Change of Weed Community in No-till Corn with Legume Cover Crops as Living Mulch

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

American Journal of Alternative Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s0889189300005956 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 178-185 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

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.

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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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Establishing white clover (Trifolium repens) as a living mulch: weed control and herbicide tolerance

Weed Technology ◽

10.1017/wet.2021.45 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-28

Author(s):

Nicholas T. Basinger ◽

Nicholas S. Hill

Keyword(s):

Weed Control ◽

White Clover ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Herbicide Tolerance ◽

Single Application ◽

Weed Species ◽

Living Mulch ◽

Herbicide Resistant ◽

Research And Education ◽

Weed Emergence

Abstract With the increasing focus on herbicide-resistant weeds and the lack of introduction of new modes of action, many producers have turned to annual cover crops as a tool for reducing weed populations. Recent studies have suggested that perennial cover crops such as white clover could be used as living mulch. However, white clover is slow to establish and is susceptible to competition from winter weeds. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine clover tolerance and weed control in established stands of white clover to several herbicides. Studies were conducted in the fall and winter of 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020 at the J. Phil Campbell Research and Education Center in Watkinsville, GA, and the Southeast Georgia Research and Education Center in Midville, GA. POST applications of imazethapyr, bentazon, or flumetsulam at low and high rates, or in combination with 2,4-D and 2,4-DB, were applied when clover reached 2 to 3 trifoliate stage. Six weeks after the initial POST application, a sequential application of bentazon and flumetsulam individually, and combinations of 2,4-D, 2,4-DB, and flumetsulam were applied over designated plots. Clover biomass was similar across all treatments except where it was reduced by sequential applications of 2,4-D + 2,4-DB + flumetsulam in the 2019 to 2020 season indicating that most treatments were safe for use on establishing living mulch clover. A single application of flumetsulam at the low rate or a single application of 2,4-D + 2,4-DB provided the greatest control of all weed species while minimizing clover injury when compared to the non-treated check. These herbicide options allow for control of problematic winter weeds during clover establishment, maximizing clover biomass and limiting canopy gaps that would allow for summer weed emergence.

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Progress towards no-till organic weed control in western Canada

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170511000500 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 60-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Steven J. Shirtliffe ◽

Eric N. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Weed Control ◽

Faba Bean ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Green Manure ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Organic Production ◽

Field Pea ◽

Western Canada ◽

No Till ◽

Green Manure Crops

AbstractOrganic farmers in western Canada rely on tillage to control weeds and incorporate crop residues that could plug mechanical weed-control implements. However, tillage significantly increases the risk of soil erosion. For farmers seeking to reduce or eliminate tillage, potential alternatives include mowing or using a roller crimper for terminating green manure crops (cover crops) or using a minimum tillage (min-till) rotary hoe for mechanically controlling weeds. Although many researchers have studied organic crop production in western Canada, few have studied no-till organic production practices. Two studies were recently conducted in Saskatchewan to determine the efficacy of the following alternatives to tillage: mowing and roller crimping for weed control, and min-till rotary hoeing weed control in field pea (Pisum sativum L.). The first study compared mowing and roller crimping with tillage when terminating faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and field pea green manure crops. Early termination of annual green manure crops with roller crimping or mowing resulted in less weed regrowth compared with tillage. When compared with faba bean, field pea produced greater crop biomass, suppressed weeds better and had less regrowth. Wheat yields following pea were not affected by the method of termination. Thus, this first study indicated that roller crimping and mowing are viable alternatives to tillage to terminate field pea green manure crops. The second study evaluated the tolerance and efficacy of a min-till rotary harrow in no-till field pea production. The min-till rotary hoe was able to operate in no-till cereal residues and multiple passes did not affect the level of residue cover. Field pea exhibited excellent tolerance to the min-till rotary hoe. Good weed control occurred with multiple rotary hoe passes, and pea seed yield was 87% of the yield obtained in the herbicide-treated check. Therefore, this second study demonstrated that min-till rotary hoeing effectively controls many small seeded annual weeds in the presence of crop residue and thus can reduce the need for tillage in organic-cropping systems.

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No-till, no-herbicide forage soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) cropping system with an Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) living mulch

Grassland Science ◽

10.1111/j.1744-697x.2010.00205.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 57 (1) ◽

pp. 28-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Makoto Kaneko ◽

Sunao Uozumi ◽

Eiko Touno ◽

Shin Deguchi

Keyword(s):

Glycine Max ◽

Lolium Multiflorum ◽

Cropping System ◽

Italian Ryegrass ◽

Living Mulch ◽

No Till ◽

Glycine Max L

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Effects of Tillage and Mulch on Weed Biomass and Sweet Corn Yield

Weed Technology ◽

10.1017/s0890037x00027305 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 545-552 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Charles L. Mohler

Keyword(s):

Experimental Design ◽

Detrimental Effect ◽

Sweet Corn ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Effective Control ◽

Corn Yield ◽

Living Mulch ◽

Weed Biomass ◽

Common Lambsquarters ◽

No Till

Sweet corn was grown with a living mulch of white clover, a dead mulch of rye, and without mulch, in both till and no-till conditions. Unplanted controls were also included in the experimental design. Corn yields were highest in clover treatments early in the experiment but lowest in later years. The declining yields in the clover living mulch were related to the strip application of glyphosate which allowed establishment of perennial and biennial weeds, notably dandelion and horseweed. These overwintering weeds apparently prevented effective control of summer annuals, especially redroot pigweed, common lambsquarters and large crabgrass, by atrazine and metolachlor. Presence of a rye mulch decreased weed biomass and had no detrimental effect on corn yield. In general, corn yield was not affected by tillage, although the number of marketable ears was reduced in the no-till treatments during the drought year of 1988. The much greater weed biomass in the unplanted control treatments showed the importance of crop competition for weed control in sweet corn cropping systems.

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