Factors Affecting Successful Establishment of Aerially Seeded Winter Rye

Abstract

Establishing cover crops in a corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max L.) rotation in northern climates can be difficult due to the short time between harvest and freezing temperatures. Aerial seeding into standing crops is one way to increase the time for germination and growth. Field studies were conducted to characterize the physical and chemical properties that affect winter rye (Secale cereale L.) establishment in corn and soybean, while a germination experiment was designed to determine optimal temperature and surface soil moisture content needed for successful germination. In the field study, 31 field-scale sites (22 corn and nine soybean) were aerially seeded in southeastern Minnesota during late August to early September 2009, 2010, and 2011. Aboveground biomass was collected before the ground froze, and multiple regression analysis was used to relate biomass to multiple soil and weather conditions. Total N uptake also was determined. Overall, precipitation the week after seeding was the most important factor in determining rye establishment, although our model accounted for only 43% of the variation in biomass. The germination study characterized winter rye germination on the surface of three different soils equilibrated to -50, -200, and -500 kPa water potential placed in three low-temperature incubators at 10, 18, and 25°C. Total germination was decreased by decreasing water potential in the sandy loam but not the clay or silt loam, suggesting that moisture content may be more important than water potential at the soil surface. Generally, germination was drastically reduced below a moisture content of 0.083 g g -1 .

Establishment and Function of Cover Crops Interseeded into Corn

“…Cover crop N content in the fall was not affected by location, cover crop species, or planting method (Table 2), and average N content ranged from only 0.3 to 2.6 kg N ha −1 , compared with reports of 0.1 to 45 (Wilson et al, 2013) and 15 to 57 kg N ha −1 (Belfry and Van Eerd, 2016). The importance of fall N uptake may vary depending on levels of residual soil N after the corn crop, but cover crop benefit will most frequently be associated with successful establishment, winter survival, and spring N uptake, since the greatest risk of N loss occurs in the spring (Randall et al, 2003).…”

Interseeding cover crops in corn

“…At the MSUAF 2016 site year, rainfall greater than 2.5 cm following the V7 interseeding resulted in greater emergence; however, at the MSUAF 2017 site year, a similar amount of precipitation followed the V6 and V7 interseeding timings but did not increase emergence. Other researchers have shown that rainfall following interseeding is crucial for cover crop establishment (Collins & Fowler, ; Constantin et al., ; Tribouillois et al., ; Wilson et al., ). In previous research, annual ryegrass seedlings were more tolerant of dry conditions following germination compared with a mustard and a vetch species (Constantin et al., ).…”

Influence of no‐till and a winter rye cover crop on nitrate losses from tile‐drained row‐crop agriculture in Iowa

“…It has been shown that large NO 3 –N losses typically correlate with large drainage volumes (Dinnes et al., 2002; Helmers, Zhou, Baker, Melvin, & Lemke, 2012). A rye cover crop can be planted in early fall and as early as August if aerially seeded (Wilson, Baker, & Allan, 2013).…”