Soil Responses to Tillage Practices and Cover Crops
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Chemistry/Agriculture Sciences
Institution
Murray State University
KY House District #
24
KY Senate District #
14
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Iin Handayani, David Ferguson
Department
Agronomy Department
Abstract
Management practices in cultivated cropland generally affect soil quality, thus eventually influences the crop yield. For sustainability, it is important to improve soils and reduce erosion by using cover crops in the off season with normal crop rotational practices. The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in soil properties due to tillage systems and the use of cover crops in western Kentucky. Soil samples from no tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) plots were collected from the depth of 10 cm and 20 cm in Calloway County in September 2018. The cover crops being assessed include wheat, cereal rye, oats and radish and a control with no cover crop. The samples were analyzed for soil organic C (SOC), soil water content, particular organic matter-C (POM-C), soil pH and macroaggregates. Soil organic C in the NT systems ranged from 2.4-2.9% while the CT systems ranged from 1.8-2.8%. The macroaggregates varied largely with the CT system with no cover crop containing the most in both depths. CT with no cover crop appears to have the highest ratio of Ma/Mi. The ratio of POM C to SOC remained mostly equal and steady across all samples, averaging 35% for all. The highest POM C was found in CT systems at average of 0.96% and the lowest was observed in cereal rye NT systems at both depth intervals with 0.64%. The soil pH ranged from 5.8-7.4 for the NT systems and 6.8-7.4 for the CT systems. NT systems with cereal rye had the lowest soil pH of 5.8 at depth 10-20 cm. The results of this study would be beneficial to predict the combination effects of tillage and cover crops on soil quality.
Soil Responses to Tillage Practices and Cover Crops
Management practices in cultivated cropland generally affect soil quality, thus eventually influences the crop yield. For sustainability, it is important to improve soils and reduce erosion by using cover crops in the off season with normal crop rotational practices. The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in soil properties due to tillage systems and the use of cover crops in western Kentucky. Soil samples from no tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) plots were collected from the depth of 10 cm and 20 cm in Calloway County in September 2018. The cover crops being assessed include wheat, cereal rye, oats and radish and a control with no cover crop. The samples were analyzed for soil organic C (SOC), soil water content, particular organic matter-C (POM-C), soil pH and macroaggregates. Soil organic C in the NT systems ranged from 2.4-2.9% while the CT systems ranged from 1.8-2.8%. The macroaggregates varied largely with the CT system with no cover crop containing the most in both depths. CT with no cover crop appears to have the highest ratio of Ma/Mi. The ratio of POM C to SOC remained mostly equal and steady across all samples, averaging 35% for all. The highest POM C was found in CT systems at average of 0.96% and the lowest was observed in cereal rye NT systems at both depth intervals with 0.64%. The soil pH ranged from 5.8-7.4 for the NT systems and 6.8-7.4 for the CT systems. NT systems with cereal rye had the lowest soil pH of 5.8 at depth 10-20 cm. The results of this study would be beneficial to predict the combination effects of tillage and cover crops on soil quality.