Project Overview
Commodities
- Agronomic: oats, rye
Practices
- Crop Production: cover crops, no-till
Summary:
Rolled/crimped rye facilitates planting through the mat and allows the pumpkins to sprout. A heavier seeding of rye (2 to 2.5 bu/acre) may in a normal rainfall crop year be more help in slowing the weed onset to allow for a pumpkin canopy to cover quickly. A planter with no till capabilities can direct seed placement correctly for rapid emergence.
Finding that the planter can readily plant in the same direction as the rolling, a few areas were planted across the rolled rye with just as good success. Rolling crossways to the rye planting seemed to give more soil surface area coverage.
Excessive rainfall caused a pumpkin crop failure. Prior to the heavy rains the no till pumpkin process was working very well.
The heavy rye mat also reduced erosion to almost none which is a plus for erosion control.
Introduction:
The rye had bloomed and was tractor hood height when the 20 acres was roller/crimped and planted. The 5 acres test plot was planted and then roller/crimped. There was some difficulty in planting into the standing rye with wrapping on the planter parts. Seed to ground contact was excellent in both methods of planting. The 5 acre plot had oats drilled in the rye in the early spring, however the rye was well established and quickly outgrew the oats, shading them to the point that at rye bloom there were no oats growing in the plot.
Prior to the pumpkin planting and throughout the pumpkin growing season we received nearly twice the normal amount of rainfall. With the heavy mat of rolled rye and the more than normal amount of rain; the ground did not dry to a suitable moisture content for the pumpkins to flourish. Pumpkins prefer drier soils rather than wetter soils. With the wet soils the pumpkins were stunted and did not canopy which allowed the weeds(foxtail) to grow and continue to shade the ground(preventing dry down) and shaded the stunted pumpkins.
Project objectives:
The objective of no-till pumpkins was NOT achieved due mainly to the excessive amounts of rain from March through June. The secondary problem weeds taking over was evident also. A nearby field of normal till pumpkins had a reduced yield but was able to dry out enough to produce a smaller crop of pumpkins. The no till planting into a roller/crimped field of rye worked very well and emergence of the pumpkins was very adequate.
Pumpkins sprouting through the rolled rye. Rolling the rye after bloom assures the rye will not regrow.