HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Brown, R. E. Articles by Shapiro, C. A. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Brown, R. E. Articles by Shapiro, C. A. Agricola Articles by Brown, R. E. Articles by Shapiro, C. A.

Residual Effects of Interseeded Hairy Vetch on Soil Nitrate-Nitrogen Levels

Dep. of Agronomy, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS 66506

G. E. Varvel^*

USDA-ARS and Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583

C. A. Shapiro

Univ. of Nebraska, Northeast Research and Extension Center, Concord, NE 68728

*Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

Increased use of winter legume cover crops has renewed interest in legume N mineralization patterns. This study was conducted to monitor the residual effect of a hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop and fertilizer N on surface soil NO₃-N concentration in no-till and conventional-till corn (Zea mays L.) in northeastern Nebraska on a Nora silty clay loam (fine-silty, mixed, mesic Udic Halplustoll). The experimental design was a split-split-split plot with three replicates. Main plots of conventional tillage and no-till were split into 0, 67, and 134 kg N ha^–1 with and without hairy vetch. Soil samples were taken from the 0– to 7.5– and 7.5– to 15–cm depths five times during the 1987 growing season and three times in 1988. Inclusion of a hairy vetch cover crop interseeded during the previous growing season increased soil NO₃-N concentration in the surface 7.5 cm between 50 and 64 d after corn planting and in the 7.5- to 15-cm soil layer between 50 and 78 d after corn planting during 1987. In 1988 (a dry growing season), hairy vetch did not significantly increase soil NO₃-N concentration in the 0- to 7.5-cm soil layer at any sampling time, but did increase soil NO₃-N concentration in the 7.5- to 15-cm depth 103 d after planting. This increase in soil NO₃-N concentration occurred in hairy vetch plots after silking, which probably resulted in the additional N not being available for plant growth in 1988. Increased available N resulting from a legume cover crop like hairy vetch may be beneficial in N management programs in lower rainfall areas of the USA when amounts of precipitation are adequate for plant growth and N mineralization.

Joint contribution of USDA-ARS and the Nebraska Agric. Res. Division, Journal Series no. 10055.

Received for publication May 14, 1992.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				U. M. Sainju and B. P. Singh Tillage, Cover Crop, and Kill-Planting Date Effects on Corn Yield and Soil Nitrogen Agron. J., July 1, 2001; 93(4): 878 - 886. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H.J. Kandel, B.L. Johnson, and A.A. Schneiter Hard Red Spring Wheat Response Following the Intercropping of Legumes into Sunflower Crop Sci., May 1, 2000; 40(3): 731 - 736. [Abstract] [Full Text]