By Blake Jackson
If you’re looking to introduce cover crops into your farm but find it challenging due to the time constraints of the fall harvest, interseeding them into standing corn might be the solution.
While cover crops offer significant benefits, such as suppressing weeds, improving soil health, and preventing erosion, the timing can be difficult with the busy harvest period and the limited growing season after harvest.
To address this issue, Penn State has released a practical guide titled “Interseeding Cover Crops in Corn Production: Best Practices for Drill-Interseeding in Mid-Atlantic Crop Systems.”
This comprehensive two-part guide is designed to help farmers determine if drill-interseeding is the right method for planting cover crops in their corn fields.
It also provides recommendations on selecting the best cover crops and applying herbicides when using this method.
The first part of the guide, “Best Management Practices for Drill-Interseeding Cover Crops,” introduces the drill-interseeding technique.
It discusses the factors that influence the success of this method, such as labor, costs, and crop management. Key topics include:
- The advantages of drill-interseeding over broadcast-interseeding
- Choosing appropriate cover crop species and seeding rates
- Weed and crop management strategies
The second part of the guide, “Herbicide Program Details for Interseeded Cover Crops,” focuses on the best conditions for applying herbicides to interseeded crops. It provides detailed recommendations on herbicide programs, as well as insights into potential risks, such as herbicide injury to cover crops and their sensitivity to corn herbicides.
This resource aims to assist farmers in effectively integrating cover crops into their operations, even during the busy fall season.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-mvburling
Categories: Pennsylvania, Crops, Corn