Cover crops yield a variety of soil benefits
Published: Monday, October 24, 2005 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, October 24, 2005 at 8:40 a.m.
Why do agriculture producers plant cover crops in the fall? Is it to hold the soil in place? Increase the rainfall's filtration into the soil? Decrease the amount of runoff from rain events? Or is it to increase the yields of the crop they plant the following spring?
If you guessed all four, you are correct.
Agriculture producers who plant cover crops in the fall are doing far more that just covering the soil. Through the use of grasses, legumes, or grass and legume mixes, a producer can achieve many benefits from planting a cover crop.
Cover crops improve the physical, chemical and biological quality of the soil.
They add organic matter to the soil. Soil organic matter is important to agriculture producers. It allows the soil to hold important plant nutrients while replenishing these nutrients during the decomposition of the cover crop. It also improves the soil's ability to hold water during dry times. Grasses generally increase organic matter faster than legumes due to their fine roots and lower nitrogen levels.
Planting a cover crop also helps reduce runoff and erosion during rain events. Planting a cover crop will slow runoff by physically blocking any water flow. This allows the soil more time to absorb the water while reducing the runoff and preventing erosion.
Agriculture producers can also use cover crops as weed control. While the cover crop is growing, it will suppress the germination and growth of fall and early spring weeds by shading them out. In the spring, after the cover crop has been killed and left on the surface as a mulch, it continues to suppress weeds by blocking the light that the weed needs to grow.
Cover crops are also important in helping conserve soil moisture.
When the cover crop is used as mulch, it will help decrease evaporation of the soil's moisture. The mulch will provide shade for the soil, keeping it much cooler, and provide shelter from the blowing wind that would otherwise dry the soil if left uncovered.
Planting a cover crop is just one of many practices that agriculture producers utilize to conserve soil and protect water quality.
Jonathan Wallin is a district conservationist with the Henderson County Soil and Water Conservation District.
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