College of Agriculture & Natural Resources

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1598

The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.cover crop

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Managing Cover Crops Profitably
    (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program, 2007) Clark, Andy
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    Nitrogen dynamics in cover crop-based no-till corn
    (2014) Poffenbarger, Hanna Jane; Weil, Ray R; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Legume/grass cover crop mixtures and sidedress subsurface band manure application are two approaches to improving nitrogen (N) use efficiency in a cover crop-based no-till corn (Zea mays L.) system. The objectives of this study were to: 1) quantify cover crop biomass and N content in response to different hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth)/cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) sown proportions, 2) evaluate the effects of cover crop species proportions and pelletized poultry litter (PPL) application method on residue decomposition, and 3) model the spatio-temporal dynamics of soil inorganic N as influenced by different cover crop residues and subsurface band-applied PPL. Results suggest that cover crop mixtures can accumulate as much biomass as a cereal rye monoculture and as much N as a hairy vetch monoculture, and have decomposition patterns intermediate between those of monocultures. Subsurface band PPL application provided a localized N source that did not influence decomposition of surface mulches.
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    Forage Radish Cover Crop Effects on Mycorrhizal Colonization and Soil Test Phosphorus
    (2009) White, Charles Macaulay; Weil, Ray R; Plant Science and Landscape Architecture (PSLA); Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Forage radish (Raphanus sativus L. var. longipinnatus) and cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crops were examined for their effects on arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization and P acquisition of a subsequent corn (Zea mays L.) silage crop. Soil test P following these cover crops was also measured in bulk soil collected at three depths in the surface soil and in soil sampled within 3 cm of forage radish tap root holes. Forage radish never decreased mycorrhizal colonization and rye sometimes increased colonization of the subsequent crop compared to growing no cover crop. The extent of colonization of corn roots by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi was positively correlated with corn shoot tissue P concentrations. Slight vertical soil test P stratification in the bulk soil occurred following both forage radish and rye cover crops at some sites. A large increase in soil test P occurred within 3 cm of forage radish tap root holes.