE: 10/14/97 CONTACT: Dr. Jim Palmer, (864) 656-3519 WRITER: Bill Baker, (864) 656-3875 Clemson Extension Pioneers New Tillage and Planting Methods SUMTER -- New tillage and planting systems for doublecropping wheat and soybeans are producing higher yields and reduced costs for farmers. At the same time, the new systems pioneered by Clemson researchers, specialists and agents are reducing the impact of farming on the environment, according to Clemson Extension agronomist Jim Palmer. The systems involve a variety of new practices, including interseeding soybeans into standing wheat, using controlled traffic to avoid compaction of the soil, planting in narrow rows, using no-till drills and innovative deep-tillage equipment, and planting Round-Up Ready and disease-resistant varieties of soybeans and other crops. These new techniques are good for the environment, in that they reduce tillage, soil erosion, and pesticide and fertilizer runoff. And, fewer inputs and less tillage translates into a better bottom line for the farmer. "Our goal is to get a bigger profit margin, but we want to do it in an environmentally compatible way," Palmer explained. Clemson specialists and researchers began looking at new doublecropping systems in the late 1980s, when the cost of labor and inputs were too high to give most farmers a comfortable profit margin on their crops. "At that time, beans were $5 and wheat was $3 a bushel," Palmer said. "Now, wheat is more like $3.50 to $4, and soybeans are closer to $6.50 to $7, which is good. But the costs have gone up about that much for all the inputs - the fertilizer, fuel, equipment and pesticides. So we're almost where we were in the late `80s as far as the cost-price squeeze for these farmers is concerned." The results of Clemson's research and education effort can be seen in the practices of some of the state's most progressive farmers. Whit James and his two brothers, Hastings and William, became some of the first farmers to interseed soybeans into standing wheat about three years ago on their Triple J Farm in Sumter County. By interseeding soybeans two to three weeks before wheat harvest, the brothers were able to extend their growing season and increase their yield. "It was interesting to us that we could plant the soybean crop into the standing wheat and have more of a full-season bean - if we had moisture," James said. "That's the key." While the extra two or three weeks interseeding provides is helpful for soybeans, it is critical for farmers who want to doublecrop wheat and cotton. James and his brothers have interseeded cotton in irrigated fields in the past, but this spring their interseeded cotton fell prey to unusually cool temperatures, and on July 1 they decided to plow it under and plant more soybeans. The James brothers use a Worksaver Terra-Max for deep tillage in the fall, then drill their wheat using the Clemson Interseeder Drill developed by Clemson agricultural engineers Clarence Hood and Ahmad Khalilian. A controlled traffic system keeps their tractor tires in a separate lane from the crop rows, so the soil is not compacted. As a result, they can plant soybeans in the spring without doing any additional tillage. Whit James said using the Clemson interseeder drill was a key to their decision to begin interseeding, since the capital costs of buying specialized equipment would have been too high. The cost of experimenting with new methods has also been kept down through a $10,000 grant that State Sen. Phil Leventis procured through Gov. David Beasley's energy office. The money was used for travel and supplies as well as some equipment, such as a trailer and the Worksaver Terra-Max, according to Sumter County Agent Rowland Alston. Another Sumter County farmer, Woody Green, also does only one deep tillage with a Paratill plow in the fall, and does not replow his field again during the growing season. But instead of interseeding his soybeans, he harvests his wheat crop first, then plants his soybeans into the wheat stubble without replowing the field. On both the James and Green farms, the wheat residue left in the field protects against soil erosion, helps retain moisture in the soil, and helps to choke out weeds. It also provides additional organic matter for the soil. Both farms also plant soybeans in narrow, seven- to 12-inch rows, rather than the 30- to 38-inch rows used in the past. The result is the soybeans produce a canopy more quickly, which also helps retain moisture, reduce competition from weeds and fight soil erosion. Sumter County Agent Greg Harvey, who has worked with the James' and other local farmers for 14 years, said this system is a big change from the old method of wheat/soybean doublecropping. "When I first came here, after people harvested their wheat they would plow a firebreak around the field and burn the field, and all that straw would go up in smoke," he said. "You didn't get any benefit of the organic matter. You got some of the nutrients that were left in the ash. But it polluted the air, and it left bare ground with no residue cover." He added, "Then farmers would go back in and start disking the land after it had been burned." Many times, farmers would disk their field two or three times, then subsoil it, before planting soybeans, which increased their costs. "Reduced tillage wheat isn't for everybody," said Extension entomologist Jay Chapin, who has assisted Green and his partners, Will Mims and David Jordan, at Greenfarms Inc. "It takes more management and more things can go wrong. But it can be profitable for some growers." The disadvantages are that farmers can expose their crops to some different pests, such as the Hessian fly, and can run the risk of more erratic stands, Chapin said. "We're not growing 100-bushel wheat with these reduced tillage systems, as some growers are in the state, but that doesn't mean it can't be a profitable system for some growers." Whit James, however, said he has seen a yield improvement in his fields. "When you've got an ideal fall, we run about an 18-bushel increase in wheat, and about a 12-bushel increase in soybeans," he said. Green planted about 750 acres of wheat and soybeans this year using a JD 750 no-till drill. His drill is equipped with a system which electronically sets up tramlines for tire traffic in every third round with the drill across the field. His wheat yield was around 60 bushels per acre. He has a yield monitor on his combine, which he hopes will provide a good measure of his soybean performance at the end of this year. "The tramline system is used only for the hi-cycle to spray the crop," Green said. Clemson Extension will have even more to offer farmers in the future, as additional research and demonstrations are performed in the area of tillage and planting systems. A $250,000 grant was recently awarded to a project proposed by a group of 19 Clemson researchers and specialists representing 11 different disciplines as part of the PSA Agrisystems Productivity and Profitability Competitive Grants Program. The project, titled Profitable and Ecologically Sustainable Cropping Systems for Increasing Surface Residues and Soil Organic Matter in the Southeastern U.S.A., also has received an $85,000 grant through the S.C. Agriculture and Forestry Research System's Agroecology Program. Included in the funded work will be an ongoing effort in which one half of a seven-acre field will be cultivated using 1990 practices, and the second half will be worked using the latest methods, including interseeding, controlled traffic, precision farming, and the latest integrated pest management strategies, said Extension agronomist Jim Frederick. Wheat, soybeans, corn and cotton will be grown on a rotating basis in the field, which will be used for both research and field days. "I believe the newer systems will prove their worth in higher yields and less costs per acre," Palmer said. "There will also be the benefits of less soil erosion and runoff, and enhanced soil quality. The only drawbacks I see are the initial costs of switching and making the management transition to this type of system." END