Effect of Legume Cover Crops and Nitrogen Fertilization Rates on Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Waxy Corn (Zea mays L.) in No-Tillage System

Abstract

The adoption of legume cover crops in no-tillage system can contribute to improve soil fertility by providing several benefits, including reduction in soil erosion, suppression of weed growth and N supply to subsequent crops. We conducted a field study to investigate the effect of cover crops and nitrogen fertilization rates on yield and nitrogen use efficiency of waxy corn (Zea mays L.) in no-tillage upland field. Two legume cover crops, hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnuturn L.) were mechanically terminated with roller in early June. For each cover crop treatment, nitrogen (N) fertilizer was applied at three different rates (145, 72.5 and 0 kg N ha). The growth and yield characteristics of corn were significantly affected by the N fertilization rates in crimson clover plots, which suggest N mineralization from the cover crop residue was not sufficient. In contrast, N fertilization rates had no significant effect on growth and yield of corn in hairy vetch plots, indicating that the amount of N released from the cover crop is large enough to meet most of the N requirement of corn. However, the application of N fertilizer in hairy vetch cover plots resulted in slight increase of crop yield, though not statically significant, and high levels of N concentration in corn plant tissue possibly due to luxury consumption of N. Organic residues on the soil surface in hairy vetch cover plots had substantial amounts of N after harvest, ranging from 100 to 116 kg N ha, which is presumably retained during winter season and released by microbial mineralization in subsequent year. The highest nitrogen yield efficiency was achieved in the plot with hairy vetch cover and no N fertilizer application, followed by the plot with hairy vetch cover and 72.5 kg N ha -1 fertilization rate. In conclusion, hairy vetch showed better performance in corn productivity as compared with crimson clover. In addition, it was concluded that the application of N fertilizer between 0 and 72.5 kg N ha -1 in combination with hairy vetch cover crop might be most efficient for corn yield under no-tillage system with climatic and soil characteristics similar to those of the experimental site.

Vicia sativa Roth. Can Reduce Soil and Water Losses in Recently Planted Vineyards (Vitis vinifera L.)

“…Vetch was very successful in agriculture lands such as Choi and Daimon (2008) found as green manure to recover N in the sorghum crops. Ren et al (2019), Barbosa et al (2009) and Choi et al (2016) also found a positive effect of vetch to increase the use of water efficiency and to control the soil losses in agriculture land. This fully agrees with our study, which considered that is a good option for farmers that wish to achieve sustainable agriculture as to reduce the soil losses as the key target.…”

Analyzing Regional Geographic Challenges: The Resilience of Chinese Vineyards to Land Degradation Using a Societal and Biophysical Approach

“…Agricultural areas are among the most vulnerable territories and are affected by soil and water loss [1][2][3][4], pollution [5][6][7] and loss of fertility [8][9][10] and biodiversity [11][12][13]. This is especially noticeable in vineyards, where land degradation processes threaten the sustainability and quality of the final product [14][15][16].…”