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Effects Of Crop Residue Removal On Soil Water Content And Yield Of Deficit-Irrigated Soybean, Simon Van Donk, Timothy M. Shaver, James L. Petersen, Don Davison

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Reduced tillage, with more crop residue remaining on the soil surface, is believed to conserve water, especially in arid and semi-arid climates. However, the magnitude of water conservation is not clear. An experiment was conducted to study the effect of crop residue removal on soil water content, soil quality, and crop yield at North Platte, Nebraska. The same field plots were planted to soybean (Glycine max) in 2009 and 2010. There were two treatments: residue-covered soil and bare soil. Residue (mostly corn residue in 2009 and mostly soybean residue in 2010) was removed every spring from the same …