Oat and rye overseeded into soybean as fall cover crops in the upper Midwest

T. J. Johnson; T.C. Kaspar; K.A. Kohler; S.J. Corak; S.D. Logsdon

ABSTRACT:

Oat, rye, and an oat-rye mixture were overseeded into soybean in August to determine the shoot dry matter and residue cover produced by these cover crops and their effect on subsequent soybean and corn yield. The oat cover crop reduced soybean yield in only one year and the other cover crops had no effect. Fall cover crop shoot dry matter averaged 440 kg ha⁻¹ and did not differ among the three cover crops. Rye shoot dry matter measured in the spring averaged 1660 kg ha⁻¹ for the rye and oat-rye mixture. Cover crops increased surface residue cover by 7 to 18% in some years. Corn yields were reduced following rye and oat-rye cover crops, but were not reduced by the oat cover crop. Oat overseeded into soybean is a viable cover crop system in Iowa and unlike rye, does not reduce yield of the following corn crop.

Footnotes

T.J. Johnson is with the USDA-ARS, Com Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit, Agronomy Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011; T.C. Kaspar, K.A. Kohler, and S. D. Logsdon are with USDA-ARS, National Soil Tilth Laboratory, Ames, IA, 50011; and S. J. Corak is with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., NAS Production, Johnston, IA, 50131.
Copyright 1998 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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