Impact of Warm-Season Cover Crops on Dual-Purpose Wheat Systems.

Continuous wheat production for grain and grazing is a common practice in the southern Great Plains. Monoculture practices are detrimental to soil quality and depletion of nutrients. Adoption of conservation systems has been hampered by perceived soil compaction in no-till under dual purpose production systems. Cover crops and conservation tillage practices improve soil health increasing nutrient and water use efficiency, soil organic carbon and nitrogen. This study was conducted to evaluate and quantify the impact of cover crops in dual-purpose no-till wheat on soil chemical, physical, soil moisture and crop growth in Vernon Texas. The study was randomized complete block design with seven treatments replicated four times. The treatments were conventional till wheat without a cover crop (CT); no-till wheat without a cover crop(NT); no-till wheat with a terminated summer cover crop (NT.C.NG); no-till wheat with a grazed summer cover crop (NT.C.G); no-till wheat intercropped with turnip/radish without summer cover crop (NT.I); no-till wheat intercropped with turnip/radish with terminated summer cover crop (NT.C.NG.I); and no-till wheat intercropped with turnip/radish with grazed summer cover crop(NT.C.G.I). A neutron probe was used to measure soil water storage once every two weeks at 20cm depth increments beginning at the 10 cm depth and continuing to a depth of 140 cm. All 4 cover crop treatments NT.C.NG, NT.C.G, NT.C.NG.I and NT.C.G.I depleted soil moisture. Carbon nutrient cycling data has been collected and will be discussed.