Impact of Annual Ryegrass on Nitrate-N Losses during One Growing Season of Maize in the Midwestern United States <br/>—An On-Farm Case Study — Oak Academic Publishing
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Impact of Annual Ryegrass on Nitrate-N Losses during One Growing Season of Maize in the Midwestern United States <br/>—An On-Farm Case Study
Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
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Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
1 Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
2 Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
Winter cover crops have been shown to reduce nitrate-N (NO 3 -N) losses in runoff water and are recommended by the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) for reducing nutrient losses from agricultural fields. With an estimated 80 percent of the NO 3 -N load in Illinois coming from agriculture, the NLRS stresses the importance of farmers’ voluntary implementation of best management strategies in order to reach these goals. This study compares the difference in NO 3 -N losses from tile drainage water from an annual ryegrass (AR, Lolium multiflorum ) winter cover-cropped treatment to a conventional tillage (CT) control (fall chisel and spring field cultivation). Throughout the maize ( Zea mays L.) growing season, tile drainage water was collected and analyzed for NO 3 -N concentrations. Despite the AR treatment having a 29% lower mean daily NO 3 -N concentration, there was no significant difference in total daily NO 3 -N flux between AR and CT for this study period of April-July 2015. The cumulative losses of NO 3 -N were calculated at 11.65 and 10.56 kg ha −1 NO 3 -N for the CT and AR treatment, respectively, or a 9.4% reduction in the AR treatment during the period of study. When the season was divided based on growing season periods, the NO 3 -N flux values were less for the cover crop while the AR was actively growing, greater for the cover crop for the period following annual ryegrass termination through maximum crop canopy, and lower for the cover crop in the late stages of vegetative growth through relative maturity.
KeywordsCover CropAnnual RyegrassNitrate-NNutrientBest Management PracticeGulf of MexicoHypoxia
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