Tillage and cover crop impacts on aggregation of a sandy soil

Abstract

In corn (Zea mays L.) – soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] – winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotations cultivated in sandy soil under three tillage systems, with and without cover cropping, the soil wind-erodible fraction (<0.85 mm) ranged from 78 to 96%. Proportion and wet-aggregate stability (WAS) of the 0.85- to 5.7-mm fraction both ranked no-till (8.1% of total soil weight and 49% water-stable) > chisel plow (6.7 and 39%) > conventional plow (5.3 and 35%). Cover cropping had little effect on dry aggregate size distribution or WAS. Key words: Zea mays, Secalecereale, soil structure, aggregate stability, cover crop, tillage