A drive down our Island highways shows many farmers are have already realized the benefits of proper tillage. The edges of some fields are well away from watercourses and roadside ditches, others have grassed areas in low lying spots. The following tillage practices have been developed by Island farmers in order to prevent soil runoff.
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Gullies or low areas in fields which handle concentrated flows of water should not be tilled. A good rule of thumb is to leave at least a ten metre width of permanent sod in the centre of gullies.
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Headlands at the lower ends of the fields should not be tilled. Runoff travelling down the slope between potato rows will cause considerable soil loss if discharged onto a headland of potatoes that have been planted perpendicular to the rest of the field.
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Non-tilled buffer strips should be left along all watercourses. The width of buffer zones should be determined on the basis of slope. Buffers will reduce the possibility of silt and nutrients which may have eroded from the field from entering the stream.
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Fields that have received a fall application of glyphosate should not be moldboard plowed.
- If plowing cross slope with a roll over plow, turn all furrows uphill in order to reduce tillage erosion.
