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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment » Agroecosystems Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #402390
Research Project: Sustainable and Resilient Cropping Systems for Midwestern Landscapes

Location: Agroecosystems Management Research

Title: Maximizing cover crop biomass production in corn-based systems: case studies and modeling

Author
item Ruis, Sabrina
item BLANCO, HUMBERTO - University Of Nebraska

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society International Annual Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/14/2023
Publication Date: 8/6/2023
Citation: Ruis, S.J., Blanco, H. 2023. Maximizing cover crop biomass production in corn-based systems: case studies and modeling [abstract]. 78th SWCS International Annual Conference.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Many scientists, stakeholders, and policymakers advocate for the use of cover crops (CC) to enhance soil health indicators. However, low or variable CC biomass production, which is often the case in corn-based systems, can limit CC impacts on soil health indicators. Thus, research was conducted to define what strategies could be used to enhance and stabilize CC biomass production in corn-based systems? Our objective was to assess how: 1) interseeding CC into standing crops, 2) terminating CCs late, and 3) planting CCs following a short-season crop affected CC biomass production using field experiments and studying the amount and annual stability of the CC biomass produced using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM). Interseeding a winter rye CC into standing corn or soybean in September improved CC biomass production a rainfed site, but not an irrigated site compared with drilling after harvest. However, CC biomass production was typically highly variable, ranging from 0.02 to 0.92 Mg ha-1 at the rainfed site and 0.07 to 1.03 Mg ha-1 at the irrigated site. Terminating a winter rye CC late (at corn planting) increased CC biomass production compared with terminating 2-3 weeks before corn planting in all years at both a rainfed and an irrigated site. The gain in CC biomass varied from 0.03 to 3.6 Mg ha-1 at the rainfed site and 0.5 to 4.3 Mg ha-1 at the irrigated site. Following winter wheat (short season crop), CC biomass production varied from 0.1 to 7.4 Mg ha-1 depending on location and CC species. The highest CC biomass following winter wheat was observed for sunn hemp and sorghum-sudangrass. Overall, the strategies to enhance CC biomass production rank as: planting following a short-season crop > late CC termination > interseeeding into standing crops.