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TILLAGE AND CROPPING SYSTEMS

Soil Organic Matter and Tomato Yield following Tillage, Cover Cropping, and Nitrogen Fertilization

Agric. Res. Stn., Fort Valley State Univ., 1005 State University Drive, Fort Valley, GA 31030

* Corresponding author (sainjuu{at}mail.fvsu.edu)

Received for publication May 30, 2001. Management practices can influence soil C and N and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) yield. We examined the influence of tillage practices [no-till (NT), chisel plowing (CP), and moldboard plowing (MP)], cover crops [hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) vs. winter weeds], and N fertilization rates (0, 90, and 180 kg N ha^-1) on soil organic C and N, potential C and N mineralization (PCM and PNM, respectively), inorganic N contents, and tomato yield and N uptake. A 3-yr experiment was conducted on a Dothan sandy loam (fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic, Plinthic Paleudults) in central Georgia. Soil organic C and N after 3 yr were greater in NT with vetch than in CP and MP with vetch or weeds at 0- to 20-cm depth. The PCM, PNM, and inorganic N were greater in MP than in NT and CP at 7.5 to 20 cm in May 1996 but were greater in NT and CP than in MP at 0 to 7.5 cm in April 1997. At 0 to 20 cm, PNM and inorganic N were also greater with vetch than with weeds in April 1996 and 1997 and with 180 than with 0 kg N ha^-1 in May 1996 and August 1997. Tomato yield and N uptake were greater in CP and MP than in NT and with 90 and 180 kg N ha^-1 than with 0 kg N ha^-1. Although NT with vetch can improve soil organic matter, CP can sustain tomato yield compared with MP, thereby reducing the potential for soil erosion. Hairy vetch can increase labile soil N pool and 90 compared with 180 kg N ha^-1 can sustain tomato yield, thereby reducing the amount of N fertilizer and potential for N leaching.

Abbreviations: CP, chisel plowing • MP, moldboard plowing • NT, no-till • PCM, potential carbon mineralization • PNM, potential nitrogen mineralization

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