Cover crops 101

SWCS 2014

COVER CROPS 101

SEEDINGMETHODS&CRITERIAFORMAKINGTHEBESTSEEDINGDECISION

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SEEDING TECHNIQUES

FACTORSDICTATINGtheSEEDINGMETHOD

• Goalcandictatethetypeofseedingmethodused

• CalendarhasaHUGErole• Typeofseedbeingplanted(seedsize)• Weather

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2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com

SEEDING METHODS

• Drill/Planterbehindtractor– Ensuresthebestseed‐to‐soilcontactandidealenvironmentforthequickestgermination.

– Allowsforpreciseseedingbychangingseedplatesandplanterequipment,aswellaspermittingchangesfromrowtorow.

– Notanoptionuntilthestandingcrophasbeenremovedorharvested.

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• Usinginsecticideboxes‐ Justlikegranularinsecticides,many

small‐seededcovercropscanbemetereddirectlyin‐furroworbandedjustinfrontofpresswheel

‐ Settingthedoublediskopenersabout½”to¾”deep&placingseedin‐furrowwillgivebestseed‐to‐soilcontact

– Herbicidescanbesprayedovertherowforsodsuppressionatthesametimetheseedisplanted

SEEDING METHODS

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SEEDING METHODS

• SeedermountedonTillageTool– Becomingmorewidespreadaspracticeallowslighttillageandseedinginonepass

– Seedspreadusingthismethodwillbelightlyincorporated,increasingseed‐to‐soilcontact

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SEEDING METHODS

• BroadcastApplication– Verycommonpractice

• Spreadwithfertilizerbyretailer• ATVseeder

– Challengewiththismethodisensuringapplicationratesareevenandthatseedisspreadevenlyacrossthewidthofthepattern

– Largerseededcropsmayneedmoreseedtosoilcontact

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2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com

SEEDING METHODS

• AerialSeeding– Aerialapplicationneededforimprovedtimingofseeding– Crucialforcovercropslikeradishorturnipswhereconventionalseedingmaynotbeallowedduetodelayedharvestoffieldcrop

– Moistureisimperativetomakeupforlackofadequateseedtosoilcontact

– Allowsforseedingintostandingfieldcrops

• Corn(> 50%lightpenetrationtogroundneeded)• Soybeans(after10%ofleaveshavedropped)

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Aligning the stars…

Corn Maturity

Days Until First Frost

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Aligning the stars…

Corn Maturity

Days Until First Frost

Ideal Planting Window

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SEEDING METHODS

• DryApplicatorintostandingrowcrop– Gainingtractionasitallowsforearlierapplications

– Seedisforcedorblowndownin‐betweentherowtothesoilsurfaceusingairpressure

– Advantageoveraerialseedingsisthattheseedispusheddowntosurface,versus%oftheseedbeingheldupinthecropcanopy.

– Sometimesnotconsideredduetoconcernsofdrivingoverthestandingrowcrop

2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com

2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com

SEEDING METHODS

• SeedingwithManureSpreader– Combinefunctionstoreducetrips– Startabsorbingnutrientsquickly

– Feweropportunitiesforsoilcompaction

– Ideallyusedwhenseedingcovercropsthatworkwithnutrientsequester

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SEEDING METHODS

• CombineHead‐MountedSeeder– Becomingmorepopularasiteliminatesanextrapassthroughthefield,savinglaborandwheeltraffic

– Usesairpressuretopushtheseeddownthroughtubesandspreadsthecovercropseedoutunderthecombineheadusingadiffuser

– Challengewiththismethodisthattheseedisleftonthesoilsurfaceandwilleitherneedmoistureoralighttillagepasstoensureseed‐to‐soilcontact.

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