By Madhusudhan Adhikari And Javed Iqbal et.al
Key Takeaways
Wheat creates a valuable cover crop window. Early wheat harvest gives summer legumes more time to establish and grow than is typically available following corn or soybean harvest.
Legumes provided meaningful nitrogen credits. Apparent N credits averaged about 49 lb N/acre across legume treatments and ranged from about 29 to 88 lb N/acre.
Corn benefited from the additional nitrogen. Corn following legumes produced about 40 bu/acre more grain in 2021 and 36 bu/acre more in 2024 than the fertilized no-cover-crop treatment.
Species selection matters. Hairy vetch, sunn hemp, cowpea and forage pea performed particularly well, while cereal rye reduced N availability under the conditions of this study.
Winter wheat creates a valuable opportunity for Nebraska growers interested in growing some of their own nitrogen. Because wheat is typically harvested by early July, producers planting a legume cover crop after wheat have up to three months before the first frost, considerably more growing time than is usually available following corn or soybean harvest.
Source : unl.edu