The Role of Cover Crop Types and Residue Incorporation in Improving Soil Chemical Properties
Soil chemical properties can be improved by incorporating crop residues in soil and letting it decompose. This study explored the use of incorporating residues of cover crops for improvements in soil chemical properties including soil organic matter (SOM), soil pH, and the selected soil macro- and m...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/10/2091 |
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| author | Rimsha Khan Aitazaz A. Farooque Helen Carolyn Peach Brown Qamar U. Zaman Bishnu Acharya Farhat Abbas Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill |
| author_facet | Rimsha Khan Aitazaz A. Farooque Helen Carolyn Peach Brown Qamar U. Zaman Bishnu Acharya Farhat Abbas Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill |
| author_sort | Rimsha Khan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil chemical properties can be improved by incorporating crop residues in soil and letting it decompose. This study explored the use of incorporating residues of cover crops for improvements in soil chemical properties including soil organic matter (SOM), soil pH, and the selected soil macro- and micronutrients in greenhouse and field trials. Factors of interest included (i) cover crops and their combinations and (ii) methods of crop termination and incorporation in soil (disc, mow + disc, glyphosate, roller crimper). The greenhouse trial showed up to a 20% higher amount of SOM accumulated in soils incorporated with crop residues. Buckwheat (3.12%) and phacelia (3.12%) produced significantly different and larger SOM than that of the control treatment that received no crop residues (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). The soil pH of the brown mustard treatment was also significantly affected by the experimental treatments (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). The incorporation of crop residues did not affect soil phosphorous (P) or potassium (K) concentrations, except for brown mustard, with significantly higher values of P and K than the control treatment. Calcium (Ca) was significantly higher in the soil of phacelia + pea treatment (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). Buckwheat + pea produced a higher concentration of Ca (1028 mg/kg) followed by buckwheat alone (1006 mg/kg). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) calculated on the results of the field trial showed that the mix treatment that had a mixture of four cover crops significantly increased the SOM content. Buckwheat produced the highest (2.95%) SOM, then brown mustard and timothy. This study concludes that, irrespective of the tillage incorporation methods, the residues from cover crops are a potential source of improvement in soil health, and this practice may promote sustainable agriculture in conditions similar to those in this study. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:47:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-834fd42181bc4445b7861185d0706be2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:47:23Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-834fd42181bc4445b7861185d0706be22023-11-22T17:08:09ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952021-10-011110209110.3390/agronomy11102091The Role of Cover Crop Types and Residue Incorporation in Improving Soil Chemical PropertiesRimsha Khan0Aitazaz A. Farooque1Helen Carolyn Peach Brown2Qamar U. Zaman3Bishnu Acharya4Farhat Abbas5Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill6Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, CanadaFaculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, CanadaEnvironmental Studies, Faculty of Science, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, CanadaDepartment of Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, CanadaDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, CanadaSchool of Climate Change and Adaptation, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, CanadaAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Charlottetown Research and Development Centre, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7Z5, CanadaSoil chemical properties can be improved by incorporating crop residues in soil and letting it decompose. This study explored the use of incorporating residues of cover crops for improvements in soil chemical properties including soil organic matter (SOM), soil pH, and the selected soil macro- and micronutrients in greenhouse and field trials. Factors of interest included (i) cover crops and their combinations and (ii) methods of crop termination and incorporation in soil (disc, mow + disc, glyphosate, roller crimper). The greenhouse trial showed up to a 20% higher amount of SOM accumulated in soils incorporated with crop residues. Buckwheat (3.12%) and phacelia (3.12%) produced significantly different and larger SOM than that of the control treatment that received no crop residues (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). The soil pH of the brown mustard treatment was also significantly affected by the experimental treatments (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). The incorporation of crop residues did not affect soil phosphorous (P) or potassium (K) concentrations, except for brown mustard, with significantly higher values of P and K than the control treatment. Calcium (Ca) was significantly higher in the soil of phacelia + pea treatment (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). Buckwheat + pea produced a higher concentration of Ca (1028 mg/kg) followed by buckwheat alone (1006 mg/kg). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) calculated on the results of the field trial showed that the mix treatment that had a mixture of four cover crops significantly increased the SOM content. Buckwheat produced the highest (2.95%) SOM, then brown mustard and timothy. This study concludes that, irrespective of the tillage incorporation methods, the residues from cover crops are a potential source of improvement in soil health, and this practice may promote sustainable agriculture in conditions similar to those in this study.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/10/2091cover cropsgreenhouseorganic matterresidue incorporationsustainable agriculture |
| spellingShingle | Rimsha Khan Aitazaz A. Farooque Helen Carolyn Peach Brown Qamar U. Zaman Bishnu Acharya Farhat Abbas Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill The Role of Cover Crop Types and Residue Incorporation in Improving Soil Chemical Properties Agronomy cover crops greenhouse organic matter residue incorporation sustainable agriculture |
| title | The Role of Cover Crop Types and Residue Incorporation in Improving Soil Chemical Properties |
| title_full | The Role of Cover Crop Types and Residue Incorporation in Improving Soil Chemical Properties |
| title_fullStr | The Role of Cover Crop Types and Residue Incorporation in Improving Soil Chemical Properties |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Cover Crop Types and Residue Incorporation in Improving Soil Chemical Properties |
| title_short | The Role of Cover Crop Types and Residue Incorporation in Improving Soil Chemical Properties |
| title_sort | role of cover crop types and residue incorporation in improving soil chemical properties |
| topic | cover crops greenhouse organic matter residue incorporation sustainable agriculture |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/10/2091 |
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