Cover crops can protect soil health and increase climate resilience of crop production systems. Agronomic crop producers in the southern USA often demand information on the best cover crops for their locality and cropping system and on the potential impacts of cover crops on stored soil water. The present research evaluated biomass production and water use efficiency (WUE) of single species and multispecies winter cover crops in South Carolina. Overall, a five-species mixture of Austrian winter pea, rye, crimson clover, hairy vetch, and oats and a single species of rye had the greatest biomass production (4600–6480 kg ha−1) at the end of the season (19 April 2017 in season-1 and 10 May 2018 in season-2). The five-species mixture also had the greatest WUE (2184–2232 g m−3). None of the cover crops depleted soil water (in 60 cm depth) greater than a weed-free fallow maintained through herbicide application and a weedy fallow (no herbicide application). Since both the seasons, in which the present study was conducted, received greater than normal rainfall, further studies should verify the applicability of the results in dry years.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.