| Conventional tillage practices leave soils vulnerable to wind and water erosion. Conservation tillage and cover crops can help to protect soils and crops grown in these soils. New herbicides give farmers a wide array of options to control cover crops and weeds in these systems.;No-tillage and zone-tillage treatments had lower sugar beet populations and yields than conventional tillage. The winter wheat cover crop suppressed weed emergence, prior to first cultivation. Winter wheat could not be controlled by cultivation alone. No-tillage and zone-tillage systems reduced potential for soil erosion compared to conventional tillage. Conventional tillage consistently had the highest return on investment for any of the treatments.;Coarse textured soils in Michigan's sugar beet producing areas present a challenge in establishment and protection of sugar beet seedlings. Field research was conducted in 1995 and 1996 to study the effects of a winter wheat cover crop and tillage on sugar beet production. Cover crop management in the no-tillage and zone-tillage treatments was accomplished with an application of glyphosate at 840 g ai/ha, clethodim at 140 g ai/ha or sethoxydim at 210 g ai/ha, or by cultivation. All treatments were evaluated for sugar beet populations, recoverable white sugar per hectare, sugar beet yield, percent sugar, weed density, and erosion potential. |
