Cover Crop Termination Method and N Fertilization Effects on Sweet Corn Yield, Quality, N Uptake, and Weed Pressure
Cover cropping is vital for soil health. Timing and method of termination are major factors influencing the agroecological benefits of cover crops. Delay in the termination of cover crops results in greater biomass production. Likewise, incorporation of cover crops during termination often speeds re...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Nitrogen |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3129/4/1/5 |
| _version_ | 1797609722318159872 |
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| author | Sachina Sunuwar Arthur Siller Samantha Glaze-Corcoran Masoud Hashemi |
| author_facet | Sachina Sunuwar Arthur Siller Samantha Glaze-Corcoran Masoud Hashemi |
| author_sort | Sachina Sunuwar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cover cropping is vital for soil health. Timing and method of termination are major factors influencing the agroecological benefits of cover crops. Delay in the termination of cover crops results in greater biomass production. Likewise, incorporation of cover crops during termination often speeds residue mineralization compared to no-till systems. We used four termination strategies for a late-terminated winter rye–legume mix (in tilled and no-till systems) and four N application rates in the succeeding sweet corn crop to examine how cover crop termination affected N response in sweet corn as well as the independent effects of N application rate and cover crop termination method. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with four replications. Increasing N fertilization up to 144 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup> promoted yield and quality in sweet corn as well as summer weed growth. The cover crop termination method did not affect sweet corn response to N fertilizer. This suggests that when rye is terminated late in the spring before planting cash crops, the incorporation of its residues may not greatly affect the soil N dynamics. This indicates that decisions to incorporate rye residues may be taken by farmers with an eye mainly towards management issues such as weed control, environmental impacts, and soil health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:05:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-65177275b0a544e19a7d72f13d315506 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-3129 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:05:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nitrogen |
| spelling | doaj.art-65177275b0a544e19a7d72f13d3155062023-11-17T13:02:53ZengMDPI AGNitrogen2504-31292023-01-0141375710.3390/nitrogen4010005Cover Crop Termination Method and N Fertilization Effects on Sweet Corn Yield, Quality, N Uptake, and Weed PressureSachina Sunuwar0Arthur Siller1Samantha Glaze-Corcoran2Masoud Hashemi3Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USAStockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USAStockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USAStockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USACover cropping is vital for soil health. Timing and method of termination are major factors influencing the agroecological benefits of cover crops. Delay in the termination of cover crops results in greater biomass production. Likewise, incorporation of cover crops during termination often speeds residue mineralization compared to no-till systems. We used four termination strategies for a late-terminated winter rye–legume mix (in tilled and no-till systems) and four N application rates in the succeeding sweet corn crop to examine how cover crop termination affected N response in sweet corn as well as the independent effects of N application rate and cover crop termination method. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with four replications. Increasing N fertilization up to 144 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup> promoted yield and quality in sweet corn as well as summer weed growth. The cover crop termination method did not affect sweet corn response to N fertilizer. This suggests that when rye is terminated late in the spring before planting cash crops, the incorporation of its residues may not greatly affect the soil N dynamics. This indicates that decisions to incorporate rye residues may be taken by farmers with an eye mainly towards management issues such as weed control, environmental impacts, and soil health.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3129/4/1/5cover crop terminationsweet cornwinter ryeN managementno-till productionear quality indices |
| spellingShingle | Sachina Sunuwar Arthur Siller Samantha Glaze-Corcoran Masoud Hashemi Cover Crop Termination Method and N Fertilization Effects on Sweet Corn Yield, Quality, N Uptake, and Weed Pressure Nitrogen cover crop termination sweet corn winter rye N management no-till production ear quality indices |
| title | Cover Crop Termination Method and N Fertilization Effects on Sweet Corn Yield, Quality, N Uptake, and Weed Pressure |
| title_full | Cover Crop Termination Method and N Fertilization Effects on Sweet Corn Yield, Quality, N Uptake, and Weed Pressure |
| title_fullStr | Cover Crop Termination Method and N Fertilization Effects on Sweet Corn Yield, Quality, N Uptake, and Weed Pressure |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cover Crop Termination Method and N Fertilization Effects on Sweet Corn Yield, Quality, N Uptake, and Weed Pressure |
| title_short | Cover Crop Termination Method and N Fertilization Effects on Sweet Corn Yield, Quality, N Uptake, and Weed Pressure |
| title_sort | cover crop termination method and n fertilization effects on sweet corn yield quality n uptake and weed pressure |
| topic | cover crop termination sweet corn winter rye N management no-till production ear quality indices |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3129/4/1/5 |
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