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Summer cover crop impacts on soil percolation and nitrogen leaching from a winter corn field

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  • Muñoz-Carpena, R.
  • Ritter, A.
  • Bosch, D.D.
  • Schaffer, B.
  • Potter, T.L.

Abstract

The impacts of a leguminous summer cover crop (sunn hemp; Crotalaria juncea) on nitrogen leaching from a corn (Zea mays L.) field was evaluated by direct measurements of soil water content and nitrogen balance components, complemented by direct and inverse modeling as an exploratory tool to better understand water flow and nitrogen balances in the soil. Water and nitrogen inputs and outputs were measured during winter corn production in an experimental field located in the south Miami-Dade basin in southern Florida (USA). Data from the last two seasons (2001-2002 and 2002-2003) of a 4-year study are presented. The field was divided into six 0.13 ha plots. One-half of the plots were rotated with sunn hemp (CC plots) during the summer while the remaining plots were kept fallow (NC plots). Sweet corn management was uniform on all plots and followed grower recommended practices. A numerical model (WAVE) for describing water and agrochemical movement in the soil was used to simulate water and nitrogen balances in both types of plots during the corn seasons. The hydrodynamic component of WAVE was calibrated with soil water data collected continuously at three depths, which resulted in accurate soil water content predictions (coefficients of efficiency of 0.85 and 0.91 for CC and NC plots, respectively). Measured components of the nitrogen balance (corn yields, estimated nitrogen uptake, and soil organic nitrogen) were used to positively assess the quality of the nitrogen simulation results. Results of the modeled water balance indicate that using sunn hemp as a cover crop improved the soil physical conditions (increase in soil water retention) and subsequently enhanced actual crop evapotranspiration and reduced soil drainage. However, nitrogen simulation results suggest that, although corn nitrogen uptake and yields were slightly higher in the CC plots than in the NC plots, there were net increases of soil N content that resulted in increased N leaching to the shallow aquifer. Therefore, the use of sunn hemp as cover crop should be coupled with reductions in N fertilizer applied to the winter crop to account for the net increase in soil N content.

Suggested Citation

  • Muñoz-Carpena, R. & Ritter, A. & Bosch, D.D. & Schaffer, B. & Potter, T.L., 2008. "Summer cover crop impacts on soil percolation and nitrogen leaching from a winter corn field," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(6), pages 633-644, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:95:y:2008:i:6:p:633-644
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ducheyne, S. & Schadeck, N. & Vanongeval, L. & Vandendriessche, H. & Feyen, J., 2001. "Assessment of the parameters of a mechanistic soil-crop-nitrogen simulation model using historic data of experimental field sites in Belgium," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 53-78, October.
    2. Ritter, A. & Hupet, F. & Munoz-Carpena, R. & Lambot, S. & Vanclooster, M., 2003. "Using inverse methods for estimating soil hydraulic properties from field data as an alternative to direct methods," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(2), pages 77-96, March.
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    2. Gheysari, Mahdi & Mirlatifi, Seyed Majid & Homaee, Mehdi & Asadi, Mohammad Esmaeil & Hoogenboom, Gerrit, 2009. "Nitrate leaching in a silage maize field under different irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer rates," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(6), pages 946-954, June.
    3. He, Gang & Wang, Zhaohui & Li, Fucui & Dai, Jian & Li, Qiang & Xue, Cheng & Cao, Hanbing & Wang, Sen & Malhi, Sukhdev S., 2016. "Soil water storage and winter wheat productivity affected by soil surface management and precipitation in dryland of the Loess Plateau, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1-9.
    4. 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.
    5. Valdés, R. & Ochoa, J. & Franco, J.A. & Sánchez-Blanco, M.J. & Bañón, S., 2015. "Saline irrigation scheduling for potted geranium based on soil electrical conductivity and moisture sensors," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 123-130.
    6. Kisekka, I. & Schlegel, A. & Ma, L. & Gowda, P.H. & Prasad, P.V.V., 2017. "Optimizing preplant irrigation for maize under limited water in the High Plains," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 154-163.
    7. Trautman, Dawn & Jeffrey, Scott R. & Unterschultz, James R., 2012. "Beneficial Management Practice (BMP) Adoption -- Direct Farm Cost/Benefit Tradeoffs," Project Report Series 139638, University of Alberta, Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology.

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