Energy and economic savings from the use of legume cover crops in Virginia corn production

1994 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 178-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. Ess ◽  
D.H. Vaughan ◽  
J.M. Luna ◽  
P.G. Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Corn Production ◽  
Alternative Crop ◽  
No Till ◽  
Legume Cover Crops ◽  
Net Revenue ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Systems

AbstractEnergy analysis provides a measure of the effectiveness of sustainable agricultural systems in reducing inputs purchased from off-farm sources. This study compares the total (direct plus indirect) energy costs of growing corn for silage using manufactured N fertilizer or N-fixing legume cover crops. The cover crop either was killed with herbicide in a no-till system or disked in the spring. Economically competitive alternative crop production practices are identified.In both the no-till and the disked versions, cover-cropped treatments used about half as much energy per hectare as the corresponding winter fallow N-fertilizer treatments. Using vetch to provide N significantly lowered energy use per unit of crop output compared with the N-fertilized treatments. For the treatments that used hairy vetch, either alone or in combination with big/lower vetch, net revenue was statistically equivalent to that of standard-practice treatments in each year of the study.

Nitrogen Delivery from Legume Cover Crops in No-Till Organic Corn Production

2011 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 1578-1590 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Parr ◽  
J. M. Grossman ◽  
S. C. Reberg-Horton ◽  
C. Brinton ◽  
C. Crozier
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Corn Production ◽  
No Till ◽  
Legume Cover Crops

Effects of Cover Crops and Tillage on Sweet Corn Production

HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 476d-476
Author(s):  
Gary R. Cline ◽  
Anthony F. Silvernail
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Sweet Corn ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
Winter Rye ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Corn Production ◽  
Total N ◽  
No Till ◽  
Winter Cover ◽  
Winter Cover Crops

A split-plot factorial experiment examined effects of tillage and winter cover crops on sweet corn in 1997. 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 N fertilization. Following watermelon not receiving inorganic N, vetch, and mix cover cropsproduced total N yields of ≈90 kg/ha that were more than four times greater than those obtained with rye. However, vetch dry weight yields (2.7 mg/ha) were only about 60% of those obtained in previous years due to winter kill. Following rye winter cover crops, addition of ammonium nitrate to corn greatly increased (P < 0.05) corn yields and foliar N concentrations compared to treatments not receiving N. Following vetch, corn yields obtained in tilled treatments without N fertilization equaled those obtained with N fertilization. However, yields obtained from unfertilized no-till treatments were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than yields of N-fertilized treatments. Available soil N was significantly (P < 0.05) greater following vetch compared to rye after corn planting. No significant effects of tillage on sweet corn plant densities or yields were detected. It was concluded that no-tillage sweet corn was successful, and N fixed by vetch was able to sustain sweet corn production in tilled treatments but not in no-till treatments.In previous years normal, higher-yielding vetch cover crops were able to sustain sweet corn in both tilled and no-till treatments.

Legume Cover Crops as a Nitrogen Source for No‐Till Corn and Grain Sorghum

1990 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 769-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Blevins ◽  
J. H. Herbek ◽  
W. W. Frye
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Source ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Grain Sorghum ◽  
No Till ◽  
Legume Cover Crops

scholarly journals No-tillage sorghum and garbanzo yields match or exceed standard tillage yields

2022 ◽  
pp. 112-120
Author(s):  
Jeffrey P. Mitchell ◽  
Anil Shrestha ◽  
Lynn Epstein ◽  
Jeffery A. Dahlberg ◽  
Teamrat Ghezzehei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
San Joaquin Valley ◽  
Agricultural Water Use ◽  
No Till ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Crop System

To meet the requirements of California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, there is a critical need for crop production strategies with less reliance on irrigation from surface and groundwater sources. One strategy for improving agricultural water use efficiency is reducing tillage and maintaining residues on the soil surface. We evaluated high residue no-till versus standard tillage in the San Joaquin Valley with and without cover crops on the yields of two crops, garbanzo and sorghum, for 4 years. The no-till treatment had no primary or secondary tillage. Sorghum yields were similar in no-till and standard tillage systems while no-till garbanzo yields matched or exceeded those of standard tillage, depending on the year. Cover crops had no effect on crop yields. Soil cover was highest under the no-till with cover crop system, averaging 97% versus 5% for the standard tillage without cover crop system. Our results suggest that garbanzos and sorghum can be grown under no-till practices in the San Joaquin Valley without loss of yield.

scholarly journals Productivity and nitrogen benefits of late-season legume cover crops in organic wheat production

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 771-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harun Cicek ◽  
Martin H. Entz ◽  
Joanne R. Thiessen Martens ◽  
Paul R. Bullock
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Production ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Reduced Tillage ◽  
Sweet Clover ◽  
Wheat Production ◽  
Late Season ◽  
Legume Cover Crops

Cicek, H., Entz, M. H., Thiessen Martens, J. R. and Bullock, P. R. 2014. Productivity and nitrogen benefits of late-season legume cover crops in organic wheat production. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 771–783. When full-season cover crops are used in stockless organic rotations, cash crop production is compromised. Including winter cereals in rotations can widen the growing season window and create a niche for late-season cover crops. We investigated the establishment and biomass production of relay-cropped red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis L. ‘Norgold’) and double-cropped cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. ‘Iron and Clay’), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa L.), lentil (Lens culinaris L. ‘Indianhead’), soybean (Glycine max L. ‘Prudence’), pea (Pisum sativum L. ‘40-10’), and oil seed radish (Raphanus sativus L.) as well as wheat response to these crops under reduced tillage (RT) and conventional tillage (CT) at three locations in Manitoba, Canada. Red clover, sweet clover and pea produced from 737 to 4075 and 93 to 1453 and 160 to 2357 kg ha−1of biomass, respectively. All double crops, with the exception of soybean at 2 site years, established successfully under both RT and CT. The presence of cover crops increased wheat N uptake at stem elongation, maturity and yield, even when the biomass production of cover crops was modest. We conclude that late-season cover crops enhance the following wheat yield and facilitate reduced tillage in organic crop production.

scholarly journals BIOMASS AND NUTRIENT CYCLING BY COVER CROPS IN BRAZILIAN CERRADO IN THE STATE OF PIAUI

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEANDRO PEREIRA PACHECO ◽  
◽  
MARINETE MARTINS DE SOUSA MONTEIRO ◽  
FABIANO ANDRÉ PETTER ◽  
JÚLIO CÉSAR AZEVEDO NÓBREGA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Production ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Upland Rice ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Brazilian Cerrado ◽  
Crop Season ◽  
Annual Crops ◽  
No Till

ABSTRACT Research on the performance of cover crops in crop systems of annual crops in the Brazilian state of Piauí contributes to increases in yield, greater efficiency of fertilizers and mitigation of environmental impacts. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of cover crops in terms of biomass production and the accumulation and release of nutrients during the crop season (November to April) in an oxisol in the Brazilian Cerrado in the state of Piauí that was submitted to different crop production systems including soybeans, maize and upland rice. The experiment was established during the 2010/11 and 2011/12 crop years in the rural area near the municipality of Bom Jesus, Piauí. The experimental design was a randomized block in a split-plot array. Different soil management systems (conventional and no-till) were evaluated in the main plots. Different crop production systems consisting of cover crops sown in the off-season (April to November), and annual crops sown during the crop season (November to April) were implemented in the subplots. The crop production systems that included Urochloa ruziziensis and Pennisetum glaucum overseeded on soybeans and Urochloa ruziziensis simultaneously intercropped with maize stood out in terms of biomass production and the accumulation and release of nutrients. Yields of maize and upland rice declined when sown under newly implemented no-till soil management.

Legume Cover Crops and Tillage Impact Nitrogen Dynamics in Organic Corn Production

2018 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 1046-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander M. Liebman ◽  
Julie Grossman ◽  
Matthew Brown ◽  
M. Scott Wells ◽  
S. C. Reberg-Horton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Nitrogen Dynamics ◽  
Corn Production ◽  
Legume Cover Crops

Comparative local economic benefits of conventional and alternative cropping systems

1989 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Lockeretz
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
High Input ◽  
Corn Production ◽  
Productive Potential

AbstractI reexamined five previously published studies that compared the economics of high input conventional crop production systems in various regions to the economics of lower input alternatives that use green manures, cover crops, and more diversified rotations, but no inorganic fertilizers and little or no synthetic pesticides. The original analyses were extended to include estimates of each production system's contribution to the local economy, both directly through farmers' payments for labor and interest, and indirectly through the payrolls and profits of enterprises serving farmers. A similar comparison was also made for high input irrigated and lower input nonirrigated corn production. On a per acre basis, the high input systems' local economic benefits were equal to or greater than those of the lower input systems. However, they were lower as a fraction of total value of production in all but one case, since production was always higher for the higher input systems. Correspondingly, with all but one of the higher input systems, a greater portion of the value of production left the local economy to pay for purchased inputs. This becomes significant if the production system is not sustainable, so that the total productive potential of the area's agricultural resources is finite when integrated over their entire economic life. In such circumstances, the results imply that under the conventional system the local economy will capture a smaller share of the total productive value of those resources.

Control of Legume Cover Crops in No-Till Corn (Zea mays) and Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

1990 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall H. White ◽  
A. Douglas Worsham
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Cotton Yield ◽  
Hairy Vetch ◽  
Crimson Clover ◽  
No Till ◽  
Legume Cover Crops ◽  
Herbicide Treatments ◽  
Stand Height ◽  
Clover Seed

Eight herbicide treatments per crop were evaluated for hairy vetch and crimson clover cover-crop control in no-till corn and cotton at two locations in North Carolina. Paraquat alone or combined with dicamba, 2,4-D, or cyanazine, and cyanazine alone, controlled clover the best in both crops. All herbicide treatments, except glyphosate alone, controlled at least 89% of hairy vetch in corn. However, only 2,4-D and cyanazine alone or combined with glyphosate controlled greater than 89% of hairy vetch in cotton. Except for poor control of hairy vetch and crimson clover by glyphosate alone, reduced legume control did not consistently decrease corn or cotton yield. Weed control was reduced in crimson clover treated with glyphosate alone, but control was similar among the remaining herbicide treatments. Effectiveness of legume control did not influence the N concentration of corn or cotton. Corn stand, height, and yield were greater in hairy vetch than in crimson clover. Seed cotton yield did not differ between vetch and clover.

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