Conservation tillage practices for winter wheat production in the Appalachian Piedmont

Several tillage and planting methods for soft red winter wheat production in the Appalachian Piedmont were tested on Cecil, Appling, and Pacolet soils. No-tillage was compared with moldboard plowing on three sites. In addition, disk tillage and chisel plowing were included on one site. Moldboard plowing consistently resulted in higher grain yields than no-tillage (3.22 t/ha following moldboard plowing versus 2.05 t/ha for no-tillage). The reduction in grain yields under no-tillage related to soil surface compaction. Bulk densities were greater for no-tillage to a depth of about 50 cm. Also, the soil tended to be wetter under no-tillage. The greater soil water content, coupled with greater soil density, resulted in poor aeration and greater impedance to root growth on the no-tillage plots.