Reduced Tillage Impacts on Pumpkin Yield, Weed Pressure, Soil Moisture, and Soil Erosion

Abstract

<jats:p>Conservation tillage has the potential to decrease the environmental footprint of pumpkin production, but possible trade-offs with yield are not well understood. This study experimentally tested the effects of three cultivation techniques (conventional-till, strip-till, and no-till) on pumpkin production, weed pressure, soil moisture, and soil erosion. Randomized complete block field experiments were conducted on <jats:italic>Cucurbita pepo</jats:italic> L. ‘Gladiator’ pumpkins in 2014 and 2015. Overall yields were higher in 2015, averaging 45.2 t·ha<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, compared with 37.4 t·ha<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> in 2014. In 2014, pumpkin yields were similar across tillage treatments. In 2015, the average fruit weight of no-till pumpkins was significantly greater than strip-till and conventional-till pumpkins, which corresponded to a marginally significant 13% and 22% yield increase, respectively (<jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0.11). Weed control was variable between years, especially in the strip-till treatment. Soil moisture was consistently highest in the no-till treatment in both years of study. Conventional-till pumpkin plots lost ≈9 times more soil than the two conservation tilled treatments during simulated storm events. The 2015 yield advantage of no-till pumpkins seems related to both high soil moisture retention and weed control. Research results suggest that no-till and strip-till pumpkin production systems yield at least as well as conventional-till systems with the advantage of reducing soil erosion during extreme rains.</jats:p>

Review: How will climate change impact the ‘many little hammers’ of ecological weed management?

“…CA can also reduce erosion (Mafongoya et al, 2016) and may be adaptive in areas that experience increased incidence of heavy precipitation (Figure 2). Indeed, fields in which pumpkins were being grown under CA lost nine times less soil than conventional plots during a simulated storm event, without sacrificing yields (O’Rourke and Petersen, 2016). No‐till practices can also increase soil organic carbon (Lee et al, 2019) and reduce methane emissions compared to conventional tillage, providing potential climate change mitigation benefits (Somasundaram et al, 2020).…”

Land management impacts on soil properties and initial soil erosion processes in olives and vegetable crops

“…However, other research even demonstrated increased erosion rates of 47 t ha −1 year −1 (Vanwalleghem et al, 2011). In cropland vegetable fields, soils also exceed very often tolerable soil loss (Montgomery, 2007), reaching 12 t ha -1 year -1 (Bagarello et al, 2018;O'Rourke and Petersen, 2016;Pournader et al, 2018;Preiti et al, 2017). In this context, the preservation management strategies developed in the shape of no-tillage (croplands), grass cover (orchards), or mulching (croplands and orchards) (Triplett and Dick, 2008) are key to conserve the soils.…”

Investment Returns for Preemergence Herbicide Use in No-till Pumpkin

“…Ornamental jack-o-lantern-type pumpkins are a widely grown specialty crop that will generally produce similar yields between notill (NT) and conventional till (CT) production systems (Harrelson et al, 2007;O'Rourke and Petersen, 2016;Walters, 2016;Walters and Young, 2010). In recent years, NT practices have become more prominent in Midwest pumpkin production systems as a result of growers having gained more understanding of the economic and ecological benefits associated with this type of production system (Walters, 2016(Walters, , 2019.…”