Thursday, July 5, 2018

Cover Crops in the Production System


Autumn-winter cover crop effects on yield and corn N accumulation in Southwestern Buenos Aires

Cover crops (CC) have an effect on nitrogen (N) accumulation and on successive crop yields. The aim of this study was to evaluate yields, yield components and N accumulation of maize using as previous crops different CC and evaluating the response to N fertilization. Five experiments were conductedd on a Typic Argiudioll (USDA Soil Taxonomy) of Coronel Suárez. The species used as CC were: Oats (Avena sativa), Hairy vetch (Vicia sativa) and control (chemical fallow). The experimental design consisted of split-plots in three randomized complete blocks, with main plots corresponding to the cover crops treatment and subplots to the fertilizer treatment (N applied at the V4-V6 corn stage). The treatments in the main plots were the CC. The effects of CC varied according to the corn yield component.. Hairy vetch and N fertilization at different rates increased the N absorption efficiency. A greater N absorption was not always related to increases in corn yields, probably due to the climatic variability among years. There was a tendency for greater corn yields with hairy vetch as a preceding cover crop. N application reduced hairy vetch N recovery during the second year and increased N recovery during the first and third year. Fertilizer application effects varied among previous crops with a low response to N when the previous crop was hairy vetch, a variable response when in fallow and a significant response when the previous crop was oats.
Cover crops, corn, hairy vetch, clover, oats, yield, nitrogen.
Sá Pereira E. de, J.A. Galantini, A. Quiroga, M.R. Landriscini. 2014. Efecto de los cultivos de cobertura otoño invernales, sobre el rendimiento y acumulación de N en maíz en el sudoeste bonaerense. Ciencia del Suelo 32 (2) 219-231.
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