Description

Abstract: Research was conducted in North Carolina from 2001 to 2006 to determine disease development, parasitic nematode population in soil, crop yield, and cumulative economic return in rotation systems including corn, peanut, and tobacco. Specific rotations included two consecutive cycles of corn-corn-peanut, corn-tobacco-peanut, or tobacco-corn-peanut; five years of corn followed by peanut, and corn-corn-tobacco-corn-corn-peanut. In the final year of the experiment when only peanut was planted, the Cylindrocladium black rot (caused by Cylindrocladium parasiticum) (CBR)-susceptible cultivar Gregory and the CBRresistant cultivar Perry were included. Increasing the number of years between peanut plantings increased yield of peanut in the final year of the experiment when Gregory was planted but not when Perry was planted. Incidence of CBR was highest when peanut was planted twice during the duration of the experiment compared with only once. No difference in ring nematode was observed regardless of rotation in the final year of the experiment. The highest soil population of stunt nematode was noted when five years of corn was followed by peanut with the lowest soil population of this nematode noted following two cycles of tobacco-corn-peanut. Cropping systems that included tobacco provided higher cumulative economic returns regardless of rotation sequence in most instances.