Interseeding Camelina and Rye in Soybean with Varying Maturity Provides Soil Cover without Affecting Soybean Yield

Abstract

Low adoption to utilize cover crops interseeded into soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), in the northern Plains in the USA, is due to a short growing season and a few adapted winter-hardy species. The objective was to evaluate the impact of interseeded winter camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz) and winter rye (Secale cereale L.) using different soybean relative maturities on soybean yield, canopy coverage, spring cover crop biomass, and subsequent wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield. Cover crops interseeded into early-maturing (0.4–0.8) soybean cultivars had more fall coverage compared with the 0.9 maturity cultivar, but the spring biomass was similar for all maturities. The soybean yield of the 0.9 cultivar was significantly higher, 2365 kg ha−1 compared with 2037 kg ha−1 for the 0.4 cultivar. Rye outperformed winter camelina and had higher fall canopy cover (15 vs. 7%), spring canopy cover (16% vs. 4%), and higher spring biomass (313 vs. 100 kg ha−1 dry matter). Spring wheat, after rye, yielded 90% of the check. It is not recommended to plant spring wheat following winter rye, but there was no negative yield effect from winter camelina. Interseeding cover crops into soybean in the northern Plains is possible but needs further research to optimize interseeding systems.

Sustainable soil management measures: a synthesis of stakeholder recommendations

“…The use of regional species and seed mixtures may result in more efficient soil cover, due to their adaptation to local conditions and a higher species diversity (Dybzinski et al 2008;Nabel et al 2021). Efficient soil cover can also be achieved by undersown crops (i.e., sowing a cover crop into the main crop after its establishment), while yields may be unaffected or even increase (Bergkvist et al 2011;Johnson et al 2021). Providing soil cover through mulching with crop residues (e.g., wheat straw) is a common practice in conservation tillage systems.…”

Cover crops in a Wisconsin annual cropping system: Feasibility and yield effects

“…This earlier maturing group was chosen to ensure sufficient time to plant wheat in some crop sequences. Planting an earlier‐maturing soybean in order to establish cover crops has improved fall cover crop ground cover in North Dakota, but a soybean yield reduction of 14% was observed with a reduction in maturity rating from 0.9 to 0.4 (Johnson et al., 2021). However, variety trials in Wisconsin indicate that similar yields can be reached by varieties within one maturity rating, for example 1.5 to 2.5 (Conley et al., 2021).…”

“…Cold, wet, and unpredictable fall weather makes traditional methods of cover crop establishment, like drilling after harvest, less likely to result in significant cover crop growth (Chamberlain et al., 2020). An alternative to drilling postharvest is aerially seeding cover crop seed into standing corn or soybean as the crop senesces and light begins to penetrate the canopy (Duiker, 2014; Johnson et al., 2021; Ruis et al., 2020). In southern Wisconsin, corn and soybean senescence occurs in early to mid‐September, resulting in ∼1 mo more growing time for the cover crop if harvest occurs in October.…”

Cropping Systems and Agronomic Management Practices of Field Crops

“…Five research articles have been published in this Special Issue on this topic. In the study of Johnson and co-authors [26], the interseeding of winter camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz) and winter rye (Secale cereale L.) into soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) was investigated in the northern plains of the USA.…”