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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Florence, South Carolina » Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #419856
Research Project: Innovative Technologies and Practices to Enhance Water Quantity and Quality Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the Southeastern Coastal Plain

Location: Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research

Title: Perennial groundcover crop effects on cotton and soil water dynamics in the Southeastern Coastal Plain

Author
item Billman, Eric
item STONE, KENNETH - Retired ARS Employee
item Paye, Wooiklee

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/11/2024
Publication Date: 1/15/2025
Citation: Billman, E.D., Stone, K.C., Paye, W.S. 2025. Perennial groundcover crop effects on cotton and soil water dynamics in the Southeastern Coastal Plain [abstract]. Beltwide Cotton Conference.

Interpretive Summary: Abstract only

Technical Abstract: In the southeastern U.S. frequent short term drought conditions have led to paradigms where cover crops are terminated about one month prior to cotton planting in the spring to conserve soil moisture. However, use of perennial groundcover crops may allow for continued ecosystem service benefits such as weed and pest control with minimal impacts on cotton productivity and drought stress. The objective of this study was to compare changes in soil volumetric water content (VWC) and electrical conductivity (EC), as well as water use efficiency (WUE) of cotton and perennial cover crops among four treatments: 1) conventional fallow, 2) terminated annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), 3) a 1:1 mixture of biennial red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and perennial white clover (Trifolium repens L.), and 4) a 2:1:1 mixture of annual ryegrass, red clover, and white clover. Results showed that soil VWC was consistently greater under the red and white clover mixture (0.10 – 0.18-m3m-3) compared to terminated annual ryegrass (0.05 – 0.12-m3m-3) at 15-cm depths, and that the clover mixture VWC was also greater (0.25 – 0.33-m3m-3) than the fallow treatment (0.21 – 0.28-m3m-3) at 45-cm depths. However, VWC was lowest for clover-containing treatments (0.16 – 0.21) at 30-cm depths. Soil EC followed similar patterns to VWC but declined across all treatments annually. Seedcotton and lint WUE were not affected by growing with perennial clovers, and WUE of clovers was lowest (< 10 kg mm H2O) during summer months. However, moisture content of cover crops was negatively correlated (-0.71) to cotton yields and WUE when drought conditions were not present. These findings suggest that perennial cover crops can be used year-round to provide ecosystem services to cotton production without reducing cotton yield potential during drought conditions, and that lower perennial groundcover crop WUE during summer months equated to less overall competition with cotton.