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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Auburn, Alabama » Soil Dynamics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #420651
Research Project: Agronomic and Engineering Solutions for Conventional and Organic Conservation Agricultural Systems in the Southeastern U.S.

Location: Soil Dynamics Research

Title: Nitrogen fertilization for rye cover crops in the southeast US

Author
item Balkcom, Kipling
item GAMBLE, AUDREY - Auburn University

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/28/2024
Publication Date: 11/12/2024
Citation: Balkcom, K.S., Gamble, A.V. 2024. Nitrogen fertilization for rye cover crops in the southeast US [abstract]. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. Nov. 10 - Nov. 13, 2024.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Low residual soil N levels across coarse-textured Coastal Plain soils of the Southeast US require some N fertilizer to maximize cereal cover crop biomass production and subsequent benefits, but N is an expensive cover crop input. Nitrogen fertilization strategies across the region have benefited from split N applications, but this practice has not been extensively evaluated for cover crops. We designed a study to investigate cover crop performance (i.e., biomass production) across four planting dates (late October, early November, late November, and early December), two rye (Secale cereale, L.) cultivars (‘FL 401’ and ‘Wrens Abruzzi’), and four N application time and rate combinations (0 kg N ha-1, 34 kg N ha-1 applied in the fall, 34 kg N ha-1 applied in the spring and 34 kg ha-1 applied in the fall and spring for a total of 68 kg N ha-1) during the 2021-2024 growing seasons in Headland, Alabama. The ‘FL 401’ cultivar produced greater biomass than ‘Wrens Abruzzi’, regardless of planting date. No biomass differences were observed between fall and spring N applications across planting dates. Split N applications were only beneficial for the last (early December) planting date. Results reiterate that early planting combined with some N was critical to enhance cereal biomass production across the region, while evidence of a benefit from split N applications was weak.