Straw Checkerboard Barriers Improve Soil Characteristic and Growth Performance of Winter Cover Crops and Protect Sloping Land

Abstract Aims Finding how straw checkerboard barrier technology, as a sustainable and environment-friendly method, may affect soil chemical properties and water status despite wind erosion control directed us to evaluate this technique as a vital component of management plans in sloping lands of semi-arid areas. We were interested to know if it could support the soil capabilities to grow pilot plants and recover some ecological services via alleviate drought stress or amendment of soil attributes.Methods In order to study soil characteristic and growth performance of winter cover crops, an experiment was carried out in 2018. Checkerboards were setup in a 1×1 m pattern with rice residues. Seeds of sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa), rye (Secale montanum) and tall wheatgrass (Agropyron sp) were sown at the checkerboards and bare ground as the control. Detailed analyses include growth characteristics, physiological attributes i.e. photosynthetic pigment contents, proline and malondialdehyde contents and relative water contents of mentioned crops and the related soil properties during the growing season were carried out in borders and centers of the straw checkerboards and bare ground.Results Soil covered with straw checkerboard barriers was the most effective for improving vegetation growth and establishing taller plants with higher biomass. Based on the physiological analyses, the rye grown in straw checkerboard plots coped well with dry conditions. Higher proline content and more efficient osmotic adjustment indicates improvements of soil water retention status, which may alleviate drought stress damages and improve cover crop performance in straw checkerboard plots. Photosynthetic pigments also showed higher contents in checkerboards for rye. Soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, potassium and water storage increased in checkerboards too, however, such effects vary with the crop type. Conclusions straw checkerboards could be deemed as an effective management strategy in semi-arid areas, as an important method for conserving natural resources and sustaining productivity.

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Straw Checkerboard Barriers Improve Soil Characteristic and Growth Performance of Winter Cover Crops and Protect Sloping Land

10.21203/rs.3.rs-408774/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elahe Ahmadpoor Dehkordi ◽

Ali Abbasi Surki ◽

Mehdi Pajouhesh ◽

Pejman Tahmasebi

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Water Status ◽

Control Plant ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Bare Ground ◽

Soil Characteristic ◽

Management Actions ◽

Winter Cover ◽

Winter Cover Crops

Abstract Aims Straw checkerboard barrier technology, as a sustainable and environment-friendly method, is intended for erosion control, plant recovery at endangered areas. Finding how soil chemical properties and water status alters and how pilot cover plants respond are vital for extra management actions. Methods In order to study soil characteristic and growth performance of winter cover crops, an experiment was carried out in 2018. Checkerboards were setup in a 1×1 m pattern with rice residues. Seeds of Onobrychis sativa, Secale montanum and Agropyron sp were sown at the checkerboards and bare ground as the control. Detailed analyses were carried out on the physiological responses and the related soil properties during the growing season in borders and centers of the straw checkerboards and bare ground. Results Soil covered with straw checkerboard barriers was more effective for improving vegetation growth, established taller plants with higher biomass. Based on the physiological analyses, the rye grown in a straw checkerboard coped well with dry conditions. Higher proline content and more efficient osmotic adjustment indicate improvements of soil water retention status, which may alleviate drought stress damages and improve cover crop performance in straw checkerboard plots. Photosynthetic pigments also showed higher contents in these conditions for rye. Soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus and potassium and water storage increased in checkerboards too; however, such effects vary with the crop type. Conclusions This technique could be deemed as an effective management strategy in semi-arid areas and an important method for conserving natural resources and sustaining productivity.

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Winter cover crops effects on soil properties and sweet corn yield in semi‐arid irrigated systems

Agronomy Journal ◽

10.1002/agj2.20055 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 112 (1) ◽

pp. 92-106

Author(s):

Eric Antosh ◽

John Idowu ◽

Brian Schutte ◽

Erik Lehnhoff

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Sweet Corn ◽

Corn Yield ◽

Winter Cover ◽

Winter Cover Crops ◽

Semi Arid

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THE USE OF WINTER CROPS TO REDUCE NITROGEN LEACHING

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.31.5.749c ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 749c-749

Author(s):

Emmanuel Genio ◽

Tom Garrett ◽

Greg Hoyt ◽

Gary Wells ◽

Larry Bauer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Fertilizer Application ◽

Nitrogen Leaching ◽

Bare Ground ◽

Winter Crops ◽

Winter Cover ◽

Winter Cover Crops ◽

Ground Method ◽

The Cost

The cost-effectiveness of using winter cover crops to reduce nitrogen leaching was estimated. Costs were based on cucumber and sweetpotato grown in rotation, three fertilizer application levels (0, 60, and 120 kg N/ha), and three winter covers (weeds/bare, wheat, and clover). Soil N was measured in 15-cm intervals to a depth of 90 cm at the 1993 harvest and 1994 planting. The cover crop biomass was also analyzed. Nitrogen trapping by wheat and clover was compared to bare ground with adjustment for N fixing by clover. Four scenarios—sweetpotato/both covers/high N and cucumber/wheat cover/low and medium N—yielded increased leaching compared to their bare ground counterparts. Leaching prevented from the other scenarios ranged from 1.07 to 20.11 kg·ha–1. Costs, yields, and vegetable prices were used to calculate profit changes from the bare ground method on a dollar/kg basis. Profit changes ranged from negative $2372.74/kg for cucumber/wheat cover/high fertilizer to the only positive change of $16.53 for sweetpotato/clover/medium fertilizer. Negative costs resulted from yield increases when nonwinter weed covers were used.

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Influence of Nitrogen Fertilization of Cabbage Grown in Mulches of Winter Cover Crops on Reducing the Population of the Cabbage Aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae L.)

Vegetable Crops Research Bulletin ◽

10.2478/v10032-011-0007-5 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 74 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Stanisław Kotliński

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Nitrogen Fertilization ◽

Brevicoryne Brassicae ◽

Cabbage Aphid ◽

Winter Cover ◽

Winter Cover Crops

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Effects of winter cover crops on physiological and biochemical properties and growth of double cropping rice in South China

CHINESE JOURNAL OF ECO-AGRICULTURE ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1011.2010.01176 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 1176-1182

Author(s):

Hai-Ming TANG ◽

Wen-Guang TANG ◽

Xiao-Ping XIAO ◽

Zun-Chang LUO ◽

Guang-Li YANG ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South China ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Biochemical Properties ◽

Double Cropping ◽

Winter Cover ◽

Winter Cover Crops ◽

Physiological And Biochemical ◽

Physiological And Biochemical Properties

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Effects of Cover Crops and Tillage on Sweet Corn Production

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.33.3.476d ◽

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.

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Response of Winter Cover Crops to Soil Compaction

Soil Science Society of America Journal ◽

10.2136/sssaj1958.03615995002200020025x ◽

1958 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 181-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

W. J. Flocker ◽

J. A. Vomocil ◽

M. T. Vittum

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Soil Compaction ◽

Winter Cover ◽

Winter Cover Crops

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A 3-year field study to assess winter cover crops as nitrogen sources for an organic maize crop in Mediterranean Portugal

European Journal of Agronomy ◽

10.1016/j.eja.2021.126302 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 128 ◽

pp. 126302

Author(s):

Adelaide Perdigão ◽

José L.S. Pereira ◽

Nuno Moreira ◽

Henrique Trindade ◽

João Coutinho

Keyword(s):

Field Study ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Nitrogen Sources ◽

Maize Crop ◽

Winter Cover ◽

Winter Cover Crops

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Assessing the Impacts of Future Climate Conditions on the Effectiveness of Winter Cover Crops in Reducing Nitrate Loads into the Chesapeake Bay Watersheds Using the SWAT Model

Transactions of the ASABE ◽

10.13031/trans.12390 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 60 (6) ◽

pp. 1939-1955 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sangchul Lee ◽

Ali M. Sadeghi ◽

In-Young Yeo ◽

Gregory W. McCarty ◽

W. Dean Hively

Keyword(s):

Coastal Plain ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Nitrate Reduction ◽

Future Climate ◽

Baseline Scenario ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Reduction Efficiency ◽

Simulation Results ◽

Winter Cover ◽

Winter Cover Crops

Abstract. Winter cover crops (WCCs) have been widely implemented in the Coastal Plain of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW) due to their high effectiveness in reducing nitrate loads. However, future climate conditions (FCCs) are expected to exacerbate water quality degradation in the CBW by increasing nitrate loads from agriculture. Accordingly, the question remains whether WCCs are sufficient to mitigate increased nutrient loads caused by FCCs. In this study, we assessed the impacts of FCCs on WCC nitrate reduction efficiency in the Coastal Plain of the CBW using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Three FCC scenarios (2085-2098) were prepared using general circulation models (GCMs), considering three Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) greenhouse gas emission scenarios. We also developed six representative WCC implementation scenarios based on the most commonly used planting dates and species of WCCs in this region. Simulation results showed that WCC biomass increased by ~58% under FCC scenarios due to climate conditions conducive to WCC growth. Prior to implementing WCCs, annual nitrate loads increased by ~43% under FCC scenarios compared to the baseline scenario (2001-2014). When WCCs were planted, annual nitrate loads were substantially reduced by ~48%, and WCC nitrate reduction efficiency was ~5% higher under FCC scenarios relative to the baseline scenario. The increase in WCC nitrate reduction efficiency varied with FCC scenario and WCC planting method. As CO2 concentrations were higher and winters were warmer under FCC scenarios, WCCs had greater biomass and thus demonstrated higher nitrate reduction efficiency. In response to FCC scenarios, the performance of less effective WCC practices (i.e., barley, wheat, and late planting) under the baseline scenario indicated a ~14% higher increase in nitrate reduction efficiency compared to WCC practices with greater effectiveness under the baseline scenario (i.e., rye and early planting) due to warmer temperatures. The SWAT simulation results indicated that WCCs were effective in mitigating nitrate loads accelerated by FCCs, suggesting the role of WCCs in mitigating nitrate loads will likely be even more important under FCCs. Keywords: Future climate conditions (FCCs), SWAT, Water quality, Winter cover crops (WCCs).

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