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Published 14 May 2003

Photo Gallery:
Seed Furrow Erosion in No-Till Corn

URL: http://www.kingcorn.org/news/articles.03/SeedFurrowErosion-0514.html

R.L. (Bob) Nielsen
Agronomy Dept., Purdue Univ.
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054
Email address: rnielsen@purdue.edu
 

ntensive rainfall and resulting erosive water flows can cause soil erosion even in no-till planted corn fields. The following images are from my research plots in northeastern Indiana that were planted no-till into soybean stubble on April 18. Intense rainfall on May 9 resulted in significant sheet erosion, especially down the seed furrows. Seedlings were carried away with the water flow in places. In other sections of row, the seedlings remained anchored in place but were nearly completely exposed by the erosion of topsoil.

Even though the seedlings were technically alive four days later when I visited the field, dessication of exposed roots and mesocotyls or damage to the exposed kernels by foraging birds and other critters leave little hope for a productive life by these affected seedlings.

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