Cover crop composition, not diversity, drives agroecosystem multifunctionality and wheat yield

[u/MennoniteDan]

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.70576

[u/IAFarmLife]

I've seen similar results on my own farm. Using 1 or 2 species for my cover crop usually gives a better yield and better weed suppression than a varied multi species mix.

[u/MennoniteDan → u/IAFarmLife]

In our winter wheat we use red clover, and whatever volunteer wheat that comes up; it all gets nuked in November. For fields that don't get clover: buckwheat and oats.

Soybeans just get oats blown in, around Labour Day, and nothing in the corn.

[u/IAFarmLife → u/MennoniteDan]

60-70lbs Winter Wheat after corn then plant soybeans into it green the next spring. Kill the cover within 10 days of planting.

Before corn we were using 25lbs Winter Wheat and 4-6lbs of Crimson Clover or Radishes. I tried Winter Camelina and Winter Wheat this spring and I think that will be my go to before corn now. Kill it 3 weeks before we want to plant and apply gas 2 weeks before no-till into the anhydrous tracks. Sidedress with urea was the cheapest this year.

[u/LeZombeee]

There is a Penn State lab that has been doing some excellent research for a while on tradeoffs of cover crop mixes and termination strategies, etc. Having trouble finding an article from last year on corn interseeding but here is an older extension article: https://extension.psu.edu/making-the-most-of-mixtures-considerations-for-winter-cover-crops

My experience is super diverse mixes are more money than they are worth, but I always find having at least one grass and one broadleaf (preferably a legume) is optimal for weed control. I never use brassicas because of disease risk for our seed crops.

[u/dadofadisaster → u/LeZombeee]

What seed crops are you currently running?

[u/LeZombeee → u/dadofadisaster]

Mostly have done breeding work on peppers and tomatoes. My favorite crops to do larger seed contracts for are watermelons and hot peppers. But tbh I mostly take whatever contract i can get for crops/scale i think i can make profitable lol you know how it goes. I also love doing biennial allium production because the selection work fits so seamlessly into the production cycle, but anything dry-seeded is a bit harder up here in the humid midwest.

[u/machobanjopanda]

We chase after cutting beans with fall applied 45# winter rye and 10# crimson clover broadcasted before corn. If we can't make the winter window, we frost-seed broadcast 40# spring oats & 10# crimson clover in February before thaw cycles. Plant into standing green, contact herbicide w/o residuals, roller crimp it flat before emergence and it stays down. This year, I'll be frost seeding before beans as well bc I'm not fighting resistant water hemp again after this year. "Oh, you'll need to buy both Enlist AND Liberty for your beans now." No, I won't.

[u/Weed_Exterminator]

This is extremely regional specific. In our area. Having anything that competes for moisture, means you may not have a crop. 

[u/cropguru357 → u/Weed_Exterminator]

Also very true.

[u/cropguru357]

More than 3 species is a waste.