Cover crop and tillage effects on soil enzyme activities following tomato

Increasing numbers of vegetable growers are adopting conservation tillage practices and including cover crops into crop rotations. The practice helps to increase or maintain an adequate level of soil organic matter and improves vegetable yields. The effects of the practices, however, on enzyme activities in southeastern soils of the United States have not been well documented. Thus, the objectives of the study were to investigate the effects of cover crops and two tillage systems on soil enzyme activity profiles following tomato and to establish relationships between enzyme activities and soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). The cover crops planted late in fall 2005 included black oat (Avena strigosa), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), or crimson clover–black oat mixed. A weed control (no cover crop) was also included. Early in spring 2006, the plots were disk plowed and incorporated into soil (conventional tillage) or mowed and left on the soil surface (no-till). Broiler litter as source of N fertilizer was applied at a rate of 4.6 Mg ha−1, triple super phosphate at 79.0 kg P ha−1, and potassium chloride at 100 kg K ha−1 were also applied according to soil testing recommendations. Tomato seedlings were transplanted and grown for 60 days on a Marvyn sandy loam soil (fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults). Ninety-six core soil samples were collected at incremental depths (0–5, 5–10, and 10–15 cm) and passed through a 2-mm sieve and kept moist to study arylamidase (EC 3.4.11.2), l-asparaginase (EC 3.5.1.1), l-glutaminase (EC 3.5.1.2), and urease (EC 3.5.1.5) activities. Tillage systems affected only l-glutaminase activity in soil while cover crops affected activities of all the enzymes studied with the exception of urease. The research clearly demonstrated that in till and no-till systems, l-asparaginase activity is greater (P ≤ 0.05) in plots preceded by crimson clover than in those preceded by black oat or their mixture. Activity of the enzyme decreased from 11.7 mg NH4+–N kg−1 2 h−1 at 0–5 cm depth to 8.73 mg NH4+–N kg−1 2 h−1 at 5–10 cm and 10–15 cm depths in the no-till crimson clover plots. Arylamidase activity significantly correlated with soil organic C (r = 0.699**) and soil organic N (r = 0.764***). Amidohydrolases activities significantly correlated with soil organic N but only urease significantly correlated with soil organic C (r = 0.481*). These results indicated that incorporation of cover crops into rotations may increase enzyme activities in soils.