The Value of Cover Crops in Continuous Corn Culture<sup>1</sup>

Odland, T. E.; Knoblauch, Helmut

doi:10.2134/agronj1938.00021962003000010004x

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Cover crops are nothing new to the American farm, with experiments growing 'other plants' between one year's maize harvest and the next year's maize planting dating back to at least the 1890s [1]. More modern interest in the practice, however, stems from farmers who wish to alleviate soil compaction, reduce soil erosion and reduce soil nitrogen loss [2], and has been accompanied by a large increase in funding available for farmers to adopt cover crops [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite detection of cover crops and their effects on crop yield in the Midwestern United States

Seifert

Azzari

Lobell

2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Supplementary material for this article is available online Corrigendum AbstractThe original raw dataset used to generate this work contained a number of duplicate entries-roughly 7% of the total farm fields. The substantive majority of these were from one large farm that had conducted their operations in a way that caused duplication as a side effect in our data generation process. Unfortunately, as the error was in the raw dataset, its correction required a re-run of the entire data pipeline, resulting in numerous small downstream changes. With respect to the most important numbers, the accuracy of the classifier went down slightly from 91.5% to 91.2% measured in absolute terms but increased from 0.68 to 0.74 measured by kappa. The trend in cover cropped acres grew slightly stronger, and the yield effects in maize and soybean moved from 0.65% to 0.71% and 0.35% to 0.29% respectively. None of the overall conclusions of the work have materially changed. Below, we provide all changes to the applicable sections of the original manuscript in bold underscore (or strikethrough) where applicable, in addition to modified versions of the corresponding figures and supplementary materials. OPEN ACCESS RECEIVED AbstractThe practice of planting winter cover crops has seen renewed interest as a solution to environmental issues with the modern maize-and soybean-dominated row crop production system of the US Midwest. We examine whether cover cropping patterns can be assessed at scale using publicly available satellite data, creating a classifier with 91.5% accuracy (.68 kappa). We then use this classifier to examine spatial and temporal trends in cover crop occurrence on maize and soybean fields in the Midwest since 2008, finding that despite increased talk about and funding for cover crops as well as a 94% increase in cover crop acres planted from 2008-2016, increases in winter vegetation have been more modest. Finally, we combine cover cropping with satellite-predicted yields, finding that cover crops are associated with low relative maize and soybean production and poor soil quality, consistent with farmers adopting the practice on fields most in need of purported cover crop benefits. When controlling for invariant soil quality using a panel regression model, we find modest benefits of cover cropping, with average yield increases of 0.65% for maize and 0.35% for soybean. Given these slight impacts on yields, greater incentives or reduced costs of implementation are needed to increase adoption of this practice for the majority of maize and soybean acres in the US.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite detection of cover crops and their effects on crop yield in the Midwestern United States

Seifert

Azzari

Lobell

2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…The benefits of cover crops have been known for many years (Odland and Knoblauch, 1938; Beale et al, 1955), although adoption has been minimal. For example, Singer et al (2007) estimated that only 18% of farmers in the U.S. Corn Belt had used cover crops in the past.…”

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Factors Affecting Successful Establishment of Aerially Seeded Winter Rye

Wilson

Baker²,

Allan

2013

Agronomy Journal

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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 .

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“…The beneficial effects of cover crops on yields of succeeding crops and soil quality have been known for a long time (Odland and Knoblauch 1938). After the Second World War, chemical fertilizers were used to significantly improve crop yields because they were cheaper to apply.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Macronutrient-Use Efficiency and Changes in Chemical Properties of an Oxisol as Influenced by Phosphorus Fertilization and Tropical Cover Crops

Fageria

Baligar

2014

Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis

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Cover crops are important components of copping systems due to their beneficial effects on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate influence of phosphorus (P) fertilization on nutrient-use efficiency of 14 tropical cover crops. The P levels tested were 0 (low), 100 (medium), and 200 (high) mg kg −1 of soil. The cover crops tested were Crotalaria breviflora, Crotalaria breviflora, Crotalaria spectabilis Roth, Crotalaria ochroleuca G. Don, Crotalaria juncea L., Crotalaria mucronata, Calapogonium mucunoides, Pueraria phaseoloides Roxb., Pueraria phaseoloides Roxb., Cajanus cajan L. Millspaugh, Dolichos lablab L., Mucuna deeringiana (Bort) Merr., Mucuna cinereum L., and Canavalia ensiformis L. DC. Agronomic efficiency (shoot dry weight per unit P applied), physiological efficiency (shoot dry weight per unit of nutrient uptake), and apparent recovery efficiency (nutrient uptake in the shoot per unit nutrient applied) were significantly varied among cover crops. Agronomic efficiency decreased with increasing P levels. Overall, physiological efficiency of nutrient uptake was in the order of P > sulfur (S) > magnesium (Mg) > calcium (Ca) > potassium (K) > nitrogen (N). Similarly, apparent recovery efficiency was in the order of N > K > Ca > Mg > P > S. Different recovery efficiency in cover crops can be useful in selecting cover crops with high recovery efficiency, which may be beneficial to succeeding crops in the cropping systems. The P × cover crops interactions were significant for soil extractable Ca 2+ , P, cation exchange capacity (CEC), Ca saturation, Ca/K ratio, and K/Mg ratio, indicating that cover crops change these soil property differently under different P levels. Thus, cover crops selection for different P levels is an important strategy for using cover crops in cropping systems in Brazilian Oxisols. Optimal values of soil pH, soil Ca and Mg contents, hydrogen (H) + aluminum (Al), P, CEC, base saturation, Ca saturation, Mg saturation, and K saturation were established for tropical cover crops grown on an Oxisol.

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The Value of Cover Crops in Continuous Corn Culture¹

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Satellite detection of cover crops and their effects on crop yield in the Midwestern United States

Satellite detection of cover crops and their effects on crop yield in the Midwestern United States

Factors Affecting Successful Establishment of Aerially Seeded Winter Rye

Macronutrient-Use Efficiency and Changes in Chemical Properties of an Oxisol as Influenced by Phosphorus Fertilization and Tropical Cover Crops

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The Value of Cover Crops in Continuous Corn Culture1

Cited by 11 publications

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Satellite detection of cover crops and their effects on crop yield in the Midwestern United States

Satellite detection of cover crops and their effects on crop yield in the Midwestern United States

Factors Affecting Successful Establishment of Aerially Seeded Winter Rye

Macronutrient-Use Efficiency and Changes in Chemical Properties of an Oxisol as Influenced by Phosphorus Fertilization and Tropical Cover Crops

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The Value of Cover Crops in Continuous Corn Culture¹