Influence of cover crop on water and nitrogen balances and cash crop yield in a temperate climate: A modelling approach using the STICS soil-crop model

AbstractCover crop residue can act as a mulch that will suppress weeds, but as the residue degrades, weed suppression diminishes. Biomass of cover crop residue is positively correlated to weed suppression, but little research is available regarding the composition of cover crop residue and its effect on weed suppression. Field experiments were conducted to determine the impact of cover crop residue properties (i.e., total carbon, total nitrogen, lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose) on summer annual weed suppression and cash crop yield. Cover crop monocultures and mixtures were planted in the fall and designed to provide a range of biomass and residue properties. Cover crops were followed by corn (Zea mays L.) or soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. At termination, cover crop biomass and residue components were determined. Biomass ranged from 3,640 to 8,750 kg ha−1, and the carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio ranged from 12:1 to 36:1. As both cover crop biomass and C:N ratio increased, weed suppression and duration of suppression increased. For example, a C:N ratio of 9:1 is needed to suppress redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) 50% at 4 wk after termination (WAT), and that increases to 16:1 and 20:1 to have 50% suppression at 6 and 8 WAT, respectively. Similarly, with biomass, 2,800 kg ha−1 is needed for 50% A. retroflexus suppression at 4 WAT, which increases to 5,280 kg ha−1 and 6,610 kg ha−1 needed for 50% suppression at 6 and 8 WAT, respectively. In general, similar trends were observed for pitted morningglory (Ipomoea lacunosa L.) and large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.]. Corn and soybean yield increased as both cover crop biomass and C:N ratio increased where no weed control measures were implemented beyond cover crop. The same trend was observed with cash crop yield in the weed-free subblocks, with one exception. This research indicates that cover crop residue composition is important for weed control in addition to biomass.

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Ecosystem Services and Cash Crop Tradeoffs of Summer Cover Crops in Northern Region Organic Vegetable Rotations

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems ◽

10.3389/fsufs.2021.635955 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Author(s):

Vivian M. Wauters ◽

Julie M. Grossman ◽

Anne Pfeiffer ◽

Rodrigo Cala

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Crop Yield ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Biomass Accumulation ◽

Weed Suppression ◽

Soil Protection ◽

Total Biomass ◽

Cash Crop ◽

Vegetable Farming

Intensive production practices characterizing vegetable farming contribute to high productivity, but often at the expense of supporting and regulating ecosystem services. Diversification with cover crops may support increased resilience through soil organic matter (SOM) contributions and physical soil protection. Vegetable farming often includes spring and fall production, limiting establishment and productive potential of over-wintered cover crops that are more widely used in the USA. In northern climate vegetable systems, warm-season cover crops planted during short summer fallows could be a tool to build resilience via ecosystem service enhancement. This project evaluated summer cover crops in the northern USA (MN and WI) for biomass accumulation, weed suppression, and contribution to fall cash crop yield. Our study included four site years, during which we investigated the effects of four cover crop species treatments, grown for 30 (short duration, SD) or 50 days (long duration, LD) alongside bare fertilized and unfertilized control treatments: buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) and sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) monocultures, and biculture of chickling vetch (Lathyrus sativus) or cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) with sorghum-sudangrass (sudex) (Sorghum bicolor x S. bicolor var. Sudanese). To quantify cover crop quantity, quality, and weed suppression capacity, we measured cover crop and weed biomass, and biomass C:N. To quantify effects on cash crops, we measured fall broccoli yield and biomass. Mean total biomass (cover crop + weeds) by site year ranged from 1,890 kg ha−1 in MN Y1 to 5,793 kg ha−1 in WI Y2 and varied among species in Y1 for both the SD and LD treatments. Most cover crops did not outcompete weeds, but treatments with less weeds produced more overall biomass. Data from Y1 show that cover crops were unable to replace fertilizer for fall broccoli yield, and led to reduced fall crop yield. Broccoli in Y2 did not reach maturity due to fall freeze. Summer cover crops, because of their biomass accumulation potential, may be used by farmers in northern climates to fit into cropping system niches that have historically been left as bare soil, but care with timing is necessary to optimize weed suppression and mitigate tradeoffs for cash crop production.

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Analysis and modeling of cover crop emergence: Accuracy of a static model and the dynamic STICS soil-crop model

European Journal of Agronomy ◽

10.1016/j.eja.2017.12.004 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 93 ◽

pp. 73-81 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Hélène Tribouillois ◽

Julie Constantin ◽

Eric Justes

Keyword(s):

Cover Crop ◽

Static Model ◽

Crop Model

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Review of "Uncertainties in global crop model frameworks: effects of cultivar distribution, crop management and soil handling on crop yield estimates"

10.5194/bg-2016-527-rc1 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Anonymous

Keyword(s):

Crop Yield ◽

Crop Management ◽

Crop Model

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Potential of remote sensing data-crop model assimilation and seasonal weather forecasts for early-season crop yield forecasting over a large area

Field Crops Research ◽

10.1016/j.fcr.2021.108398 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 276 ◽

pp. 108398

Author(s):

Yi Chen ◽

Fulu Tao

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Crop Yield ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Crop Model ◽

Large Area ◽

Early Season ◽

Weather Forecasts ◽

Sensing Data ◽

Crop Yield Forecasting ◽

Seasonal Weather

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Evaluation of commercial soil health tests using a medium-term cover crop experiment in a humid, temperate climate

Plant and Soil ◽

10.1007/s11104-018-3653-2 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 427 (1-2) ◽

pp. 351-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

I. Chahal ◽

L. L. Van Eerd

Keyword(s):

Cover Crop ◽

Soil Health ◽

Temperate Climate ◽

Medium Term

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Cover crop diversity for weed suppression and crop yield in a corn–soybean production system in Tennessee

age ◽

10.1002/agg2.20112 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Manuel J. Sabbagh ◽

Sindhu Jagadamma ◽

Lori A. Duncan ◽

Forbes R. Walker ◽

Jaehoon Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crop Yield ◽

Production System ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Weed Suppression ◽

Crop Diversity ◽

Soybean Production

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Drainage N Loads Under Climate Change with Winter Rye Cover Crop in a Northern Mississippi River Basin Corn-Soybean Rotation

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12187630 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (18) ◽

pp. 7630

Author(s):

Robert Malone ◽

Jurgen Garbrecht ◽

Phillip Busteed ◽

Jerry Hatfield ◽

Dennis Todey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

River Basin ◽

Crop Yield ◽

Mississippi River ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

General Circulation ◽

N Uptake ◽

Winter Rye ◽

Mississippi River Basin

To help reduce future N loads entering the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River 45%, Iowa set the goal of reducing non-point source N loads 41%. Studies show that implementing winter rye cover crops into agricultural systems reduces N loads from subsurface drainage, but its effectiveness in the Mississippi River Basin under expected climate change is uncertain. We used the field-tested Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) to estimate drainage N loads, crop yield, and rye growth in central Iowa corn-soybean rotations. RZWQM scenarios included baseline (BL) observed weather (1991–2011) and ambient CO2 with cover crop and no cover crop treatments (BL_CC and BL_NCC). Scenarios also included projected future temperature and precipitation change (2065–2085) from six general circulation models (GCMs) and elevated CO2 with cover crop and no cover crop treatments (CC and NCC). Average annual drainage N loads under NCC, BL_NCC, CC and BL_CC were 63.6, 47.5, 17.0, and 18.9 kg N ha−1. Winter rye cover crop was more effective at reducing drainage N losses under climate change than under baseline conditions (73 and 60% for future and baseline climate), mostly because the projected temperatures and atmospheric CO2 resulted in greater rye growth and crop N uptake. Annual CC drainage N loads were reduced compared with BL_NCC more than the targeted 41% for 18 to 20 years of the 21-year simulation, depending on the GCM. Under projected climate change, average annual simulated crop yield differences between scenarios with and without winter rye were approximately 0.1 Mg ha−1. These results suggest that implementing winter rye cover crop in a corn-soybean rotation effectively addresses the goal of drainage N load reduction under climate change in a northern Mississippi River Basin agricultural system without affecting cash crop production.

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