Location: Agroecosystems Management Research
Project Number: 5030-21600-002-004-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2023
End Date: Jul 31, 2024
Objective:
To improve our understanding of the mechanistic drivers of corn yield decreases following a cereal rye cover crop (CC), including soil nitrogen (N) dynamics, soil water availability, and corn seedling disease.
Approach:
Field experiments will be conducted at two cooperator research sites in Central and Southeast Iowa. We will implement main plot treatments with corn grown in plots with i) a cereal rye CC; ii) cereal rye roots only; iii) cereal rye shoots only; or iv) no cereal rye (control). Subplots within each main plot will include six different N rates: 0, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300 lb N/acre.
ARS will lead data collection for continuous measurement of i) soil water content, temperature, and electrical conductivity using time-domain reflectometry sensors and data loggers, ii) infiltration using ring infiltrometers, and iii) wet aggregate stability. These metrics will be assessed with only one N application rate at each field site.
