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

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

Organic zero-till in the northern US Great Plains Region: Opportunities and obstacles

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick M. Carr ◽  
Randy L. Anderson ◽  
Yvonne E. Lawley ◽  
Perry R. Miller ◽  
Steve F. Zwinger
Keyword(s):  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Cash Crops ◽  
No Till ◽  
The Us

AbstractThe use of killed cover crop mulch for weed suppression, soil erosion prevention and many other soil and crop benefits has been demonstrated in organic no-till or zero-till farming systems in eastern US regions and in Canada. Implements have been developed to make this system possible by terminating cover crops mechanically with little, if any, soil disturbance. Ongoing research in the US northern Great Plains is being conducted to identify cover crop species and termination methods for use in organic zero-till (OZ) systems that are adapted to the crop rotations and climate of this semi-arid region. Current termination strategies must be improved so that cover crop species are killed consistently and early enough in the growing season so that subsequent cash crops can be grown and harvested successfully. Delaying termination until advanced growth stages improves killing efficacy of cover crops and may provide weed-suppressive mulch for the remainder of the growing season, allowing no-till spring seeding of cash crops during the next growing season. Excessive water use by cover crops, inability of legume cover crops to supply adequate amounts of N for subsequent cash crops and failure of cover crops to suppress perennial weeds are additional obstacles that must be overcome before the use of killed cover crop mulch can be promoted as a weed control alternative to tillage in the US northern Great Plains. Use of vegetative mulch produced by killed cover crops will not be a panacea for the weed control challenges faced by organic growers, but rather one tool along with crop rotation, novel grazing strategies, the judicious use of high-residue cultivation equipment, such as the blade plow, and the use of approved herbicides with systemic activity in some instances, to provide organic farmers with new opportunities to incorporate OZ practices into their cropping systems. Emerging crop rotation designs for organic no-till systems may provide for more efficient use of nutrient and water resources, opportunities for livestock grazing before, during or after cash crop phases and improved integrated weed management strategies on organic farms.

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

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry H. Schomberg ◽  
Dinku M. Endale ◽  
Kipling S. Balkcom ◽  
Randy L. Raper ◽  
Dwight H. Seman
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crop ◽  
Soil Strength ◽  
Winter Rye ◽  
No Till

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

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-233 ◽  
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.

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

Plant Disease ◽  
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.

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

HortScience ◽  
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

Revegetating Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia esula)-Infested Rangeland with Native Tallgrasses

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Masters ◽  
Scott J. Nissen
Keyword(s):  
Great Plains ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Leafy Spurge ◽  
Plant Residue ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Big Bluestem ◽  
Perennial Weed ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
No Till

Degradation of Great Plains rangelands can be linked to past management practices that reduced native species diversity and accelerated establishment and expansion of exotic weeds and less desirable native species. Leafy spurge is an exotic perennial weed that infests more than 1 million ha in the northern Great Plains and reduces rangeland carrying capacity by competing with desirable forages and causing infested areas to be undesirable to cattle and wildlife. Research was conducted to determine the feasibility of using herbicides to suppress leafy spurge and other resident vegetation, which facilitated planting and establishment of native tallgrasses. Four experiments were conducted where 0.28, 0.56, and 0.84 kg ai/ha imazapyr and 0.1 kg ai/ha sulfometuron were applied alone and in combination and 0.84 kg ai/ha glyphosate was applied to leafy spurge-infested range sites in fall 1991 near Ainsworth, NE, and in fall 1991, 1992, and 1993 near Ansley, NE. Research areas were burned about 200 d after herbicide application to reduce plant residue. Monoculture stands of big bluestem and switchgrass were then no-till planted in each experiment and indiangrass was no-till planted in experiments initiated at Ansley in 1992 and 1993. Yields of the planted grasses, leafy spurge, and other vegetation were measured in August at each location starting the year after planting. Imazapyr was an essential component of treatments applied before planting to facilitate establishment of highly productive stands of the tallgrasses. Generally, yields were maximized by fall treatments of 0.28 kg/ha imazapyr + 0.1 kg/ha sulfometuron for big bluestem, 0.84 kg/ha imazapyr for indiangrass, and 0.84 kg/ha imazapyr + 0.1 kg/ha sulfometuron for switchgrass. Yields of the planted grasses were frequently four times greater where these herbicides were applied compared to where glyphosate or no herbicide were applied. Leafy spurge yields were usually reduced in areas where tallgrass yields were greatest. The sequential combination of suppressing vegetation with fall-applied herbicides, burning standing dead plant residue, then no-till planting desirable native tallgrasses in the spring increased productivity of these leafy spurge-infested range sites.

Weed Community and Species Response to Crop Rotation, Tillage, and Nitrogen Fertility

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randy L. Anderson ◽  
Don L. Tanaka ◽  
Al L. Black ◽  
Edward E. Schweizer
Keyword(s):  
Great Plains ◽  
Spring Wheat ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Common Lambsquarters ◽  
Weed Density ◽  
Species Response ◽  
Alternative Crop ◽  
No Till ◽  
Green Foxtail ◽  
Tillage System

Producers in the northern Great Plains are exploring alternative crop rotations, with the goal of replacing spring wheat-fallow. We characterized the weed associations occurring with tillage system and nitrogen level in two rotations, spring wheat (SW)-fallow (F) and SW-winter wheat (WW)-sunflower (SUN). Weed density was measured 10 yr after initiation of the study. With both rotations, weed community density was highest with no-till. For SW-F, green foxtail, yellow foxtail, and fairy candelabra comprised 99% of the weed community, whereas 13 species were observed in SW-WW-SUN. Fairy candelabra, a rangeland species, was observed only in the no-till system of SW-F. In SW-WW-SUN, no-till favored kochia, Russian thistle, and foxtails, whereas common lambsquarters and annual sowthistle were more common in tilled systems. Nitrogen fertilizer increased crop competitiveness in SW-WW-SUN with no-till, subsequently reducing weed density. Cultural strategies that disrupt weed associations will aid producers in managing weeds.

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