Impact of Agronomic Practices on Soil Biological Properties on the Texas High Plains.

Semiarid environments of the Texas High Plains decrease soil organic carbon and soil residue building resulting in difficult conditions for soil microbes.  Current conservation practices such as conservation tillage, crop rotation, and cover cropping have not been quickly adopted in the area.  In order to increase soil health and the soil’s biological properties, these practices must be implemented.  Samples were collected from the Agricultural Complex for Advanced Research and Extension Systems (Ag-CARES) in Lamesa, TX and analyzed for various soil biological and chemical properties including tests for biological function within the soil.  The Ag-CARES location has been in no-till for 18 years and the current study evaluates the influence of cover cropping and crop rotation on soil microbial functions.  Specifically we evaluated the following systems: 1) continuous cotton-winter fallow; 2) cotton with rye cover; 3) cotton with mixed cover, including hairy vetch, winter pea, radish, rye; 4) cotton-grain sorghum rotation (winter fallow); and 5) cotton-wheat rotation.  Discussion of results will focus on the impact of agronomic practices including cover cropping and rotation on soil biological properties.