Nitrogen content of pea‐based cover crop mixtures and subsequent organic corn yield

Lavergne, Stéphanie; Vanasse, Anne; Thivierge, Marie‐Noëlle; Halde, Caroline

doi:10.1002/agj2.20727

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 78 publications

(111 reference statements)

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“…Additionally, the organic corn yields (8.6-11.6 Mg ha −1 ) observed in our study were higher than the organic corn grain yields (8.1-10.2 Mg ha −1 ) reported in a 3-year average study conducted by Champagne et al (2021) following the transition to certified organic land using hairy vetch + triticale or red clover + timothy at Pennsylvania State. While there is limited data available on legume-fed organic corn in Canada, a study by Lavergne et al (2021) demonstrated that legume cover crops (specifically pure pea as the primary nitrogen source) increased organic corn grain yield (5.6 Mg ha −1 ) compared to a no-cover crop control (4.0 Mg ha −1 ) in Québec, Canada.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legume cover crop as a primary nitrogen source in an organic crop rotation in Ontario, Canada: impacts on corn, soybean and winter wheat yields

Yang,

Drury,

Dan Reynolds

et al. 2023

Org. Agr.

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This study presents results from the first 5 years of an organic cropping trial in Ontario, Canada, where legume cover crops were the primary nitrogen source in a soybean-winter wheat/cover crop-corn rotation. Treatments included cover crop termination using moldboard plow (MP) or chisel plow (CP), a no-cover crop control under conventional production (CK-C), and four cover crops including summer-seeded crimson clover (CC, Trifolium incarnatum L.), summer-seeded hairy vetch (HV, Vicia villosa L. Roth), summer-seeded red clover (RCss, Trifolium pratense L.), and frost-seeded red clover (RCfs). Summer-seeding occurred after wheat harvest (July–August), and frost-seeding occurred in early spring (March–April). At cover crop termination, average aboveground cover crop biomass ranged from 5.9 to 8.1 Mg ha−1, while accumulated biomass nitrogen ranged from 155 to 193 kg ha−1. Corn grain yields were 11.6 Mg ha−1 for MP and 10.2 Mg ha−1 for CP tillage-termination method; and 13.3 Mg ha−1 for CK-C, 10.9 Mg ha−1 for RCfs, 10.6 Mg ha−1 for HV, 10.2 Mg ha−1 for CC, and 9.5 Mg ha−1 for RCss. Organic winter wheat yields were nitrogen-limited, averaging 27% lower than CK-C. Winter wheat yields were 10–15% lower in the RCfs than in other summer-seeded cover crop treatments. Soybean yields were largely unaffected by the treatments. It was concluded that summer-seeded legume cover crops are an effective primary nitrogen source for corn, but not as effective for the winter wheat phase of the soybean-winter wheat-corn rotation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legume cover crop as a primary nitrogen source in an organic crop rotation in Ontario, Canada: impacts on corn, soybean and winter wheat yields

Yang,

Drury,

Dan Reynolds

et al. 2023

Org. Agr.

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Pea-based cover crop mixtures have greater plant belowground biomass, but lower plant aboveground biomass than a pure stand of pea

Lavergne

Vanasse

Thivierge

et al. 2021

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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N Stress Alleviation in Crops—A System Approach Analysing Residual N From Winter Crops in a Late‐Maize‐Wheat Sequence

Biassoni,

Agosti,

Kehoe

et al. 2024

J Agronomy Crop Science

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Nitrogen (N) is crucial for crop production. Crop sequences with different legume participation affect N availability and therefore N fertiliser management. The study aimed to assess the inclusion of winter crops (WC) with different amounts of residues and different C:N ratios on the following: (i) the response to N fertilisation in the following late‐maize (Zea mays L.), and to carry that comparison into a subsequent wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L.), and (ii) identify soil N indicators associated with these responses. Two field experiments (E1 and E2) were conducted in the Argentinean Pampas during two growing seasons to evaluate a WC/late‐maize‐wheat sequence under no‐tillage. In each experiment, late‐maize was sown after a bare‐fallow and three WC: wheat, vetch (Vicia villosa L.) and field pea (Pisum sativum L.), where five rates of N fertilisation were evaluated. An area of late‐maize that was not fertilised with N within each previous WC was used to evaluate the response to N fertilisation in the subsequent wheat crop. Indigenous N was estimated by using N uptake in the non‐N‐fertilised treatments. Soil N indicators and C:N ratio of WC residues were evaluated as indicators of response to N fertilisation in both crops. Significant responses to N fertilisation in grain yield and N uptake were observed in late‐maize when bare‐fallow and wheat were the previous treatments in both experiments. In contrast, vetch and field pea supplied 32 and 40 kg N ha−1 in E1 and E2, respectively, and showed no response to N fertilisation, satisfying the N required by late‐maize. However, this supply was not enough to sustain the N demand of the subsequent wheat, where the response to N addition ranged from 36% to 74% when vetch and wheat were the previous WC, respectively. Only soil inorganic N indicators were associated with indigenous N supply. Moreover, the apparent net WC effect was linked to late‐maize (r2 = 0.91) and subsequent wheat (r2 = 0.67) grain yield response, which was also related to the C:N ratio of the WC residues in late‐maize and the subsequent wheat (r2 = 0.78), suggesting that mineralisation occurs when C:N ratio is below 18. Consequently, in future studies the C:N ratio of the WC residues can be included in N fertilisation recommendation schemes when late‐maize is sown as a double crop in more intensified crop sequences.

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Nitrogen content of pea‐based cover crop mixtures and subsequent organic corn yield

Cited by 3 publications

References 78 publications

Legume cover crop as a primary nitrogen source in an organic crop rotation in Ontario, Canada: impacts on corn, soybean and winter wheat yields

Legume cover crop as a primary nitrogen source in an organic crop rotation in Ontario, Canada: impacts on corn, soybean and winter wheat yields

Pea-based cover crop mixtures have greater plant belowground biomass, but lower plant aboveground biomass than a pure stand of pea

N Stress Alleviation in Crops—A System Approach Analysing Residual N From Winter Crops in a Late‐Maize‐Wheat Sequence

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