Strip Tillage

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Strip, or zone, tillage is a reduced tillage practice that targets soil disturbance to the crop planting zone. Call it a tillage compromise, where it can balance some of the soil benefits of no-till with the advantages of tillage for preparing the seed bed. Strip tillage creates a narrow tilled planting zone, alleviating compaction, warming soils, and burying residue and weeds. By leaving the between-row areas undisturbed, it can retain surface residue, maintain soil structure, and reduce erosion. Years of work by Cornell researchers, extension, and Northeast growers in mid-size to large scale conventional vegetables show that strip tillage can offer clear advantages to conventional tillage. These farmers often cite the labor and time savings along with the soil-improving benefits, like improved tilth, deeper crop rooting, and better drainage.

The Reduced Tillage project has worked to advance successful strip tillage systems for vegetables, including small farms and organic production methods, that integrate cover crops to provide nitrogen, add organic matter, and protect and build healthy soils. This work includes conducting extensive field trials of different cover crop mixtures and management practices and facilitating on-farm demonstrations in partnership with farmer collaborators. You can learn more about strip tillage and strategies to incorporate on the farm here. 

Strip Tillage is a System

Strip tillage is a system that goes beyond the tillage tool. It requires planning in a rotation to match cash crops and cover crops, developing methods for cover crop termination and/or management, and either acquiring or modifying tools to work for crop production in moderate to high residue conditions. It requires a management plan that gives new considerations to residue management, soil nutrient availability, and weeds, especially in organically managed systems, These systems are best adapted for transplanted crops and large seeded crops that don't require a fine seed bed for establishment.

Strip Tillage Resources

To Tarp, to Mulch or to Do Both: That was the Question

We share on-farm research results from a collaboration with Nook and Cranny Farm (Brooktondale, NY), a small, diversified organic operation that has been working to fine tune a strip-till system for their potatoes. They experimented with using tarps to improve cover crop termination, increase weed suppression, enhance yields, and minimize labor.

Read more in the Spring 2022 issue of Small Farms Quarterly or watch a summary of the project on the Cornell Small Farms YouTube Page.

 

Strip Tillage Webinars

Watch our webinar series, which details reducing tillage in permanent beds, equipment required to implement strip tillage, and how to cultivate in reduced tillage. You can find them on our Webinar Page.

 

Mulch For Organic Vegetables—Grown in Place

We shared some early results from our trials in the context of the growing amount of research and farmer innovation on using winter hardy cover crops to grow a mulch in-place.

Read more in the Summer 2017 issue of the Small Farms Quarterly

Tillage Tools and Equipment

Stacking tillage tools can save time for field prep and reduce labor and fuel needs.

Tractor-based strip tillage equipment combines multiple tools to prepare the planting zone in one pass. Systems are often designed to combine primary tillage with a finishing unit for seedbed preparation, loosening soil in a ~12” zone. This equipment can include:

  1. Coulter for cutting residue
  2. Row cleaners for raking residue aside
  3. Shank for deep ripping, lifting soil, alleviating compaction in the planting row
  4. Wavy coulters or hilling discs to fill the ripped slot (open slots dry out quickly) and build up the planting zone
  5. Cultipacker wheels or rolling baskets for breaking clods and firming soil for planting

The depth of operation is dependent on soil conditions. Deep shanks are typically setup first to rip the soil just below compacted zones and break up pans (plow, disc, rototiller). Generally, these units require 4WD and 30-40 HP per shank. After a few years, shallow strip tillage tools, which requires less horsepower, may be sufficient.

Watch Anu Rangarajan, director of the SFP program and RT project leader, lay out the basics of the deep zone tillage method.
Strip till unit (e.g. Hiniker 6000) operating in cereal rye residue. Dan Brainard/Michigan State University
Strip till unit (e.g. Hiniker 6000) operating in cereal rye residue. Dan Brainard/Michigan State University
Strip till unit (e.g. Unverferth zone builder) with tool combinations.
Strip till unit (e.g. Unverferth zone builder) with tool combinations.

Smaller scale, light duty tractor-based equipment can be built to have lower horsepower requirements and allow for more flexibility for different crops.

Farmers are acquiring and modifying their own tools based on their scale, resources and needs. We have trialed using a Keyline plow combined with a custom-built finishing unit (hilling discs and rolling basket). These shanks run deep in the planting zone and are relatively easy to remove or adjust for different crop row spacings - we have used for both double row or single row plantings (e.g. cucurbits). Walk-behind tractor tools can be used in small scale applications where tractor-based operations are not an option or appropriate.

Shallow operating one-row units are lighter and more practical for small farms with smaller planting areas and lower horsepower tractors.
Shallow operating one-row units are lighter and more practical for small farms with smaller planting areas and lower horsepower tractors.
BCS walk behind tractors have implements that can be run to create narrow bands of tilled strips.
BCS walk behind tractors have implements that can be run to create narrow bands of tilled strips.
A Yeomans shank that can run >12in deep and operate to break up plow pans and aerate compacted soils.
A Yeomans shank that can run >12in deep and operate to break up plow pans and aerate compacted soils.
Yeomans Plow with a custom-built hilling discs and rolling basket attachments preparing the planting zone.
Yeomans Plow with a custom-built hilling discs and rolling basket attachments preparing the planting zone.

Cover Crops and Strip Till

Overwintering cover crops can be combined with strip tillage to bring more soil health benefits.

There has been a lot of interest in growing cover crops as a mulch that is managed in-place for summer vegetables. Cereal rye can be planted in fall and have high biomass potential in spring prior to mechanical termination (flail mowing). It can also tie up soil nitrogen for heavy feeding vegetables and the residue can cause trouble without the appropriate tools, especially as weeds escape. Winter hardy legume cover crops, like hairy vetch, can provide a valuable source of nitrogen but can also be more difficult to terminate mechanically.

Our project has trialed different cereal rye and  legume mixtures and management strategies to learn how to manage weeds, residue and nitrogen for successful strip till with organic management practices. 

Anu Rangarajan explains how to integrate cover crops and strip tillage into vegetable systems.
Planting zones can be created in spring within overwintering cereal rye. In this example, a walk behind tractor was used.
Planting zones can be created in spring within overwintering cereal rye. In this example, a walk behind tractor was used.
Strip tillage in mowed cereal rye and hairy vetch residue. Equipment can be used to manage residue and prep the soil for planting in one pass.
Strip tillage in mowed cereal rye and hairy vetch residue. Equipment can be used to manage residue and prep the soil for planting in one pass.

Photo Gallery

We have found that cereal rye residue, especially roots and crowns, can interfere with strip tillage tools. One strategy is to plant cereal rye in strips, leaving bare ground in the planted row. Leaving these zones unplanted compromises on weed suppression and can allow winter annual weeds to emerge.
We have found that cereal rye residue, especially roots and crowns, can interfere with strip tillage tools. One strategy is to plant cereal rye in strips, leaving bare ground in the planted row. Leaving these zones unplanted compromises on weed suppression and can allow winter annual weeds to emerge.
Strip planted cereal rye and hairy vetch where the nitrogen rich vetch is concentrated in the planting row. Our research found little to no benefit to strip planting vs standard mixed plantings.
Strip planted cereal rye and hairy vetch where the nitrogen rich vetch is concentrated in the planting row. Our research found little to no benefit to strip planting vs standard mixed plantings.
Flail mowing cereal rye at anthesis can effectively terminate the crop. While cereal rye has high biomass potential, it can create difficult soil conditions for the following crop. It's high C:N ratio can tie up soil nitrogen and in dry years it can deplete soil moisture.
Flail mowing cereal rye at anthesis can effectively terminate the crop. While cereal rye has high biomass potential, it can create difficult soil conditions for the following crop. It's high C:N ratio can tie up soil nitrogen and in dry years it can deplete soil moisture.
Hairy vetch can be terminated organically by mowing at flowering. When planted as a monoculture, vetch offers less biomass then rye-vetch mixtures. The benefits include greater N availability and less residue interference with strip tillage and cultivation operation if and when weeds emerge.
Hairy vetch can be terminated organically by mowing at flowering. When planted as a monoculture, vetch offers less biomass then rye-vetch mixtures. The benefits include greater N availability and less residue interference with strip tillage and cultivation operation if and when weeds emerge.
One option to manage cover residue and limit interference in the following crop is to chop and remove it. It can then be used as mulch or feed on other areas of the farm.
One option to manage cover residue and limit interference in the following crop is to chop and remove it. It can then be used as mulch or feed on other areas of the farm.
Austrian winter peas can be another legume option for mixing with cereal rye. Mowing to kill and chop cereal rye and austrian winter pea cover crops prior to strip tillage.
Austrian winter peas can be another legume option for mixing with cereal rye. Mowing to kill and chop cereal rye and austrian winter pea cover crops prior to strip tillage.
Row cleaners that run in advance of strip tillage tools help rake residue out of the planting zone, concentrating it into between-row areas, which helps create a better planting bed.
Row cleaners that run in advance of strip tillage tools help rake residue out of the planting zone, concentrating it into between-row areas, which helps create a better planting bed.
Rolling baskets are one way to "finish" the strip till planting zone to break clods and improve seedbed conditions.
Rolling baskets are one way to "finish" the strip till planting zone to break clods and improve seedbed conditions.
Strip tillage loosens soil to prep the planting zone while maintaining cover crop residue in between-row areas.
Strip tillage loosens soil to prep the planting zone while maintaining cover crop residue in between-row areas.
Cover crop mulches don't provide season long weed suppression so having a plan for weed escapes is critical. Rolling cultivator tools can work to kill weeds that emerge from within mulch.
Cover crop mulches don't provide season long weed suppression so having a plan for weed escapes is critical. Rolling cultivator tools can work to kill weeds that emerge from within mulch.
Fall brassicas are one crop that works for planting after maximizing cereal-legume cover crop biomass in spring.
Fall brassicas are one crop that works for planting after maximizing cereal-legume cover crop biomass in spring.
We've planted cabbage in our trials, a heavy nitrogen feeder, to test how cereal-legume mixes provide nitrogen for the following crop. Vetch in mixture with rye and as a monoculture can still provide significant nitrogen to the crop when managed in a strip tilled system
We've planted cabbage in our trials, a heavy nitrogen feeder, to test how cereal-legume mixes provide nitrogen for the following crop. Vetch in mixture with rye and as a monoculture can still provide significant nitrogen to the crop when managed in a strip tilled system