Evaluation of the Effects of Winter Wheat Cover Crop on Soil Health in Cotton Production Systems of the Texas Rolling Plains

Cover crops have the potential to improve soil health in diverse cropping systems. They are known to improve soil physical and biological properties, prevent soil and wind erosion, increase infiltration and soil water holding capacity, add organic matter to the soil, suppress weeds, and provide resources for beneficial insects along with various other benefits. The main aim of this study is to compare carbon and nitrogen dynamics in cotton - winter wheat cover crop, and cotton monoculture cropping systems in order to assess the soil health benefits of winter wheat cover crop. The CROPGRO-Cotton and CERES-Wheat modules of the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) cropping system model (CSM) are currently being evaluated using measured data on soil water, soil organic carbon, soil total nitrogen and crop/biomass yield from two treatments (both irrigated and dryland systems) in a cover crop experiment: i) cotton without a winter wheat cover crop, and ii) cotton with a winter wheat cover crop, at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Station at Chillicothe in the Texas Rolling Plains (TRP) from 2011 to 2019. The evaluated model will be used to assess the long-term effects of growing winter wheat as a cover crop on various soil health indicators such as nutrient and water retention, and soil carbon sequestration. The results from this study and this modeling approach will be used to define the expected soil health benefits of cover crops in cotton production systems of the TRP region.