Tuesday, November 6, 2007
163-9

Long-Term, Peanut-Based Cropping Systems Research in North Carolina.

David Jordan1, Steve Barnes2, Tommy Corbett3, Clyde Bogle4, Ty Marshall5, Mike Williams6, and Bridget Lassiter1. (1) PO Box 7620 100 Derieux St., North Carolina State University, North Carolina State University, Crop Science Department, Raleigh, NC 27695-7620, (2) Tidewater Research Station, North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Plymouth, NC 27962, (3) Peanut Belt Research Station, North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Lewiston-Woodville, NC 27849, (4) North Carolina, Dept. of Agric., Upper Coastal Plain Research Station, 2811 Nobles Mill Pond Road, Rocky Mount, NC 27801, (5) Border Belt Research Station, North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Whiteville, NC 28472, (6) North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, Edenton, NC 27932

Previous cropping season can have a major impact on disease reaction and yield of peanut. Equally as important as biological response to rotation, is the economic value of peanut and other crops in the cropping system. In 1997, long-term experiments were established to determine disease reaction, crop yield, and economic return on rotations containing corn, cotton, peanut, and soybean at two locations in North Carolina. Experiments were also established at these locations during 1999 in conventional and reduced tillage systems in rotations including corn, cotton, and peanut. A third experiment was established in 2001 that included corn, peanut, and tobacco. Peanut was planted in all plots in all experiments in 2006. A final set of experiments was conducted at four locations to compare peanut yield following a fescue pasture versus reduced tillage systems containing corn and cotton. While the primary focus of these experiments is peanut, a considerable amount of information is also gained on rotation crops and tillage systems. In addition to serving as a research component, these experiments serve extension and academic roles for Cooperative Extension agents and students enrolled in agronomy courses at North Carolina State University. These experiments have received minimal financial support, which has limited detailed sampling of soil and pest development. North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Cooperative Extension Service personnel and farm cooperators have been essential in maintaining this cropping systems research over the past decade. In retrospect, establishing these experiments with larger experimental units would increase ability to compare cultivar resistance, the benefits of fumigation, and the need for inoculation with Brady rhizobia in various cropping systems and rotation sequences. Rotation systems are being altered as additional questions arise and when the focus on crops changes.