Strategic tillage of a long-term, no-till soil has little impact on soil characteristics or crop growth over five years

Strategic tillage describes the occasional use of tillage in an otherwise no-till system. The practice can provide a pragmatic solution to emerging agronomic issues in no-till systems but raises concerns about prolonged or irreversible soil damage. We investigated the impact of a single tillage event at a long-term no-till experiment under treatments with retained or annually autumn-burned crop residues. One half of each residue-treatment plot received a single pass of a rotary hoe (ST) 4 weeks before sowing in 2011, the first year of the experiment; the other half of each plot remained unchanged (NT). Soil physical, chemical and biological fertility in the surface layers (0-20 cm), as well as crop growth and yield were monitored for 5 years (2011-15). Following the ST treatment, soil bulk density and strength were initially reduced to the depth of cultivation (similar to 15 cm) irrespective of residue treatment. Water-stable macroaggregates in the surface 0-5 cm were also reduced but recovered to pre-tillage levels within 1-2 years after ST treatment. Soil pH, total carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), and fine-fraction C and N were all initially stratified in the surface layer (0-5 cm) of the NT treatment but were redistributed more evenly throughout the 0-10 cm layer of the ST treatment and remained so throughout the 5-year period. With ST, there was an initial loss in total C stocks in the 0-10 cm layer of 2.2 t/ha, which recovered within 2 years; however, total C stocks remained lower in plots with stubble retained than with stubble burnt after 5 years. Soil Colwell P levels were not stratified and not influenced by tillage treatment, presumably because of the annual additions in the starter fertiliser at sowing. ST had no impact on crop establishment or grain yield in any year but increased the early biomass of wheat at Z30 compared with NT in the first 2 years. Annual stubble retention reduced the early growth of crops in all years, and yield of wheat in the first 3 years, consistent with long-term effects of retained stubble at the site, but there was no interaction between stubble retention and tillage treatments on soil conditions or crop growth. Crop yields of long-term, annually cultivated treatments were also similar to those of ST and NT treatments during the 5 years of the experiment. Overall, the minor short-term negative impacts on soil physical conditions, the persistent and arguably beneficial effects on soil chemistry and biology, and absence of impacts on crop production suggest that strategic tillage can be a valuable agronomic tool in sustainable production in this region.