Modified Ridge Tillage vs. Conventional Tillage for Soybean Production

Ridge tillage is a crop production system that intermediate between no-till and conventional, pre-plant tillage systems. It is primarily use for row crops and known for 3 tillage operations per year, in low-row tillage at planting time, cultivation for weed control and late season cultivation for rebuilding the ridges. It does reduce Spring field work as compared with the conventional method where pre=plant tillage operations typically occur. farmers that rotated small grains with soybeans hadn't opted for the ridge method, but instead the corn-soybean rotation. For small grain-soybean farmers, a multi-year usage of ridge tillage would require a modified production system to plant soybeans. Soybean yields have not been found to increase whether by ridge tillage, spring disk, till-plant, Fall moldboard plow or Fall chisel plow systems. A study of the ridge tillage system was made against that of the conventional tillage treatment as to their soybean outputs. Dynamics of each method were detailed. No differences in soybean output was found using either the conventional method verses the ridge method.