Grazing winter rye cover crop in a cotton no‐till system: Soil strength and runoff

Investigating tarps to facilitate organic no-till cabbage production with high-residue cover crops

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170518000509 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 227-233 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Natalie P Lounsbury ◽

Nicholas D Warren ◽

Seamus D Wolfe ◽

Richard G Smith

Keyword(s):

Biological Activity ◽

Soil Temperature ◽

Biomass Production ◽

Nutrient Availability ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Weed Suppression ◽

Winter Rye ◽

No Till ◽

Crop Biomass

AbstractHigh-residue cover crops can facilitate organic no-till vegetable production when cover crop biomass production is sufficient to suppress weeds (>8000 kg ha−1), and cash crop growth is not limited by soil temperature, nutrient availability, or cover crop regrowth. In cool climates, however, both cover crop biomass production and soil temperature can be limiting for organic no-till. In addition, successful termination of cover crops can be a challenge, particularly when cover crops are grown as mixtures. We tested whether reusable plastic tarps, an increasingly popular tool for small-scale vegetable farmers, could be used to augment organic no-till cover crop termination and weed suppression. We no-till transplanted cabbage into a winter rye (Secale cereale L.)-hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop mulch that was terminated with either a roller-crimper alone or a roller-crimper plus black or clear tarps. Tarps were applied for durations of 2, 4 and 5 weeks. Across tarp durations, black tarps increased the mean cabbage head weight by 58% compared with the no tarp treatment. This was likely due to a combination of improved weed suppression and nutrient availability. Although soil nutrients and biological activity were not directly measured, remaining cover crop mulch in the black tarp treatments was reduced by more than 1100 kg ha−1 when tarps were removed compared with clear and no tarp treatments. We interpret this as an indirect measurement of biological activity perhaps accelerated by lower daily soil temperature fluctuations and more constant volumetric water content under black tarps. The edges of both tarp types were held down, rather than buried, but moisture losses from the clear tarps were greater and this may have affected the efficacy of clear tarps. Plastic tarps effectively killed the vetch cover crop, whereas it readily regrew in the crimped but uncovered plots. However, emergence of large and smooth crabgrass (Digitaria spp.) appeared to be enhanced in the clear tarp treatment. Although this experiment was limited to a single site-year in New Hampshire, it shows that use of black tarps can overcome some of the obstacles to implementing cover crop-based no-till vegetable productions in northern climates.

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Influence of spatial planting arrangement of winter rye cover crop on corn seedling disease and corn productivity

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-04-21-0764-re ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Maria Kurtz ◽

Jyotsna Acharya ◽

Thomas C. Kaspar ◽

Alison E Robertson

Keyword(s):

Cover Crop ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Winter Rye ◽

Field Plot ◽

Seedling Disease ◽

Shoot Dry Weight ◽

No Till ◽

Clade B ◽

Corn Seedling ◽

On Farm

Despite numerous environmental benefits associated with cover crop (CC) use, some farmers are reluctant to include CCs in their production systems because of reported yield declines in corn. There are numerous potential reasons for this yield decline, including seedling disease. A winter rye CC can serve as a ‘green bridge’ for corn seedling pathogens. We hypothesized that proximity of corn seedling roots to decaying rye CC roots contributes to corn seeding disease. An experimental field plot and an on-farm study were conducted over two years to evaluate growth, development, and disease severity of corn seedlings planted at various distances from decaying winter rye CC plants. The experimental field plot study was conducted in a no-till corn-soybean rotation with five replications of a winter rye CC treatments seeded as (i) no CC control, (ii) broadcast, (iii) 19-cm drilled rows, and (iv) 76-cm drilled rows. The on-farm study was no-till corn-soybean rotation with four replications of a winter rye cover crop seeded as 38-cm drilled rows, 76-cm drilled rows, and no CC control. The corn was planted on 76-cm rows shortly after rye was terminated. With multiple seeding arrangements of winter rye, corn was planted at different distances from winter rye. Corn radicle root rot severity and incidence, shoot height, shoot dry weight, corn height and chlorophyll at VT, ear parameters, and yield were collected. Soil samples were taken in the corn row and the interrow at winter rye termination, corn planting, and corn growth stage V3 to estimate the abundance of Pythium clade B members present in soil samples. Our results showed that increased distance between winter rye residue and corn reduced seedling disease and Pythium clade B populations in the radicles and soil, and increased shoot dry weight, leaf chlorophyll, plant height, and yield. This suggests that physically distancing the corn crop from the winter rye CC is one way to reduce the negative effects of a winter rye CC on corn.

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403 Butternut Squash (Cucurbita moschata) Yield and Soil Erosion in Three Tillage Systems

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.35.3.462c ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 462C-462

Author(s):

Michelle L. Infante-Casella ◽

Steven A. Garrison

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Production Systems ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Winter Rye ◽

Cucurbita Moschata ◽

Tillage Systems ◽

No Till ◽

Marketable Fruit

Many squash varieties are large-seeded and may be well-suited for planting under no-till production systems. A study was done at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Bridgeton, N.J., to evaluate the yield and loss of soil when butternut squash (BS) (Cucurbita moschata `Waltham') was grown using no-till (NT), strip-till (ST), and bare ground (BG) tillage systems. The soil was a Sassafrass gravely sand loam and the field had a 3% slope. A cover crop mixture of hairy vetch and winter rye planted on 23 Sept. 1998 using a Brillion seeder at a rate of 136.2 kg/ha and 610.2 kg/ha, respectively, was used to create the NT and ST plots. NT and ST plots containing the cover crop mixture were killed with Glyphosate and chopped using a Buffalo stalk chopper on 27 May. BG plots were tilled clean before planting and ST plots were rototilled to a 30.48 cm band to establish a seedbed. BS seeds were hand-planted on 7 July with a spacing of 38.1 cm between plants and 182.9 cm between rows. Irrigation was applied overhead at a rate of 6.28 cm/ha weekly. Erosion was measured using inverted pans over the soil area to be measured. Harvest took place on 21Oct. and yields included only marketable fruit with the following results: NT = 8.65 t/ha; ST = 8.99 t/ha; BG = 4.06 t/ha. Yields in the NT and ST plots were significantly higher than yields in the BG plots. Soil erosion measurements were taken on 21 Oct. Soil loss results from the plots were 0.08 cm (NT), 0.84 cm (ST), and 3.33 cm (BG). Soil loss, mainly due to water erosion, was significantly higher in the BG plots. BS yields can be significantly higher when using alternative tillage systems like NT and ST. When using NT and ST systems for the production of BS, soil erosion is reduced

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Responses of leached nitrogen concentrations and soil health to winter rye cover crop under no‐till corn‐soybean rotation in the Northern Great Plains

Journal of Environmental Quality ◽

10.1002/jeq2.20294 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Arun Bawa ◽

Rachel MacDowell ◽

Sangeeta Bansal ◽

John McMaine ◽

Peter Sexton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Great Plains ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Soil Health ◽

Northern Great Plains ◽

Winter Rye ◽

No Till ◽

Nitrogen Concentrations

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Grazing Winter Rye Cover Crop in a Cotton No-Till System: Yield and Economics

Agronomy Journal ◽

10.2134/agronj13.0434 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 106 (3) ◽

pp. 1041-1050 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

H. H. Schomberg ◽

D. S. Fisher ◽

D. W. Reeves ◽

D. M. Endale ◽

R. L. Raper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cover Crop ◽

Winter Rye ◽

No Till

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Yield and Economics of Grazing a Winter Rye Cover Crop in No-till Cotton

CSA News ◽

10.2134/csa2014-59-6-2 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 59 (6) ◽

pp. 12-12

Keyword(s):

Cover Crop ◽

Winter Rye ◽

No Till

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173 Effects of Cover Crops and Tillage on Sweet Corn Production

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.34.3.472a ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 472A-472

Author(s):

Gary R. Cline ◽

Anthony F. Silvernail

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Sweet Corn ◽

N Fertilization ◽

Winter Rye ◽

No Tillage ◽

Inorganic N ◽

Corn Production ◽

No Till ◽

Winter Cover Crops

A split-plot factorial experiment examined effects of tillage and winter cover crops on `Merit' sweet corn in 1994, 1995, and 1996. Main plots received tillage or no-tillage. Cover crops consisted of hairy vetch, winter rye, or a mix, and N treatments consisted of plus or minus inorganic N fertilization. The shoot N contents of vetch and mix cover crops ranged from 100 to 150 kg/ha, whereas N contents of rye were usually <50 kg/ha. In 1994 and 1995, vetch shoot N contents were 150 kg/ha, and corn yields following vetch were not significantly affected by addition of inorganic N fertilizer. In 1996, vetch N contents only equaled 120 kg/ha, and corn yields were significantly increased by addition of inorganic N. Supplemental N was also required to obtain maximum yields following mix and rye cover crops in all years, even though the N contents of vetch and mix cover crops were normally similar. Measurements of corn foliar N and available soil N were in agreement with the yield results. No-tillage did not significantly affect corn yields following vetch. However, no-till corn yields were reduced with rye (1995) and the mix (1995 and 1996) as a result of reduced corn plant population densities. Reliable tillage results were not obtained for 1994. It was concluded that a vetch cover crop could adequately supply N to sweet corn if vetch N content was at least 150 kg/ha. Sweet corn following rye or vetch/rye mix cover crops required additional N for optimal yields. Significant N in the mix cover crop was probably immobilized as the rye component decomposed. No-till sweet corn was grown successfully following vetch, but yields were often reduced with the mix or rye cover crops.

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