Re: [compost_tea] basic questions

From: butch ragland <wilddog_202_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2005 15:36:54 -0800 (PST)
Since I'm not a farmer I made an assumption which
wasn't true, that my neighbor harvested the ears then
the stalks. I did see the field cut down to about 6
inches which didn't leave much residue. I thought that
some were saying that with ACT one could grow with
only only ACT. I was trying to go to the most basic
question to see if that was what was being claimed.
Finally several have answered the question.

Sorry that I was unable to state the question in a way
that made it clear.

--- Perry Clutts <addy_at_arczip.com> wrote:

>   I can't tell you how many times I've tried to get
> this
>   straight answer. If I understand, for long term
>   sustainability some form of organic debris must be
> in
>   the system. Either as residue or from some
> external
>   source.
> Butch,
>
> I'm not sure if I can answer this, but I have some
> thoughts... first, corn is (usually) harvested for
> silage or grain.. not both... By the time corn is
> harvested for grain the stalks and leaves have dried
> down to the point where they have lost much of their
> sugars and the fiber has changed so that it is not
> as digestible (however, it can be a useful feed if
> baled after the grain is harvested). Silage is
> harvested in a one step process when the plant is
> still green. It needs the sugars and moisture for
> the fermentation process, so everything - stalk,
> leaves and ears go into silage.
>
> So, a silage field looks very bare after harvest,
> with 6" to 12" stobs sticking up. When grain is
> harvested, all the stover (residue) goes out the
> back of the combine, and the only thing that leaves
> the field is the grain. On a dry matter basis,
> stover contains approx 50% of the total above ground
> biomass of the corn plant. So, 140 bushel corn x 56
> (weight of a bushel) = 7840 pounds of grain and
> stover.
>
> I was unable to find any definitive answers about
> total below ground (root) biomass... Most said that
> it is equal to the above ground amount, but I don't
> know if that means combining the gain, stalk and
> leaves of just the leaves. I've always heard that
> there is as much below ground as there is above
> ground... If the roots only equal the plant biomass
> minus the grain, over 3 tons of material per acre is
> a lot to work with! But I'm not sure that it would
> be possible to improve without putting more organic
> matter back. It also seems likely that you would
> have other problems in building soil in a corn
> silage system since their is (usually) conventional
> use of chemicals in typical silage growing
> situations and lack of cover during winter which
> will promote soil erosion. Another important factor
> would be rotation. If it is continuous corn silage
> (year after year) chances are you won't improve. If
> there are other crops in the system (such as
> forages) you might be able to offset the silage
> production of one year out of so many in the total
> rotation. If I were growing silage, I would use rye
> as a cover crop. Silage is cut earlier in the fall
> (since it is green) and allows the cover to become
> well established. One "problem" in this system is
> the spring when this rye cover keeps soil moist and
> cool.The best scenario is to spray with compost tea
> before spring tillage. Another alternative to the
> rye, that does not provide quite as much biomass as
> rye, is spring oats planted in the fall. Here in
> Ohio, they usually die in the winter, so that there
> isn't as much of a problem in the spring...
>
> Anyhow, I know you mentioned in your original post
> that you weren't interested in cover crops, but it
> is really important in a silage system (I
> think!!!)... and a main point is that there is more
> "undigested" organic matter being left by a previous
> crop than just what is on top of the soil. I hope
> others will be able to contribute to how compost tea
> can help in the digestion of this resource!!!
>
> p.s. An interesting note... while looking for
> figures about residue biomass... most of the sites
> are about ethanol production and using the "waste"
> and "useless material" for production.... of course
> no value given to it benefits as a food resource for
> soil life....
>
> Perry
> Circleville, Ohio

=====
Butch Ragland
Conflict is as addictive as
cocaine, alcohol, cigarettes,etc
I'm sorry to report that
cooperation is not


           
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Received on Wed Jan 05 2005 - 10:45:06 EST

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