Abstract
We determined the effects of oat (Avena sativa) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) winter cover crops on subsequent maize growth, soil erosion, water run-off, and nitrate leaching. Separate or combined plots of oat and hairy vetch cover crops were grown in winter, and maize was subsequently planted in all plots in the following summer season. The half-recommended N fertilizer (50 kg ha-1) applied to zero-tillage maize produced the same biomass and yield as the control (i.e., natural fallow-maize with tillage and fertilizer application of 100 N kg ha-1) when cultivated after hairy vetch (9.6 t ha-1). In contrast, maize grown after oat showed 40.4% lower biomass and 65.4% lower yield. Compared to the control, runoff and soil erosion were 85.3-92.9% (P < 0.001) and 68.6-98.7% lower with cover crop mulch irrespective of cover crop species (P > 0.05), respectively. Cumulative nitrate leaching 60 cm below the soil surface was highest in the control, followed by (in descending order) hairy vetch-maize, hairy vetch + oat-maize, and oat-maize. NO3-N release showed a twin-peak pattern in hairy vetch-maize plots at 18 and 37 days after sowing (DAS). Meanwhile, a single peak was observed in the control at 32 DAS immediately after top dressing at 31 DAS. The synchrony of N supply and crop demand were better in hairy vetch-maize than oat-maize or conventional cultivation owing to rapid maize growth under lower rainfall conditions.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Maize after hairy vetch with half-rate N and zero tillage had the same biomass and yield as the control.
- Treatment
- half-recommended N fertilizer (50 kg ha-1) applied to zero-tillage maizee0
- Outcome
- biomass and yielde0
- Direction
- samee0
- Value
- 9.6 t ha-1e0
- Comparator
- natural fallow-maize with tillage and fertilizer application of 100 N kg ha-1e0
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The half-recommended N fertilizer (50 kg ha-1) applied to zero-tillage maize produced the same biomass and yield as the control (i.e., natural fallow-maize with tillage and fertilizer application of 100 N kg ha-1) when cultivated after hairy vetch (9.6 t ha-1)”
Claim · model-written summary
Maize after oat had 40.4% lower biomass.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“maize grown after oat showed 40.4% lower biomass”
Claim · model-written summary
Maize after oat had 65.4% lower yield.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“maize grown after oat showed 40.4% lower biomass and 65.4% lower yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Cover crop mulch lowered runoff by 85.3-92.9% versus control.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Compared to the control, runoff and soil erosion were 85.3-92.9% (P < 0.001) and 68.6-98.7% lower with cover crop mulch irrespective of cover crop species (P > 0.05), respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Cover crop mulch lowered soil erosion by 68.6-98.7% versus control.
- Treatment
- cover crop mulche0
- Outcome
- soil erosione0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Value
- 68.6-98.7%e0
- Comparator
- controle0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Compared to the control, runoff and soil erosion were 85.3-92.9% (P < 0.001) and 68.6-98.7% lower with cover crop mulch irrespective of cover crop species (P > 0.05), respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrate leaching ranked control highest, then vetch-maize, mixed cover crops, and oat-maize.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Cumulative nitrate leaching 60 cm below the soil surface was highest in the control, followed by (in descending order) hairy vetch-maize, hairy vetch + oat-maize, and oat-maize”
Claim · model-written summary
NO3-N release showed peaks at 18 and 37 days after sowing in vetch-maize plots.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“NO3-N release showed a twin-peak pattern in hairy vetch-maize plots at 18 and 37 days after sowing (DAS)”
Claim · model-written summary
Control plots showed a single NO3-N release peak at 32 DAS.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“a single peak was observed in the control at 32 DAS immediately after top dressing at 31 DAS”
Claim · model-written summary
N supply and crop demand were better synchronized under hairy vetch-maize than under oat-maize or conventional cultivation.
- Treatment
- hairy vetch-maizee0
- Outcome
- synchrony of N supply and crop demande0
- Direction
- bettere0
- Comparator
- oat-maize or conventional cultivatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The synchrony of N supply and crop demand were better in hairy vetch-maize than oat-maize or conventional cultivation owing to rapid maize growth under lower rainfall conditions”
The same questions in other papers
cover crop · soil: physics · Zea mays (maize)Results differ
10 papers in the same direction as this paper · 7 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- no effect
- no effect
14 papers more in this group
See all 18 papers →mulching · soil: physics · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
96 papers in the same direction as this paper · 13 in the opposite direction · 2 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
- no effect
108 papers more in this group
See all 112 papers →tillage · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
286 papers in the same direction as this paper · 812 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
1,095 papers more in this group
See all 1,099 papers →fertilization · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
422 papers in the same direction as this paper · 3,485 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
3,904 papers more in this group
See all 3,908 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.