Cover Crops Save Soil,
RACINE, Wis. - You may be
missing out on some real profit
potential if soil conservation is the
only thought that comes to mind
when you hear the term “cover
crop.”
While soil conservation is a
major benefit of winter cover, it’s
only one of several. Further, soil
conservation is a long-term goal
that doesn’t have an immediate
payback.
As part of a planned crop
rotation, cover crops can pay
immediate dividends, insists
Wilbur Frye, University of Ken
tucky soil scientist. “It’s the short
term benefits that make cover
crops economically attractive to
most farmers,” Frye says.
Easier weed control is one im
portant short-term benefit, adds
Doug Worsham, North Carolina
State University weed scientist.
A good cover crop can shade or
crowd out weeds. But Worsham
and his associates at North
Carolina State, and researchers at
Michigan State University as well,
have shown there’s much more to
it than that.
Scientists at both universities
recently have found that cereal
grains, especially rye and wheat,
produce chemicals which are toxic
to some weeds. The process,
whereby one plant attacks or
suppresses others growing nearby
through chemicals, is called
allelopathy.
To show the likelihood that
allelopathy exists in small grains,
North Carolina State researchers
isolated chemicals from the roots
and straw of rye. They found rye
had some "natural herbicides”
which inhibit root and shoot growth
in redroot pigweed and lamb
squarter. And to a lesser extent,
these natural herbicides also
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suppress the growth of some
grassy weeds.
They also isolated a different
chemical in wheat, which is par
ticularly toxic to morning glory
and prickly sida.
Worsham admits the jury is still
out on practical application of this
information on a wide scale.
“More research is under way. But
we do know that helping suppress
some difficult-to-control broadleaf
weeds is one more reason we can
recommend no-till planting into
cover crops in North Carolina,” he
says.
Even if there is no allelopathic
effect involved, a good cover crop
is easier to control with herbicides
than some of the weeds it will
crowd out, adds Jim Herbek, a
University of Kentucky
agronomist.
Cut nitrogen costs
Additionally, Herbek and Frye
agree that some cover crops can
significantly reduce nitrogen
fertilizer costs for com growers.
Researchers at Kentucky and
the University of Tennessee have
studied several legumes, looking
for the one which provided the best
cover while adding nitrogen to the
soil. Crimson clover, big flower
vetch and some more exotic crops
like Austrian winter pea and caley
pea (or rough pea) have all been
evaluated. Agronomists in both
states agree that hairy vetch is the
best bet at this tune.
In good years, hairy vetch has
provided nearly 90 pounds of
nitrogen equivalent for a sub
sequent corn crop. In a five-year
Kentucky study, corn no-till
planted into hairy vetch cover
yielded an average of 105 bushels
an acre, without benefit of nitrogen
fertilizer.
By comparison, com no-till
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planted into com residue, with no
cover crop and no nitrogen fer
tilizer applied, yielded only about
60 bushels an acre.
When 90 pounds of nitrogen was
applied per acre, yields were 109
bushels per acre for com planted
in com residue and 145 bushels an
acre for com planted into hairy
vetch. Frye attributes the entire
36-bushel increase to hairy vetch.
He says the annual cost of
establishing the hairy vetch cover
crop was about $33 an acre. With
this in mind, com prices would
have to drop below $1 for the 36-
bushel yield increase to be un
profitable.
When nitrogen was applied, yield
response was greater where a
cover crop was grown than where
com was planted directly into crop
residues, Frye says. This was true
even for rye, which has no
nitrogen-fixing ability.
Further, yields were increasing
annually in plots where hairy vetch
cover crops were used every year,
regardless of the nitrogen fertilizer
rate. Yields declined every year
where com was planted in residue
cover and no nitrogen was applied.
Where nitrogen was applied to
com planted in residue cover,
yields were steady over the five
year study.
In addition to soil conservation,
weed control and nitrogen fixation,
there are other benefits from using
cover crops.
For example, cover crops add
organic matter to soil through
above-ground vegetation and root
systems, as well. They improve
soil fertility by bringing minerals
up from the subsoil.
Cover crops can recycle applied
nutrients, too. A small grain cover
crop, for example, can use applied
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Other benefits
SMJ
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Reduce Weed
nitrogen and then release it later
as the plant residue decomposes.
Another benefit is improved soil
structure. Deep-rooting legumes
may actually open channels
through soil pans that can be used
later by com roots seeking
nutrients and moisture.
Cover crops also may help in
crease soil moisture content by
slowing runoff, increasing in
filtration and decreasing
evaporation from the soil surface.
However, the cover must be
controlled in time to avoid
becoming a drain on soil moisture.
While advantages remain fairly
consistent throughout the nation,
most experts say it’s impossible to
recommend one cover crop for all
areas. Variations in growing
season length, soil types and even
the crops grown all influence the
selection of a cover crop.
Overall, cover crops are
predominant in the South following
com or soybeans. In northern
areas, use is limited to fields after
harvest of short-season crops like
potatoes, sweet com, snap beans
or dry beans.
Maryland To Host First
Atlantic National Angus Show
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Plans for
the first ever Atlantic National
Angus Show have been finalized.
The show will be held May 23-25,
1987 at the Maryland State
Fairgrounds in Timonium.
During the three-day event, a
junior show will start the activities
off on Saturday, May 23. The show
will include heifers and registered
Angus steers. An open female show
will follow on Sunday, May 24 with
bulls to be shown on Monday, May
25.
TV a«ob«c National, governed
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Farm Equip.
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Pressure
Herbek feels farmers in the
central and northern Com Belt
region also could benefit from
cover crops on soybean fields,
where erosion tends to be a
problem. He suggests aerial
seeding into standing soybeans to
overcome the problem of late
establishment following harvest.
Herbek says Kentucky resear
chers have had good luck with
aerial seeding of wheat, rye and
hairy vetch.
Even without some of these
additional benefits, cover crops for
soil conservation alone make
sense. USDA Soil Conservation
Service reports winter cover can
cut erosion by as much as 50
percent, depending on slope,
tillage, residue cover and other
factors.
Whatever your reason for trying
cover crops, be sure to contact
your local Extension and/or Soil
Conservation .Service advisers
They can provide you with mon
information on recommende(
crops, seeding rates and practice
for establishing cover crops i
your area.
by a board of trustees, headed by
chairman Joe Calderazzo of GH2
Angus, York, selected Mike Jones,
West Point, Georgia, to serve as
show manager.
The board of trustees works with
an executive committee of some 16
nationally known Angus breeders
in establishing direction and policy
for the Atlantic National.
For additional information
contact Mike Jones, Route 1, Box
323, West Point, Georgia 31833,
phone 404/884-6592.
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