No-till flue-cured tobacco without herbicides: is it possible?

C.A. Machanoff, D.H. Suchoff, M.C.Vann. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC USA. Contact:
cmachan2@ncsu.edu

Background Methods Results

Intensive tillage for field preparation and weed management is common in tobacco
production. Repeated soil disturbance contributes to soil erosion, nutrient loss and Total weed count per m2 Total weed count per m2
reduced water-holding capacity. Conservation tillage is widely adopted in row-crop
production to address these environmental and economic issues.
Conservation tillage minimizes soil disturbance by
planting the cash crop directly into biomass
residues of an overwintered cover crop (Figs. 1, 12)
A B C
using specialized planting equipment. Reducing
tillage has been shown improve soil health
(increased rainwater infiltration, water-holding
capacity, reduced erosion), reduced production
costs (tillage fuel and labor) and improved weed Fig. 7 Fig. 8
management (Claassen et al., 2018). Limited
research on alternative tillage practices in tobacco
as shown promising results (Zou et al., 2015). • Significantly fewer weeds emerged in
Fig. 1. Cereal Rye grass cover crop. conservation till than conventional till.
D E. F
Weed management is a major challenge in organic production given the lack of
effective OMRI-approved herbicides. Cultivation, the primary option, is expensive • Difference between treatments largely
Fig 3. Field Preparation and data collection: A. Cover crop terminated with
and becomes difficult or impossible in a wet season. (Bond and Grundy, 2001) due to low weed emergence between
roller-crimper in both flat and bedded treatments. B. Raised bed conservation
Spring Preparation: Cereal rye tillage plot in foreground, flat ground conventional till plot in background. C. Spring Preparation: Cereal rye
rows in conservation till treatment.

Objective Transplanted tobacco in flat ground conservation till treatment with rolled
cereal rye on either side of transplants. D. Penetrometer data collected at
• Value per hectare calculated using
cover crop in conventional
Compare the effects of conservation and conventional tillage in conjunction with a
planting, topping and harvest. E & F. Weed emergence data collected using
m2 quadrats sized to fit between and on top of raised beds.
cover crop in conventional
product of yield per hectare and typical
price per weight for given quality rating.

reducing nitrogen inputs

cereal rye grass cover crop on weed pressure, management requirements, yield,
tillage plots was disked in to
quality, and cured leaf chemistry of flue-cured tobacco grown without herbicides for
potential adoption by certified organic producers.
Results tillage plots was disked in to Fig. 9. L: conventional tillage plot, R:
conservation tillage plot.

terminate on April
Methods
24, 2019. also reduces
• Average cereal thrips
rye biomass production
of 5,120 kg/ha fell short of target
pressure.
Cereal rye biomass kg/ha
Yield (kg/ha)
1400
Value
terminate on April 24, 2019. ($/ha)
A 3500 A
1200

US Dollars per hectare

minimum of 6,725 kg/ha for weed 3000

Cereal rye cover crop in

Site: Cunningham Research Station in Kinston, NC, 2019. Cereal rye cover crop in
1000
B
2500
B

Kg per hectare
suppression.
Soil: Goldsboro loamy sand, coarse soil typical of NC flue- 800 2000

conservation tillage plots was

cured tobacco region.
Experimental Design: Split plot RCBD with four blocks
• Predominant broadleaf weed species in
both tillage treatments was Palmer conservation tillage plots was
600

400
1500

1000
Treatments: amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri). 500
200
• Field Preparation (main plot): flat ground, raised beds 0
• Tillage (split plot): conventional, conservation tillage • Conservation tillage with cover crop 0 Conventional Conservation
Conventional Conservation
Fall Preparation: was very effective at reducing Palmer Fig. 10 Fig. 11
• Raised bed treatments were established in Oct. 2018. amaranth emergence.
• Plots were composed of four rows spaced at 1.12 m Fig. 4
Discussion
between rows and 0.61 m between plants. Palmer count per m2 • Conservation tillage with cover crop was effective for weed suppression, especially
• Cereal rye (Secale cereal) cv. ‘Wren’s Abruzzi’ cover Fig. 2. Adjustable one-
crop was broadcast at a rate of 134.5 kg/ha Oct. 12, 2018. row roller-crimper between rows where the cover crop was undisturbed by planting (fig. 3C).
• No fertilizer applied to cover crop. • Control may improve with higher rye biomass (fig 4).
• Overall promising results, despite yields below acceptable
Spring Preparation:
standards in all treatments (fig. 10).
• Cover crop in conventional tillage plots disked in to terminate April 24, 2019.
• May have value in conventional as well as organic
• Crop in conservation tillage plots terminated with one row adjustable roller-crimper
production for management of herbicide resistant Palmer
• Cv. ‘NC 196’ transplanted on May 2, 2019.
amaranth (fig. 5) and soil health improvement.
Data collected: cover crop biomass, weed emergence, soil compaction, yield, quality, Next Steps
cured leaf chemistry.
Data analysis: PROC GLIMMIX, SAS v9.4. Preparation (main plot) and tillage (split • Penetrometer and leaf tissue chemistry data forthcoming.
plot) treated as fixed effects. Rep and rep by field prep analyzed as random effects. • Study to be repeated at Cunningham Research Station and Fig. 12. 2020 trial cereal rye
Fig. 5 Fig. 6. Weeds in tobacco field.
Tukey’s adjustment for mean separation when appropriate. Upper Coastal Plain Research Station in 2020. cover crop, December 2019

Acknowledgements: Cunningham Research Station Management
and Crew, NCSU Tobacco Agronomy Team, NCSU Organic
Cropping Systems Lab, NCSU Sustainable and Organic Soil
Fertility Lab. Photos by D. Suchoff and C. Machanoff.
Literature cited: Claassen, R., M. Bowman, J. McFadden, D. Smith, and S. Wallander. 2018. Tillage intensity and
conservation cropping in the United States. USDA ERS. Economic Information Bulletin No. 197. Nov. 1, 2018.
Zou, C., R. C. Pearce, J. H. Grove, and M. S. Coyne. 2015. Conservation practices in tobacco production increase
large aggregates and associated carbon and nitrogen. Soil Science Society of America Journal79:1760-1770.
Bond W., Grundy A. 2001. Non-chemical weed management in organic farming systems. Weed Research 41(5):
383-405.