Integrating livestock with cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production systems by grazing
winter-annuals can offer additional income for producers provided it does not result in yield-limiting soil compaction. We
conducted a 3-year field study on a Dothan loamy sand (fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic plinthic kandiudults) in southern Alabama,
USA to determine the influence of tillage system prior to cotton–peanut planting on soil properties following winter-annual grazing.
Two winter-annual forages [oat (Avena sativa L.) and annual ryegrass (Lolium mutiflorum L.)] and four tillage practices
[chisel + disk, non-inversion deep tillage (paratill) with and without disking and no-till] were evaluated in a strip-plot design
of four replications.We evaluated cone index, bulk density, infiltration, soil organic carbon (SOC), and total nitrogen (N). Paratilling
prior to cotton or peanut planting, especially without surface soil tillage, reduced compaction initially to 40 cm and residually to
30 cm through the grazing period in winter. There were no significant differences in cone index, bulk density, or infiltration between
forage species. No-tillage resulted in the greatest bulk density (1.65 Mg m3) and lowest infiltration (36% of water applied), while
paratilling increased infiltration in no-tillage to 83%. After 3 years, paratilling increased SOC 38% and N 56% near the soil surface
(0–5 cm), as compared to concentrations at the beginning of the experiment, suggesting an improvement in soil quality. For coastal
plain soils, integrating winter-annual grazing in a cotton–peanut rotation using a conservation tillage system of non-inversion deep
tillage (paratill) with no surface tillage can improve soil quality by reducing cone index, increasing infiltration, and increasing SOC
in the soil surface.
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