Table 1 Management summary for the Frick long-term trial specified for the three management factors (2002–2018).

From: Enhanced soil quality with reduced tillage and solid manures in organic farming – a synthesis of 15 years

 

Reference system

Alternative system

Tillage

Ploughing (CT)

Reduced tillage (RT)

Annual crops

Annual full inversion 15–18 cm with a mouldboard plough

1./2. Rotation: annual shallow mixing to 5 cm (Rototiller, “Stoppelhobel”) and loosening to 15 cm after wheat (“WEcoDyn” chisel)

3. Rotation: annual shallow non-inversion to 5–10 cm (“WEcoDyn” chisel)

Seedbed

Rototiller, 5 cm

Rototiller, 5 cm

Ley establishment

Stubble tillage 5 cm and seedbed preparation with Rototiller 5 cm

Stubble tillage 5 cm and seedbed preparation with Rototiller 5 cm

Ley termination

Full inversion 15–18 cm just before seeding (February 2008 before silage maize, October 2013 before winter wheat)

September 2007: “Stoppelhobel” 5–8 cm, “WEcoDyn” 15 cm, seeding of a winter pea intercrop that was mulched and incorporated (5 cm) before seeding of silage maize in May 2008; details in Krauss, et al.53

September 2013: “Stoppelhobel” 5–8 cm, “WEcoDyn” 8–10 cm just before seeding of winter wheat in October

Equipment

Various mouldboard ploughs, “Rototiller” - horizontally rotating harrow (Rau company, D-73235 Weilheim, Germany)

“Stoppelhobel” - skim plough with a wheel for working depth adjustment (Zobel Stahlbau, D-74585 Rot am See, Germany); “WEcoDyn” - chisel plough with flat goose sweeps, (Friedrich Wenz GmbH, D-77963 Schwanau, Germany),

Fertilisation

Slurry (SL)

Manure compost + slurry (MC)

Type

Liquid cattle slurry

Liquid cattle slurry, 0.5 times the rate of SL, plus composted cattle manure

Annual average fertilisation intensity: 1 livestock unit (LU) ha−1 based on total N input

Annual average input (kg ha−1 a−1):

Ntot/Nmin

101.0/43.2

104.3/27.5

P/K/Mg

20.3/156.5/19.1

26.6/169.5/27.3

OM

1705.8

2074.1

Biodynamic prep.

Without

With

 

No application

BD500 – cattle manure, BD501 – silica, BD502 – Achillea millefolium L., BD503 – Matricaria recutita L., BD504 Urtica dioica L., BD505 – Quercus robur L., BD506 – Taraxacum officinale, Wiggers, BD507 – Valeriana officinalis L.

Weed control

Spring-tine weeder in all annual crops; Interrow cultivator in silage maize and sunflower (1–2 passes)

  1. Ntot – total nitrogen, Nmin – mineral nitrogen, P – phosphorus, K – potassium, Mg – magnesium, OM – organic matter.
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