Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T20:03:46.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Cultural Strategies for Managing Weeds and Soil Moisture in Cover Crop Based No-Till Soybean Production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

M. Scott Wells
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
S. Chris Reberg-Horton*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695
Steven B. Mirsky
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Sustainable Agriculture Systems Laboratory, Beltsville, MD
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

A four site-year study was conducted in North Carolina to evaluate the effects of soybean planting timing and row spacing on soil moisture, weed density, soybean lodging, and yield in a cover crop-based no-till organic soybean production system. Soybean planting timing included roll-kill/planting and roll-kill/delayed planting where soybean planting occurred either on the same day or approximately 2 wk later, respectively. Soybean row spacing included 19, 38, and 76 cm, and all treatments included a weedy check and weed-free treatment. Rye biomass production averaged above 10,000 kg ha−1 dry matter, which resulted in good weed control across all sites. Despite having good weed control throughout all treatments, weed coverage was highest in the 76-cm row-space treatment when compared to both the 19-cm and 38-cm row spacing in two of the four site-years. Soybean lodging is a potential consequence of no-till planting of soybeans in high residue mulches, and of the three row spacings, the 19-cm spacing exhibited the greatest incidence of lodging. Row spacing also influenced soybean yield; the 19- and 38-cm row spacing out yielded the 76-cm spacing by 10%. Soil volumetric water content (VWC) was higher in the cereal rye mulch treatments compared to the no rye checks. Furthermore, delaying soybean planting lowered soil water evaporation. However, the increased soil VWC in the rolled-rye treatment did not translate into increased soybean yield. The rolled-rye treatment exhibited significant (P < 0.01) increases in soil VWC when compared to the no-rye treatment at three of the four site-years. These results highlight planting date flexibility and potential risk to lodging that producers face when no-till planting organic soybeans.

Type
Weed Management
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Aase, JK, Tanaka, DL (1987) Soil water evaporation comparisons among tillage practices in the northern Great Plains. Soil Sci Soc Am J 51:436440 Google Scholar
Ashford, DL, Reeves, DW (2003) Use of a mechanical roller-crimper as an alternative kill method for cover crops. Am J Altern Agric 18:3745 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernstein, ER, Posner, JL, Stoltenberg, DE, Hedtcke, JL (2011) Organically managed no-tillage rye-soybean systems: agronomic, economic, and environmental assessment. Agron J 103:11691179 Google Scholar
Bullock, D, Khan, S, Rayburn, A (1998) Soybean yield response to narrow rows is largely due to enhanced early growth. Crop Sci 38:10111016 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burnside, OC, Moomaw, RS (1977) Control of weeds in narrow-row soybeans. Agron J 69:793796 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, RB, Sojka, RE, Karlen, DL (1984) Conservation tillage for soybean in the U.S. southeastern coastal plain. Soil Tillage Res 4:531541 Google Scholar
Cavigelli, MA, Teasdale, JR, Spargo, JT (2013) Increasing crop rotation diversity improves agronomic, economic, and environmental performance of organic grain cropping systems at the USDA-ARS Beltsville Farming Systems Project. Crop Management: 10.1094/CM-2013-0429-02-PS.Google Scholar
Chandler, K, Shrestha, A, Swanton, CJ (2001) Weed seed return as influenced by the critical weed-free period and row spacing of no-till glyphosate-resistant soybean. Can J Plant Sci 81:877880 Google Scholar
Clark, AJ, Decker, AM, Meisinger, JJ, McIntosh, MS (1997) Kill date of vetch, rye, and a vetch-rye mixture: II. Soil moisture and corn yield. Agron J 89:434441 Google Scholar
Cox, WJ, Cherney, JH (2011) Growth and yield responses of soybean to row spacing and seeding rate. Agron J 103:123128 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalley, CD, Kells, JJ, Renner, KA (2004) Effect of glyphosate application timing and row spacing on corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) yields. Weed Technol 18:165176 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, AR, Taylor, M, Shrefler, J, Webber, CLI III (2010) Low and high input organic mulching trial. Pages 145147 in Proceedings of the Annual Horticulture Industries Show. Tulsa, OK.Google Scholar
Davis, AS (2010) Cover-crop roller–crimper contributes to weed management in no-till soybean. Weed Sci 58:300309 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Bruin, JL, Pedersen, P (2008) Effect of row spacing and seeding rate on soybean yield. Agron J 100:704710 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delate, K, Cwach, D, Chase, C (2012) Organic no-tillage system effects on soybean, corn and irrigated tomato production and economic performance in Iowa, USA. Renewable Agri Food Syst 27:4959 Google Scholar
Derpsch, R, Roth, CH, Sidiras, N, Köpke, U (1991) Controle da erosão no Paraná, Brazil: Sistemas de cobertura do solo, plantio directo e prepare conservacionista do solo. Eschborn, Germany Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH. 272 pGoogle Scholar
Engoke, CN (2012) Verification of Poultry Manure Nitrogen Availability and Fertilizer Nitrogen Equivalence Coefficients for Crop Production in North Carolina Soils. Ph.D Dissertation. Raleigh, NC North Carolina State University. 180 pGoogle Scholar
Grau, CR, Oplinger, ES, Adee, EA, Hinkens, EA, Martinka, MJ (1994) Planting date and row width effect on severity of brown stem rot and soybean productivity. J Prod Agric 7:347351 Google Scholar
Grisso, R, Holshouser, DL, Pitman, RM (2009) Equipment Considerations for No-till Soybean Seeding. Blacksburg, VA Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication 442–456. 6 pGoogle Scholar
Gunsolus, JL (1990) Mechanical and cultural weed control in corn and soybeans. Am J Altern Agric 5:114119 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harder, DB, Sprague, CL, Renner, KA (2007) Effect of soybean row width and population on weeds, crop yield and economic return. Weed Technol 21:744752 Google Scholar
Heatherly, LG, Spurlock, SR (1999) Yield and economics of traditional and early soybean production system (ESPS) seedings in the midsouthern United States. Field Crops Res 63:3545 Google Scholar
Heiffig, LS, Câmara, GMdS, Marques, LA, Pedroso, DB, Piedade, SMdS (2009) The plasticity of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) crop in different spacing arrangements [Plasticidade da cultura da soja (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) em diferentes arranjos espaciais]. Revista de Agricultura (Piracicaba) 84:204219 Google Scholar
Holland, JM (2004) The environmental consequences of adopting conservation tillage in Europe: reviewing the evidence. Agric Ecosyst Environ 103:125 Google Scholar
Huelsenbeck, JP, Crandall, KA (1997) Phylogeny estimation and hypothesis testing using maximum likelihood. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 28:437466 Google Scholar
Kornecki, TS, Arriaga, FJ, Raper, RL, Price, AJ (2009) New roller crimper concepts for mechanical termination of cover crops in conservation agriculture. Renewable Agri Food Syst 24:165173 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovely, WG, Weber, GC, Staniforth, DW (1958) Effectiveness of the rotary hoe for weed control in soybeans. Agron J 50:621625 Google Scholar
Mathew, RP, Feng, YC, Githinji, L, Ankumah, R, Balkcom, KS (2012) Impact of no-tillage and conventional tillage systems on soil microbial communities. Appl Enviro Soil Sci 2012: 10.1155/2012/548620Google Scholar
Mickelson, JA, Renner, KA (1997) Weed control using reduced rates of postemergence herbicides in narrow and wide row soybean. J Prod Agric 10:431437 Google Scholar
Mirsky, SB, Ryan, MR, Shumway, DL, Curran, WS, Mortensen, DA (2009) Control of cereal rye with a roller/crimper as influenced by cover crop phenology. Agron J 101:15891596 Google Scholar
Mirsky, SB, Ryan, MR, Teasdale, JR, Curran, WS, Reberg-Horton, CS, Spargo, JT, Wells, MS, Keene, CL, Moyer, JW (2013) Overcoming weed management challenges in cover crop-based organic rotational no-till soybean production in the eastern US. Weed Technol 27:193203 Google Scholar
Mirsky, SB, Way, TR, Camargo, CG, Ryan, MR, Curran, WS, Teasdale, JR, Maul, J, Spargo, JT, Moyer, J, Grantham, AM, Weber, D (2012) Conservation tillage issues: cover crop-based organic rotational no-till grain production in the mid-Atlantic region, USA. Renewable Agri Food Syst 27:3140 Google Scholar
Mischler, R, Wilson, D, Curran, WS, Duiker, SW (2010) Hairy vetch management for no-till organic corn production. Agron J 102:355362 Google Scholar
Munawar, A, Blevins, RL, Frye, WW, Saul, MR (1990) Tillage and cover crop management for soil water conservation. Agron J 82:773777 Google Scholar
Parr, M, Grossman, JM, Reberg-Horton, SC, Brinton, C, Crozier, CR (2011) Nitrogen delivery from legume cover crops in no-till organic corn production. Agron J 103:15781590 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pedersen, P, Lauer, JG (2003) Corn and soybean response to rotation sequence, row spacing, and tillage system. Agron J 95:965971 Google Scholar
Place, GT, Reberg-Horton, SC, Burton, MG (2009) Effects of preplant and postplant rotary hoe use on weed control, soybean pod position, and soybean yield. Weed Sci 57:290295 Google Scholar
Price, AJ, Arriaga, FJ, Raper, RL, Balkcom, KS, Komecki, TS, Wane Reeves, D (2009) Comparison of mechanical and chemical winter cereal cover crop termination systems and cotton yield in conservation agriculture. J Cotton Sci 13:238245 Google Scholar
Reberg-Horton, SC, Grossman, JM, Kornecki, TS, Meijer, AD, Price, AJ, Place, GT, Webster, TM (2012) Utilizing cover crop mulches to reduce tillage in organic systems in the southeastern USA. Renewable Agri Food Syst 27:4148 Google Scholar
Reeves, DW (1994) Cover crops and rotations. Boca Raton, FL Lewis Publishers, CCRC Press Inc. Pp 125172 Google Scholar
Rodale Institute (2012) No-till Revolution. http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/no-till_revolution. Accessed August 27, 2012.Google Scholar
Ryan, MR (2010) Energy usage, greenhouse gases, and multi-tactical weed management in organic rotational no-till cropping systems. PhD dissertation. University Park, PA The Pennsylvania State University. 210 pGoogle Scholar
SAS (2006) Procedures Guide. 2nd edn. Cary, NC SAS Institute. 398 pGoogle Scholar
Shibles, RM, Weber, GC (1966) Interception of solar radiation and dry matter production by various soybean planting patterns. Crop Sci 6:5559 Google Scholar
Smith, AN, Reberg-Horton, SC, Place, GT, Meijer, AD, Arellano, C, Mueller, JP (2011) Rolled rye mulch for weed suppression in organic no-tillage soybeans. Weed Sci 59:224231 Google Scholar
Steel, RG, Torrie, JH, Dickey, DA (1996) Principles and Procedures of Statistics: A Biometric Approach. 3rd edn. New York McGraw-Hill. 666 pGoogle Scholar
Stenberg, M, Stenberg, B, Rydberg, T (2000) Effects of reduced tillage and liming on microbial activity and soil properties in a weakly-structured soil. App Soil Ecol 14:135145 Google Scholar
Wagner-Riddle, C, Gillespie, TJ, Swanton, CJ (1994) Rye cover crop management impact on soil water content, soil temperature and soybean growth. Canadian J Plant Sci 74:485495 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, ER, Mengistu, A, Bellaloui, N, Koger, CH, Roberts, RK, Larson, JA (2010) Plant population and row-spacing effects on maturity group III soybean. Agron J 102:821826 Google Scholar
Weber, CR, Shibles, RM, Byth, DE (1966) Effect of plant population and row spacing on soybean development and production. Agron J 58:99102 Google Scholar
Wells, MS, Reberg-Horton, SC, Smith, AN, Grossman, JM (2013) The reduction of plant-available nitrogen by cover crop mulches and subsequent effects on soybean performance and weed interference. Agron J 105:17 Google Scholar
Young, BG, Young, JM, Gonzini, LC, Hart, SE, Wax, LM, Kapusta, G (2001) Weed management in narrow- and wide-row glyphosate-resistant soybean (Glycine max). Weed Technol 15:112121 Google Scholar