Winter cover crop performance metrics (i.e., vegetative biomass quantity and quality) affect ecosystem services provisions, but they vary widely due to differences in agronomic practices, soil properties, and climate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAgroecosystems in the upper Mississippi River Basin are highly productive but often contribute to deterioration of water quality and greenhouse gas emissions. Cover cropping and no-till are conservation strategies implemented to reduce the environmental impact of these agroecosystems. However, using multiple strategies can lead to systemwide interactions that are not fully understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite numerous environmental benefits associated with cover crop (CC) use, some farmers are reluctant to include CCs in their production systems because of reported yield declines in corn. There are numerous potential reasons for this yield decline, including seedling disease. A winter rye CC can serve as a "green bridge" for corn seedling pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFYield loss of corn following a winter rye cover crop (CC) has been associated with increases in seedling disease caused by spp. We hypothesized that physical separation between the CC and corn could reduce the risk of seedling disease, and benefit corn growth and development. In a growth chamber experiment, corn seedlings were planted at 0 cm and 8 to 10 cm from terminated winter rye plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effects of winter cover crops on root disease and growth of corn and soybeans are poorly understood. A 3-year field experiment investigated the effect of winter cereal rye ( L.) and winter camelina ( [L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCover cropping is a prevalent conservation practice that offers substantial benefits to soil and water quality. However, winter cereal cover crops preceding corn may diminish beneficial rotation effects because two grass species are grown in succession. Here, we show that rye cover crops host pathogens capable of causing corn seedling disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubsurface drainage in agricultural watersheds exports a large quantity of nitrate-nitrogen (NO(3)-N) and concentrations frequently exceed 10 mg L(-1). A laboratory column study was conducted to investigate the ability of a wood chip bioreactor to promote denitrification under mean water flow rates of 2.9, 6.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSoil N2O emissions from three corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNitrate in water from tile drained corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.
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