Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #210575
Title: Establishment and Growth of Self-Seeded Winter Cereal Cover Crops in a Soybean-Corn Rotation

Author
item MC DONALD, PAUL - IA STATE UNIVERSITY
item Singer, Jeremy
item WIEDENHOEFT, MARY - IA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Agronomy Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/16/2007
Publication Date: 3/3/2008
Citation: Mc Donald, P.B., Singer, J.W., Wiedenhoeft, M.H. 2008. Establishment and Growth of Self-Seeded Winter Cereal Cover Crops in a Soybean-Corn Rotation. Agronomy Journal. 100:432-439.

Interpretive Summary: Perpetuating cereal cover crops through self-seeding may increase adoption by reducing risk and cost. Winter rye, wheat, and triticale were used to develop self-seeding cover crop systems in a soybean-corn rotation. Cereals were planted in varying configurations and managed chemically and mechanically. Most species by treatment combinations were fully established within one week after soybean harvest. Fall green ground cover after one cycle of self-seeding was consistently higher following wheat and ranged from 13 to 61%. Straw biomass at cover maturity the following July ranged from 50 to 79 in wheat, 20 to 39 in triticale, and 0.0 to 53 grams per square meter in rye. Combined spring and maturity maximum N uptake was 21, 21, and 35 kilograms per hectare for triticale, wheat, and rye. Cycle two seed production was greater in wheat and ranged from 559 to 1280 seeds m-2 (meters). Wheat also consistently had greater self-seeding plant establishment after two cycles, which ranged from 5 to 21% of the original planting density and 19 to 64% of the cycle one plant densities. Self-seeding cereal cover crop systems do not require excessive seed production if efficient technologies are developed for seed dispersal. These improvements ultimately may lead to increased cover crop use by farmers because the risk and cost of establishing them will be lower and the environmental benefits may be enhanced.

Technical Abstract: Perpetuating cereal cover crops through self-seeding may increase adoption by reducing risk and cost. Winter rye (Secale cereale L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack) were used to develop self-seeding cover crop systems in a soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]-corn (Zea mays L.) rotation. Cereals were planted in varying configurations and managed chemically and mechanically. The objectives were to 1) quantify temporal establishment patterns after one cycle of self-seeding 2) quantify shoot biomass, N uptake, and seed production growing concurrently with corn, and 3) self-seeding after two cycles. Most species by treatment combinations were fully established within one week after soybean harvest. Fall green ground cover after one cycle of self-seeding was consistently higher following wheat and ranged from 13 to 61%. Straw biomass at cover maturity the following July ranged from 50.4 to 79.1 in wheat, 20.1 to 39.3 in triticale, and 0.0 to 52.7 g m-2 in rye. Combined spring and maturity maximum N uptake was 20.7, 21.2, and 35.0 kg ha-1 for triticale, wheat, and rye. Cycle two seed production was greater in wheat and ranged from 559 to 1280 seeds m-2. Wheat also consistently had greater self-seeding plant establishment after two cycles, which ranged from 5 to 21% of the original planting density and 19 to 64% of the cycle one plant densities. Self-seeding cereal cover crop systems do not require excessive seed production if efficient technologies are developed for seed dispersal.