Diverse crop rotation and no-tillage increase corn yield: Evidence from a long-term study

Can less tillage grow more corn? And what happens when we diversify crop rotation instead of planting the same crop every year? Recently, de Camargo Santos et al. (2025) published a factsheet ‘Corn performance improved by long-term diversified crop rotations and no-tillage in Ohio from 1962 to 2024’ (https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/anr-0183 to answer these questions. In this factsheet, authors summarized the corn yields from The Triplett-van Doren No-Tillage and Crop Rotation Experiment, one of the oldest long-term studies in the world on this topic.

Corn yields were highest when no-till was combined with diverse rotations including forages (alfalfa, clover, and oats). No-till systems with forage rotations improved corn yields by up to 30 bushels per acre at both research sites, Wooster and Hoytville (Table 1). Rotations that focus on improving soil – by using deep-rooted crops, perennial nitrogen-fixing legumes, and plants that leave more residues – can provide long-term advantages in cropping systems. This may explain why long-term corn yields were higher when rotated with forage crops than continuous corn and corn-soybean systems.

Adapting crop rotation and tillage practices to local soil and climate conditions can help farmers improve corn yields while supporting long-term soil health. These results show that building diverse rotations – especially pairing with no-till – can be a valuable strategy for sustainable corn production in Ohio and beyond.

Reference

de Camargo Santos, A., Culman, S. W., Deiss, L. Sixty years of crop diversification with perennials improves yields more than no-tillage in Ohio grain cropping systems. Field Crops Research, 109993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2025.109993