Cover Crop and Tillage Effects on Soil Water and Yield in Continuous Wheat.

Continuous wheat production for both grain and grazing is common in the Southern Great Plains. Monoculture cropping systems and conventional tillage are the norm within the Texas Rolling Plains. Perceived soil compaction in no-till under grazing systems has slowed adoption of conservation practices. More recently, there has been an increased interest in cover crops to improve soil health. However, soil moisture depletion by cover crops is a great concern in semi-arid environments. This study seeks 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 Texas Rolling Plains. This presentation tracks impact of cover crops and no-till on continuous wheat systems soil water storage. The study was randomized complete block design with four 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 and no-till wheat with a grazed summer cover crop. A neutron probe was used to measure soil water storage once every two weeks at 20cm depth increments to 140 cm. Cover crops showed significantly less soil water storage at time of termination. No-till cover crop treatments showed lower drying rate compared to CT. No-till cover crop treatments also showed higher water infiltration rates after a rain event. Cover crops have potential to improve soil water infiltration and storage.

Key words

Soil water storage, Cover crops, dual purpose wheat