Successfully Sowing Wheat in No-Till Farming
Starting Direct Seeding (SD) requires careful consideration of the different steps to follow in advance, if you want to give yourself the best chance of success. Here is a decision tree summarizing the different scenarios and actions to consider in order to avoid being disappointed by SD.
Field choice
3 criteria must be taken into account:
- Close to living place: Many observations are needed to monitor the evolution of the field.
- Low weed pressure: Starting with a weedy field would be setting yourself up for failure.
- Start with a small area to "get the hang of it" and compare results with the usual method.
Soil preparation
Two scenarios are possible, either the soil is initially leveled and direct seeding can be considered, or it is not and the type of seeder available will come into play:
- Parallelogram seeder: No problem, direct seeding can be considered.
- Seeder without parallelogram: In this case, it will be necessary to perform zone stubble cultivation to level the surface of the field and increase the chances of SD success.
Previous crop
Corn, wheat, barley
This previous crop is quite difficult because it will hinder wheat cultivation.
In this context, you should:
- Apply a starter fertilizer: 50 kg of 18-46.
- Use a direct seeder with tines to avoid residue issues in the furrow that hinder soil/seed contact.
- Be vigilant about fusariosis following corn.
In conclusion, this is a situation to rather avoid for a first SD.
Cover crop
This particular case of direct seeding under cover crop presents 2 scenarios:
- No weed pressure under the cover: In this case, first destroy the cover with Glyphosate and seed wheat with a disc seeder.
- Weed pressure under the cover: Start by mowing the cover crop to avoid a umbrella effect of it on the weeds underneath during the Glyphosate application.
You can then seed wheat with a disc or tine seeder.
Permanent cover crop
In this case, the previous crop is a bird's-foot trefoil, a alfalfa or a clover. This type of cover should not be destroyed but "calmed" to maintain its permanent character. The wheat crop will thus not be hindered by the cover and will be able to develop properly.
A mowing (or grazing) of the cover is planned 10 to 15 days before seeding to avoid the umbrella effect on grasses present under its foliage during Glyphosate application. Mowing will also limit herbicide contact with the permanent cover and avoid shocking it too much. This type of cover, having significant reserves in its roots and being composed of dicots, will be little sensitive to Glyphosate and will regrow the following year.
Direct seeding under permanent cover crop is done using a disc or tine seeder.
Whether the cover crop is permanent or not, it represents a medium level of difficulty to succeed in your first SD.
Rapeseed, buckwheat, sunflower, pea, faba bean
This previous crop is quite easy because it does not hinder the crop, leaving small amounts of residues that degrade quickly.
Two scenarios arise:
- Presence of regrowth: Start by mowing (or grazing) the regrowth to avoid an umbrella effect of it on the weeds underneath during Glyphosate application. You can then seed wheat with a disc or tine seeder.
- No regrowth: Apply Glyphosate to ensure a clean field, then seed with a disc or tine seeder.
Sources
This page was written thanks to the kind contribution of Martin Rollet, agronomist engineer at the National Center for Agroecology.
