MASS OF CROP RESIDUE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH SOIL COVER FOR A CORN, DRY BEAN, AND SUGARBEET ROTATION

ABSTRACT The mass and percent cover of crop residue on the soil surface were measured for three tillage systems in a crop rotation of com, dry edible beans, and sugarbeets under furrow irrigation. The tillage systems included a moldboard plow-based system, a rotary strip till system, and a system which utilized minimum tillage prior to planting. A good relationship was found between mass and soil cover when com residue predominated, but not when dry edible bean or sugarbeet residues were the dominate residues. The reduced tillage systems retained greater residue mass on the soil surface than the moldboard plow system for almost two years of the three year crop rotation. The mass of surface residue for all three tillage systems was less than 0.5 t/ha for a period of one year following sugarbeet harvest. The variability of the residue mass measurement was reduced when the residue was washed.