Jake Munro, a soil management specialist with Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said planting corn directly into a living cover crop before it was killed by herbicides or tillage was a challenge 30 years ago. He says this is something the producers did not think about.
But thanks to advances in planter technology, herbicide options, and growing awareness of the benefits of cover crops for soil health, more and more farmers are now willing to give it a try. But will it work? Can growers achieve agronomic benefits while reliably harvesting reasonable yields?
In 2023, Munro worked with five farmers across Ontario to answer these questions. About this episode Real Agriculture Corn Schoolhe shares observations from individual farms, identifies common challenges, highlights differences between soil types, and defines critical factors for success.
Overall, Munro concludes that planting corn in green cover crop mixtures is effective in Ontario. In 2023, he aggregated the yields of the five Plant Green farms he tracked and found an average yield of 193.7 bu/ac at 15.5% moisture content, nearly 30 bu/ac above the county average yield for fields.
But success requires a higher level of management and can involve a higher level of risk, Munro says. In his video, he discusses key points such as targeting modest spring cover crop growth to maximize profits while mitigating planting challenges. It is also important to consider cover crop seeding rates, dates, number of overwintering species, and nutrients available from fertilizers. (Story continues after video.)
Modifying planters to achieve better corn rotation is also an important consideration, especially in no-till, leafy environments. Pneumatic downforce allows adjustments from the cab based on conditions, and hydraulic downforce helps place seeds at the right depth in overgrown plants. material. Munro also noted that all the farmers he followed had employed some form of aftermarket closure wheel system to achieve seed slot closure.
It is also advantageous to apply a higher than standard nitrogen supply beforehand. Four out of five growers pre-applied nitrogen rates greater than 45 pounds/acre. Munro says when planting green spaces, it’s important to provide enough nitrogen early on to overcome nitrate binding from non-legume cover crops and to compensate for cool, slow-to-lithify soils. Says. He also recommends banding nitrogen and protecting the surface-applied nitrogen with a urease inhibitor. Read Munroe’s full report at his URL: Field crop news.
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