Fallow season cover crops in Mid-South row-crop productionFallow season cover crops in Mid-South...
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Fallow season cover crops in Mid-South agriculture production Lisa M. Fultz Brenda Tubana, James Hendrix, Josh Copes, Sebe Brown, Donna Morgan, Naveem Adusumilli, Al Orgeron, Kenneth Gravois, Trey Price, Wink Alison, Buddy Pitman, Daniel Fromme, Donnie Miller
Transcript of Fallow season cover crops in Mid-South row-crop productionFallow season cover crops in Mid-South...
Fallow season cover crops in Mid-South
agriculture productionLisa M. Fultz
Brenda Tubana, James Hendrix, Josh Copes, Sebe Brown, Donna Morgan, Naveem Adusumilli, Al Orgeron,
Kenneth Gravois, Trey Price, Wink Alison, Buddy Pitman, Daniel Fromme, Donnie Miller
Producer questions in Louisiana
• What cover crop(s) should I use
• Plant and termination timing and management• Biomass and nutrient production
• For example - corn – Feb 1
• Rotations
• Weed and disease control
• Wet soils
What cover crops have we tried…• Legumes
• Clovers
• Winter pea
• Hairy vetch
• Sunn Hemp
• Cowpea
• Grasses/Small grains• Wheat
• Cereal rye
• Black oats
• Triticale
• Sorhum/Sudan
• Brassicas• Tillage radish• Canola• Turnips
• Others• Chicory
• Corn
• Soybean
• Cotton
• Sugarcane
• Rice
• Rotations
• Rangeland
DataSIO,NOAA,U.S.Navy,NGA,GEBCO
DataSIO,NOAA,U.S.Navy,NGA,GEBCO
DataSIO,NOAA,U.S.Navy,NGA,GEBCO
©2018Google
©2018Google
©2018Google
ImageLandsat/Copernicus
ImageLandsat/Copernicus
ImageLandsat/Copernicus
Image©2019TerraMetrics
Image©2019TerraMetrics
Image©2019TerraMetrics
5 years of cover crops, no nitrogen fertilization, and conservation tillage
• Increased SOM 29%
• Legumes• Decreased soil pH
• Increased soil moisture
• Greater nitrate-N (22%) and ammonium-N (9%)
• Increased C cycling enzyme activity
• Larger populations of saprophytic fungi
• Grasses & Brassicas• Greater K, Ca, Mg
• Increased total microbial biomass
• Larger populations of AMF
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Co
rn g
rain
yie
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bu
ac-1
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N fertilizer rate (lbs ac-1)
Fallow Legumes Grasses & Brassica
Legumes supplemented N fertilizer applications
Cover crops are scavenging N
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Nit
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ium
-N
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kg-1
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Sampling date
Nitrate-N Ammonium-N
Biomass degradation
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Fallow Wheat
Cereal rye + Black oats Cereal rye + Hairy vetch
Wheat + Crimson clover Black oats + Crimson Clover + Radish
Black oats + Wheat + Hairy vetch + Radish Crimson clover + Hairy vetch + Radish
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WK0 WK1 WK2 WK3 WK4 WK6 WK8
Nit
rate
-N (
lbs
ac-1
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Fallow Wheat
Cereal rye + Black oats Cereal rye + Hairy vetch
Wheat + Crimson clover Black oats + Crimson Clover + Radish
Black oats + Wheat + Hairy vetch + Radish Crimson clover + Hairy vetch + Radish
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Fallow Wheat + Berseemclover
Black oats + WinterPea
Cereal rye +Crimson clover +
Tillage Radish
Bio
mas
s (l
bs
ac-1
)
Grass
Legume
Radish
Weeds
Biomass production and weed suppression
On-farm demonstrations
• 2016 – Conservation Innovation Grant• 10 acres of polyculture cover crops per demonstration
• 16 producers with 19 demonstration fields
• 2018 – Louisiana Conservation Innovation Grant• Cover crops in a rice/soybean rotation
• 2019 – Taylor Foundation Grant• 2 on-farm demonstrations of Best Management
Practices
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Cover crop mix Control Cover crop mix Control
Feb. 1 Mar. 7
Bio
mas
s (l
bs
ac-1
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Black oats
Hairy vetch
weed
Weed suppression and continued cover crop growth
On-farm trials – Corn & Soybean
• Yields ranged between -9 and +18 lb ac-1
• Insecticide seed treatments• Improved stands of corn, cotton, and soybean following
cover crops
• Runoff water quality• Decreases in turbidity, total suspended solids, and total
dissolved solids
• Greater nitrate and ammonium in cover crops
On-farm trials - Sugarcane
• Yield response was variable • Yield ranged from -5 to +7.1 tons ac-1
• Sugar yields ranged from -1,000 to +1,437 lbs ac-1
• When no N added +1,300 lbs ac-1
• Delaying termination to March• Decreased stalk populations by ~7,000 stalks ac-1
Posters
• #9 – Interaction of winter cover crops and nitrogen applications on corn grain yield, nitrate-N, soil enzymes, and soil microbial composition
• #16 – Evaluation of soil type and seeding rate on cover crop biomass and weed suppression
• #17 – Cool-season annuals effects on soil health in warm-season grass pastures and rangelands in the Mid-South central USA
Thank you
Questions@LSU_SoilMicro
225.578.1344
Thank YouQuestions??
225.578.1344
