Cotton strip assay detects soil microbial degradation differences among crop rotation and tillage experiments on Vertisols

Abstract

<p>The cotton strip assay (CSA) is a simple and inexpensive method of evaluating management effects on soil mi-crobial decomposition. The average loss of tensile strength of cotton strips buried 3 to 35 days in soils from two long-term tillage and crop-rotation experiments was of the order: cotton-wheat rotation > minimum-tillage cotton monoculture > maximum-tillage cotton monoculture. The study suggests CSA can be an effective indi-cator to delineate microbial activity, soil organic carbon or crop biomass as influenced by agricultural practices in cotton fields.</p>