Abstract

From erosion protection to nutrient retention to building soil heath, incorporating cover crops into your production system can provide a multitude of benefits. Seeding cover crops at the optimal time can be challenging. This Guide to Interseeding Cover Crops into Corn Systems in the Northeast will cover the agronomic strategies and considerations of interseeding cover crops into silage corn systems. This includes variety selection, timing, light considerations, seeding rates, equipment, row spacing, and available resources.

Interseeding is the practice of establishing a cover crop into an already growing cash crop. This can be done anywhere from early growth stages prior to canopy closure up to harvest. Many cover crops planted after corn silage harvest will not reach their maximum potential growth before the winter. Interseeding maximizes a short growing season by allowing these species to reach maturity, providing year-round ground coverage, and producing more cover and/or forage biomass.

Interseeding cover crops, while beneficial, comes with its own set of challenges. Other demands from farm operations and weather conditions can make it hard to grow a successful cover crop. One common challenge that farmers face when trying to implement interseeding is establishing cover crops into dense rows of corn. Fortunately, there are resources and equipment available to help meet these challenges.

Much of the information in the guide is based on research conducted by the University of Vermont (UVM) Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program (NWCS). You can find links to our research reports as well as additional resources at the end of this guide and at https://www.uvm.edu/extension/nwcrops.

Keywords

Vermont, University of Vermont, UVM Extension, Northwest Crops & Soils

Publication Date

2-2024

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