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Do-ullage System
Efficient Water Use
B L AC KSBURG-'Scientists at Virginia Tech who a few years back developed the no-tillage system of row crop production concluded that one of the advantages of the new system was a more efficient use of water. Now . however, they have research results from a two-year study that pinpoints this advantage.
I'nder identical rainfall conditions and with tillage as the onl\ variable, corn yields with the no-tillage system totaled 5.4 tons uf dry matter per acre versus only 3.8 tons with conventional clean tillage methods.
In both cases soil moisture storage at the beginning of the season averaged about 5.9 inches and rainfall during the season averaged about 17.6 inches. This totaled 23.5 inches of water available for plant use. said J. H. Lillard. professor of agricultural engineering. Lillard and Vernon (> Shanholtz, research instructor in agricultural engineering, did this work.
The no-tillage system used about 19 inches of water to produce its 5.4 tons of dry matter. The conventional clean tillage system, however, because of losses from evaporation anc other causes, had available foi crop use only 13.3 inches o water and this was sufficient tc produce only 3.8 tons of dr, matter per acre.
'Reduced to percentages,” saic Lillard, "The no-tillage systen used 81 per cent of the tota o available water for actual crof production while conventiona dean tillage used only 57 per ten of the total This demonstrate: clearly that water use efficiency in agricultural production can b< greatly improved through bette engineered tillage productioi systems. In this initial effort, thi increase in efficiency was 24 pe cent
64.7%