Strip-till
Strip-till is a conservation system that uses a minimum tillage. It combines the soil drying and warming benefits of conventional tillage with the soil-protecting advantages of no-till by disturbing only the portion of the soil that is to contain the seed row. This type of tillage is performed with special equipment and can require the farmer to make multiple trips, depending on the strip-till implement used, and field conditions. Each row that has been strip-tilled is usually about eight to ten inches wide. Differences in the equipment used No-till planters have a disk opener and/or Coulter (agriculture) that is located in front of the planting unit. This coulter is designed to cut through crop residue and into the hard crust of the soil. After the coulter has broken through the residue and crust, the disk opener of the planting unit slices the soil and the seed is dropped into the furrow that has been created and then a press wheel closes the furrow. With strip-tillage systems more precision is needed. At the same time the field is strip-tilled, the fertilizer or chemical may be applied. If the meter of the chemical or fertilizer applicator is off slightly, an accurate rate may not be applied. This could result in increased expenses or reduction of the efficacy of the fertilizer or chemical program. Effects on the soils properties Strip tillage has some similarities with no-till systems because the surface is protected with residue. However, strip-till also has a similar effect on soil properties as conventional tillage systems because the farmer still breaks the soil's crust which allows aerobic conditions to speed the decay of organic matter. A two-year study found that strip-till did not affect the amount of soil organic carbon or its extractable phosphorus. When oxygen is introduced into the soil via tillage, the decomposition of organic matter is accelerated. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus were all near the surface in the no-till system and providing poorer root access to nutrients than on reduced till, and conventional till systems in an Australian study. Impacts on productivity In one study, yields were higher in the strip-tilled area than in the area where no-till was practiced. In a low phosphorus site, yield was 43.5 bushels/acre (2,925.5 kg/hectare) in strip-till compared to 41.5 bu/a (2,791 kg/ha) in a no-till system. Yield is comparable to that of intensive tillage systems — without the cost. Benefits of Strip till Strip till warms the soil, it allows an aerobic condition, and it allows for a better seedbed than no-till. Strip-till allows the soil's nutrients to be better adapted to the plant's needs, while still giving residue cover to the soil between the rows. The system will still allow for some soil water contact that could cause erosion, however, the amount of erosion on a strip-tilled field would be light compared to the amount of erosion on an intensively tilled field. Furthermore, when liquid fertilizer is being applied, it can be directly applied in these rows where the seed