Manhattan PMC Cover Crop Study
Cover crops provide many benefits to soil health and overall profitability within farming systems. This spring, the Manhattan Plant Materials Center (PMC) planted several cover crop studies and trials. In the study, ten different plots of single species were planted for observation and evaluation. In addition, two plots of mixed cover (10% of each cover crop species) were planted. Each research plot is evaluated for plant characteristics, growth curve; and carbon/nitrogen ratio.
The cover crops include:
The summer cover crop study consisted of 16 single-species plots and one plot of mixed cover. The cover crops included:
Table 1. Forage yield and carbon/nitrogen ratios for 11 cool-season and 17 warm-season cover crop entries for 2013 at Manhattan Plant Materials Center
Entry
Planting
Forage Yield
C/N Ratio
Days After Planting
30
60
90
30
60
90
Barley
4/01/13
1,078
2,121
20.9
38.5
Cover mix (spring)
1,040
2,665
15.9
34.1
Crimson clover
944
1,686
15.9
24.6
Ethiopian cabbage
908
3,196
12.9
40.7
Lentils
717
3,975
11.6
19.6
Oats
582
2,822
22.3
42.2
Pea, spring forage
1,150
4,382
14.0
30.0
Radish nitro (spring)
1,460
2,079
18.8
35.6
Triticale
635
993
17.3
21.0
Yellow mustard
935
1,341
17.0
26.9
Yellow sweet clover
818
1,570
14.3
15.4
Buckwheat
6/25/13
1,523
5,115
19.5
34.4
Cover mix (summer)
1,953
10,553
14.6
28.1
Cowpeas
1,449
5,207
14.9
16.2
Flax
238
1,700
8.7
37.0
Millet, German
1,974
9,882
14.0
43.8
Millet, pearl
2,197
11,889
21.7
53.9
Mung bean
1,414
5,911
14.7
31.3
Radish, nitro (summer)
1,983
2,725
11.8
14.6
Rapeseed
1,223
4,091
12.3
27.7
Safflower
1,697
4,113
9.7
23.7
Sorghum-sudangrass
1,256
13,516
29.0
74.6
Sorghum-sudangrass, BMR
2,212
15,692
32.0
70.4
Soybean, non GMO
678
6,597
10.8
31.0
Sudangrass
2,623
22,993
34.2
56.2
Sunn hemp
1,474
9,819
10.6
20.7
Turnip, purple top
1,341
4,344
10.5
30.9
Turnip, Winfred hybrid
927
4,458
8.0
25.5
This table is also available for download (requires Adobe Reader ).
