Abstract Weed management is still a main drawback for the wider adoption of organic cropping systems in the Mid‐South. Holistic cropping management, which involves a combination of cover cropping, tillage practices, and integrating crop and livestock systems, is an option to overcome this challenge. To investigate the effects of different cropping systems on cash crop yield and weed pressure, we conducted a randomized complete block study over 4 years (2021–2024) in Booneville, AR, with four treatments: conventional tillage with roller crimping cover crops, conventional tillage with grazing, no‐till, and no‐tillage with roller crimping cover crops with grazing. The fall‐planted cover crop was cereal rye in 2022 and 2024, and wheat in 2023. The cash crop was soybean in 2022 and 2024, and sorghum in 2023. Outcomes of this study were significantly influenced by weather conditions. Cover crop termination strategies were effective in killing cover crops; however, residue levels were insufficient to suppress weeds. Dominant weed species composition varies annually. Redroot pigweed, curly dock, and bromegrass canopy cover were influenced by tillage, while johnsongrass was the predominant weed species across all evaluations. Cropping systems did not affect sorghum productivity, but soybean production was greater in the conventional tillage system in 2023. Our study thus supports tillage as an important driver of organic soybean production; however, further studies should investigate alternatives to mitigate the increasing drought occurrences in the US Mid‐South.
Cardoso et al. (Sun,) studied this question.