Soil health has garnered much attention over the past few years, bringing topics such as no-till, cover crops, regenerative agriculture, and soil biology among others to the forefront. Implementation of conservation practices has typically lagged in cotton compared to other major crops in the US. Producers continue to have questions about whether conservation agriculture is a fit for their farming operations. This presentation will provide information to stakeholders who are considering adopting soil health promoting practices such as no-till and cover crops, particularly for producers in the western portion of the Cotton Belt. Practitioners will learn the impact of conservation tillage and cover crop options on cotton yield, economic returns, soil water storage, and soil health in dryland and irrigated cotton systems. By the end of this presentation, practitioners should know more about conservation tillage options, cover crop selection (single species vs. mixtures), cover crop seeding rates, and cover crop termination timing and potential agronomic and economic risks.
