Effects of Tillage on Soil Water Content in a Hyperthermic Vertisol Under Dryland Management in a Subhumid/Semi-Arid Climate.

Where dryland agriculture is practiced in subhumid environments water is a limiting factor. Our research occurs on a Victoria clay (fine, smectitic, hyperthermic sodic Haplusterts) located in South Texas. We present the results of an ongoing tillage experiment in which strip tillage and conventional tillage are compared in a cotton-sorghum rotation. A neutron probe is used to provide soil moisture readings to 1.2 m depth. Comparisons of soil moisture content on a monthly basis throughout the year are made as a function of tillage type.