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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Morris, Minnesota » Soil Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #395837
Research Project: Optimizing Oilseed and Alternative Grain Crops: Innovative Production Systems and Agroecosystem Services

Location: Soil Management Research

Title: Corn hybrid evaluation to facilitate early pennycress establishment and enhance soybean double cropping in the Midwest

Author
item Mohammed, Yesuf
item Gesch, Russell
item WELLS, SAMANTHA - University Of Minnesota
item HELLER, NICHOLAS - Illinois State University
item LINDSEY, ALEXANDER - The Ohio State University
item HARD, ALEXANDER - University Of Minnesota
item WOHRLEY, BETHANY - Illinois State University

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/9/2022
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The widespread adoption of corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) cropping sequences in the US Midwest is providing food, feed, and fuel to the world. However, these cropping sequences are causing soil erosion and nutrient leaching resulting in water pollution and limited ecosystem services. Recently, research on winter oilseeds as cash cover crops is getting attention not only to compliment corn and soybean production but also to reduce those unintended negative consequences and provide additional economic benefits for growers. Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) is one of those new oilseed crops being developed as a cash cover crop. However, pennycress establishment following corn grain harvest in the Northern latitude is limited due to short duration between corn grain harvest and winter freeze. We hypothesized that early maturing corn can be harvested for grain early; thus, providing more time for pennycress establishment before soil freeze without significantly affecting corn grain yield. The objectives of the study were to evaluate different corn hybrids (differ in maturity days) on pennycress establishment, yield and quality, and the possibility for soybean double cropping following pennycress harvest. The study was conducted in 2020/21 and 2021/2022 at Hoytville (Ohio), Lexington (Illinois), Morris (Minnesota) and Rosemount (Minnesota). The corn relative maturity hybrids ranged from 95 to 113 days for the Ohio and Illinois locations (113 days corn representing full season), from 76 to 95 days corn (95 days corn representing full season) for the two Minnesota locations. The checks were the respective full season corn for each location but harvested for silage. This presentation will provide the findings of the entire cropping sequence (corn-pennycress-soybean) performance in the attempt to integrate pennycress as a cash cover crop in the US Midwest.