2022 Use of Deep-Rooted Cover Crops to Improve Soil Infiltration

Soil infiltration measurements are preliminary and do not provide any effect made by the treatments themselves. It is expected that in following seasons, soil analysis and infiltration conducted can be used to compute and further analyse differences among treatments.
Cover crop mixes were crafted to observe how different cover crop roots affect infiltration and fertility across the soil column. Consider treatments as four sets of three treatments. The first set consists of a brassica group (daikon radish, forage radish and forage turnip) which is sown at 1X, 2X and 3X of the recommended seeding rate. With the exception of the fallow treatment, all other sets have a brassica group at either of these seeding rates and field pea and sunflower. Thus, The second set was sown with oat, Japanese millet, sweet clover, chicory, in addition with the brassica group and afore mentioned crops. Third set had a brassica group with only field pea and sunflower and the last set of three was seeded with a brassica group, brown midrib corn, annual ryegrass and hairy vetch. Treatments were harvested for biomass yield and sent for feed analysis. Due to funding constraints, biomass was not collected for fallow plots and no subsequent feed analysis in the plots of this treatment were made. Biomass yield was statistically the same across all treatments (P=0.0582). Likewise, protein (P=0.4873) and acid detergent fibre (P=0.0982) were the same among treatments. Neutral detergent fibre (P=0.0029) on the other hand, was greater in mixes containing oat, Japanese millet, sweet clover, chicory, field pea and sunflower, despite brassica seeding rates. Moreover, mixes with only brown midrib corn, annual ryegrass and hairy vetch and single rates of the brassica group showed NDF as great as those found in previous mentioned mixes. Values of NDF were low in mixes were only the brassica group was present or when it was accompanied with field pea and sunflower. In fact, NDF in treatment sets with sown with brassica group, field pea and sunflower plus oat, Japanese millet, sweet clover and chicory was 113% more than that found in sets sown with only the brassica group. This same set were Japanese millet, oat, chicory and sweet clover were sown had 97% more NDF than sets were a brassica group plus field pea and sunflower were seeded and 69% more NDF than mixes including brown midrib corn, annual ryegrass and hairy vetch.