cover crop Articles
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Corn belt assessment of cover crop management and preferences
Surveying end-users about their use of technologies and preferences provides information for researchers and educators to develop relevant research and educational programs. A mail survey was sent to Corn Belt farmers during 2006 to quantify cover crop management and preferences. Results indicated that the dominant cereal cover crops in Indiana and Illinois are winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) ...
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Nitrogen supply for cover crops and effects on peanut grown in succession under a no-till system
In Brazil, as no-till (NT) crop management expands, there is an increased interest in growing peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) with this system. However, it is not known if the preceding cover crop species, the amount of straw on the soil surface, or the N supplied to the cover crop will affect peanut grown in a NT system. An experiment was conducted on a Typic Haplorthox in Botucatu, São Paulo ...
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Earth Innovations: Cover Cropping
Earth Innovations is a new series from Sound Agriculture that covers the up-and-coming techniques growers are deploying to keep their yields high and their land healthy for generations to come. In each blog post, we break down the benefits and challenges of incorporating new practices, using real growers’ experiences and the Sound Agronomy Team’s expertise. Cover crops are ...
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Cover crop and nitrogen effects on maize productivity in no-Tillage Systems of the Brazilian cerrados
Cover crops in direct seeding mulch-based cropping (DMC) systems can be an effective tool to optimize N management for crop production in the Brazilian cerrados. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of four cover crops on maize (Zea mays L.) grain yields in two fields that had been under DMC for 3 and 14 yr. We hypothesized that cover crops would optimize N supply to the maize ...
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Cover Crop and nitrogen effects on maize productivity in no-tillage systems of the Brazilian Cerrados
Cover crops in direct seeding mulch-based cropping (DMC) systems can be an effective tool to optimize N management for crop production in the Brazilian cerrados. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of four cover crops on maize (Zea mays L.) grain yields in two fields that had been under DMC for 3 and 14 yr. We hypothesized that cover crops would optimize N supply to the maize ...
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Summer cover crop and management system affect lettuce and cantaloupe production system
Cover crops are widely used in both conventional and organic systems to protect and improve the soil. This study evaluated the effect of summer cover crop and management system on the production of fall romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and spring cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L.) from 1999 to 2003. Cover crop treatments included cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] incorporated (CPI), cowpea used ...
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Nitrogen storage with cover crops and nitrogen fertilization in tilled and nontilled soils
Improved crop and N management practices are needed to increase soil N storage so that N fertilization rate and the potential for N leaching can be reduced in tilled and nontilled soils. We examined the influence of cover crops and N fertilization rates on N inputs from cover crops, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and soil total N (STN) content at the 0- ...
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Establishment and growth of self-seeded winter cereal cover crops in a soybean–corn rotation
Perpetuating cereal cover crops through self-seeding may increase adoption by reducing risk and cost. Winter rye (Secale cereale L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack) were used to develop self-seeding cover crop systems in a soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]–corn (Zea mays L.) rotation. Cereals were planted and managed chemically and mechanically in varying ...
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Weed biomass and species composition as affected by an integrated crop–livestock system
Crop and livestock production are rarely integrated together in modern farming systems. Reintegrating crops with livestock production has been shown to produce many agronomic and environmental benefits. The objective of this study was to evaluate how an integrated crop–livestock system would influence weed biomass and weed species composition compared with a conventional, continuous corn (Zea ...
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Hit the Spring Planting Target with Hydraulic Down Force
Will Hutchinson enjoys a good challenge, especially when it comes to improving production on his row crop, wheat and alfalfa farm near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. So when he saw the opportunity to leverage Ag Leader’s Hydraulic Down Force system to prevent a common problem and improve his planting operations on acres where he plants cover crops, he jumped at the chance. Two years later, ...
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Potential for using sunn hemp as a source of biomass and nitrogen for the piedmont and coastal plain regions of the southeastern usa
The tropical legume sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) could be a valuable green manure/cover crop for vegetable producers in the southeastern USA because of its rapid growth and large N2 fixing ability. Planting and termination date effects on biomass and N accumulation are relatively unknown for the region, but would help producers manage sunn hemp between summer and winter cash crops. We ...
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Multivariate analysis and visualization of soil quality data for no-till systems
To evidence the multidimensionality of the soil quality concept, we propose the use of data visualization as a tool for exploratory data analyses, model building, and diagnostics. Our objective was to establish the best edaphic indicators for assessing soil quality in four no-till systems with regard to functioning as a medium for crop production and nutrient cycling across two Illinois ...
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Soil management practices for sustainable agro-ecosystems
A doubling of the global food demand projected for the next 50 years poses a huge challenge for the sustainability of both food production and global and local environments. Today’s agricultural technologies may be increasing productivity to meet world food demand, but they may also be threatening agricultural ecosystems. For the global environment, agricultural systems provide both sources and ...
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Why a Leading Central Coast Vineyard is Transitioning to Organic Production
The transition to organic wine grape growing can be seen as a high-risk process, and growers often wonder if positive results published by academic researchers will actually translate to their bottom lines once implemented in their vineyards. In order to address the concerns about the perceived gap between research and economic success, telling stories which share the lessons learned by people ...
By UAV-IQ, LLC.
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Biocontrol: How Strawberry Growers are leading the way
According to Dr. Surendra Dara of the University of California Cooperative Extension, 90-95% of strawberry growers in California use predatory mites to manage two-spotted spider mites. But how did this pest control method get so widely adopted? What can growers of other crops learn from this experience? To discuss this topic, I reached out to Lane Stoeckle, a certified crop advisor and pest ...
By UAV-IQ, LLC.
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What is conservation agriculture?
With a lot of noise currently surrounding sustainability in British agriculture, there are many conflicting viewpoints on the best approach farmers should take to care for their environment. In this blog, we discuss conservation agriculture, and how by looking after your soil, you’re looking after your bottom line. We explore how it can benefit farmers to increase yields and lower crop ...
By Sumo UK Ltd
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3 Reasons you should Collect Aerial Imagery Early & Often
Now that you know the difference between NDVI and EVI, and five ways to improve wine quality using VineView’s vine vigor products, it’s time to discuss when you should be collecting this important data, and how often. The right timing and frequency can help maximize the information and insights you gain from your aerial imagery. Aerial imagery can be such a valuable visual tool ...
By VineView
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How farm policy used to work
In the period between the 1930s and 1992, farm bills generally instituted compensation policies that took the form of price supports. These policies were designed to manage the surplus production that resulted from centuries of developmental policies while allowing U.S. farmers the chance, with hard work and good management skills, to provide their family with a livelihood. Compensation policies ...
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Healthy soil key to readying your fields for the coming season
The more you know about your soil, the better enabled you will be to make fertilizer decisions that work on every area of your farm While harvest brings the 2023 growing season to a close, preparation for next year is already underway. Pat Kunz has signed up to have his soil tested across all his fields in anticipation of making informed fertilizer purchases for the upcoming spring. He says ...
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Soil Nutrients and Field Health: what you Need to Know
The soil on your field is like the brain to your body. It tells your crops everything they need to know to produce a healthy yield; how many organisms live there, what the pH balance is, whether or not something is performing well… For the brain, if something isn’t performing well, the body can react catastrophically. The same thing happens with soil. If you have too much ...
By Growers
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