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Driftless SW Wisconsin | Marc,
Some folks on a 50/50 corn/bean rotation drive on corn stalks to make strips between their corn rows for beans. Since with our units it is possible to make a nice strip right down the top of last year's bean stubble, the second year they drive on the now two year old stalks and make their corn strips down the top of their bean row, as in ridge till. In a 50/50 rotation
Then the third year they move back over 15" and make their bean strips down the top of the now 2-1/2 year old corn stalks. There is no problem doing that.
In a continuous corn program usually customers just move back and forth 15" every year. Even in heavy bt stalks, and especially after you get a lot of biological activity going in the upper levels of your soils due to not turning things over, stalks tend to disappear quicker than you would think.
Here is a photo of the residue as it decomposes under the July corn canopy in a near 200 bu/a Iowa continuous corn Pluribus strip till operation. This really is no problem the next spring. There may be some two year old root balls loosened and lying around but the Trashwheels on the planter will take care of those. Photos #1 & 2 are by the same customer - probably not too far apart. Note the reduction in residue even from late April to July.
I will also attach a photo of spring Pluribus strips in corn in central IL. Here the customer had fall shredded the stalks since he had planned on straightening the rows with 1st year Autofarm rtk and another brand shank-based strip till machine. Over the winter he switched to our Pluribus. In the photo you can see where we were on the old root ball s - but the planter row cleaners just scoots them over.
Farther north the residue breaks down a bit more slowly but we have done corn on corn in ND without a problem so far. I think there is something about windrowing the residue 15" right or left that speeds the decomposition - but that is just my speculation at this point. Worm activity picks up quickly with all their food left on the surface where they like it. They then pull it down, loosening the profile and distributing their castings vertically through the soil profile.
Edited by Jim 6/15/2006 23:02
 (Dawn Striptill Corn on Corn - Controlled Traffic IA img 0128.JPG)
 (Dawn Striptill Corn on Corn E IA 7-25-05 hp175 cust photo -last yr residue + spring cleared strip.jpg)
 (Dawn Strip Till C ILL corn on corn-high residue On-Row rootballs IMG0870 5-3-05.jpg)
Attachments
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 Dawn Striptill Corn on Corn - Controlled Traffic IA img 0128.JPG (77KB - 587 downloads)
Dawn Striptill Corn on Corn E IA 7-25-05 hp175 cust photo -last yr residue + spring cleared strip.jpg (81KB - 602 downloads)
Dawn Strip Till C ILL corn on corn-high residue On-Row rootballs IMG0870 5-3-05.jpg (84KB - 597 downloads)
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3rd year strip till
