Cotton Response to Reduced Tillage and Cover Crops in the Southeastern Coastal Plain

Understanding how cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) responds to alternative production practices will improve management of the crop in those systems. Our objective was to determine the influence of a rye cover crop and reduced tillage on soil strength, cotton development, and lint yield. Treatments consisted of winter cover [rye (Secale cereale L.) and fallow], surface tillage (disking and none), and deep tillage (in-row subsoiling and none). Differences in soil strength occurred between treat ment combinations, but because of sufficient precipitation during the growing season, deep tillage did not impact any other variable. Following winter fallow, there were no differences in the initiation of reproductive growth or crop yield between disking and no surface tillage. The presence of a rye surface mulch, however, delayed flower initiation. Cotton lint yield was not influenced by surface tillage following winter fallow. Following rye, cotton yield and plant populations were lower when the residues were left on the surface. Although further verification is needed, production aids such as crop growth simulation models may require modification for applicationin situations where cotton is grown in fields with large amounts of surface residues.