Managing Cover Crops Profitably - Valley Crops Home

Foxtail (German) millet
Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) has a variety of
common names. Most literature refers to it as foxtail
millet due to its similarity to other members of
the Setaria genus (several species of weedy foxtails).
Other common names include German millet,
Hungarian millet and Italian millet. Compared
to the weedy species of foxtail, this millet has a
much larger seed head, larger golden-colored
seed, bigger plants and a higher seed yield. This
plant was used for centuries in China as an important
food grain. The crop has been grown as a
food grain, forage and occasionally for birdseed
production. The main use in the U.S. has been for
forage production, primarily in the Great Plains.
Foxtail millet is a warm season crop, and will
not overwinter. Its best use as a cover crop would
be following spring-harvested vegetables in areas
otherwise left fallow for a summer, or in southern
regions as a cover crop planted in mid-summer.
Although foxtail millet is a relatively short season
crop (90 to 100 days in the lower Midwest), it
must be planted in the first half of the summer to
maximize biomass production. If planted late,
such as mid-July through August,the plants will be
much shorter in stature and less vigorous.
The competitive advantage of foxtail millet lies
in its drought tolerance, relatively quick growth
and its status as a warm season annual that can be
drilled in narrow rows.The crop is relatively easy
to establish, like oats or wheat, and establishes
best when drilled rather than broadcast.With adequate
rainfall, the crop will reach 3 to 4 feet tall
within about 50 to 60 days, but will be shorter
under limited moisture conditions or when planted
late. Foxtail millet fits a mid-summer niche not
filled by cool season grains such as wheat, oats
and rye. It provides more biomass in a short period
than many warm season grasses, though perhaps
not as much as sorghum or pearl millet.
Compared to those two crops however, foxtail
millet may provide better erosion control because
it can be drilled in narrow rows.
Foxtail millet is somewhat easier to establish
than pearl millet, and although both are more
drought tolerant than corn, pearl millet would be
favored on sandy soils.
Some vegetable growers in eastern states such
as Maryland have planted foxtail millet after
spring vegetable harvest as a cover crop. Control
methods later in the summer have included spraying,
mowing and rolling the crop flat (the rolling
seems to provide a high percentage of control
without need for further action).
Disadvantages of foxtail millet are that it cannot
be used after fall-harvested crops (too little vigor
when planted in the cool fall months) and that it
could be a host to some pests of other cereal grain
crops—as is true of any grass cover crop. Foxtail
millet is not likely to be a weed, since it does not
have hard seed; any foxtail millet plants that volunteer
the next season can be easily controlled
similar to volunteer oats.
Some seed dealers sell foxtail millet under a
generic name, often as German millet (be sure
you are getting foxtail millet, and not some other
species such as proso millet or pearl millet).
University cultivars include RED SIBERIAN, GOLDEN
GERMAN,WHITE WONDER,SNO-FOX and MANTA. Seed
dealers most likely to carry foxtail millet are those
located in the Great Plains region, particularly in
Nebraska.
—Robert L. Myers, Jefferson Institute
601 West Nifong Boulevard, Suite 1D,
Columbia, MO 65203
(573) 449-3518; rmyers@jeffersoninstitute.org
Lupin
White lupin (Lupinus albus) and blue or narrowleaf
lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) are cool-season
annual legumes that provide plenty of N and can
be grown widely in the U.S.and southern Canada.
As a fall and winter cover crop in the southeastern
U.S., white lupin is the most cold-tolerant.
Some cultivars overwinter as far north as the
Tennessee Valley (287). Spring cultivars can be
seeded in early April in the northern U.S. and
southern Canada and plowed down around mid-
June when they’re in the early-bloom to early-pod
stage and at peak biomass.
For use as a cover crop, drill lupins no deeper
than 1 inch at rates varying from 70 lb./A (for
small-seeded blue varieties) to 120 lb./A (for larger-seeded
white varieties). At $30 to $40 per acre,
160 MANAGING COVER CROPS PROFITABLY