Cover crops can help slow erosion, suppress weeds, retain nitrogen, and increase organic matter. However, barriers to cover crop use remain. These include seed costs and timely fall establishment, but, if growers lower seeding rates to capture cost savings or if weather conditions delay establishment, do we still realize the environmental benefits of cover crops?
These plots compare the following seeding rates of bin-run wheat as a cover crop replicated two times:Â Â
- 20 lb/ac
- 40 lb/ac
- 60 lb/ac
- 80 lb/ac
Current research supported by the Ohio Soybean Council is evaluating three different cereal rye seeding rates (25, 50, and 75 lb/ac) and planting dates to better understand their impact on cover crop success and yield of the subsequent soybean crop at both the Northwest Agricultural Research Station in Custar (Wood County) and Western Agricultural Research Station in South Charleston (Clark County).
For more information, contact Agronomic Systems Field Specialist Stephanie Karhoff at karhoff.41@osu.edu.Â