Soil Science Commons^™

Frost Tillage For Soil Management In The Northeastern Usa, Harold M. Van Es, Robert R. Schindelbeck

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Tillage during the winter is typically considered impossible, despite its desirability in some cases. Soil freezing results in net upward movement of water to the freezing zone which facilitates primary tillage or incorporation of amendments. these can be performed during a time window when the frost layer is sufficiently thin to be ripped and the underlying soil is tillable. We evaluated the feasibility of frost tillage and performed an agronomic comparison with spring-tilled soil. Soil conditions conductive to frost tillage occurred during three time windows in the 1991/1992 and two in the 1992/1993 winter at Ithaca, NY. Frost tillage resulted …