In our studies on soil management, we have found that deficit irrigation in early growing stages for cotton can promote root growth and save 16% of irrigation water over five years without reducing cotton lint yield. In a long-term cropping system experiment, we found using strip-tillage resulted in an increase in cotton and corn crops. In a study of tomato plants planted in soils affected by salinity and sodicity we discovered that several soil quality guides, from soil electrical conductivity to aggregate stability and infiltration rates, improved over a period of four months. Our current study is incorporating winter cover crops into the cropping system with different tillage regimes to improve soil health and cash crop productivity.
