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Winter‐Annual Cover Crops for No‐Tillage Corn Production 1
Author(s) -
Mitchell W. H.,
Teel M. R.
Publication year - 1977
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 - 10.2134/agronj1977.00021962006900040011x
Subject(s) - vicia villosa , agronomy , mulch , cover crop , tillage , environmental science , loam , conventional tillage , soil water , biology , soil science
No‐tillage corn ( Zea mays L.) production minimizes soil moisture and wind erosion losses on sandy soils. Use of leguminous cover crops for no‐tillage mulches would provide these benefits while at the same time supplying a source of biological nitrogen to supplement the N produced with fossil fuel energy. Hairy vetch ( Vicia villosa Roth.) and crimson clover ( Trifolium incarnatum L.) were grown alone and in combination with non‐leguminous species to determine their value as no‐tillage mulches and sources of biological N. Field tests were conducted on Evesboro loamy sand, a mesic coated Typic Quartzipsamments, involving eight cover crops, three levels of N, and two moisture regimes. Nitrogen was applied, just prior to killing the mulch covers with Paraquat (1,1′‐dimethyl‐4,4′‐bipyridinium ion) (0.28 kg a.i./ha) at rates to deliver 0, 56 and 112 kg N/ha. Hairy vetch and crimson clover mixtures produced grain yields comparable to those obtained by the application of 112 kg N/ha. Approximately one‐third of the total N from mulch covers was released to the corn in a single season, with about 90% of this derived from cover crop top growth. Heavy growth of rye mulch covers was associated with irregular and low corn populations. Mulch covers were less reflective than the bare soil surface, resulting in mulch surface temperatures up to 10 C higher than those with unprotected soil surface. Temperatures immediately below the mulch covers were more than 10 C lower than those at the soil surface.