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An overview of cover crops selection, planting, termination, and benefits,
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COVER CROPS: ARE THEY IMPORTANT?
Tim Reinbott
100+ Years of Tillage
The Evils of Tilling-Whether It Is a Plow or a Field Cultivator
Loss of Organic Matter Soil structure Soil microbial
biomass Release of CO2
Soil Erosion
Why Till? Weed Control
Tilled VS No-Till-We have lost nearly 1 ft of top soil
LONG TERM NO-TILL TILLED IN A CORN/SOYBEAN/WHEAT ROTATION
Soil Erosion-Even With No-Tillage
CO2 Levels Over Time
Greenhouse Gases in Agriculture-N2O or Nitrous Oxide-300 X More
Potent Than CO2
U.S. Nitrous Oxide Emissions
Image created by EPA
Agriculture is the main source of nitrous oxide in the U.S., due in large part to nitrogen-based fertilizers, but residue breakdown also contributes
Nitrous Oxide-N20 Contributed by Agriculture
Anerobic Conditions wet
Nitrogen Fertilization 1.5% of all N is lost
as N20
Animal Manures/Compost
N from Cover Crops?
Organic Matter
This is what separates us (Missouri) from Central Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, etc
In these areas climatic conditions favor the accumulation of Organic Matter Slower breakdown,
long history of deep rooted native perennial plants
What Does Organic Matter Do?
Nutrient Cycling Nutrient Holding Capacity Pool of Nutrients Food for soil organisms
Water Dynamics Improves water infiltration Improves water holding
capacity Structure
Reduces crusting, compaction, erosion
Encourages root development
Loss of Organic Matter and Loss of Soil Structure
SOM & RootsSOM is NOT just from crop residues!
12
Cover Crops in Winter-Something Green and Growing Year Around
And Feed The Soil Life.
Micro Organisms: In One Teaspoon of A Healthy Soil
Bacteria-100 million-1 Billion!
Fungal Filaments-Several Yards
Protoza-Several Thousand
Nematodes-10-20
Need To Feed The Soil Year Around-1200 lbs/acre of Soil Microbes
Microorganisms
The Decay Zone
CAN COVER CROPS BE THE ANSWER?
Legumes
Nodules-Symbiotic Relationship Between the Plant and the Bacteria. Atmospheric Nitrogen is Fixed by the Bacteria For Use by the Plant.
Important to Inoculate
Each Species of Legume has a Different Species of Bacteria
You must match them together.
How Do You Know A Nodule Is Fixing Nitrogen?
Hairy Vetch, Queen or Beast?
A lot of biomass-2-3 tons/acre
Winter Hardy High Nitrogen Fixation-
100 plus lbs/acre Wide window of
planting August-mid October March Hard Seed, late
maturing Problem When Wheat
is in the Rotation
Hairy Vetch-in Mid MO
Early May Late May
Timing of Hairy Vetch Harvest and Corn Yield
Adapted from Gallagher, Penn State
2007 Hairy Vetch Corn Yield-0 NTime lbs/acre %N N lbs/acreEarly (May 4) 1,400 3.82 55 113Middle (May 15) 4,300 4.43 190 132Late (May 31) 6,600 4.15 274 140
2008Early (May 1) 3,204 2.49 80 92Middle (May 14) 4,005 2.92 117 121Late (May 29) 4,361 4.55 197 79
Austrian Winter Pea
Large Biomass High N fixation-80-
120 lbs/acre Plant fall or early
spring Not as winter hardy
Seedling Disease problems
Austrian Winter Pea at Maturity
Crimson Clover
Plant August-September
Early spring maturity
Not as much biomass as Hairy Vetch or Peas
Can reseed themselves
Crimson Clover
NON LEGUMES
Buckwheat
Very Short Growing season-60 days
Some Weed Control-Allelopathy
Inexpensive Seed-much like wheat or rye
Attract Beneficial Insects
Many uses for Vegetable production
Nutrient Cycling
Cereal Rye
Inexpensive Seed Rye is very winter
hardy Rye tremendous
dry matter Suppress weeds
Allelopathy or Blocking Light
Good to mix with legumes
Oats
Spring or Winter Spring planted in
the fall will winter kill
Quick Growth in the Fall
Great Companion Crop
Triticale
Cross between wheat and cereal rye
Hardiness of cereal rye
Good forage potential
Does not have the allelopathic potential as cereal rye
Annual Ryegrass-DO NOT USE!
Plant in Fall Overwinter-most of
the time Deep Roots-5-6 ft Scavenge Nitrogen Dense matt controls
weeds Can become a
weed! Herbicide
resistance problem
Radish-Forage or Oil Seed
Late Summer Planted
Sequester Nitrogen
Loosen Soil
Weed Control?
Forage or Diakon Radish
FallSpring
Radish-Small Roots Go Down Deep!
Summer Cover Crops
Following Wheat Summer Annual
Legumes Sunn Hemp Sesbania Cowpea
Cowpea
Summer Legumes
Sesbania Sunn Hemp
ECONOMICS-COST OF SEED
Brief
Seed Costs
Hairy Vetch-$2.0/lb or $40-60/acre Austrian Winter Pea-$0.73/lb or $29-
44/acre Crimson Clover-$1.2/lb or $24/acre Radish-$4 lb or $32/acre Cereal Rye-$0.23 or $14-21/acre Annual Rye-$0.80 or $16/acre Sunn Hemp-$2.5/lb or $50-75/acre Sesbania-$2.4/lb or $48/acre
Cost of Nitrogen per PoundAmmonium Nitrate is $0.60/lb
Hairy Vetch-$40@ 100 lb N/acre=$0.40/lb
Austrian Winter Pea-$29@80 lb N/acre=$0.36/lb
Crimson Clover-$24@75 lb N/acre=$0.32/lb
Sunn Hemp-$50@80 lb N/acre=$0.62/lb
Sesbania-$48@80 N/acre=$0.60/lb
Polycultures
Micro Organisms: In One Teaspoon of A Healthy Soil
Bacteria-100 million-1 Billion!
Fungal Filaments-Several Yards
Protoza-Several Thousand
Nematodes-10-20
Polyculture Seeding Rate
Divide monoculture seeding by number of species:
Ex) Hairy Vetch-30 lb/acre, Cereal Rye-90 lb/acre, Austrian Winter Pea-60 lb/acre in monoculture
When mixed: Hairy Vetch-10 lb/acre, Cereal Rye 30 lb/acre, and Austrian Winter Pea-20 lb/acre
Polyculture Before Harvest
Cover Crops Between MelonsCompetition Reducing Weeds
Sorghum x Sudan In Between Rows of Tomatoes-Can Help Control Weeds
Sorghum X Sudan Can Be Mowed Back and It Will Regrow. Returning Biomass
(Shoot and Root) To The Soil
ESTABLISHMENT OF COVER CROPS
Interseeding
Seeds Must Have Rain and Be Covered
Establishment-Drilled After Soybean or Corn
Alternative: Corn And Soybean Planter
Cover Crops in 15 inch rows
GET CREATIVE WITH PLANTING
Alternating 15 inch Rows With Cereal Rye and Winter Legumes
Cover Crops on 15 inch rows
In the Spring
PLANTING INTO THE COVER CROP
Plowing Under Cover Crops?
Desiccation of the Cover CropRoller Crimper
Flail Chopper or Mower
To Roll or Flail Chop
DAY OF DESICCATION 5 DAYS LATER
Flailed Rolled Rolled Flailed
What If The Cover Crop Is Still Alive?
PLANT PERPENDICULAR TO THE WAY IT WAS ROLLED
SEED TO SOIL CONTACT CAN BE A CHALLENGE
No-Till With Cover Crops After Crop Emergence
Can Cover Crops Help Control Weeds
After Tillage Radish-No Winter AnnualsCover Crop on the Left Has NoMarestail (left)
A Thick Mulch
Getting Good Seed To Soil Contact
No-Till Planters
Modification of the Planter: Taking Off The Coulter and Changing The Closing
Wheel
Planting Into Rolled Cover Crops With Different Closing Wheels
Planting Soybeans Into Standing Crop in Mid May
Corn Population Rolled First vs. Planting Into Standing
27,427
25,606
2013 Corn Yield After Cover Crops
Corn Yield 2013 Cover Crops Overseeded into Soybean September 2012 Corn Treatment Yield Bu/acre Control 175 Hairy Vetch 199 Crimson Clover 165 Radish 174 Cereal Rye 175 Hairy Vetch+Rye 187 Crimson Clv. +Rye 181 Radish + Rye 173 Rye+Radish+HV+CC 174
Reinbott, 2013
Not As Much Yield Advantage As It Looked
2013 Soybean Yield After Cover Crops
Soybean Yield 2013 Cover Crops Overseeded into Corn Sept. 2012 Treatment Yield Bu/acre Control 29 Hairy Vetch 24 Crimson Clover 28 Radish 27 Cereal Rye 36 Hairy Vetch+Rye 28 Crimson Clv. +Rye 33 Radish + Rye 29 Rye+Radish+HV+CC 27
Reinbott, 2013
WHY ARE WE GETTING THIS INCREASE IN
YIELD?
The N Effect From Legumes: But There Is More To Cover Crops Than
Just Nitrogen
N Release over Time From Cover Crops in North Carolina
2 4 8 12 160
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Rye
Crimson Clover
Hairy Vetch
From Wagger, 1989. Agronomy Journal
lbs/
acr
e
Weeks
WHAT OTHER BENEFITS DO RYE, RYEGRASS, AND TILLAGE RADISH HAVE?
Nutrient Scavenge, Loosen Soil, Weed Control
Tillage Radish Root dug out-32”Courtesy of Steve Groff-Pennsylvania
TillageRadish®
field
Openfield
Soil compactiondecreased by >40%
Ohio State UniversityCourtesy of Steve Groff
Loosen Soil-Increase root growth and water infiltration?
Less Compaction Equals More Root Density Deeper Following Radish and Rye
Gruver, et al, 2012
Soybean Roots Follow Cover Crop Root Channels
Williams and Weil, 2004
NUTRIENT SEQUESTRATION AND WATER RELATIONS
Increase in Soil Test P Around Tillage Radish Roots by 2X
1.25 inch
2 inches
White and Weil, 2011
Radish and Rye Capture Nitrate-N in the Soil Profile
From Steve Groff
Cover Crop
No Cover Crop
Cover Crops Reduce Water Runoff or Increase Water Infiltration
Conventionally Tilled
Cover Crop Residue Allows Water to Soak Into the Soil
Water From Tilled (left), No-Till (middle) and No-Till With Cover Crop (right)
Tilled No-Tilled No-Till Cover Crop
Cover Crops Can Attract Beneficial Insects Including Pollinators
Cover Crops Attract Butterflies, Bee (including Bumble Bees and other Native Bees), beneficial beetles, lacewings, etc.
QUESTIONS?