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Cover Crop Innovations Tracy Blackmer Feb. 18, 2014 Cover Crop Solutions [email protected]

Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

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Page 1: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Cover Crop Innovations

Tracy Blackmer

Feb. 18, 2014Cover Crop Solutions

[email protected]

Page 2: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Tile drainage• Nitrate moves freely with water• Most of nitrate loading from tile

lines• Tile lines usually run before and

after corn and soybeans are taking up N

Nitrogen Loss

Notice the lack of green on the land and the water flowing from tile line

Page 3: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Water Quality

July 29, 2014Big Creek ReservoirIowa, USA

No Swimming permittedDrinking water source

Page 4: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Most common reason for cover crops• Erosion control often a “gateway”

usage of cover crops.• Requirements for erosion control

are not necessary the same as other usages.

• Specifics must be adapted to local issues

Benefits of Cover Crops

Page 5: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Cover Crop Seed

More than cereal rye Hairy Vetch

TillageRadish®

CrimsonClover

AnnualRyegrass

WinterPeas

Oats CerealRye

Triticale

Page 6: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Cover Crop Roots

Page 7: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Planted cover crops• In trash cans• Triticale, Radish, Clover, and Annual

Ryegrass• Soil mix to easily separate roots

Root Can Study

Page 8: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Roots are often under estimated

Key Point

34 days of growth

Page 9: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Crimson clover

Key Point

34 days of growth

Page 10: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Nutrient Scavenging

Increased N Scavenging

• Fall planted cover crop• Captures N at lower depth• This N could be lost by next

spring

Nitrogen Capture

Ray Weil, University of Maryland

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

05

1015202530354045505560

Tillage RadishNo Cover Crop

Nitrate N in each 6 inch soil layer (lb/a)

Soil

dept

h (in

ches

)

Page 11: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Plant uptake• Holds leachable

nutrients• Relocates nutrients• Increases available

forms of nutrients

Nutrient Uptake

Page 12: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Nitrogen Application• Angle with NH3 • Plant differences

Early Season Nutrient Stress

June 3, 2014

Page 13: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Iowa Prevented Planting Case Study

• There was a pre-plant application of 60 lbs N/a. No additional N was added.

• Around the 1st of Aug. the field was disked, the Tillage Radish® seed was broadcast and a roller was used to get a firm seed contact.

• A good stand was established.

Case Study – Nutrient Catch Crop

Cambridge Iowa, 2013

Page 14: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Nutrient Analysis

• An average of 364 lbs of N were taken up by the Tillage Radish®

• Plus other nutrients

Case Study – Nutrient Catch Crop

Page 15: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Case Study – Nutrient Catch Crop

Nitrogen Needs

• Only 50 lbs N/a was needed to optimize grain yield for 230+ bu/a corn.

• Despite over 350 lbs N in the TR catch crop, N was still needed, but at a much lower than anticipated amount.

• The lack of full N credit is speculated to be a loss from rain rather than a lack of N release.

Page 16: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Cover crop roots can “loosen” the soil

• Roots can go deeper than most tillage operations

• Can keep aggregate stability.

Soil Conditioning

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

0

5

10

15

20

25

Soil penetrometer resistance with and without cover crop

Tillage RadishNo Cover Crop

Penetration Resistance (lbs/in2)

Soil

Dep

th (i

nche

s)

Page 17: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Increasing Root Growth

Increased Rooting Depth

• Fall planted cover crop• Following season’s corn roots• More corn root growth at

lower depth

Increased Corn Rooting

Weil and Chen. 2007

0 2000 4000 6000 8000

0

5

10

15

20

25

Tillage RadishCereal RyeNo Cover Crop

Corn Root Growth (roots/sq yard)

Soil

Dep

th (i

nch)

Page 18: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Increasing nutrient availability

• Cover crops increased nutrient availability in the top 10 inches

Increasing Nutrient Availability

Page 19: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

University of Maryland with the Tillage Radish®

• 70 comparisons over 5 years• 12 bu/a corn yield increase• 8 bu/a soybean yield increase• No yield decreases

Yield Trials

Page 20: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Nematode control strategies• Non-Host crops• Biofumigants• Hatch and Starve• Increasing the Suppression

Nematodes

Isothiocyantes

+ Myrosinase

In Brassica tissue

Volatile “bio-fumigant”

Glucosinolates

Rupturing Cells

Somecontrol

Limited impact

Odor

Page 21: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Nematode Reduction• Field studies in IL have shown a

meaningful reduction.• Data from each site was

replicated three times over 2 years.

• Mechanism not understood, but looks promising.

• More research needed.

Soybean Cyst Nematodes

Site No Cover Cereal Annual Crop Rye

Ryegrass

----------------SCN

Eggs-----------------

1 7533 717* 117** 2 3650

320* 0** 3 1559 722*

386* 4 1202 390* 279*

*significant 0.05

**significant 0.01

Mike Plumer, Univ. IL

Page 22: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Nematode Reduction• Field studies in IL have shown a

meaningful reduction.• Data from each site was

replicated three times over 2 years.

• Mechanism not understood, but looks promising.

• More research needed.

Soybean Cyst Nematodes

Site No Cover Cereal Annual Crop Rye

Ryegrass

----------------bu/a----------------

1 48.9 53.8 55.7 2 48.2

52.3 60.6

Mike Plumer, Univ. IL

Soybean grain yield following cover crops

Page 23: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Inter-seeding?• Can you plant a cover crop earlier

in the season?• Need light to get established• Will it hurt yield?

Establishing a Cover Crop

Penn State University

Page 24: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Corn Yield as Affected by Interseeding

Untreated control Annual Ryegrass Legume mix Grass-legume mix140

145

150

155

160

165

170

175

180

185

190

Corn

Yie

ld (b

u/a)

Effect of Interseeded cover crops

Penn State, 2013

Page 25: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Establishing a Cover Crop

Most common cover crops used for interseeding

RootMax Annual Ryegrass Tillage RadishCrimson Clover

Page 26: Cover Crop Seed Innovation - Blackmer

Thank you.

CoverCropSolutions.com

TillageRadish.com

800-767-9441

Cover Crop Solutions

Tillage Radish

@CoverCropTweets

@TillageRadish