ARS | Publication request: RESIDUE PRODUCTION AND RAIN INFILTRATION WITH A WINTER CEREAL GREEN-FALLOW

Submitted to: International Soil Conservation Organization Conference Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 2, 1999
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) grown on the Texas South Plains produces insufficient residue to conserve soil and water. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is grown after cotton and chemically terminated in the spring to provide residue. The terminated-wheat-cotton (TWC) system uses soil water and herbicides; but, a fall seeded spring-cereal-cotton (SCC) system would produce soil and water conserving residue and, because of winter kill, not need herbicides. We compared: 1) residue production of TWC and SCC, 2) effects of alternative TWC herbicides on soil water use and residue, and 3) residue effects on infiltration. Fall seeded spring oats (Avena sativa L.), spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and spring and winter wheat were grown. Spring cereals "winter killed", while winter wheat was chemically terminated with herbicide. Residue amount, soil water use, and infiltration were measured during the spring. Residue production for TWC averaged about t1.4 Mg ha**-1 compared to 1.2 Mg ha**-1 for SCC. Soil water use by SCC green fallow was not different from bare soil evaporation and less than the water used by the TWC treatment. Compared to bare soil, residue treatments similarly increased both infiltration rate and amount. The SCC consumed less soil water to produce sufficient residues to increase infiltration.