Management Considerations for Maize in Kura Clover Living Mulch
2022-05
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Management Considerations for Maize in Kura Clover Living Mulch
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2022-05
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Kura clover living mulch (KCLM) can be incorporated into upper-Midwestern row-crop production systems to provide perennial living groundcover during vulnerable spring and fall fallow periods. The cool season legume crop takes advantage of an extended growing season to increase carbon capture, provide habitat and nutrition to soil biota, and reduce nutrient loss relative to monocrop maize. These advantages, as well as observed improvements in water infiltration and reductions of soil and nitrate loss, may help to mitigate regionally important environmental impacts from intensive agricultural production systems in the upper Midwest. Designing KCLM systems for upper-Midwestern row-crop production requires consideration of the current production needs and management strategies. The objectives of this research were to (i) determine the effect of row establishment method and fertilizer N rate on maize yield and nitrogen use efficiency, (ii) identify the effect of row establishment method and fertilizer N source on the spatiotemporal distribution of clover and maize roots, and (iii) describe the effect of fertilizer N rate on the spatial and temporal distributions of clover biomass inputs, soil N concentrations, and nitrous oxide emissions within a KCLM for maize. These questions were addressed with two field experiments conducted at the Rosemount Research and Outreach Center in Rosemount, MN and one experiment conducted at Rosemount and the Arlington Research Station in Arlington, WI. The results of this research indicate that optimal row establishment methods during drought conditions depend on the severity of moisture stress, tillage intensity is positively correlated with clover root loss, maize roots were isolated to the tilled row zone to a depth of 0.20 m, and N2O emissions are alarmingly high from the interrow zone under normal growing conditions. The conclusions of this work are that aboveground clover biomass inputs provide a relatively small amount of N to the row crop and that N contributions are sourced from disturbed roots during row establishment. This indicates that N management in a KCLM-maize cropping system is highly dependent on stand history. Finally, 85% of N2O was emitted from the interrow zone in a KCLM under normal weather conditions. This finding indicates that hotspots of microbial denitrification are a potentially significant contributor to N2O emissions in KCLM systems, and that mitigation strategies may depend on clover residue management. Overall, KCLM systems may benefit maize producers in the upper Midwest, but care must be taken to mitigate known management challenges. Further research should be conducted to define remaining management questions and to identify strategies to mitigate high N2O emissions from these systems.
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University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2022. Major: Land and Atmospheric Science. Advisors: John Baker, Rodney Venterea. 1 computer file (PDF); xi, 76 pages.
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Alexander, Jonathan. (2022). Management Considerations for Maize in Kura Clover Living Mulch. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/241391.
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