Cover Crops in a Winter Wheat – Sorghum – Fallow System: First Year Results of the Soil Properties and Water Use.

Producers in the southern High Plains region may benefit from cover crops because of their potential role in reducing soil erosion, conserving soil water, and improving soil quality in dryland and limited-irrigated cropping systems. A study was established in the fall of 2015 at the Agricultural Science Center near Clovis, NM to examine the influence of spring planted cover crops on soil quality and nutrient dynamics, water use, and yields of the following winter wheat and sorghum in a limited-irrigated winter wheat – sorghum –fallow rotation. The study has a randomized complete block design with three replications. All phases of a three-year rotation are present each year. Winter wheat was planted in October 2015 and three sole cover crops (pea, oat, canola), four cover crop mixtures (pea-canola, pea-oat, pea-oat-canola, pea-oat-canola-hairy vetch-barley-forage radish), and fallow plots were planted in February 2016. Cover crops growth, weed population, soil surface temperature, and contents of soil water, soil organic matter, and available nitrogen and phosphorus are monitored. First-year results revealed that cover crops used soil moisture and available nutrients. The nutrient utilized by the cover crops is expected to be released during the following crop season. Long-term monitoring will provide more information regarding water use and nutrient dynamics of cover cropping in limited-irrigated cropping systems in the southern High Plains region. With this information, growers will be able to determine the feasibility of utilizing cover crops (single species or mixture) under the limited-irrigated cropping system.