Hairy vetch role to mitigate crop yield gap in different yield environments at field level

Abstract

The spatial variability of soil organic matter, plant water availability, and soil nitrogen (N) availability are drivers of crop response to mineral N fertilizer. The complex interaction of these factors is responsible for within-field corn and wheat yield variability. The hairy vetch (HV) cover crop is an economic, environmentally friendly, and efficient N source capable of conciliating crop yield and soil health. Nevertheless, the HV effects to mitigate yield gap of management zone (MZ) have not yet been documented. This study evaluated the effects of HV and mineral N fertilization, in single or combined input, on alleviating crop yield gap. The study was carried out in two croplands southern Brazil. The experimental design was a complete randomized block in a split plot having MZ (high, medium, and low yield) and N fertilizer rates.Wheat and corn N uptake and grain yield had a quadratic adjustment with N fertilizer input, but there was a significant MZ effect, where low yield zone (LYZ) was less responsive. Consequently, mineral N fertilization as a single input to mitigate the yield gap in this MZ was not efficient. On the other hand, HV increased corn N uptake and grain yield mainly in LYZ compared to MYZ and HYZ. HV fully mitigated the yield gap between MYZ and HYZ. The combined use of HV and mineral N fertilization rate adjusted according to N legume credit and MZ was an efficient strategy to boost yield, favoring soil health and environmental protection.

Impacts of summer-seeded legume cover crops and termination-tillage method on nitrogen availability to corn in rotation

“…On the other hand, NT after HV often produced acceptable plant stands, and the higher N benefit from HV contributed to acceptable corn yields. Higher N contribution from HV was also found in Brazil, and was deemed a viable strategy for boosting corn yield under NT (72). Vaughan et al (73) found that combining HV with NT increased the yield potential of both monoculture and rotation corn in North Carolina.…”

Precision Agroecology

“…Organic farmers can use OFE to rapidly understand the patterns of spatial and temporal variation across their fields and thus manage them more efficiently. Seeding rates of cash crops and cover crops impact crop quality, yield, and competitive ability [72][73][74][75]. Subsequently, organic OFE methodology focuses on applying experimental randomized seeding rates across entire fields to find optimum site-specific seeding rates.…”