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Legume species not spatial arrangement influence cover crop mixture effects in strip‐tilled organic cabbage
Author(s) -
Maher Ryan M.,
Rangarajan Anusuya,
Caldwell Brian A.,
Hayden Zachary D.,
Brainard Daniel C.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.1002/agj2.20664
Subject(s) - cover crop , vicia villosa , agronomy , secale , legume , weed , monoculture , tillage , crop , biology , weed control , organic farming , vicia sativa , perennial plant , agriculture , ecology
Management constraints in reduced tillage organic vegetable production may be alleviated by combining strip tillage (ST) with overwintering cereal–legume cover crop mixtures. Field studies in Michigan and New York over 6 site‐years evaluated the effects of preceding cover crops, including cereal rye (R; Secale cereale L.), hairy vetch (V; Vicia villosa Roth) and crimson clover (CC; Trifolium incarnatum ), on N availability, weed management, and yields in ST organic cabbage ( Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata ). Cover crop treatments included R–legume mixtures (RV and RCC) planted under two spatial arrangements, standard full‐width mixed [‐M] vs. segregated strips [‐S] (legumes planted in‐row and R between‐row), and R and V monocultures. Cover crop aboveground biomass (5–10 Mg ha –1 ) and N content (>90 kg N ha –1 ) were not different among RV and RCC but the C/N of RCC was 58% greater than RV. Cabbage yields after RCC‐M were lower than RV‐M in five of six cases with yield reductions ranging from 22 to 41%. Spatial arrangement had no effect on cabbage yield after RV but improved yields after RCC from 23 to 39% in one, relatively dry, site‐year. Without N fertilizer, yields after RV and V were equivalent to or greater than R‐S with 134 kg N ha –1 in seven of nine and four of four cases, respectively. Legume species and spatial arrangement had little or no impact on the efficacy of in‐row mechanical cultivation, hand‐weeding time or weed biomass. Overall, N supplied from V and RV mixtures was an important driver of ST organic cabbage yields across different soil types and weather conditions.