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INTRODUCTION
Cover crops can be successfully incorporated into soybean systems. The KBS/MSUE cover crop program, through grants from the Michigan Department of Agriculture Groundwater Stewardship program, has researched cultivars, timing and economics for seeding cover crops in corn.
Many farmers in Michigan seed wheat following soybean harvest. Some farmers will seed wheat at the yellow leaf stage of leaf drop of the soybeans by a highboy or airplane.
Both of these methods are designed to utilize wheat as a grain crop and should be seeded after the Hessian fly-free date. Soybeans leave very little residue following harvest, thus following soybeans with wheat is an environmentally beneficial rotation.
Unfortunately, wheat for many reasons is not being grown by Michigan farmers as much as in the past. Therefore, the cover crop program at W. K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) has evaluated several cover crops cultivars for soybeans. Most of our research has focused on seeding cover crops at early soybean leaf drop. We have successfully overseeded red clover, cereal rye, forage rape and triticale. Other cultivars with similar growth habits which are listed above, could also be seeded.
The earlier the soybeans dry down, the faster the cover crops grow due to increased availability of light and moisture for the cover crop. Having cover crops established in the early fall will enhance soil quality while protecting the soil lost from wind and soil erosion.
There are still many undiscovered ways to incorporate cover crops into soybean systems. Some areas to research are soybean variety selection, earlier overseeding of cover crop into soybeans, cover crops influence on weeds in soybeans and soybeans as a cover crop following wheat or other short season crops.
Funding for this bulletin was provided by the Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program.
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