Sod-based Rotation (Bahia) Impact on Cropping Systems David Wright
Sod-based Peanut-Cotton Rotation Sod System: (CBBP) Conventional System: (PCCP) oat/rye Bahia oats Peanut oats Cotton Bahia oat/rye oat/rye Cotton oats Cotton Peanut Strip till was used in each year with best management practices. The sod based rotation rotates perennial grass through row crop land.
Agron. J. 2007 99: 1191-1198 Started with native grasses Magruder Plots, Stillwater, OK
Why the Sod Based Rotation? Environmental Benefits Year round utilization of the land which utilizes nutrients vs. (most crops grown from May-October and nutrients are used or leached after the crop) Greater water infiltration and enhanced plant growth (roots and top) Increased soil organic matter Cattle recycle nutrients and result in less nitrates being leached through the soil profile (as much as 70-90% is recycled) as well as P, K, Ca, Mg Enhanced soil physical and chemical properties Enhanced soil flora and fauna More soil cover for temperature moderation and less erosion and nutrient movement into streams and rivers Enhanced yields and quality of crops and 2-7 times more profit for land owners making the system economically viable
Why The Sod Based Rotation? Water, nutrients and low or no pests key to production Enhanced soil moisture through higher infiltration and greater rooting of following crops following bahia root channels Increased soil OM resulting in better soil structure and nutrient and moisture retention (.1%/yr) Reduced nematodes, diseases, etc. Increased crop yield and quality with 25-50% higher yields on peanut, cotton and winter grazing Risk management- having only half as much of the farm in cash crops (1000 acre farm would have 500 acres of crops vs. 1000 in row crops resulting in $250,000 less input for the year) 2-7 fold increase in net farm income 25% of FL and GA row crop farmers have cattle and are the ones that should look at it first
Large acreages cannot be planted and harvested timely and having half the farm in a perennial grass helps in timeliness. Cattle can add year round utilization of the land and income with good conditions for winter grazing in most years (low pests and good moisture and temperature) Field work
This system is intensive and a farmer can often make as much profit on a 400 acre sod/row crop/livestock farm as on 1000-2800 acres of row crops. Conservation agriculture= labor, fuel, soil, moisture, equipment savings. This is what most conservation groups across the country strive for. Our goal was to develop a farm system that a young farmer could start on 250 acres and make a living with a small investment, and do it in an environmentally friendly way. Sod based rotation= same advantages of conservation agriculture plus, more OM, higher moisture retention, more nutrient recycling and less applied nutrients, higher yields, higher quality crops, lower pest pressure and 2-7 times more profit especially if animals are part of the system.
Sod-based Peanut-Cotton Rotation Sod System: (B1-B2-P-C) Bahia Yr. 1 Cotton Oat/rye 90 cow/calf pairs 160 acre sod based system with variable rate center pivot Bahia Yr. 2 Oat/rye Oat/rye Peanut Strip till is used for summer crops with best management practices
Tri-state project (GA, FL, AL) Non irrigated Irrigated Sodbased Replicated small trials with and without irrigation Conventional Rotation comparisons CCP vs BBPC
Data Collected from Rotation Studies Nitrogen uptake Water infiltration Soil moisture Soil compaction Earthworm populations Plant growth measurements (root, LAI, leaf water potential, etc.) Crop yield and quality Bulk density Soil nitrate Organic matter content Disease Economics of system Cattle impact on soil Soil respiration Microbial organic matter, etc.
CER (g CO 2 m -2 ) Effect of Tillage Tool on Cumulative Carbon Dioxide Loss after 24 hours 180 150 120 Plow MP 90 60 30 0 RM NT SS MK L128 Conservation tillage y = 0.0792x + 9.7647 R 2 = 0.9698 0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 Cross Sectional Area Loosened Soil (cm 2 )
-Goal Rotate bahiagrass through row crop land to gain benefits in yield, quality, pest control and economics. About 25% of Florida row crop farmers have cattle and are the ones who should try this first. They know cattle and row crops but pastures are in certain fields from row crops and they do not overlap.
Conservation agriculture has stopped most wind and water erosion but has not always increased yields
% SOM % SOM in SOD BASED ROTATION 3 2.8 2.6 2.4 2.2 2 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1 Bahia has 20,000 lbs root mass per acre vs. 3-4,000 lbs for winter annuals 2003 2005 2007 2009 Year
Soil Organic Matter (OM) vs. Soil Moisture at 32 DAP 16 14 Soil Moisture (%) 12 10 8 Y = 1.63X+2.77 r 2 = 0.62 6 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 Soil OM (%)
Bahia killed in fall and planted to oat/rye Planting bahiagrass into winter grazing in January March (early planting for bahia is key). Ryegrass does not fit well due to competition or alleopathy. 1 yr. old bahia
Yield of small grain forage has been shown to be about 30% higher after crops in the bahia rotation than in standard cotton/peanut rotations for 3 years.
Hay is harvested from oat/rye where overseeded into killed bahiagrass prior to planting peanut and fed back into the system. No bahia hay is baled since small grain hay quality is higher.
Non irrigated Irrigated Irr. Vs. Non Irr. in sod based and conventional rotations
July 8, 2009 0 N 60 lbs N/A on 6/8/09 PCCP More N uptake due to higher SOM and soil moisture content as well as deeper roots 0 N 60 lbs N/A on 6/8/09 BBPC
Area (cm2) Total Root Area for Cotton Rotations 2005 100 80 60 40 20 0 Bahia Conv 1 Conv 2 Rotation
Soil nitrates at 2 ft depth in cotton From suction cup lysimeters Little N left at end of the season due to higher uptake
Ct-P-Ct-P S-Ct-Ct-P Oat cover crop Oat cover crop F-F-Ct-P O-O-Ct-P Fescue Orchardgrass VT in 2006
1188.5 1158.5 1343.7 1210.4 lbs/acre 1801.3 1760.8 Virginia Tech at Tidewater REC 2006 YIELD!!! Lint Yield 2000 1500 50% higher yield 1000 500 0 Ct-Ct-Ct Ct-C-Ct Ct-P-Ct F-F-Ct O-O-Ct S-Ct-Ct Treatment
Cotton yield in three rotations in 2006 1650 1600 1550 1500 1450 Cotton In Bahia rotation 1 st year cotton BBPC PCC PCC 1400 2 nd year cotton 1350 kg/ha
Cotton Leaf Water Potential (2007) Leaf wter potential (MPa) -1.0-1.2-1.4-1.6-1.8-2.0-2.2 Sod Cotton Conv. Cotton 1 Conv. Cotton 2 Irrigated Cotton Leaf wter potential (MPa) Leaf wter potential (MPa) -2.2-2.4-2.4 20 40 60 80 100 120 60 70 80 90 100 110-2.4 Days after planting 20 40 60 80 100 120-1.0-1.0-1.2-1.2-1.4-1.4-1.6-1.6-1.8-1.8-2.0-2.0-2.2 Non-irrigated Cotton Sod Cotton Conv. Cotton 1 Conv. Cotton 2 Irrigated Cotton Leaf wter potential (MPa) -1.0-1.2-1.4-1.6-1.8-2.0-2.2-2.4 60 Days after planti
Peanut Leaf Water Potential in 2007 Leaf water potential (MPa) 0.0-0.5-1.0-1.5-2.0-2.5-3.0 (0.53) (0.41) (0.13) Sod (Irrigated) (Non-irrigated) Conv. (Irrigated) (Non-irrigated) -3.5 40 60 80 100 120 Days after planting (0.73) (0.12) Sod-based peanuts had less water stress than the conventional peanuts most of the season under both irrigated and non-irrigated conditions.
Nematodes/100 cm 3 soil from 2003-2006 300 250 200 150 100 CBBP PCCP 50 0 Reniform RKN
Percent peanut yield averaged over 8 years, Quincy 100 90 80 70 60 sod Conv. sod Conv. 50 CBBP 40 30 Use irrigation at key times, planting, digging, etc. PCCP 20 10 0 Irrigated Non irrigated
Ab 2000 2007 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Ab 2000 2008 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Cumulative N (kg/ha) 250 200 150 100 50 Days after Planting S.C (0N) S.C (95N) C.C1 (0N) C.C1 (95N) C.C2 (0N) C.C2 (95N) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Days after Planting 2007 Cumulative N (kg/ha) 250 200 150 100 50 Days after Planting S.C (0N) S.C (95N) C.C1 (0N) C.C1 (95N) C.C2 (0N) C.C2 (95N) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Days after Planting 2008 Plant N uptake during the growing season as affected by cropping system and N rate
Lint Yield (kg ha -1 ) 2000 1500 1000 500 a b b b b c 2000 0 N 95 N 0 N 95 N kg N ha -1 1500 kg N ha -1 2007 2008 Lint Yield (kg ha -1 ) 1000 a ab cd bc e de 500 0 S.Cotton C.Cotton1 C.Cotton2 Crop Rotation 0 S.Cotton C.Cotton1 C.Cotton2 Crop Rotation Cover crops without cattle in both systems
Depth (in) Soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) in sod-based rotation after Bahia- Peanut and winter grazing before Cotton 2009, Marianna 0 CEC (meq 100 g -1 ) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Non-Irrigated Non-Grazed Non-Irrigated Grazed Irrigated Non-Grazed Irrigated Grazed
Depth (cm) Nitrate-N in soil profile of sod-based rotation after Bahia- Peanut and winter grazing before Cotton 2009, Marianna 0 Nitrate-N (lb/ac) 0 4 8 12 16 20 20 40 Cattle recycling N 60 80 100 Non-Irrigated Un-Grazed Irrigated Un-Grazed Non-Irrigated Grazed Irrigated Grazed
Depth (in) Phosphorus (P) in soil profile of sod-based rotation after Bahia- Peanut and winter grazing before Cotton 2009, Marianna 0 P (lb/ac) 0 40 80 120 160 200 240 6 12 18 24 30 36 Non-Irrigated Non-Grazed Irrigated Non-Grazed Non-Irrigated Grazed Irrigated Grazed
Depth (in) Potassium (K) in soil profile of sod-based rotation after Bahia- Peanut and winter grazing before Cotton 2009, Marianna 0 K (lb/ac) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 6 12 18 24 30 36 Non-Irrigated Non-Grazed Irrigated Non-Grazed Non-Irrigated Grazed Irrigated Grazed
Lint Yield (lbs./a) Cotton Yield Response to Irrigation and 2500 2000 Grazing (2008 Marianna) In bahia rotation 1968 1787 1712 1500 1348 1000 500 a ab bc c 0 Irr Non-irr Irr Non-irr Grazed Non Grazed
Cattle-bahia no-cattle bahia cover crops only 2000 lbs/a Cotton Yield 1000lbs/A Sod----------------Conservation tillage-------conventional till
YEAR 1 FIELD CROP YIELD UNITS ACRES COSTS REVENUE PROFIT 1 BAHIA 1 2 TONS 50 15008 12000-3008 2 COTTON 900 LBS 50 25244 28350 3106 3 PEANUT 3700 LBS 50 27817 34688 6870 4 COTTON 900 LBS 50 25244 28350 3106 TOTAL 200 93314 103388 10074 YEAR 2 FIELD CROP YIELD UNITS ACRES COSTS REVENUE PROFIT 1 CATTLE 81 CALVES 50 36464 56250 19786 2 BAHIA 1 2 TONS 50 15008 12000-3008 3 COTTON 900 LBS 50 25244 28350 3106 4 PEANUT 3700 LBS 50 27817 34688 6870 TOTAL 200 104534 131288 26754 YEAR 3 FIELD CROP YIELD UNITS ACRES COSTS REVENUE PROFIT YEAR 4 1 PEANUT 4400 LBS 50 28571 41250 12679 2 CATTLE 81 CALVES 50 36464 56250 19786 3 BAHIA 1 2 TONS 50 15008 12000-3008 4 COTTON 900 LBS 50 25244 28350 3106 TOTAL 200 105287 137850 32563 FIELD CROP YIELD UNITS ACRES COSTS REVENUE PROFIT 1 COTTON 1250 LBS 50 27082 39375 12294 2 PEANUT 4400 LBS 50 28571 41250 12679 3 CATTLE 81 CALVES 50 36464 56250 19786 4 BAHIA 1 2 TONS 50 15008 12000-3008 TOTAL 200 107125 148875 41751
Bottom line- Make as much profit in one year in the sod based system as in 4 years in a conventional system. A 400 acre farm in the sod based rotation has a profit potential equal to 1200-2800 acre traditional row crop farm. Using our model of peanut/cotton cost of about $500/A you would risk $100K in the sod based system and $800K in the traditional system to make the same profit (risk management). Environmental benefits are unequalled with any conservation farming system. http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/programs/sod_rotation.shtml
This rotation with perennial grass, livestock, annual row crops results in 50-70% less irrigation, less N needed, less N leached, higher yields of winter grazing, peanuts and cotton, and 2-7 times more profit with year round utilization of land, nutrients and water http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/programs/sod_rotation.shtml
Thank You! Questions? University of Florida, Auburn University, UGA, National Soil Dynamics, National Peanut Laboratory, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M The Nature Conservancy, NRCS, Cotton Inc., NWF Water Mgt. District, SRWMD, Jackson Blue Springs, NESPAL, Flint River WMD, Coca Cola Foundation, and others
Comparison of a conventional and a sod based system Conventional system use land 125-155 days a year vs. year round with crops plus winter grazing which controls weeds after first crop and is intense. Cattle add intensity and year round labor needs. Roots of row crops expand for the first 45-60 days before the plant goes into reproductive stage of growth vs. continuous growth for perennial grasses which leads to more soil exploration, nutrient and water utilization Nitrogen used on annual crops can be lost after crop maturity if a second crop is not planted vs. being used for 6-9 months by perennial grass or 6 months by a summer crop followed by 6 months for winter grazing Cattle recycle nutrients and if used at stocking rates of one animal per 1-2 acres can prevent leaching of nutrients and can reduce applied N, P, K, and other nutrients substantially Nutrient loss is highest with single annual crops using conventional tillage and is less with cover crops with conservation tillage and cattle, vs. even less with crops following bahiagrass with the least loss where cattle are part of the system perennial/annual crop system