Skip to content
University of Maryland LibrariesDigital Repository at the University of Maryland
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DRUM
    • Theses and Dissertations from UMD
    • UMD Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   DRUM
    • Theses and Dissertations from UMD
    • UMD Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Winter annual rye cover crops in no-till grain crop rotations: impacts on soil physical properties and organic matter

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    umi-umd-4668.pdf (1.763Mb)
    No. of downloads: 2436

    Date
    2007-07-31
    Author
    Bilek, Meredith
    Advisor
    Coale, Frank J
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Winter annual cover cropping (WCC) is a common management practice subsidized by Maryland to protect water and soil quality. The affect of long-term incorporation of WCC on soil physical properties (SPP) is not well established. We hypothesized by increasing organic inputs WCC would improve SPP. To evaluate the effect of WCC and wheel traffic (WT) on SPP, we studied two long term rotations (corn/rye and corn/fallow) at two locations on the Coastal Plain (CP) and one on the Piedmont. WCC improved SPP, but only during the winter at the CP. High levels of WT compacted soil in both rotations. WCC and wheel traffic had no effect on SPP or organic matter at the Piedmont. We conclude, only during the winter did WCC improve SPP; however, due to the drastic annual changes, we hypothesize this improvement is due to soil disturbance caused by the grain drill planting the rye.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1903/7268
    Collections
    • Plant Science & Landscape Architecture Theses and Dissertations
    • UMD Theses and Dissertations

    DRUM is brought to you by the University of Maryland Libraries
    University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7011 (301)314-1328.
    Please send us your comments.
    Web Accessibility
     

     

    Browse

    All of DRUMCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister
    Pages
    About DRUMAbout Download Statistics

    DRUM is brought to you by the University of Maryland Libraries
    University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7011 (301)314-1328.
    Please send us your comments.
    Web Accessibility