Potential of Cover Crop Use and Termination with a Roller-Crimper in a Strip-Till Silage Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Production System in the Central Valley of California
The potential of terminating cover crops with a roller-crimper is of increasing interest. A two-year (2020/21 and 2021/22) study was conducted in Fresno, CA, USA. Five cover crop treatments (rye (<i>Secale cereale</i> L.) alone, ultra-high diversity mix, multiplex cover crop mix, fava be...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Robert Willmott Jennifer Valdez-Herrera Jeffrey P. Mitchell Anil Shrestha |
| author_facet | Robert Willmott Jennifer Valdez-Herrera Jeffrey P. Mitchell Anil Shrestha |
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| description | The potential of terminating cover crops with a roller-crimper is of increasing interest. A two-year (2020/21 and 2021/22) study was conducted in Fresno, CA, USA. Five cover crop treatments (rye (<i>Secale cereale</i> L.) alone, ultra-high diversity mix, multiplex cover crop mix, fava bean (<i>Vicia faba</i> L.) + phacelia (<i>Phacelia tanacetifolia</i> Benth.), and rye + field pea (<i>Pisum sativum</i> L.) + purple vetch (<i>Vicia americana</i> Muhl. Ex Willd.)) were planted in November, roller-crimped in April, and silage maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) was strip-till planted in the residue in May. Cover crop kill, soil cover by residue, weed cover, amount of organic residue, and silage maize yield were recorded. The roller-crimper resulted in 95 to 100% kill of the cover crops. Soil cover at maize canopy closure (mid-July) was approximately 90% in the rye plots while it was 30 to 70% in the other treatments. The fava bean + phacelia cover crop disintegrated the most rapidly. Weed cover was <5% in all the treatments until maize canopy closure. The cover crops added 6.7 to 14 MT ha<sup>−1</sup> of residue. Maize silage yield was similar across the treatments. Therefore, in this study, cover crops were successfully terminated by the roller-crimper, allowing successful strip-till establishment and production of silage maize. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-e97e0dd4ae15404b950e38ddcd5a31492025-01-24T13:16:51ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-01-0115113210.3390/agronomy15010132Potential of Cover Crop Use and Termination with a Roller-Crimper in a Strip-Till Silage Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Production System in the Central Valley of CaliforniaRobert Willmott0Jennifer Valdez-Herrera1Jeffrey P. Mitchell2Anil Shrestha3Department of Plant Science, California State University, 2415 E. San Ramon Ave. M/S AS72, Fresno, CA 93740, USADepartment of Plant Science, California State University, 2415 E. San Ramon Ave. M/S AS72, Fresno, CA 93740, USADepartment of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Plant Science, California State University, 2415 E. San Ramon Ave. M/S AS72, Fresno, CA 93740, USAThe potential of terminating cover crops with a roller-crimper is of increasing interest. A two-year (2020/21 and 2021/22) study was conducted in Fresno, CA, USA. Five cover crop treatments (rye (<i>Secale cereale</i> L.) alone, ultra-high diversity mix, multiplex cover crop mix, fava bean (<i>Vicia faba</i> L.) + phacelia (<i>Phacelia tanacetifolia</i> Benth.), and rye + field pea (<i>Pisum sativum</i> L.) + purple vetch (<i>Vicia americana</i> Muhl. Ex Willd.)) were planted in November, roller-crimped in April, and silage maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) was strip-till planted in the residue in May. Cover crop kill, soil cover by residue, weed cover, amount of organic residue, and silage maize yield were recorded. The roller-crimper resulted in 95 to 100% kill of the cover crops. Soil cover at maize canopy closure (mid-July) was approximately 90% in the rye plots while it was 30 to 70% in the other treatments. The fava bean + phacelia cover crop disintegrated the most rapidly. Weed cover was <5% in all the treatments until maize canopy closure. The cover crops added 6.7 to 14 MT ha<sup>−1</sup> of residue. Maize silage yield was similar across the treatments. Therefore, in this study, cover crops were successfully terminated by the roller-crimper, allowing successful strip-till establishment and production of silage maize.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/1/132crop residuecover crop terminationsoil coveroverhead irrigationweed populations |
| spellingShingle | Robert Willmott Jennifer Valdez-Herrera Jeffrey P. Mitchell Anil Shrestha Potential of Cover Crop Use and Termination with a Roller-Crimper in a Strip-Till Silage Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Production System in the Central Valley of California Agronomy crop residue cover crop termination soil cover overhead irrigation weed populations |
| title | Potential of Cover Crop Use and Termination with a Roller-Crimper in a Strip-Till Silage Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Production System in the Central Valley of California |
| title_full | Potential of Cover Crop Use and Termination with a Roller-Crimper in a Strip-Till Silage Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Production System in the Central Valley of California |
| title_fullStr | Potential of Cover Crop Use and Termination with a Roller-Crimper in a Strip-Till Silage Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Production System in the Central Valley of California |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential of Cover Crop Use and Termination with a Roller-Crimper in a Strip-Till Silage Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Production System in the Central Valley of California |
| title_short | Potential of Cover Crop Use and Termination with a Roller-Crimper in a Strip-Till Silage Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Production System in the Central Valley of California |
| title_sort | potential of cover crop use and termination with a roller crimper in a strip till silage maize i zea mays i l production system in the central valley of california |
| topic | crop residue cover crop termination soil cover overhead irrigation weed populations |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/1/132 |
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