Journal
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
Volume 96, Issue 1-2, Pages 19-27Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.still.2007.02.005
Keywords
cotton; macronutrients; micronutrients; nutrient stratification; plant-available nutrients; reduced tillage; soil-profile distribution
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Crop management practices, especially tillage and rotation, can impact soil nutrient stratification, crop growth, and yield. The objectives of this study were to determine the soil-profile distribution of plant-available nutrients in four depth intervals from 0 to 90 cm for different cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cropping systems, tillage regimes, and N fertilization rates in a south-central Texas silty clay loam soil after 5 years of treatment imposition. Distribution of nutrients in the soil profile varied between cropping systems (continuous cotton monoculture and cotton-corn (Zea mays L.) rotation), conventional (CT) and reduced tillage (RT), and N fertilization rates (0, 80, and 160 kg N ha(-1)). Plant-available P showed the greatest stratification and was 426% higher at 0-15 cm than at 60-90 cm, while SO4 had the greatest increase (42%) with depth. The percentage decrease from 0-15 to 60-90 cm was 47% and 147% for NO3 and K, and 76%, 12%, 43%, and 232% for Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn, respectively. In contrast, Ca and Mg concentrations increased 22% and 15%, respectively, from 0-15 to 60-90 cm. Increasing the N fertilization rate increased plant-available NO3 and SO4 but decreased K, Fe, Cu, and Zn concentrations. Inclusion of corn in rotation with cotton decreased plant-available Mn, Fe, and Cu from 15 to 90 cm relative to continuous cotton at 160 kg N ha(-1). For unfertilized soil, rotation increased micronutrient concentrations at 15-60 cm compared to continuous cotton. On average, CT cotton-corn had significantly lower K, Ca, Mg, Na, and SO4 concentrations than CT continuous cotton. Reduced tillage and diversified cropping systems altered the distribution of plant-available nutrients in soil relative to CT and continuous cotton. In fact, RT increased plant-available P and NO3 in surface soil, which may have contributed to higher lint yields than CT continuous cotton. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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