Cover Crop Variety Trial

Published Aug 9, 2014

Cover crop entries were hand seeded at locations into standing corn and soybeans and evaluated for fall ground cover, spring ground cover, and spring biomass production.

Key Findings

  • Cereal rye and mustard tended to produce the most amount of fall ground cover.
  • Sufficient rainfall following cover crop seeding is necessary for fall cover crop growth and overwintering potential.
  • Cereal rye was the only entry to successfully overwinter and produce spring growth and remains a strong cover crop candidate even in the face of a challenging winter.