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Spotlight- Cover Crops Help Your Watershed, Discovery Watersheds
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Most commonly the cover crop used is a winter annual planted after fall harvest of a summer crop such as corn. During snow melt at the end of winter the conservation value of this practice really yields benefits. Over the winter months unprotected soil can erode rapidly. Cover crops hold the soil during this time period when the primary summer crop is not present. The cover crops provide protection in a number of ways. Above ground the crop slows runoff allowing more water to infiltrate therefore less is available to leave the field edge.
Additionally the crop roots hold the soil in place preventing particle movement. The cover crop can also benefit the farmer’s cropping schedule by allowing earlier field access and better traction during wet springs.
Another important benefit of cover crops is the capture of unused nitrogen left over from the summer crop. The cover crop also will take up the nutrients from manure applied to the cover crop. The plants hold the nutrients until spring when the crop is either harvested for forage or killed to provide a mulch cover for the summer crop.
On dairy farms often the cover crop chosen is rye and this is harvested in the spring to provide additional forage for the cattle. This removes the nutrients and contributes to the nutrient balance of the field.
The other option would be to kill the crop in the spring and plant directly into mulch cover using a no-till planter. The combination of mulch cover and no soil disturbance because of no-till planting provides excellent soil retention.
Another benefit of cover crops is the increase in soil organic matter and tilth. Pennsylvania soils tend to be low in organic matter so practices that can increase this are helpful. The change in organic matter levels happens slowly over time but the inclusion of cover crops in the rotation can contribute to increasing the organic matter content of soil.
An increase in soil organic matter also contributes to an increase in soil tilth and productivity. As crop residues decompose in the soil, compounds are produced that cement soil particles into aggregates which results in improved soil structure. Better soil structure results in better water infiltration and less runoff, improving the environmental quality of the farm.
For more information on Cover Crops see: Cover Crops for Conservation Tillage or visit the Penn State Extension Discovery Watersheds webpage.
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3/14/2011 |
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