An overview how cover crops can benefit soil health

1. T.M. Reinbott*, K.M. Clark, D.
Peterson*, and R.G. Hoormann

2. Crimson Clover
Hairy Vetch

3. Sesbania Sunn Hemp
Cowpea

4.  Each Species of
Legume has a
Different Species of
Bacteria
 You must match them
together.

5.  Very Short Growing
season-60 days
 Some Weed Control-
Allelopathy
 Inexpensive Seed-much
like wheat or rye
 Attract Beneficial
Insects
 Many uses for
Vegetable production
 Nutrient Cycling

6.  Inexpensive Seed
 Rye is very winter hardy
 Spring Oats is not winter
hardy and will winter kill-
can be used to our
advantage
 Rye tremendous dry
matter
 Suppress weeds
 Allelopathy or Blocking
Light
 Good to mix with legumes

7.  Plant in Fall
 Overwinter-most of
the time
 Deep Roots-5-6 ft
 Scavenge Nitrogen
 Dense matt controls
weeds
 Can become a weed!
 Herbicide resistance
problem

8.  Late Summer Planted
 Sequester Nitrogen
 Loosen Soil
 Weed Control?

9. Fall
Spring

15. From Steve Groff
No Cover Crop
Cover Crop

17. McVay, et al. 1989,
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J

18. Nutrient Scavenge, Loosen Soil, Weed
Control

20. Ohio State Loosen Soil-
University
Courtesy of Increase
Steve Groff root growth
Open and water
field
infiltration?
Tillage
Radish®
field
Soil compaction
decreased by >40%

22.  Treatment Water-Aggregate Stability Pentrometer Bulk Density
 % Increase over control % increase Mg/m3
 Corn/Soybean 1.32
 Corn/rye/soybean/rye 9 19 1.24
 Corn/rye/soybean/hairy vetch 13 8 1.23
 Corn/rye/soybean/Hv+rye 17 16 1.23
 From Villamil, et al 2006

24. From MU Bradford-2012

25.  K Content, ppm
 Crop 0-3 inch 3-6 inch 6-12 inch
 None 105 b 100 ab 109 a
 Rye 97 b 89 c 96 ab
 Crimson Clr 96 b 72 d 71 c
 Hairy Vetch 127 a 108 a 86 bc
From Hargrove, 1986. Agronomy Journal

26.  Shoot Root Shoot N Root N Shoot N Root N
 Dry Wt Dry Wt Content Content
 After Corn lb/acre lb/acre % % lb/acre lb/acre
 Radish 2165 2599 1.86 1.15 39.3 30
 Rye 1757 2.39 37.9

 After Soybean 3345 1989 3.93 3.12 132 62
 2545 3.94 100

From Dean and Weil, 2009 Journal of Environmental Quality

28. 40
35 Adapted from Bah, et al, 2007
30
25 Triple Super Phosphate Legume+Fertilizer
% P Utilizaton
20
15
10
5
0
8
1 2
Weeks After P Application
15

29.  Cover Crop Roots
Feed the Soil Microbes
 Greater Crop
Diversity equals
greater Microbe
Diversity
Bacteria-100 million-1 Billion!
Fungal Filaments-Several Yards
Protoza-Several Thousand
Nematodes-10-20

30.  Cover Crops Attract
Butterflies, Bee
(including Bumble
Bees and other Native
Bees), beneficial
beetles, lacewings, etc.