Long-term Tillage Experiment, Texas A&M

This experiment has been added by the GLTEN Curators using existing published sources.
Objective
To compare no-tillage and conventional tillage systems
Data Access Statement
Don't know
Data license
Don't know
Data policy
Don't know
Organizations
Texas A&M University
research organisation
Texas A&M University Farm
experimental research station
People

Site: Texas A&M University Farm

Type
research station field
Location
College Station
Texas
USA
Geographic location
30.54743, -96.434715
+−
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Elevation
69 Metres
Visits permitted?
No
Soil description
Weswood silty clay loam (fine-silty, mixed, superactive, thermic Udifluventic Haplustepts)
Soil properties
VariableDepthValue (range)UnitsRef yearEstimated?Baseline?
sand content0 – 30 Centimetres23 Percent
silt content0 – 30 Centimetres39 Percent
clay content0 – 30 Centimetres38 Percent
soil pH 8.2
Climate description
The climate is humid subtropical
Climate properties
VariableTime periodValue (range)Units
precipitation1018 millimeter
air temperature (15 – 27) degree Celsius

Design period: (1982—)

Design Type
Split split plot
Design description
A split split plot design within a randomized complete block design. Crop sequence was the main plot, tillage as the split plot and N fertilizer rate as the split split plot. Split split plots measured 4 x 12 m.
Number of replicates
4
Number of harvests per year
2
Crops
CropYears grown
winter wheat
soybeans
sorghum
Crop Rotations
Continuous Wheat
  • 1
    winter wheat
Continuous Wheat/Soybean
  • 1
    winter wheat
    Early November to late May
    soybeans
    Early June to late October
Rotated Wheat/Soybean-Sorghum
  • 1
    winter wheat
    Early November to late May
    soybeans
    Early June to late October
  • 2
    sorghum
    Late March to Late July
Factors
Factor name
Factor levels
tillage process
no-till
conventional tillage  (25 cm depth)
Application method: chisel plough
Chisel plough to 25cm and disking to 10-15cm. Not all literature reports chisel ploughing.
nitrogen fertilizer exposure
N not applied to Soybeans. There are two treatments, with and without N. Factors below show rates for wheat and sorghum. N rates are those provided in Franzluebbers et al (1994). Other literature reports higher rates
without N
Applied to crop: All crops
None applied
with N  (68 kgN/ha)
Applied to crop: winter wheat
Application method: broadcast application method
Chemical form: ammonium nitrate
with N  (90 kgN/ha)
Applied to crop: sorghum
Application method: band application
Chemical form: ammonium nitrate
Measurements
VariableMaterialUnitsFrequencyScaleComment
grain yield traitAll crops
soil propertiesSoil

Related publications

  • Franzluebbers, A.J., Hons, F.M. and Zuberer, D.A. (1994), Long-Term Changes in Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Pools in Wheat Management Systems. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 58: 1639-1645.
  • Zapata, D., Rajan, N., Mowrer, J. et al. Long-term tillage effect on with-in season variations in soil conditions and respiration from dryland winter wheat and soybean cropping systems. Sci Rep 11, 2344 (2021).
  • Govindasamy, P, Liu, R, Provin, T, et al. Soil carbon improvement under long-term (36 years) no-till sorghum production in a sub-tropical environment. Soil Use Manage. 2021; 37: 37– 48.