Connect with us

Farm & Ranch

[AgriLife Extension] Rotation, cover crops impact cotton yields more than tillage

Published

on

By: Kay Ledbetter

Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, [email protected]
Contact: Dr. Paul DeLaune, 940-552-9941 ext. 207, [email protected]

CHILLICOTHE – After eight years of research on no-till advantages and disadvantages with cotton crops, Dr. Paul DeLaune is convinced it’s not as much about the tillage as it is about the cover crop and/or rotation.

Dr. Paul DeLaune discusses cover crops at a recent field day on the Texas A&M AgriLife Research station south of Chillicothe. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Kay Ledbetter)

Dr. Paul DeLaune discusses cover crops at a recent field day on the Texas A&M AgriLife Research station south of Chillicothe. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Kay Ledbetter)

DeLaune, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research environmental soil scientist in Vernon, said he has compared no-till, strip till and conventional till, as well as cotton with a terminated wheat crop in the Rolling Plains.

“What we’ve seen over eight years is you are really not changing carbon levels,” he said. “But we shouldn’t be looking at one thing only. Even though carbon levels aren’t changing, we’ve dramatically changed some soil physical properties.”

With cotton, DeLaune said there’s not much residue, so there is little change in infiltration rates between no-till and conventional till cotton.

“But we have seen a greater infiltration rate where we have a terminated wheat crop – doubled or tripled our infiltration rates,” he said.

While the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service program sometimes requires a multispecies cover crop to qualify for cost share programs, depending on the county, DeLaune said he has been experimenting with both single and mixed cover crops since 2011.

The monocultures he has researched include Austrian winter field pea, hairy vetch, crimson clover and wheat, and the mixed species included rye, wheat, hairy vetch, turnips and radishes. Cover crops are planted at lower than full seeding rates, which may differ from information seen in other parts of the country, he said.

DeLaune said everyone knows cover crops aren’t free, as there is cost for the seed and use of soil moisture, but the benefits can potentially outweigh the costs over time.

Austrian Pea cover crop on the Texas A&M AgriLife Research station south of Chillicothe. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Kay Ledbetter)

Austrian Pea cover crop on the Texas A&M AgriLife Research station south of Chillicothe. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Kay Ledbetter)

“We have maintained our cotton yields. We have seen an increase in our soil nitrogen in the upper 6 inches, particularly following legume monospecies. We have seen a visible response to cotton behind those cover crops.”

He said his team measures neutron probes in all of the cover crop research plots every other week and he has compiled four years of moisture graphs.

“Yes cover crops use water,” DeLaune said. “But some people say cover crops make water. What they are talking about is increased infiltration. We pull soil moisture down by timing of cover crop termination in mid to late April, but if we get rains in May and plant in June, we get a much higher infiltration rate and by planting season, we are back to status quo.”

He said he likes to let the wheat form a head and stem before terminating it, adding that may use a little more water, but that’s what makes the residue, which is the key to protecting the soil surface, building root biomass and subsequently infiltration.

The ultimate goal with cover crops is to build soil structure and make it more functional, he said.

“With cotton on cotton, no-till alone is probably not going to cut it,” DeLaune said. “But we’ve done very well with just a wheat cover crop, that’s a $6 or $8 treatment per acre compared to the $20 to $25 per acre with a mix of some of these species.”

But cover crops alone are not the answer, he said.

“If you are doing continuous cotton, some type of cover crop would be good, but I would encourage a crop rotation,” DeLaune said. “I have data that shows a cotton-sorghum rotation can increase carbon more rapidly, increasing carbon levels in four years under the rotation, whereas we haven’t in eight years with cotton on cotton.”

-30-

LikeTweet

Find more stories, photos, videos and audio at http://today.agrilife.org

Continue Reading

Farm & Ranch

Ag Elsewhere: Wyoming

Published

on

By

By Tressa Lawrence

Despite some blue skies, March can still bring sub-zero temperatures to Wyoming as calves hit the ground.

Continue Reading

Farm & Ranch

Ag Elsewhere: Montana

Published

on

By

By Lindsey Monk

Welding on some corrals before dark. It’s been a mild winter in Montana so far, knock on wood.

Continue Reading

Farm & Ranch

Land Market Report: January Land Sales

Published

on

By

By Jared Groce

The rural land market in North Texas has had a fairly stale start to the year, with the number of transactions closed being minimal so far. There has been an increase in call volume from buyers, and some are turning into contracts, but I feel like we are still a little slower than we usually are at this time of the year. The “experts” are expecting fewer transactions in 2024 as compared to 2023, and they may be correct, because election years always seem to be slower. Once the election is over, and regardless of who wins, things seem to pick up once again. It is a strange phenomena that just seems to happen every four years.

With the amount of growth that we are currently experiencing here, I do not expect things to get any cheaper. More people means more houses, and they have to have land to build those houses on.

To read more, pick up a copy of the March issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

Continue Reading
Ad
Ad
Ad
Ad
Ad

Trending