RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Tillage and clover cover crop effects on grain sorghum yield and nitrogen uptake
JF Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
FD Soil and Water Conservation Society
SP 125
OP 127
VO 45
IS 1
A1 R. G. Lemon
A1 F. M. Hons
A1 V. A. Saladino
YR 1990
UL http://www.jswconline.org/content/45/1/125.abstract
AB Winter annual legumes double-cropped with grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) can potentially provide nitrogen (N) for the sorghum and enhance long-term sustainability. A 4-year experiment was conducted near College Station, Texas, to evaluate conventional disk tillage, no-till, and green manuring for their potential in grain sorghum production. Annual clovers were used in combination with both no-till and green manure methods, which were compared to conventional disk tillage without clover. Fertilizer rates of 0 and 60 kg N ha−1 (54 pounds/acre) were used on all treatments. The green manure treatment with no added N produced higher grain yields than the similar conventional disk tillage treatment in 3 of 4 years and was statistically equal to conventional disk tillage receiving 60 kg N ha−1 (54 pounds/acre) in 3 of 4 years. Yields from no-till treatments without N fertilizer never matched those from conventional disk tillage treatments with fertilizer. Green manuring of clover prior to sorghum planting apparently better approximated clover N mineralization to sorghum demand, resulting in greater grain production. Grain sorghum no-till planted into clover surface mulch cannot be recommended because N availability was not synchronous with plant demand.