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Sweetclover in a Stubble‐Mulch System
Author(s) -
Duley F. L.,
Russel J. C.
Publication year - 1949
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1949.036159950013000c0101x
Subject(s) - citation , mulch , supervisor , agriculture , agronomy , cover crop , agroforestry , library science , agricultural science , forestry , political science , geography , environmental science , computer science , archaeology , biology , law
OWEETCLOVER has been used for many years as a soil ^•J improvement crop along the border of the Corn Belt and the Great Plains. It has met, however, with two objections on the part of farmers. First, it has been considered a moisture depleting plant which may affect the growth of the following crop. Second, many farmers have thought that soil is more erodible after this crop has been grown on the land. To determine whether these objections can be overcome, sweetclover has been under investigation in a stubble-mulch farming system in Nebraska since 1940. It was desirable to learn whether the crop could be so managed in the rotation that protective cover could be maintained on the land practically all the time. The study would therefore need to include the planting of the crop under residue, the undercutting of the crop at various immature stages, and using this material on the surface as protective residue. It would also be necessary to work out methods of handling the mature or dead material after the second year's growth. Since sweetclover residue may be .present in large amounts, it presents certain difficulties in preparing seedbeds and planting crops through it. There are also questions of the proper crop sequence that would make the most effective use of the sweetclover residue. The effects of sweetclover residue on nitrification, soil moisture, infiltration, and erosion when the residue was left on the surface were compared with the effects of similar residue when plowed under. The purposes of this paper are primarily to present procedures that have been evolved for using biennial sweetclover in a stubble-mulch system, and secondarily to give experiences and data that illustrate the advantages and importance of this or some other legume in the practice of conservation farming.