ENVIRONMENT
ENHANCING
LEGUME
LIVING MULCHES
FOR CORN
Dr. Nathan Hartwig
Department of
Agronomy
Penn State
The use of a permanent liv
ing ground cover into which
com, soybeans, small grains
and forages can be planted
using minimum or no-tillage
cropping practices is possible.
Research on the use of
crownvetch as a living mulch
has been going on at Penn State
since 1975 and its use as a liv
ing mulch is the ultimate soil
conservation practice. Since
crownvetch is so slow in estab
lishing, birdsfoot trefoil and
annual medics can be mixed
with crownvetch to provide
quick cover but will be gradual-
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ly crowded out over a period ot
years by the crownvetch.
These cover crops prevent
surface water runoff from ever
getting started, virtually elimi
nating soil erosion and nutrient
and pesticide runoff from even
the steepest slopes, provide up
to 40 pounds of nitrogen per
acre, and still give the farmer
the freedom to grow the crops
he wants in the amount he
wants with equipment designed
for large fields.
Soil loss in Pennsylvania is 9
to 13 tons per acre each year
from tilled and cultivated crop
land. Because soil is produced
from parent material at the rate
of only 4 to 5 tons annually, the
annual net loss is 5 to 8 tons.
Soil erosion is a natural pro
cess which is greatly acceler
ated by human activity, specifi
cally when vegetation is
destroyed or crop residues bur
ied through tillage. Conserva
tion plans are currently
Fayette County Extension Agent Don Fretts examines
trefoil/crown vetch living mulches established this year
cornfield.
required by all producers tilling
the soil according to the Pen
nsylvania Clean Streams Law.
Producers receiving USDA
benefits are also required to
have a conservation com
pliance plan which should have
been fully implemented by
1995. The intent of these plans
is not only to reduce soil ero
sion and protect water quality,
but to retain long term soil
productivity.
Benefits Of
Cover Crops
• Erosion control. Farmland
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is most susceptible to erosion
when there is no vegetative
ground cover or plant residue
on the soil surface. A cover
crop provides a vegetative cov
er during those periods when a
crop is not present to cushion
the force of falling raindrops,
which would otherwise detach
soil particles and make them
prone to erosion. It also slows
the rate of runoff, thus impro
ving moisture infiltration into
the soil. The goal is to reduce
soil erosion to something less
than 4 to 5 tons per acre per
year. In a study conducted in
of the birdsfoot
Fayette County
one
In a
1977, the soil loss during the
growing season was 14 tons/
acre on a plowed field, about
'A ton/acre in a no-till com
field, and only 40 to 50 pounds/
acre where birdsfoot trefoil and
crownvetch were present as liv
ing mulches.
• Reduce surface water pol
lution. Due to the almost total
elimination of surface water
runoff from the continuous pre
sence of groundcovers, the loss
of nutrients and pesticides by
this route are almost elimi
nated. This practice would vir-
(Turn to Pago 21)