ABSTRACT

Conservation tillage is used in less than 30% of the cotton grown in Georgia. Although conservation tillage acreage has in-creased with the adoption of herbicide resistant varieties, use of cover crops is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of tillage (strip-till vs. no-till) and cover crops [Austrian winter pea (Pisum sativum L. ssp. arvense (L.) Poir), balansa clover (Trifolium michelianum Savi), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), oil seed radish (Raphanus sativus L.), black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb), and rye (Secale cereale L)] on cotton production. The study was conducted on a Bonifay fine sand near Waynesboro Georgia. Three years of the cover crop evaluation showed that rye provides a consistent and useful amount of cover on these droughty soils, which thereby helps to increase soil water availability and lower soil temperatures during the early period of cotton establishment. Black oats, Austrian winter pea, oilseed radish, and hairy vetch produced less biomass but provided adequate soil cover. Balansa clover and crimson clover did not grow well in these sandy soils. Strip tillage resulted in greater yields than no-till two out of the three years.