Page 20 - Ebook_CoverCrops2022_Final

Seeding .method .affects .timing, .effectiveness

There are a number of different methods for planting cover crops, but when producers choose
which route to take, they need to consider timing, effectiveness and cost, experts say.

Cover crops can be “planted green” into standing cash crops or they can be planted after or during
harvest. Some of the most common methods include:

Interseeding: According to extension Manure Slurry Seeding: .According to
educators at the University of Nebras- a Purdue University study, producers can
ka-Lincoln, producers can plant cover crop mix cover crops with liquid manure inside
seed into crops like corn and soybeans, spreader tanks. Then, they commence with
but during periods when the crop’s canopy the “shallow injection seed and manure to
isn’t closed. Most of the time, interseeding facilitate the germination and establish-
is done early in the season by broadcasting, ment of the cover crop.” The study found
using a drill or using specialized or modi- the method was an “efficient and effective”
fied equipment. method for use in no-till cover cropping
systems.
Overseeding: .According to the Universi-
ty of Wisconsin-Madison extension office, Post-harvest seeding: .Cover crops
cover crops can be planted into standing can also be planted following a cash crop.
crops late in the season by broadcasting Most of the time, this is done with a drill,
or by using aerial or highboy equipment. air seeder or using aerial equipment like
However, Weil with the University of planes or drones.
Maryland noted most farmers wouldn’t
buy the kind of specialized equipment Equipment: .Seed drills, air seeders and
used to do this. Producers also need to airplanes all are used by farmers for seeding
consider the potential of cash crops like cover crops, and there are new technologies
corn blocking sunlight or catching seeds coming on the scene, including drones.
before they hit the ground, which can hin-
der the effectiveness of this approach.

Of all seeding technologies, no-till or conventional drills are among the most effective at ensuring

cover crops are planted fully, although farmers generally have to wait until after the cash crop is
harvested to seed their fields. Still, the drills help ensure that the seeds are placed in the ground at
the right depth and rate.

It’s .reliable, .you’ll .get .a .good .stand . .Drilling .works, .but .it .means .

you .have .to .wait .until .after .harvest .”

— .Ray Weil
University .of .Maryland .professor

20 www.Agri-Pulse.com