Drill and broadcast establishment methods influence interseeded cover crop performance in organic corn. Issue 1 (31st January 2020)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Drill and broadcast establishment methods influence interseeded cover crop performance in organic corn. Issue 1 (31st January 2020)
- Main Title:
- Drill and broadcast establishment methods influence interseeded cover crop performance in organic corn
- Authors:
- Wallace, John M.
Isbell, Sarah
Hoover, Ron
Barbercheck, Mary
Kaye, Jason
Curran, William S. - Abstract:
- Abstract: Organic grain producers are interested in interseeding cover crops into corn ( Zea mays L.) in regions that have a narrow growing season window for post-harvest establishment of cover crops. A field experiment was replicated across 2 years on three commercial organic farms in Pennsylvania to compare the effects of drill- and broadcast-interseeding to standard grower practices, which included post-harvest seeding cereal rye ( Secale cereale L.) at the more southern location and winter fallow at the more northern locations. Drill- and broadcast-interseeding treatments occurred just after last cultivation and used a cover crop mixture of annual ryegrass [ Lolium perenne L. ssp. multiflorum (Lam.) Husnot] + orchardgrass ( Dactylis glomerata L.) + forage radish ( Raphanus sativus L. ssp. longipinnatus ). Higher mean fall cover crop biomass and forage radish abundance (% of total) was observed in drill-interseeding treatments compared with broadcast-interseeding. However, corn grain yield and weed suppression and N retention in late-fall and spring were similar among interseeding treatments, which suggests that broadcast-interseeding at last cultivation has the potential to produce similar production and conservation benefits at lower labor and equipment costs in organic systems. Post-harvest seeding cereal rye resulted in greater spring biomass production and N retention compared with interseeded cover crops at the southern location, whereas variable interseedingAbstract: Organic grain producers are interested in interseeding cover crops into corn ( Zea mays L.) in regions that have a narrow growing season window for post-harvest establishment of cover crops. A field experiment was replicated across 2 years on three commercial organic farms in Pennsylvania to compare the effects of drill- and broadcast-interseeding to standard grower practices, which included post-harvest seeding cereal rye ( Secale cereale L.) at the more southern location and winter fallow at the more northern locations. Drill- and broadcast-interseeding treatments occurred just after last cultivation and used a cover crop mixture of annual ryegrass [ Lolium perenne L. ssp. multiflorum (Lam.) Husnot] + orchardgrass ( Dactylis glomerata L.) + forage radish ( Raphanus sativus L. ssp. longipinnatus ). Higher mean fall cover crop biomass and forage radish abundance (% of total) was observed in drill-interseeding treatments compared with broadcast-interseeding. However, corn grain yield and weed suppression and N retention in late-fall and spring were similar among interseeding treatments, which suggests that broadcast-interseeding at last cultivation has the potential to produce similar production and conservation benefits at lower labor and equipment costs in organic systems. Post-harvest seeding cereal rye resulted in greater spring biomass production and N retention compared with interseeded cover crops at the southern location, whereas variable interseeding establishment success and dominance of winter-killed forage radish produced conditions that increased the likelihood of N loss at more northern locations. Additional research is needed to contrast conservation benefits and management tradeoffs between interseeding and post-harvest establishment methods. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Renewable agriculture and food systems. Volume 36:Issue 1(2021)
- Journal:
- Renewable agriculture and food systems
- Issue:
- Volume 36:Issue 1(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 36, Issue 1 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 36
- Issue:
- 1
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0036-0001-0000
- Page Start:
- 77
- Page End:
- 85
- Publication Date:
- 2020-01-31
- Subjects:
- Cover crop, -- ecosystem services, -- interseeding, -- organic agriculture
Organic farming -- Periodicals
Agricultural conservation -- Periodicals
Agricultural systems -- Periodicals
338.162 - Journal URLs:
- http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=RAF ↗
http://www.cabi-publishing.org/Journals.asp?SubjectArea=&PID=21 ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1017/S174217052000006X ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1742-1705
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store
- Ingest File:
- 23198.xml