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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Crop Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399594
Research Project: Practices for Management of Predominant Nematodes and Fungal Diseases for Sustainable Soybean Production

Location: Crop Genetics Research

Title: Impact of cover crop implications on the soil faunal community

Author
item PATE, SHELLY - University Of Tennessee
item KELLY, HEATHER - University Of Tennessee
item Schumacher, Lesley

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/11/2023
Publication Date: 1/11/2023
Citation: Pate, S.N., Kelly, H.M., Schumacher, L.A. 2023. Impact of cover crop implications on the soil faunal community. National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference, 2023 Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference. 632-637

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Many growers plant cover crops ahead of soybean production. However, factors that accompany cover crop/soybean management can produce unexpected effects on agronomic traits, nematodes (plant parasites, fungivores, bacterivores, omnivores, predators), and other soil fauna (rotifers, tardigrades, mites, oligochaetes, Collembola). During the 2020-2021 season, a randomized strip-block (criss-cross) trial, with four replicates, was conducted in Madison County, TN, USA consisting of three factors: 1) cover crop mixes (fallow, five-way mix without Brassica spp., and six-way mix with Brassica spp.); 2) cover crop termination timing (three weeks before planting and at planting); and 3) seed treatments (fungicide-only, insecticide-only, fungicide/insecticide, and fungicide/insecticide/nematicide). Soil samples were taken at four time points. Seedling emergence, biomass, yield, and the soil faunal community were analyzed. The rate of reproduction of soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines) was shown to be significantly greater in late cover crop termination plots. Conversely, the rate of reproduction in fungivores and bacterivores was lower in late cover crop termination plots. The results from this trial will help growers make management decisions, and this experiment serves as a good example of what can be done in other cropping systems such as corn and cotton in relation to cover crops and soil faunal communities.