A three-year study was conducted to evaluate the combination of four cover crops and four tillage systems on cotton production. Cover crops included natural vegetation, rye, clover, and mustard. Tillage systems varied from no-till to conventional bedding. Destruction of the cover crop residue before planting created the largest production problem. Two applications of paraquat plus flail chopping was required in the rye plots to prevent interference with seedbed preparation and planting. Stand count was significantly reduced in 1981 in the rye plots compared to other plots. Statistical analysis of the seed cotton yield data did not indicate a clear advantage of one cover crop over another, nor one tillage system over another. The highest three year average was the subclover plot with conventional tillage, and the lowest three-year average was the rye plot with no-till tillage (560 lb/acre difference).