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Copyright This book © was 1998 published by the Sustainable by the Sustainable Agriculture Agriculture Network, with Network funding (SAN). from SAN the is Sustainable the national Agriculture outreach Research arm of and the Education Sustainable (SARE) Agriculture program Research of the and Cooperative Education State (SARE) Research program, which and is Extension a competitive Service grants (CSREES),U.S.Department program at USDA. SARE of Education Agriculture. provides funding Reprinted for research in 2000. and education projects that promote agricultural systems that are profitable, environmentally SAN, sound the and national enhance outreach the viability partner of communities of the USDA nationwide. SARE program, is a consortium of individuals, universities and government, SAN is business a consortium and nonprofit of individuals,university organizations and dedicated government, to the exchange business of and information nonprofit on organizations sustainable agricultural dedicated systems. to the exchange of information on sustainable agriculture systems. For SAN more operates information under Cooperative about the Agreements Sustainable between Agriculture the Network, Cooperative or about State Research, other SAN Education, publications, and contact: Extension Service, USDA, Andy the Clark University of Maryland and the University of Vermont SAN Coordinator develop and disseminate information about sustainable c/o AFSIC, agriculture. Room 304 See www.sare.org for information about SARE National grant Agricultural opportunities Library and SAN publications. 10301 Baltimore Avenue For Beltsville, more information MD 20705-2351 about the Sustainable Agriculture Network, PH: 301-504-6425 or about other SAN publications, contact: Andy FAX: Clark 301-504-6409 SAN san@nal.usda.gov Coordinator 10300 www.sare.org Baltimore Ave., Bldg. 046 Beltsville, MD 20705-2350 SARE (301) is 504-5236; a competitive (301) 504-5207 grants program. (fax) It provides funding for research san_assoc@sare.org and education projects that promote agricultural systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and enhance To order the copies viability of this of rural book, communities ($19 plus nationwide. $5.95 s/h) go to www.sare.org/WebStore, call (301) 374-9696 or e-mail For sanpubs@sare.org. more information about the SARE program and SARE grants, contact: Material Office for of Sustainable this book and Agriculture its covers Programs was researched, written, illustrated, U.S. Department edited and of Agriculture produced for SAN. The book concept, format 1400 and Independence selection of Ave., featured S.W., farmers Stop 2223 and content reviewers Washington, were developed D.C. 20250-2223 under the auspices of SAN. Material For other for SAN this titles, book see and pp. its 198-199. covers was researched written, illustrated,edited and produced for the Sustainable Agriculture Network.The book concept, format, and selection of featured farmers and content reviewers were developed under the auspices of the Sustainable Agriculture Network. To order copies of this book, send a check or purchase order for $19 plus $3.95 shipping and handling to: Sustainable Agriculture Publications Hills Building, Room 10 University of Vermont Burlington,VT 05405-0082 Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Managing cover crops profitably.—2nd ed. p. cm.–(Sustainable Agriculture Network handbook series bk. 3) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 1-888626-04-6 (pbk) 1. Cover crops—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Sustainable Agriculture Network. II. Series. SB284.3.U6M36 1998 631.5’82—dc2l 98-9887 CIP 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 Printed in the United States of America on recycled paper. Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible and to educate the reader.This text is only a guide,however,and should be used in conjunction with other information sources on crop, weed and farm management. No single cover crop strategy will be appropriate and effective for all conditions. The editor/authors and publisher disclaim any liability,loss,or risk,personal or otherwise,which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book. Mention, visual representation or inferred reference of a product, service, manufacturer or organization in this publication does not imply endorsement by the USDA, the SARE program or the authors.Exclusion does not imply a negative evaluation. Graphic design, interior layout and cover design: Diane Buric. Interior illustrations by: 1. Marianne Sarrantonio (reprinted with permission from the Northeast Cover Crop Handbook. 1994. Rodale Institute. Emmaus, PA); and 2. Elayne Sears. Copy Editing:Valerie Berton and Andy Clark. Indexing: Nancy Hopkins. Printing: Jarboe Printing, Washington, D.C.. Cover photos by Tom Gettings; orchard photo by Chuck Ingels, Univ. of Calif. Extension. This book was written by Greg Bowman, Christopher Shirley and Craig Cramer, of CMR Editorial Services, for the Sustainable Agriculture Network. Call 802-656-0484 to order by credit card. For first book sent outside of N. America, please add $6. Add $2.50 for each additional book. Please include your mailing address and telephone number. The Sustainable Agriculture Network Handbook Series previous titles include Book 1: Managing Cover Crops Profitably (1st Edition), edited by the staff of the Rodale Institute; and Book 2: Steel in the Field: A Farmer’s Guide to Weed Management Tools,1997, edited by Greg Bowman.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book represents a true cooperative effort. Most writing and research was by Christopher Shirley, Greg Bowman and Craig Cramer, formerly writers/editors for the New Farm Magazine. Their experience writing for the agricultural community shows in their ability to incorporate a vast amount of research data and farmer experiences into this publication. Contributors Marianne Sarrantonio, University of Maine, Orono, ME, Sharad Phatak, University of Georgia, and Andy Clark, Coordinator of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) each wrote sections of the book. Robert Myers, Wayne Reeves, Seth Dabney and Chuck Ingels contributed to Appendix B, Up-and-Coming Cover Crops. Farmers played a major role in developing the book, detailing their cropping systems and the management of cover crops on their farms. Some were contacted repeatedly for further clarification, and many also reviewed sections of the manuscript. The value of the contributions by farmers using cover crops in the field cannot be underestimated. They generously gave of their time to provide true ground-testing and reality-checking to strenthen this publication. A volunteer editorial board consisted of faculty and researchers from around the country: Rob Myers, Jefferson Institute,Columbia, Mo., formerly director of SARE; Fred Magdoff, Northeast Region SARE, University of Vermont; Seth Dabney, USDA- ARS Soil Sedimentation Lab;Wayne Reeves, USDA- ARS National Soil Dynamics Lab; Marianne Sarrantonio, University of Maine; Walter Goldstein and Jim Stute, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, East Troy, Wis.; Richard Dick, Oregon State University; Jim Sims, Emeritus Professor, Montana State University; Chuck Ingels, University of California Extension Service. Andy Clark, Coordinator of the Sustainable Agriculture Network, oversaw the project and coordinated the efforts of the writers, the designer and the editorial board. The complete manuscript was reviewed at least twice by each member of the editorial board.It was also reviewed by Mark Davis, Delaware State University;John Luna,Oregon State University; Steve Diver, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), Fayetteville, Ark.; John and Lorraine Merrill, Stuart Farm, Stratham,N.H.;John Teasdale, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, Md.; Phil Bauer, USDA-ARS, Florence, S.C.; Morris Decker,Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland; Noah Ranells, North Carolina State University; and Valerie Berton, SARE communications specialist. Individual chapters of Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 2nd Edition were reviewed by cover crop experts from the farm and research communities.These farmers and scientists are too numerous to mention here, but their contributions were invaluable to this effort. In preparation for the second edition, the first edition was critically reviewed by Morris Decker, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland; Zane Helsel, Rutgers University; and Andy Clark, SAN. Fred Magdoff, who was the driving force behind the first edition, participated in planning and reviewing throughout the process. BERSEEM CLOVER, an annual legume, produces abundant vegetation with multiple cuttings. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 3
Page 1 and 2: $19.00 Managing Cover Crops Profita
Page 3: SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE NETWORK THE
Page 7 and 8: FOREWORD Cover crops slow erosion,
Page 9 and 10: HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Think of this
Page 11 and 12: BENEFITS OF COVER CROPS Cover crops
Page 13 and 14: decompose quickly, especially in wa
Page 15 and 16: Expect excessive field traffic arou
Page 17 and 18: 5. Settle for the Best Available Co
Page 19 and 20: ORGANIC MATTER ADDITIONS The benefi
Page 21 and 22: Cover Crops Can Stabilize Your Soil
Page 23 and 24: generally a good idea to kill a leg
Page 25 and 26: • For perennial legumes that have
Page 27 and 28: MANAGING PESTS WITH COVER CROPS By
Page 29 and 30: The farmers get weed control by fla
Page 31 and 32: insects. This approach has been use
Page 33 and 34: • Subterranean Clover (Trifolium
Page 35 and 36: does no direct tillage, but aggress
Page 37 and 38: eplace the cover crop before beans,
Page 39 and 40: as buckwheat, cowpeas, sorghum-suda
Page 41 and 42: the couple harrows every two to thr
Page 43 and 44: Start Where You Are In many instanc
Page 45 and 46: INTRODUCTION TO CHARTS The four com
Page 47 and 48: pH Preferred. The pH range in which
Page 49 and 50: Chart 1 TOP REGIONAL COVER CROP SPE
Page 51 and 52: Chart 2 PERFORMANCE AND ROLES conti
Page 53 and 54: Chart 3B PLANTING Cost Cost/A Inoc.
Page 55 and 56:
Chart 4B POTENTIAL DISADVANTAGES Sp
Page 57 and 58:
ANNUAL RYEGRASS Lolium multiflorum
Page 59 and 60:
prolonged heat, cold or drought.Tha
Page 61 and 62:
crop for establishing a forage or l
Page 63 and 64:
arley plants from fungus, armyworm
Page 65 and 66:
can increase the fertilizer replace
Page 67 and 68:
cultural and local considerations t
Page 69 and 70:
(339), and by 99 percent in a Calif
Page 71 and 72:
Killing & Controlling Nutrient avai
Page 73 and 74:
ye/vetch/crimson clover,for example
Page 75 and 76:
• In the Corn Belt and northern U
Page 77 and 78:
Wheat Offers High-Value Weed Contro
Page 79 and 80:
BUCKWHEAT Fagopyrum esculentum Type
Page 81 and 82:
Rotations Buckwheat is used most co
Page 83 and 84:
plants fractured subsoil compaction
Page 85 and 86:
press some species of nematodes. Sp
Page 87 and 88:
Incorporated sorghum-sudangrass res
Page 89 and 90:
lodge soil particles. Sunlight is u
Page 91 and 92:
Crimson-Berseem Clover Combo Works
Page 93 and 94:
in water-use efficiency in the tria
Page 95 and 96:
Microorganisms mineralize, or conve
Page 97 and 98:
COWPEAS Vigna unguiculata Also call
Page 99 and 100:
control if you go with rows, using
Page 101 and 102:
drought-tolerant sorghum-sudangrass
Page 103 and 104:
several winter annual legumes that
Page 105 and 106:
In Ohio, crimson clover mixed with
Page 107 and 108:
FIELD PEAS Pisum sativum subsp. arv
Page 109 and 110:
Chill tolerant. Austrian winter pea
Page 111 and 112:
In a “Flexible Green Manure” cr
Page 113 and 114:
values from 13 to 34,but were gener
Page 115 and 116:
year Maryland study that also inclu
Page 117 and 118:
possible, but remember that hairy v
Page 119 and 120:
especially in winter grains. With w
Page 121 and 122:
less biomass than overwintering sta
Page 123 and 124:
Jess Counts on GEORGE for N and Org
Page 125 and 126:
after mid-April planting in souther
Page 127 and 128:
second cutting. Regrowth comes from
Page 129 and 130:
RED CLOVER Trifolium pratense Also
Page 131 and 132:
MANAGEMENT Establishment & Fieldwor
Page 133 and 134:
it function more like a biennial th
Page 135 and 136:
Subclover cultivars often are descr
Page 137 and 138:
trample in the seed. Subclover ofte
Page 139 and 140:
Crop Systems Interseeded with wheat
Page 141 and 142:
SWEETCLOVERS Yellow sweetclover (Me
Page 143 and 144:
difficult to establish annual cover
Page 145 and 146:
Spring seeding provides yellow swee
Page 147 and 148:
enhances soil fertility, texture an
Page 149 and 150:
WHITE CLOVER Trifolium repens Also
Page 151 and 152:
for several freeze-thaw cycles. Mak
Page 153 and 154:
COMPARATIVE NOTES • White clover
Page 155 and 156:
Fall planting. Most growers seed at
Page 157 and 158:
combining with a belt-type rubber p
Page 159 and 160:
Then seed the remainder while walki
Page 161 and 162:
screening, a number of farmers have
Page 163 and 164:
the seed is relatively expensive. B
Page 165 and 166:
Dyer, David A. 1998. Conservation L
Page 167 and 168:
OTHER RESOURCES Cover Crops On The
Page 169 and 170:
Cal/West Seeds Box 1428 Woodland, C
Page 171 and 172:
Pick Seed Canada P.O. Box 304 1 Gre
Page 173 and 174:
SARE Northeast Region Office Univer
Page 175 and 176:
APPENDIX F REGIONAL EXPERTS These i
Page 177 and 178:
David W. Wolfe Cornell University 1
Page 179 and 180:
Bob Burdette Southern Seed Certific
Page 181 and 182:
Shiou Kuo Washington State Universi
Page 183 and 184:
20 Bird, George. 1997. Personal com
Page 185 and 186:
59 Clark,A.J. 1993. Managing hairy
Page 187 and 188:
102 Fernholz, Carmen. 1997. Persona
Page 189 and 190:
141 Helm, J.L. and Dwain Meyer. 199
Page 191 and 192:
186 Koume, C.N. et al. 1988. Screen
Page 193 and 194:
226 Mohler, Charles L. 1994.A livin
Page 195 and 196:
267 Plumer, Mike. 1997. Personal co
Page 197 and 198:
309 Shrestha,A. et al. 1996.“Annu
Page 199 and 200:
352 Varco, J.J., J.O. Sanford and J
Page 201 and 202:
Bulk Discounts: Except as indicated
Page 203 and 204:
INDEX A Alfalfa, 10, 42, 84, 88, 94
Page 205 and 206:
performance and roles, 48-49 planti
Page 207 and 208:
sorghum-sudangrass hybrids, 85 subt
Page 209 and 210:
subterranean clovers, 133, 137 swee
Page 211 and 212:
comparative notes, 71 crop systems,
Page 213 and 214:
crimson clover for, 102, 103 crop r
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