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Soil water improvements with the long-term use of a winter rye cover crop

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  • Basche, Andrea D.
  • Kaspar, Thomas C.
  • Archontoulis, Sotirios V.
  • Jaynes, Dan B.
  • Sauer, Thomas J.
  • Parkin, Timothy B.
  • Miguez, Fernando E.

Abstract

The Midwestern United States, a region that produces one-third of maize and one-quarter of soybean grain globally, is projected to experience increasing rainfall variability. One approach to mitigate climate impacts is to utilize crop and soil management practices that enhance soil water storage and reduce the risks of flooding as well as drought-induced crop water stress. While some research indicates that a winter cover crop in maize-soybean rotations increases soil water availability, producers continue to be concerned that water use by cover crops will reduce water for a following cash crop. We analyzed continuous in-field soil water measurements from 2008 to 2014 at a Central Iowa research site that has included a winter rye cover crop in a maize-soybean rotation for thirteen years. This period of study included years in the top third of the wettest on record (2008, 2010, 2014) as well as drier years in the bottom third (2012, 2013). We found the cover crop treatment to have significantly higher soil water storage at the 0–30cm depth from 2012 to 2014 when compared to the no cover crop treatment and in most years greater soil water content on individual days analyzed during the cash crop growing season. We further found that the cover crop significantly increased the field capacity water content by 10–11% and plant available water by 21–22%. Finally, in 2013 and 2014, we measured maize and soybean biomass every 2–3 weeks and did not see treatment differences in crop growth, leaf area or nitrogen uptake. Final crop yields were not statistically different between the cover and no cover crop treatment in any of the seven years of this analysis. This research indicates that the long-term use of a winter rye cover crop can improve soil water dynamics without sacrificing cash crop growth in maize-soybean crop rotations in the Midwestern United States.

Suggested Citation

  • Basche, Andrea D. & Kaspar, Thomas C. & Archontoulis, Sotirios V. & Jaynes, Dan B. & Sauer, Thomas J. & Parkin, Timothy B. & Miguez, Fernando E., 2016. "Soil water improvements with the long-term use of a winter rye cover crop," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 40-50.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:172:y:2016:i:c:p:40-50
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2016.04.006
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    7. Paye, Wooiklee S. & Ghimire, Rajan & Acharya, Pramod & Nilahyane, Abdelaziz & Mesbah, Abdel O. & Marsalis, Mark A., 2022. "Cover crop water use and corn silage production in -semi-arid irrigated conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    8. Sandhya Karki & M. Arlene A. Adviento-Borbe & Joseph H. Massey & Michele L. Reba, 2021. "Assessing Seasonal Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Furrow-Irrigated Rice with Cover Crops," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, March.
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    10. Rogovska, Natalia & O’Brien, Peter L. & Malone, Rob & Emmett, Bryan & Kovar, John L. & Jaynes, Dan & Kaspar, Thomas & Moorman, Thomas B. & Kyveryga, Peter, 2023. "Long-term conservation practices reduce nitrate leaching while maintaining yields in tile-drained Midwestern soils," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    11. Yang, Wei & Feng, Gary & Adeli, Ardeshir & Kersebaum, K.C. & Jenkins, Johnie N. & Li, Pinfang, 2019. "Long-term effect of cover crop on rainwater balance components and use efficiency in the no-tilled and rainfed corn and soybean rotation system," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 27-39.
    12. Rath, S. & Zamora-Re, M. & Graham, W. & Dukes, M. & Kaplan, D., 2021. "Quantifying nitrate leaching to groundwater from a corn-peanut rotation under a variety of irrigation and nutrient management practices in the Suwannee River Basin, Florida," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    13. Wang, Jun & Zhang, Shaohong & Sainju, Upendra M. & Ghimire, Rajan & Zhao, Fazhu, 2021. "A meta-analysis on cover crop impact on soil water storage, succeeding crop yield, and water-use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    14. Gevan D. Behnke & Cameron M. Pittelkow & Emerson D. Nafziger & María B. Villamil, 2018. "Exploring the Relationships between Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Yields, and Soil Properties in Cropping Systems," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-26, April.
    15. Malone, R.W. & Kersebaum, K.C. & Kaspar, T.C. & Ma, L. & Jaynes, D.B. & Gillette, K., 2017. "Winter rye as a cover crop reduces nitrate loss to subsurface drainage as simulated by HERMES," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 156-169.
    16. Meredith Hovis & Joseph Chris Hollinger & Frederick Cubbage & Theodore Shear & Barbara Doll & J. Jack Kurki-Fox & Daniel Line & Andrew Fox & Madalyn Baldwin & Travis Klondike & Michelle Lovejoy & Brya, 2021. "Natural Infrastructure Practices as Potential Flood Storage and Reduction for Farms and Rural Communities in the North Carolina Coastal Plain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-25, August.
    17. Gupta, Rishabh & Bhattarai, Rabin & Coppess, Jonathan W. & Jeong, Hanseok & Ruffatti, Michael & Armstrong, Shalamar D., 2022. "Modeling the impact of winter cover crop on tile drainage and nitrate loss using DSSAT model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    18. Li, Yizhuo & Tian, Di & Feng, Gary & Yang, Wei & Feng, Liping, 2021. "Climate change and cover crop effects on water use efficiency of a corn-soybean rotation system," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    19. Sawadgo, Wendiam & Plastina, Alejandro, 2021. "Do cost-share programs increase cover crop use? Empirical evidence from Iowa," ISU General Staff Papers 202101010800001084, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    20. Gabriel, Jose Luis & Quemada, Miguel & Martín-Lammerding, Diana & Vanclooster, Marnik, 2019. "Assessing the cover crop effect on soil hydraulic properties by inverse modelling in a 10-year field trial," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 62-71.
    21. Flowers, Henry & Lopez, Jose A. & Drake, David & Jones, Curtis, 2023. "An Agronomic and Economic Analysis of Annual Ryegrass Management Practices in North-Texas Soybean Production," 2023 Annual Meeting, February 4-8, 2023, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 338474, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    22. Teerath Rai & Nicole Lee & Martin Williams & Adam Davis & María B. Villamil & Hamze Dokoohaki, 2023. "Probabilistic Assessment of Cereal Rye Cover Crop Impacts on Regional Crop Yield and Soil Carbon," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, January.

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