Author: Corey DillonPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cover crops
Languages : en
Pages :
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.
Author: Andy Clark
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Author: International Development Research Centre (Canada)
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Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture
Author: Daniel Buckles
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Author: United States. Department of Agriculture
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