Cover Crop Termination When Planting Green

Amy Timmerman, Extension Educator Author

04/17/2023 Added

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Each year we receive questions on termination timing of cereal covers. This question occurs as farmers consider trade-offs between a positive return on investment from the cover crop, by allowing more biomass growth with the potential for yield loss if termination is delayed too long.

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[00:00:01.235]This is Amy Timmerman with this week’s extension update.
[00:00:03.899]A fall-planted cereal rye, wheat, or triticale cover crop can have both
[00:00:08.556]positive and negative impacts, for example by tying up nitrogen,
[00:00:13.086]reducing soil moisture prior to planting, increasing insect pressure,
[00:00:17.086]reducing weed pressure, reducing soil erosion and allelopathy.
[00:00:22.545]Each year we receive questions on termination timing of cereal covers.
[00:00:26.545]This question occurs as farmers consider trade-offs between a positive return on
[00:00:30.455]investment from the cover crop, by allowing more biomass growth with
[00:00:34.255]the potential for yield loss if termination is delayed too long.
[00:00:37.620]Information being shared can be confusing, with one source saying to terminate
[00:00:41.620]pre-plant but other sources say to plant green into the cover.
[00:00:45.740]What’s the “right” answer? We don’t know if there is one.
[00:00:49.370]That’s because farmers’ goals and level of risk vary.
[00:00:52.700]In general, there are less risks to planting green with soybean than corn.
[00:00:56.876]Today I am going to share items to consider when planting green.
[00:01:01.053]When planting green consider starting with number 1 -
[00:01:05.053]Apply nitrogen as a starter with corn when planting green;
[00:01:08.553]nitrogen tie-up is perhaps a bigger issue than any potential allelopathy.
[00:01:13.536]2. Wait for the corn or soybean seed to begin germination before
[00:01:17.486]terminating the cover crop (which may be a few days).
[00:01:21.546]3. Waiting to terminate a few days after planting also allows the rye
[00:01:25.686]that’s been run over by the planter to regrow and kill better.
[00:01:30.502]4. If irrigation is available, have the nitrogen system ready to
[00:01:34.872]go prior to planting in the event you need to add some moisture into a dry seedbed.
[00:01:40.071]5. Upon planting the field, scout for insect pressure,
[00:01:44.511]particularly observing if any adult wheat stem maggot flies are present.
[00:01:50.166]6. For those who wanted the greatest amount of
[00:01:53.646]biomass for weed suppression in soybean,
[00:01:56.225]termination of rye occurred closer to heading.
[00:01:59.457]For those who plan to roller-crimp rye for weed control,
[00:02:02.240]termination occurs at boot stage to heading.
[00:02:06.279]6. When terminating a rye cover crop, if the cover is 12 inches or more
[00:02:10.907]and you’re planning on a residual herbicide,
[00:02:13.699]consider waiting on the residual as a second pass
[00:02:16.269]over the rye after it starts dying.
[00:02:19.195]We realize no one wants an additional pass or expense.
[00:02:23.005]Observation and research show that less residual gets
[00:02:26.375]down to the soil when cover crops are 12 inches or taller.
[00:02:29.815]How long one waits for the second pass for rye to start dying will depend
[00:02:34.135]on the environmental conditions each year.
[00:02:36.845]The other option if one chooses to add residual when terminating
[00:02:40.446]is to plan on an irrigation or rainfall event shortly after application
[00:02:44.446]to help move the residual herbicide down into the soil.
[00:02:48.677]And finally, Risk Management Agency Guidelines allow for planting green
[00:02:53.666]and are based on “best management practices”
[00:02:56.407]for different zones and for irrigated or non-irrigated ground.
[00:03:00.407]You can read more about this at USDA’s Cover Crops site.
[00:03:05.367]This is for crops with a contract change date of June 30, 2019, or later, beginning
[00:03:10.797]with the 2020 crop year and including successive crop years.
[00:03:15.131]If you have additional questions about terminating cover crops
[00:03:19.403]prior to planting please reach out to your local extension educator.
[00:03:22.663]This has been Amy Timmerman with Nebraska Extension

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Cover Crop Termination When Planting Green

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