Highlighted stops on the cover crop and perennial species in field crops tour: Rosemount Research and Outreach Center, August 24, 2016 Agronomics of the Kura living mulch system Michelle Dobbratz Kura clover has shown promise as a perennial living mulch in corn and soybean production, reducing nitrate leaching, controlling erosion, and improving infiltration. Research is being conducted to identify the best strategy for seedbed preparation in this system. We will demonstrate the operation of a PTO-driven rotary tiller, share our experience with this system, and discuss possible alternative economic outputs, such as seed and honey production.

Cover crop establishment in the Minnesota climate Reagan Noland

Cover cropping can reduce agricultural runoff and N loss, but has not been widely adopted in the upper Midwest because the short growing season is Figure 1. Kura clover in field corn. often too short for effective cover crop establishment after corn harvest. Multiple research projects at the University of Minnesota are investigating options to interseed cover crops into standing corn. One project was started in 2014 at Waseca and Lamberton, MN to investigate five cover crop options (cereal rye, red clover, hairy vetch, field pennycress, and a mixture of oat, pea, and tillage radish) planted into V7 corn using three different planting methods ranging from a high-clearance drill to directed broadcast, achieving different levels of soil disturbance. General results from the past two years indicate that cover crops planted at corn growth stage V7 may not do well in Lamberton due to a drier growing season. In Waseca, however, the rye, red clover, hairy vetch, and pennycress cover crops have established well and survived the winter. In the spring, cover crops have accumulated as much as half a ton of biomass per acre, and fixed up to 40 lbs/acre of nitrogen in aboveground tissue. All treatments that overwintered reduced soil nitrate-N, and interseeded rye treatments reduced soil moisture compared to the nocover crop treatment. Cover crop establishment and fall biomass were generally improved with planting methods that achieved greater seed to soil contact, especially for the small seeded cover crops (red clover and Figure 2. Interseeded rye in corn. pennycress). Other projects are looking at later planting of cover crops (around corn maturity), using high-clearance planters. This approach may still allow time for cover crops to establish with fall rainfall, and as the corn canopy dries down.

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Cash Cover Crops: Relay-cropping oilseeds in corn-soybean rotations Cody Hoerning Many Minnesota corn and soybean producers have expressed interest in using cover crops in their crop rotations to enhance local water quality and reduce soil erosion. However, they have struggled to incorporate cover crops into their rotations because of the difficulty of cover crop establishment, cost of seed, and lack of direct economic return. The winter annual oilseeds pennycress and camelina are being investigated for use as a cash cover crop in these systems. The oilseed cover cropping system offers corn and soybean growers new economic opportunities through the additional production of pennycress and camelina protein, for feed and food markets, along with providing oil, for fuel, food, and industrial uses. Recent research findings indicated that the relay and double cropping systems have the potential to increase total yields (i.e. oilseed + soybean yield). The oilseed cover cropping system along with its potential for weed suppression and pollinator attraction will be discussed.

Figure 3. Pennycress relay-cropped in standing corn (left) and soybeans emerging underneath pennycress the following spring (right).

For more information about the tour or to register, visit http://z.umn.edu/august24 or contact Larisa Jenrich at 651480-7732 or [email protected].

Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Forever Green Agriculture Initiative, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, and the Minnesota Corn Growers Association.