Abstract
Foliar disease problems in tropical and subtropical regions often have a significant detrimental effect on crop yield. When conservation tillage and multiple cropping systems interact with disease organisms, management decisions can help avert significant yield losses. This study investigated the influence of tillage and double-cropping systems on anthracnose [caused by Colletotrichum graminicola (Ces.) G.W. Wils.] incidence in grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. Four winter cover crop treatments [crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum (L.) cv. ‘Tibbee’], soft red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cm Thell cv. ‘Stacy’), sorghum stubble, and fallow (clean tilled, no cover crop) were established on a Cecil sandy clay loam soil (clayey, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Hapludult) in north-central Georgia. Two sorghum hybrids [ATx399 × RTx430 (susceptible) and DeKalb brand DK-64 (resistant)] were planted in late May 1983 and 1984 with a Cole fluted coulter no-till planter. Tillage treatment affected grain yield both years and disease ratings of the resistant hybrid in 1984. Cover crops had no practical effect on yield or disease severity. Hybrids differed in yield and disease ratings both years. Hybrid × tillage interactions revealed 32% higher yields on no-till than tilled plots for ATx399 × RTx430 (1983); 22 and 23% higher yields for DeKalb DK-64, 1983 and 1984, respectively. Disease ratings for the susceptible hybrid in all treatments were extremely high both years; consequently, disease severity may have been too high to reveal significant differences based on cover crop or tillage treatments. Nonsignificant yield differences among tillage methods and among cover crop × hybrid interactions showed that disease factors were not the predominant influence on yield. Conservation tillage and cover crops did not enhance anthracnose development on sorghum. The results emphasized the critical need for selecting anthracnose resistant hybrids for sorghum production in subtropical regions.
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