Challenges of Both Strip-till and No-till Systems
In reduced tillage strategies, weed suppression can be difficult. In place of cultivation, a farmer can rely on cover crop suppression, mowing, crimping, or herbicide application. The purchase of mowing and crimping implements may represent an unjust expenditure. Additionally, finding an appropriate cover crop mix for adequate weed suppression may be difficult. Also, without mowing or crimping implements it may not be possible to achieve a kill on the cover crop. If mowing, crimping, and suppression with a cover crop mixture fail, herbicides can be applied. However, this may represent an increase in total farm expenses due to herbicides being used in place of cultivation for weed suppression.
There are some disadvantages specific to strip-till systems. Some farmers may not be able to strip-till if there is an early freeze. In grain or cereal crops there is a small margin of error because the farmer has rows only eight to ten inches wide. This can easily be countered with auto steering systems. Lastly, for some strip-till systems a large amount of horsepower is required to pull the strip-till implement across the field. In a flat region a smaller tractor can pull a larger applicator with little trouble. However, in regions with gentle to steep slopes, the tractor may not have enough horsepower. This can be problematic because some farmers may not own a tractor large enough to pull "shank-type" strip-till implements. Additionally, purchasing a new tractor may be too costly.
Read more about this topic: Strip-till
Famous quotes containing the words challenges and/or systems:
“The approval of the public is to be avoided like the plague. It is absolutely essential to keep the public from entering if one wishes to avoid confusion. I must add that the public must be kept panting in expectation at the gate by a system of challenges and provocations.”
—André Breton (1896–1966)
“People stress the violence. That’s the smallest part of it. Football is brutal only from a distance. In the middle of it there’s a calm, a tranquility. The players accept pain. There’s a sense of order even at the end of a running play with bodies stewn everywhere. When the systems interlock, there’s a satisfaction to the game that can’t be duplicated. There’s a harmony.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)