Location: Soil Management Research
Project Number: 5060-11610-004-005-N
Project Type: Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2023
End Date: Oct 31, 2025
Objective:
Develop regional agronomic recommendations to help farmers incorporate a cereal rye cover crop after corn grain without negatively impacting the subsequent soybean crop, and to use the cover crop to improve weed control and soil health.
Approach:
This is a multi-site study (two research farms [Morris and Crookston, MN] and seven field-scale on-farm experiments). ARS will help facilitate one of the research farm studies at the Swan Lake Research Farm (Morris). Research farm treatments include three factors:
Tillage treatments:
1. Fall chisel plow and field cultivation
2. No-till
Cover crop seeding rate treatments:
1. no cover crop
2. 20 lb/A cereal rye
3. 40 lb/A cereal rye
Cover crop termination timings:
1. 1-2 weeks before soybean planting
2. at soybean planting
3. 1-2 weeks after soybean planting
