Fall-raised Beds for Reduced Digging Losses in Strip-till Peanut.

Most peanut production occurs under conventional tillage practices involving deep tillage and turning of the soil.  With production costs rising on all fronts, many growers are looking towards reduced tillage as a method to reduce expenses.  Strip-till is the form of reduced tillage most popular in peanut, but on some Georgia soils, especially those with finer texture and higher clay content, growers can experience yield suppression due to increased difficulty harvesting the crop.  The objective of this study was to determine if utilizing fall-raised beds could improve harvestable yield of peanut in strip-till production while measuring the extent of digging losses actually occurring.  Trials were established in the fall of 2006 and 2007 at the University of Georgia’s Coastal Plain Experiment Station at Tifton on a Tifton loamy sand (Fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Plinthic Kandiudults) and Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center near Plains on a Greenville sandy loam (Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Rhodic Kandiudults).  Three methods of preparing beds (flat, raised, and rip and bed) were evaluated, each with and without a wheat cover.  The experimental design was a 3 x 2 factorial with six replications at Plains and four replications at Tifton.  The peanut cultivar, Georgia-02C, was planted in early to Mid-May of 2007 and 2008 at both locations.  In 2007, data collected included: wheat stand counts, wheat biomass, peanut stand counts, peanut width and height, soil moisture, soil temperature, tomato spotted wilt and soil-borne disease ratings, digging losses, yield, and grade.  In 2008, soil compaction measurements and peanut tissue samples were also included.  In 2007 and 2008, there were significant main effects of bed type, p < 0.01, on digging losses at Plains.  Main effects of bed type at Plains were also significant, p < 0.05, on yield in both years.  At Tifton, no differences were detected in digging losses or yield as a result of bed type in either year.  Results suggest that fall-bedding can be beneficial on soils of finer texture with higher clay content, like those at Plains, compared to those of coarser texture and lower clay content like at Tifton.