Interseeded Cover Crops in Seed Corn Production

Interseeded Cover Crops in Seed Corn Production PDF Author: Brent Edward Tharp
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Corn
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Interseeded Cover Crops in Seed Corn Production

Interseeded Cover Crops in Seed Corn Production PDF Author: Brent Edward Tharp
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Corn
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description


Interseeding Cover Crops in Corn

Interseeding Cover Crops in Corn PDF Author: Aaron Patrick Brooker
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781085652346
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
Farmers could enhance crop diversity in their farming systems by interseeding cover crops in corn in late May and June in corn rotations in the Upper Midwest. Recommendations must be developed for cover crop species, seeding rates, and interseeding timings that optimize cover crop growth and enhance corn production. Weeds must be controlled, and cover crops must establish in this system. Cover crops influence soil health in long term studies; however, the influence of interseeded cover crops on soil enzymes, soil structure, and nutrient cycling has not been reported. In Michigan, two experiments were conducted from 2015-2017 and one experiment from 2017-2019. In the first experiment, annual ryegrass, crimson clover, oilseed radish and a mixture of the three species were broadcast interseeded at each of the V1 through V7 corn stages at a single seeding rate. Cover crop and weed density and biomass were measured during the growing season, at the time of corn harvest, and the following spring. Soil samples were taken in the spring in the year following interseeding and analyzed for inorganic N, extracellular enzyme activity, and aggregate stability. Corn was planted as an indicator crop and sampled for C and N content. In the second experiment, preemergence (PRE) and postemergence (POST) herbicides were applied, and cover crops interseeded at the V3 and V6 corn stages. Cover crops were evaluated in October for injury and stand loss. A greenhouse trial was also included to evaluate cover crop response to herbicides. In the third experiment, the same three cover crop species and a mixture of annual ryegrass and crimson clover were interseeded at three seeding rates in V3 and V6 corn. Establishment, biomass, and corn grain yield were collected using the same methods as previously described. Eight on-farm locations were interseeded with the same cover crop species at the 1X rate at the V3 and V6 corn stages. All plots were flown with a fixed-wing aircraft to measure canopy temperature. Small-plots were flown with UAV to acquire multispectral imagery to determine NDVI and NDRE. In years with normal or below normal precipitation, annual ryegrass and oilseed radish produced the highest biomass. Establishment improved when seeding on tilled soil compared with no-till soil. All cover crop species established, regardless of tillage, with above normal rainfall. Both annual ryegrass and crimson clover established when interseeded as a mixture at the seeding rates used. Increasing seeding rates usually increased biomass production. Cover crops could be interseeded at any time from V1-V7 corn if weeds were controlled. No cover crop species was competitive with summer annual weeds; annual ryegrass was the only species that overwintered and suppressed winter annual weeds. There were PRE and POST options for weed control with all cover crop species, but farmers must be mindful of herbicide and cover crop combinations. Delaying interseeding until V6 may reduce injury from some PRE herbicides. In the year of interseeding, cover crops did not reduce corn grain yield; therefore, remote imagery was not able to detect changes in corn health. Remote imagery detected cover crop establishment in the V3 interseedings prior to corn canopy closure; remote imagery did not detect less thermal stress where cover crops were interseeded. Annual ryegrass plots had reduced spring inorganic N content, and this sometimes translated to reduced N in the indicator corn crop. Success of broadcast interseeded cover crops is highly depended on adequate precipitation; this practice would be especially successful where summer rainfall is consistent or in irrigated systems. Benefits of cover crops are likely to be realized over multiple years of interseeding; farmers must balance goals of cover cropping with costs of seeding when selecting species, seeding rates, and weed control options.

Interseeding of Cover Crop Species Into Soybean

Interseeding of Cover Crop Species Into Soybean PDF Author: Wells Dean Hively
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Terms of Service

Terms of Service PDF Author: Connor Zachary Youngerman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
Winter cover crops provide a suite of benefits but their use is limited because there is often not enough time after harvesting crops in the fall to establish cover crops before winter. Problems with establishment may be overcome by interseeding, where cover crops are seeded between rows of cash crops prior to harvest. Interseeded cover crops can provide greater ecosystem services than cover crops established after harvest, including erosion control and weed suppression. In addition to these services, interseeded cover crops might also provide habitat for invertebrate seed predators such as carabid beetles and crickets, which feed on weed seeds. We established a field experiment to investigate how cash crop planting density affects interseeded cover crop performance during the transition to certified organic production. We measured corn density, light transmission through the corn canopy, cover crop and weed biomass, and corn grain yield. We analyzed the relationship between these factors with regression, mixed models, path analysis, and partial correlation. The effect of corn density on interseeded cover crop biomass was significant when quantified both directly and indirectly as mediated by light transmission and weed biomass. At the October sample date, weed biomass was 31% lower in plots with interseeded cover crops than plots without, and corn grain yield was not different between plots with interseeded cover crops and plots without. We also conducted a laboratory experiment to explore the potential for cover crop seeds to be eaten by weed seed predators. Using four common invertebrate weed seed predators and a series of No Choice and Choice feeding assays, we presented seeds of ten cover crop species and three weed species to individual carabid beetles and crickets. We analyzed No Choice preference with logistic regression and Choice with Vanderploeg and Scavia’s electivity index and mixed models. We found that all four invertebrate seed predators consumed cover crop seeds and that preference varied by plant species and insect species. Overall results show that cover crop interseeding can be used to overcome one of the primary barriers to cover crop adoption and provide ecosystem services, but that cover crop seeds are susceptible to seed predation and thus cover crop species selection and seeding method are important to consider.

Managing Cover Crops Profitably (3rd Ed. )

Managing Cover Crops Profitably (3rd Ed. ) PDF Author: Andy Clark
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437903797
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Cover crops slow erosion, improve soil, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control many pests and bring a host of other benefits to your farm. At the same time, they can reduce costs, increase profits and even create new sources of income. You¿ll reap dividends on your cover crop investments for years, since their benefits accumulate over the long term. This book will help you find which ones are right for you. Captures farmer and other research results from the past ten years. The authors verified the info. from the 2nd ed., added new results and updated farmer profiles and research data, and added 2 chap. Includes maps and charts, detailed narratives about individual cover crop species, and chap. about aspects of cover cropping.

Cover Crop Introduction Into Corn (Zea Mays L.)-Soybean (Glycine Max L.) Cropping Systems

Cover Crop Introduction Into Corn (Zea Mays L.)-Soybean (Glycine Max L.) Cropping Systems PDF Author: Angela M. Bastidas
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780355684018
Category : Corn
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Fall-seeded cover crops are limited by the short growing season remaining between harvest and planting the succeeding crop. To address this challenge, we considered two alternative systems for introducing cover crops into corn (Zea mays L.)- soybean (Glycine max L.) cropping systems. The first alternative was to interseed the cover crops species with corn at specific developmental stages. We evaluated the effect on corn, cover crop biomass, and the subsequent soybean crop. No detrimental effects on corn were found when cover crops were interseeded at or after corn canopy closure due to the limited cover crop biomass produced during the growing season. However, corn was negatively affected with cover crops interseed at corn planting. Cover crops interseeded at canopy closure did not establish due to corn canopy shading. Cover crops interseeded at or after R5 (dent) produced greater biomass the following spring than in the fall, and cover crops interseeded at R5 and R6 (physiological maturity) produced greater biomass than cover crops interseeded at corn harvest. This indicated that the interseeding by broadcasting cover crops can be successful for improving biomass production. The second alternative was to modify corn management practices such as planting date, plant population, and comparative corn relative maturity (CRM) to allow earlier cover crop seeding dates. We attempted to understand the impact on corn yield, cover crop biomass production, and the subsequent soybean crop. Early- and early-to-medium-maturity hybrids allowed corn harvest about one month earlier and medium-maturity hybrids about 15 d earlier than late-maturity hybrids. No differences in corn yield were observed between the medium- and late-maturity hybrids planted at the earlier planting date, with a 107 CRM hybrid planted early having the highest yield of 16.0 Mg ha-1. The greatest cover crop biomass production occurred with the earliest cover crop planting date. Cover crop biomass increased with air temperature, which was measured with growing degree days (GDDC). This indicates that changes in planting date and corn CRM hybrids are important to increase the potential for use of cover crops. The subsequent soybean yield was not affected by cover crops in either alternative.

On-farm and Small Plot Studies of the Growth and Performance of Cover Crops Interseeded Into Corn

On-farm and Small Plot Studies of the Growth and Performance of Cover Crops Interseeded Into Corn PDF Author: Sue Ellen Johnson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Corn
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Effect of Time and Method of Seeding and Corn Row Width on the Establishment of Various Species Interseeded as a Cover Crop in Corn

Effect of Time and Method of Seeding and Corn Row Width on the Establishment of Various Species Interseeded as a Cover Crop in Corn PDF Author: William A. Hayes
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Corn
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Functional Diversity of Interseeded Cover Crops and Their Effect on Carabid Activity-density in Semi-arid Climates

Functional Diversity of Interseeded Cover Crops and Their Effect on Carabid Activity-density in Semi-arid Climates PDF Author: Sara Carabajal
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781088341278
Category : Agronomy
Languages : en
Pages : 57

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Book Description
Interseeding cover crops into standing annual crops can promote environmental benefits within agroecosystems. However, seeding method and cover crop diversity may influence biomass production and activity-density of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Carabids abundant in agroecosystems and their granivorous behavior can impact weeds and potentially crops. In a two-year study, six annual cover crop species– planted as either single species or mixtures– were interseeded into standing corn. The seed predation rate of Harpalus, a granivorous carabid, was estimated in a no-choice experiment using weed and crop seed species. Higher crop diversity did not correlate with biomass yield, but cover crop species did. Carabid activity-density was significantly higher later in the season, but was not influenced by diversity or species. Harpalus consumed crop seeds, but preferred weed seed. With further experimentation and analysis, these results can inform farmers in choosing the most effective seeding method and seed type for interseeded cover crop establishment.

Investigating Opportunities For Increased Cover Crop Adoption In Pennsylvania Corn

Investigating Opportunities For Increased Cover Crop Adoption In Pennsylvania Corn PDF Author: Corey Dillon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cover crops
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The desire of many to increase the use of cover crops on America's farmland is increasing each year. There are limitations to the practice, and there is a need for more innovative methods to accomplish this task. There is also a lack of innovative equipment to further expand the use of cover crops. Current cover crop equipment allows only for either planting cover crops after harvest or spreading the seeds on the soil surface late in the growing season. The issue with waiting until after the harvest is that it is usually too late to establish a cover crop. The issue with the option of broadcasting is that placement of the seeds on the soil surface is usually inconsistent. Cultivating early in the season and broadcasting seed has been another option, but this is difficult in no-till, high residue fields. Both of these approaches involve a separate trip across the field, increasing the cost of cover crop establishment. The objective of this research was to develop a machine to no-till an interseeded cover crop at the V5-V8 growth stage of corn and apply N fertilizer and a post-emergent directed herbicide at the same time, if desired. This thesis details the design of the machine, initial field tests and results, modifications made to the machine to address issues raised in the field tests, preliminary partial budget analysis for the machine, and effects of various corn herbicides on cover crop establishment. The Penn State Cover Crop Interseeder and Applicator is designed to operate in a heavy corn stover residue with the ability to establish an acceptable seedbed for cover crop establishment. The machine includes an herbicide applicator and fertilizer applicator. This approach has several advantages: multiple trips across the field can be combined, reducing the cost of cover crop seeding; good seed-to-soil contact is achieved with the potential for reducing cover crop seeding rates; and the N and herbicide applications can be directed to maximize efficiency.