ALTERNATIVE COVER CROPS PERFORMANCE AND PLANTING TECHNIQUES
Nottingham, *J.R.1; Armentrout, D.21Extension Agent, University of Maryland Extension, Princess Anne, MD, 21853
2Facility Manager, LESREC Facility, University of Maryland Extension, Salisbury, MD, 21801
Abstract:
Fall plantings of cover crops are vital to scavenge carry-over nutrients, particularly nitrogen, which is susceptible to loss. Cover crops are a valuable resource to reduce erosion and are vital to water quality. Wheat , rye, hairy vetch, canola, annual rye grass, tillage radish, and spring oat cover crop plots were planted at three Maryland locations using 4 planting treatments. The following planting techniques were utilized: broadcast only, broadcast and vertical till, broadcast and lightly disk, and no-till drill. Seed emergence counts tracked establishment for each treatments. Overall, seedling rates were highest in the no-till drill, broadcast and lightly disked, and vertical tilled plots and lowest in the broadcast only plots. As expected, increased seed to soil contact resulted in higher establishment rates. Results indicate that increased seed to soil contact was more critical for good seed establishment in hairy vetch and canola and less critical for wheat, rye, and spring oats. Vertical tillage provided comparable establishment rates for rye, and wheat to no-till plots and disked plots, but lower establishment rates for hairy vetch, canola, and spring oats. In all cases, vertical tilled plots had higher establishment rates than broadcast only plots.