ARS | Publication request: COVER CROPS FOR COTTON IN THE SOUTH

Submitted to: Agronomy Society of America, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 21, 2003
Publication Date: November 3, 2003
Citation: Schomberg, H.H., Cabrera, M., Mcdaniel, R. Cover crops for cotton in the south. Agronomy Society of America, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America Meeting. 2003. CD ROM. Denver, CO.

Technical Abstract: Conservation tillage is used in less than 30% of the cotton grown in Georgia. Although conservation tillage acreage increased with the adoption of herbicide resistant varieties, use of cover crops is limited. We evaluated the effects of tillage (strip-till vs. no-till) and cover crops [Austrian winter pea (Pisum sativum L. ssp. arvense (L.) Poir), balansa clover (Trifolium michelianum Savi), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), oil seed radish (Raphanus sativus L.), black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb), and rye (Secale cereale L)] on cotton production. The study was conducted on a Bonifay fine sand near Waynesboro Georgia. Over the 3 yr period rye produced a more consistent and useful amount of cover on these droughty soils, which thereby helped increase soil water availability and lower soil temperatures during the early period of cotton establishment. Black oats, Austrian winter pea, oilseed radish, and hairy vetch produced less biomass but provided adequate soil cover. Balansa clover and crimson clover did not grow well in these sandy soils. Strip tillage resulted in greater yields than no-till two out of the three years.