Continuous Dryland Cropping in the Great Plains: What Are the Limits?

Drew J. Lyon, University of Nebraska--Lincoln
Gary Peterson, Colorado State Univ., Ft. Collins, CO

Published in Agron. J. 97:347–348 (2005). Copyright © American Society of Agronomy. Used by permission.

Abstract

The following six papers were presented at the symposium entitled “Continuous Dryland Cropping in the Great Plains: What Are the Limits?” held during the 2003 ASA–CSSA–SSSA annual meetings in Denver, CO. The symposium was organized by Division S-6 and cosponsored by Divisions A-8 and C-3.
The Great Plains is a vast interior region of North America with a temperate, semiarid climate that is subject to wide fluctuations in precipitation, temperature, and wind speed. The most common cropping system in the region is wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–fallow where one crop is harvested every 2 yr. Summer fallow, the practice of controlling all plant growth during the non- crop season, is commonly used in this region to stabilize wheat production. It has been shown, however, that summer fallow results in soil degradation, limits farm productivity and profitability, and stores soil water in- efficiently.