Journal
AGRONOMY JOURNAL
Volume 108, Issue 2, Pages 841-853Publisher
AMER SOC AGRONOMY
DOI: 10.2134/agronj2015.0336
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Funding
- USDA-NIFA [2011-68002-30190]
- Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
- Division of Soil Conservation and Water Quality
- Iowa General Assembly
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Winter rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop (RCC) use in corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max. (L.) Merr.] production can alter N dynamics compared to no RCC. The objectives of this study were to evaluate RCC biomass production (BP) and subsequent RCC degradation (BD) and N recycling in a no-till corn-soybean (CS) rotation. Aboveground RCC was sampled at spring termination for biomass dry matter (DM), C, and N. To evaluate BD and remaining C and N, RCC biomass was put into nylon mesh bags, placed on the soil surface, and collected multiple times over 105 d. Treatments included rye cover crop following soybean (RCC-FS) and corn (RCC-FC), and prior-year N applied to corn. Overall, the RCC BP and N was low due to low soil profile NO3-N. Across sites and years, the greatest BP was with RCC-FC that received 225 kg N ha(-1) (1280 kg DM ha(-1)), with similar N uptake as with RCC-FS (27 kg N ha(-1)). The RCC biomass and N remaining decreased over time following an exponential decay. An average 62% biomass with RCC-FS and RCC-FC degraded aft er 105 d; however, N recycled was greater with RCC-FS than RCC-FC [22 (80%) vs. 14 (64%) kg N ha(-1), respectively], and was influenced by the RCC C/N ratio. The RCC did not recycle an agronomically meaningful amount of N, which limited N that could potentially be supplied to corn. Rye cover crops can conserve soil N, and with improved management and growth, recycling of crop-available N should increase.
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