Abstract
Sustainable soil and crop management practices that reduce soil erosion and nitrogen (N) leaching, conserve soil organic matter, and optimize cotton and sorghum yields still remain a challenge. We examined the influence of three tillage practices (no-till, strip till and chisel till), four cover crops {legume [hairy vetch ( Vicia villosa Roth)], nonlegume [rye ( Secaele cereale L.)], vetch/rye biculture and winter weeds or no cover crop}, and three N fertilization rates (0, 60–65 and 120–130 kg N ha −1) on soil inorganic N content at the 0–30 cm depth and yields and N uptake of cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) and sorghum [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. A field experiment was conducted on Dothan sandy loam (fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic, Plinthic Paleudults) from 1999 to 2002 in Georgia, USA. Nitrogen supplied by cover crops was greater with vetch and vetch/rye biculture than with rye and weeds. Soil inorganic N at the 0–10 and 10–30 cm depths increased with increasing N rate and were greater with vetch than with rye and weeds in April 2000 and 2002. Inorganic N at 0–10 cm was also greater with vetch than with rye in no-till, greater with vetch/rye than with rye and weeds in strip till, and greater with vetch than with rye and weeds in chisel till. In 2000, cotton lint yield and N uptake were greater in no-till with rye or 60 kg N ha −1 than in other treatments, but biomass (stems + leaves) yield and N uptake were greater with vetch and vetch/rye than with rye or weeds, and greater with 60 and 120 than with 0 kg N ha −1. In 2001, sorghum grain yield, biomass yield, and N uptake were greater in strip till and chisel till than in no-till, and greater in vetch and vetch/rye with or without N than in rye and weeds with 0 or 65 kg N ha −1. In 2002, cotton lint yield and N uptake were greater in chisel till, rye and weeds with 0 or 60 kg N ha −1 than in other treatments, but biomass N uptake was greater in vetch/rye with 60 kg N ha −1 than in rye and weeds with 0 or 60 kg N ha −1. Increased N supplied by hairy vetch or 120–130 kg N ha −1 increased soil N availability, sorghum grain yield, cotton and sorghum biomass yields, and N uptake but decreased cotton lint yield and lint N uptake compared with rye, weeds or 0 kg N ha −1. Cotton and sorghum yields and N uptake can be optimized and potentials for soil erosion and N leaching can be reduced by using conservation tillage, such as no-till or strip till, with vetch/rye biculture cover crop and 60–65 kg N ha −1. The results can be applied in regions where cover crops can be grown in the winter to reduce soil erosion and N leaching and where tillage intensity and N fertilization rates can be minimized to reduce the costs of energy requirement for tillage and N fertilization while optimizing crop production.
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