Long, O. H.

Overton, J. R.

University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station

English

University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Trace

University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleTrace: Tennessee Research and CreativeExchangeBulletins AgResearch11-1963Buttonclover as a Green Manure Crop for CottonO. H. LongJ. R. OvertonUniversity of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment StationFollow this and additional works at: http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_agbulletinPart of the Agriculture CommonsThe publications in this collection represent the historical publishing record of the UT Agricultural Experiment Station and do not necessarily reflectcurrent scientific knowledge or recommendations. Current information about UT Ag Research can be found at the UT Ag Research website.This Bulletin is brought to you for free and open access by the AgResearch at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been acceptedfor inclusion in Bulletins by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contacttrace@utk.edu.Recommended CitationLong, O. H.; Overton, J. R.; and University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station, "Buttonclover as a Green Manure Crop forCotton" (1963). Bulletins.http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_agbulletin/300BULLETIN 370"~ ~".--:._~~------~-NOVEMBER 1963•byO.H.LongandJ .R.Overton•THE UNIVERSITYOF TENNESSEEAGRICULTURALEXPERIMENTSTATION••John A. Ewing, DirectorKNOXVILLE•SummaryButtonclover turned under as a green manure crop wasbout as effective as 50 to 60 pounds of nitrogen in increas-ng yields of cotton in two experiments of 5 and 7 years'uration.• On Pembroke silt loam in Lawrence County, as a 5-yearverage, the yield of seed cotton was 1,231 pounds per acre where1t was not fertilized with nitrogen, 1,618 pounds where cotton'ollowed buttonclover, and 1,661 pounds where cotton was[ertilized with nitrogen at a rate of 50 pounds of N per acre.• On Memphis silt loam at the West Tennessee Experi-ment Station, Jackson, as a 4-year average, the yield of seedcotton was 1,760 pounds per acre where it was not fertilizedwith nitrogen, 2,559 pounds where cotton followed button-clover, and 2,512 pounds where cotton was fertilized withnitrogen at a rate of 60 pounds of N per acre.• The yields reported above do not include the years a button-clover seed crop was produced. If the..,e years are included, con-siderably more cotton was produced where it was grown everyyear and fertilized with nitrogen.3ButtoncloverAs A Green Manure CropFor CottonbyO. H. Long and J. R. Overton1Buttonclover (Medicago orbicu- ing characteristic is due to the largelads) is a winter annual legume percentage of hard seed.closely related to alfalfa, in that Buttonclover's value as a pastureboth belong to the same genus. In and hay plant has been discussedTennessee its management and life elsewhere 2. The experiments re-cycle, however, is much like that of ported in this publication were con-crimson clover: that is, it is seeded cerned with its volunteer seedingin late summer, grows in the fall, habit and its value as a green ma-winter, and spring, produces seed, nure crop, compared with the valueand dies in early summer. of ammonium nitrate as measuredLike crimson clover, buttonclover by their effects on cotton yields.is used for pasture or green manure These experiments were conductedor both. Once a seed crop of but- on a Pembroke silt loam on atonclover has been produced and private farm in Lawrence Countyincorporated with the soil, volunteer for a period of 7 years, and on astands from this one seed crop may Memphis silt loam at the West Ten-be expected for several years with nessee Experiment Station, Jackson,proper management. This volunteer- for a period of 5 years.is shown in Figure 1. Cotton wasplanted on the bare strips in 1952and every year thereafter through1958. No cotton was grown on thebuttonclover strips in 1952, sincea seed crop was being produced.Cotton was grown on the entirearea for 3 years (1953-55). NoExperiment in Lawrence County,Farm of R. J. WebbThe experiment in LawrenceCounty was started in late summerof 1951 by seeding four strips ofland to buttonclover. Alternatingwith these strips of buttoncloverwere four strips left bare overwinter. A photograph of this ex-periment taken in February 19561Profe sor of Agronomy, Knoxville, and Assistant Professor of Agronomy, West Ten-nessee Experiment Station, Jackson, respectively.2 John A. Ewing, Button Clover, Tenne see Agricultural Experiment tation Circular104 (Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennes ee, 1949).J. H. Davis, E. O. Gangstad, and H. L. Hackerott, Button Clover, Hoblitzelle Agri-cultural Laboratory, Bulletin 6 (Renner, Texas: Texas Research Foundation, 1957).4Figure I. Left, a volunteer stand of buttonclover being saved to producea seed crop. Right, plowed strip on which cotton is grown every year.(Photographed February, 1956.)cotton was grown on the button-clover strips in 1956 when a secondseed crop was produced. Againcotton was grown on the entire areafor 2 years (1957-58).Phosphorus ~d potassium wereapolied annually at rates of 75pounds of P205 (33 pounds of P)and 75 pounds of K20 (62 poundsof K) per acre, respectively-in therow at pl:'lnting for cotton or broad-cast for the buttonclover seed crop.The oH of the soil was in the rangeof 6.3 to 6.6. Where cotton wasgrown continuously, it received asidedressing of ammonium nitrateapolied at two rates: 25 and 50pounds of N per acre. There wasalso a no-nitrogen check. Cottonfollowing buttonclover was not fer-tilized with nitrogen.Yields of seed cotton obtainedfrom the various treatments for theentire period, 1952-1958, are shownin Table 1. In this table both 5-year and 7-year averages are shown.The 5-year average yields do notinclude 1952 and 1956, the yearsbuttonclover seed crops were beingproduced; the 7-year average yieldsinclude these 2 years when no cot-ton was produced on the button-clover strips.The 5-year average yield was1,618 pounds of seed cotton peracre where the crop followed but-tonclover and 1,231 pounds wherebuttonclover was not grown and noammonium nitrate was applied, anincrease of 387 pounds. Button-clover was particularly beneficial in1957 and 1958.Where cotton did not follow but-tonclover but was sidedressed withammonium nitrate at rates of 25and 50 pounds of N, average yieldsof seed cotton were 1,510 and 1,661pounds per acre, respectively. A430-pound increase from 50 poundsof N represents about 9 pounds ofseed cotton per pound of appliednitrogen. This response agrees5Table I.-Yields of cotton using four different treatments on Pembroke siltloam, Lawrence County, 1952-1958(All yields are averages of 4 replications)5·ye.r 7-yearYear .ver- .ver-Tre.tment 1952 11953 1 1954 I 1955 11956 I 1957 I 1958 II••.•e 1 ••.•eCotton followJng but-Pounds of seed cotton per .eretondover .s greenm.nure • 1491 1020 1418 2 1645 2514 1618 1155Continuous cottonwith:No .dded N 1388 1245 931 1363 1116 1065 1552 1231 123725 lb. N per .ere 1424 1338 1036 1743 1380 1394 2040 1510 147950 lb. N per .ere 1486 1467 1047 1891 1498 1616 2282 11.1.1 II.I?L. S. D. (5'}'ol ...... 70 79 84 98 233 132 329 ... . ....the increases in yield brought aboutby the buttonclover crop were notlarge enough to overcome the 2years of no cotton production whenbuttonclover seed crops were beingproduced.At the same time this experimentwas in progress-a short distanceaway on the same soil-cotton wasbeing grown in a 6-year rotationwith corn, wheat, and alfalfa, thelatter crop remaining in the rotationfor 3 years. In this rotation cottonwas fertilized with ammonium ni-trate at a rate of 50 pounds ofper acre, along with 40 pounds ofP205 and 50 pounds of K20 (ap-proximately equivalent to 50-18-42of N-P-K). This situation permitsa comparison of cotton productionin continuous culture with its pro-duction in a rotation with othercrops. In continuous culture, the7-year average yield at the 50-pound N rate was 1,612 pounds ofseed cotton per acre; in the rotationthe average yield was 1,550 pounds.41 Excluding 1952 and 1956.• No cotton grown in 1952 and 1956, the years buttonclover seed crops were beingproduced.closely with that found in earlierexperiments, where the responsewas about 10 pounds of seed cot-ton per pound of applied N.3Cotton following buttoncloverproduced on the average 108pounds more seed cotton than wasobtained where cotton did not fol-low a green manure but was fer-tilized with nitrogen at the 25-poundrate; however, it produced 43pounds less than where it was fer-tilized at the 50-pound N rate.Therefore, it can be concluded thatthe turning under of buttoncloverwas almost as beneficial as 50pounds of applied N in the formof ammonium nitrate.If the yields for all 7 years areincluded, the seed cotton yield fol-lowing buttonclover averaged only1,155 pounds, which is less thanthe average yield obtained with nonitrogen fertilizer (l ,237 pounds),but where cotton was grown everyyear. In other words, in the 5 yearscotton was grown on both areas,\• O. H. Long, and Ben P. Hazlewood, "Fertilizer Experiments with Cotton," Tenn. Agr.Exp. Sta. Bul. 220, 1951.• O. H. Long, "Phosphates in Crop Rotations in Lawrence County," Tenn. Agr. Exp.tao Bul. 328, 1961.6Experiment at West Tennessee. Experiment Station, JacksonAn experiment similar to that inLawrenceCounty was conducted onMemphis silt 10Hm5 at the WestTennesseeExperiment Station, Jack-son,during the 5-year period, 1956-1960. Inoculated buttonclover wasseeded at a rate of 30 pounds peracre on September 2, 1955. Inthis experiment ammonium nitrate,where applied to the cotton crop,was at the rate of 60 pounds of Nper acre. In one treatment thisamount of nitrogen was applied tocotton following buttonclover. Phos-phorus and potassium were appliedannually over the entire area atadequate rates. The pH of the soilwas about 6.5. Cotton yield dataare shown in Table 2.In this experiment different meth-ods of incorporating the button-clover seed crop with the soil wereinvestigated. These included: 1)disking, 2) disking followed byturning, and 3) turning followedby disking; the incorporations weremade in August, 1956. Volunteerstands of button clover and yieldsof cotton in the succeeding years,however, were so similar that thesetreatments were combined andaveraged.Cotton following buttoncloverproduced an average yield of 2,559pounds of seed cotton per acreduring the 4-year period, 1957-1960. Where the crop followed but-tonclover, but in addition receivedTable 2.-Yields of cotton using five different treatments on Memphis siltloam, West Tennessee Experiment Station, Jackson, 1.956-1960. (All yields are averages of 3 replications)Treatment 1956 ageCotton following buttonclover turnedunder lIS green manure crop 2423 ,2211 3059 2543 2047Same as above, but in additioncotton side-dressed with nitrogenIt rate 60 pounds of N per acre' 2338 2400 3078 2764 2116Continuous cotton with:Buttonclover seeded annually incotton middles after fird picking 1234 2124 1804 2574 1916 1930No added N 1372 2032 1494 1788 1724 168260 pounds of N per acre 1358 2388 2172 2934 2552 2281L. S. D. (5i'o) .................... N.S. 181 224 294 239(Ii'o) .................... 249 307 402 3281Excluding 1956.2 o cotton grown in 1956, the year a button clover seed crop was being produced.6 Formerly classified as Lintonia ~ilt loam.7a side-dressing of ammonium nitrateat a rate of 60 pounds of N peracre, the cotton yield was 2,645pounds. This constitutes an averageincrease of only 86 pounds of cot-ton from the added nitrogen.Where cotton did not follow but-tonclover and received no nitrogen,the yield was 1,760 pounds. Thusthe buttonclover crop increased theyield of cotton an average of 799pounds. Ammonium nitrate in theabsence of a buttonclover green ma-nure crop was also effective in in-creasing cotton yields; 60 poundsof N produced an average yield of2,512 pounds of seed cotton. Thisrepresents an increase of about 13pounds of seed cotton per pound ofapplied nitrogen.Attempts to obtain stands of but-tonclover by seeding it in the cottonmiddles after the first picking werelargely unsuccessful, but did resultin some improvement in cottonyields over those obtained on theno-nitrogen treatment. The increaseon the average was 345 pounds ofseed cotton per acre.In one treatment (not shown inthe table) the button clover seedcrop was disked into the soil inearly July-about 50 days beforethe other incorporations - andplanted immediately to grain sor-ghum. The yield of sorghum was2,310 pounds of grain per acre.However, the yields of cotton in the4 succeeding years were on the aver-age 181 pounds less than they werewhere the seed crop was incorpo-rated in August.The 5-year average yields, whichinclude 1956, the year the button-clover seed crop was produced, areshown in the last column of Table2. Yields of seed cotton followingbuttonclover averaged 2,047 poundsper acre and 2,116 pounds where,in addition to the button~over greenmanure crop, cotton received 60pounds of nitrogen as a side-dress-ing. Both these average yields arehigher than those obtained wherecotton was grown every year butwas not fertilized with nitrogen orwhere buttonclover was seeded inthe cotton middles every year afterthe first picking. The highest aver-age yield (2,281 pounds) was ob-tained where cotton was grownevery year and was side-dressedwith 60 pounds of nitrogen.8General RemarksGood volunteer stands of buttonclover are not obtained every year.Satisfactory stands and growth depend mainly on moisture conditionsin late summer and early fall. If these seasons are dry, few or no seedwill germinate. Ample moisture in late summer followed by a dry fallwill result in a stand which later may perish for lack of water. If germi-nation is delayed until late fall, some plants may be winter-killed; evenif they survive, growth is meager. With the best of growing conditions,the crop must be turned under in the spring before it has reached fullgrowth, if cotton is to be planted at the proper time.Buttonclover is not tolerant of acid soils; its lime requirement isprobably as high as that of alfalfa. When seeded for the first time inocula-tion of the seed is important. Alfalfa inoculum is not satisfactory; theinoculum for the bur clovers is the one required.G In some instances but-tonclover can become a problem if allowed to go to seed. Its very hardseed can remain in the soil for a long time, yet remain viable. When theseseeds are brought to the surface they germinate readily and have beenknown to crowd out a seeding of alfalfa. .Perhaps the best use of buttonclover in a cotton cropping system wouldbe to use the legume for pasture when it has made sufficient growth, turnunder the residue for its green manure effect, and supplement the nitrogensupplied by the legume with nitrogen fertilizer when needed.Buttonclover as a green manure crop for cotton might be desirablewhere extra acres suitable for cotton are available. In such a situation itmight be worth a trial since, once a seed crop has been produced, noexpenditure of money and effort is required in getting stands of button-clover for several years thereafter."L. W. Erdman, "Legume Inoculation: What It Is-What It Does," USDA Farmers'Bu!. 2003, 1959.(4M/2.64)9THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEEAGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONKNOXVILLE, TENNESSEEAgricultural CommitteeBoard of TrusteesANDREWD. HOLT, PresidentCLYDEM. YORK, ChairmanBEN DOUGLASS,HARRYM. LAUGHLI , WASSELLRANDOLPHW. F. Moss, Commissioner of AgricultltreSTATION OFFICERSAdministrationJ. A. EWING,DirectorERIC WI TERS,Associate DirectorJ. L. A DERSON,Budget OfficerDepartment HeadsT. J. WHATLEY,Agricultural BER ADI E MEYER, FoodsEconomics and Rural Sociology and Institution ManagementJ. J. McDow, Agricultural MYRAL. BISHOP, Home Management,Engineering Equipment, and Family EconomicsL. F. SEATZ,Agronomy B. S. PICKETT, HorticultureC. S. HOBBS,Animal Husbandry- R. L. HAMILTON,InformationVeterinary Science K. L. HERTEL, PhysicsRUTH L. HIGHBERGER,Child J. O. A DES,Plant PathologyDevelopment and Family Relations O. E. GOFF, PoultryJ. T. MILES, Dairy ANNAJ. TREECE,Textiles andM. R. JOH STO ,Food Technology ClothingUniversity of Tennessee Agricu Itura IResearch UnitsMain Station, J. N. ODOM,General Superintendent of Farms, KnoxvilleUniversity of Tennessee-Atomic Energy Commission AgriculturalRe earch Laboratory, Oak Ridge, J. S. HALL, Laboratory DirectorBranch StationsDairy Experiment Station, Lewisburg, J. R. OWEN,SuperintendentHighland Rim Experiment Station, Springfield, L. M. SAFLEY,SuperintendentMiddle Tennessee Experiment Station, Spring Hill, E. J. CHAPMAN,SuperintendentPlateau Experiment Station, Crossville, J. A. ODOM,SuperintendentTobacco Experiment Station, Greeneville, J. H. FELTS, SuperintendentWest Tennessee Experiment Station, Jackson, B. P. HAZLEWOOD,SuperintendentA DREWD. HOLT, PresidentWEBSTERPE DERGRASS,Dean ofAgricultureField StationsAmes Plantation, Grand JunctionCumberland Plateau Forestry Station, WartburgFriendship Forestry Field Station, ChattanoogaHighland Rim Forestry Field Station, TullahomaMilan Field Station, Milan12

Buttonclover as a Green Manure Crop for Cotton

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Buttonclover as a Green Manure Crop for Cotton

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