Search

Weed Suppression With Cover Crops: It's All About Biomass

Blog Post

One important benefit of cover crops to our production system is providing an alternative selection pressure on weed populations. Cereal rye has the best potential to suppress weeds because it accumulates more biomass than other cover crop species. Weed suppression is closely related to the amount of biomass at the time of termination (Figure 1).

Category:

Tags:

integrated weed management

Cover crop pest update

Blog Post

This summer, I am starting a couple of new research projects looking at cover crop pest activity that might be relevant to corn production. Shout out to Alison Robertson and Mark Licht for including me on these massive research projects! The usual cover crop pest suspects are migratory moths, like black cutworm and true armyworm, that make their way to Iowa every spring. There isn’t much green around in March and April, so female moths like to lay eggs on early-season weeds and cereal rye.

Category:

Tags:

You are here