Rice production in the south-central United States is tillage intensive. This is due, in part, to facilitate the movement of water on and off fields. Adoption of conservation or no-till rice farming in these areas has been one of the lowest in the nation. This low rate of adoption has been attributed to factors such as land tenure, problems with water management, a soil type that does not respond favorably to conservation tillage practices, and an intransigent 'plow' culture. In 1999 a long-term rotation study was initiated at the University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center, Stuttgart, AR. This study consists of seven rotations managed as conventional-or no-till systems. In addition, a farm site where no-till rice production had been practiced in specific fields for up to 40 years was located. Data collected in 2004 and 2005 on soil resistance at the station site showed significant reductions in soil resistance and increased soil moisture content in the no-till plots compared to conventinal till plots. Reductions in soil resistance were dependent on the crop grown with soybeans being most effective in reducing soil resistance and corn less effective. Percentage water stable aggregates increased in the no-till plots with the greatest increases in the rice-soybean rotation. Continuous no-till rice grown from 2 to 41 years resulted in decreasing soil resistance and increasing percentage water stable aggregates. These results indicate that in the soils commonly used for rice production, soil health as measured by the percentage of water stable aggregates and resistance improves over time.
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