Cover crops, plants grown during fallow periods between cash crops, are a promising solution to mitigating soil degradation induced by conventional agricultural practices and improving soil health. Cover crops can provide several beneficial ecosystem functions, such as soil structure remediation, soil microbial diversification, and nutrient recycling, depending on the plant species. Interactions between plant roots and the surrounding soil are key to the plant's ability to perform their ecosystem functions. The lack of data on cover crop roots inhibits our understanding of cover crop phenotype-ecosystem function relationships. We combine aboveground and belowground phenotyping measurements with physicochemical soil measurements to evaluate the field performance of 19 different plant species in monocultures and polycultures as winter cover crops in Missouri. Canopy cover imaging reveals significant differences in winter hardiness and weed suppression among cover crop varieties. Root biomass and root length density measured at depths up to 1 meter indicate differences in rooting behavior between cultivars suggesting the ability to breed cover crop varieties with improved root system architecture. I will also highlight our collaborative efforts utilizing remote sensing technologies (aerial RGB and hyperspectral imaging) to model carbon and nitrogen cycling in cover crop systems at a field scale. Finally, we have begun to characterize 3D root system architecture traits at the seedling stage using a gel-imaging system. Better understanding of cover crop rooting behavior will allow us to breed varieties with enhanced performance of beneficial ecosystem functions for sustainable agricultural systems.
Cover crops are an emerging solution to the negative impacts of conventional agricultural practices. Through their essential ecosystem functions, cover crops can improve soil health and biodiversity during fallow periods in conventional crop rotation systems. Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), winter barley (Hordeum vulgare), and purple top turnip (Brassica campestris) are cover crops that provide a variety of ecosystem services such as nitrogen fixation, nutrient capture, and soil remediation. Using a 4D gel imaging system, we were able to evaluate 3D root system architecture over time of these three cover crops in order to further understand root growth and development. The collected traits allowed us to compare root growth and RSA across the plant species and better understand how certain root traits are linked in ecosystem functions. The long, fibrous root system found in winter barley allows the plant to effectively catch nutrients and water in the soil. The large taproot and secondary roots found in turnip are able to break up compacted soil while maintaining a network of finer roots to scavenge for nutrients. Similar to purple top turnip, the taproot in hairy vetch may provide soil remediation, but the deeper roots in vetch allow for the plant to provide increased acquisition and fixation of atmospheric nitrogen.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.