Burn/low-till management of winter wheat is being practiced by some growers in the higher rainfall areas of the Pacific Northwest Wheat Region. The burning eliminates the numerous seedbed tillage operations that are normally required to reduce residues and control weeds and diseases in continuous winter wheat production. Detrimental effects of burn and till systems are well documented. However, there is little or no data on the effects of burning with no or low-till annual cropping on either erosion or soil quality. A three-year field study comparing erosion resulting from burn/low-till (BLT) seeded winter wheat following winter wheat and conventionally managed (CM) winter wheat following various crops was completed in 1997. Results indicate soil loss from the BLT fields was not significantly different from that from the CM fields with various crops preceding winter wheat. For the BLT fields, soil loss was as closely related to soil disturbance (tillage operations) as to surface residue. When residue and crop cover did not differ with the number of tillage operations, an increased number of tillage operations after burning loosened the soil and resulted in greater soil loss. The results of this study indicate no adverse effects on soil loss from using the BLT with one or two-pass seeding of winter wheat following winter wheat.
