Abstract
Core Ideas Strip‐tillage decreased soil inorganic N within a rye–vetch organic system, but had minimal effect on sweet corn yield. Strip‐intercropping rye–vetch increased N availability within the crop row of strip‐tillage. Strip‐intercropping rye–vetch decreased root mass within the row, but had no effect on yield or shoot biomass. Strip‐intercropping of functionally diverse cover crops, such as cereal rye ( Secale cereal L.; “rye”) and hairy vetch ( Vicia villosa Roth; “vetch”), may enhance N use efficiency in reduced‐tillage systems by concentrating N‐rich vetch residue within the subsequent crop row, thereby increasing root access to pools of organic N. We established a field study in southwestern Michigan between 2011 and 2014 to compare the effects of rye–vetch spatial arrangement and tillage on soil N, soil moisture, sweet corn ( Zea mays L.) above‐ and belowground biomass, and root morphology. The experiment consisted of a 2 × 2 factorial with two levels of rye–vetch spatial arrangement: segregated into strips (SEG) and full‐width mixture (MIX), and two levels of tillage: strip‐tillage (ST) or full‐width tillage (FWT). Strip‐tillage reduced soil inorganic N compared to FWT in 2 out of 3 yr, but increased soil moisture and sweet corn shoot biomass in 2 out of 3 yr. Segregating rye and vetch into strips increased inorganic N within the crop row, but had minimal impact on sweet corn biomass or yield. In contrast, sweet corn roots were responsive to relatively small changes in the distribution of soil N or moisture resulting from strip‐tillage and segregated plantings. Strip‐tillage and strip‐intercropping show promise in adapting reduced‐till systems for organic production, but future research should evaluate the response of other crops, and adjustments in cover crop species and termination methods to help optimize these practices.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Strip-tillage reduced soil inorganic N compared to full-width tillage in 2 of 3 years
- Treatment
- Strip‑tillagee1
- Outcome
- soil inorganic Ne1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Value
- 2 out of 3 yre1
- Comparator
- FWTe1
- Setting
- southwestern Michigane2
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e1“Strip‑tillage reduced soil inorganic N compared to FWT in 2 out of 3 yr”
e2“We established a field study in southwestern Michigan between 2011 and 2014”
Claim · model-written summary
Strip-tillage increased soil moisture compared to full-width tillage in 2 of 3 years
- Treatment
- Strip‑tillagee1
- Outcome
- soil moisturee3
- Direction
- increasede3
- Value
- 2 out of 3 yre3
- Comparator
- FWTe1
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e1“Strip‑tillage reduced soil inorganic N compared to FWT in 2 out of 3 yr”
e3“but increased soil moisture and sweet corn shoot biomass in 2 out of 3 yr”
Claim · model-written summary
Strip-tillage increased sweet corn shoot biomass compared to full-width tillage in 2 of 3 years
Verbatim
t0“Sweet Corn Roots”
e1“Strip‑tillage reduced soil inorganic N compared to FWT in 2 out of 3 yr”
e3“but increased soil moisture and sweet corn shoot biomass in 2 out of 3 yr”
Claim · model-written summary
Segregating rye and vetch into strips increased inorganic N within the crop row
- Treatment
- Segregating rye and vetch into stripse4
- Outcome
- inorganic N within the crop rowe4
- Direction
- increasede4
- Comparator
- full‑width mixture (MIX)e5
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e4“Segregating rye and vetch into strips increased inorganic N within the crop row”
e5“segregated into strips (SEG) and full‑width mixture (MIX)”
Claim · model-written summary
Segregating rye and vetch into strips had no change in sweet corn biomass or yield
Verbatim
e4“Segregating rye and vetch into strips increased inorganic N within the crop row”
e5“segregated into strips (SEG) and full‑width mixture (MIX)”
e6“but had minimal impact on sweet corn biomass or yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Strip-intercropping rye and vetch decreased sweet corn root mass within the row
- Taxon
- sweet cornt0
- Treatment
- Strip‑intercropping rye–vetche7
- Outcome
- root mass within the rowe7
- Direction
- decreasede7
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
t0“Sweet Corn Roots”
e7“Strip‑intercropping rye–vetch decreased root mass within the row”
Claim · model-written summary
Sweet corn roots were responsive to small changes in soil N or moisture distribution from strip-tillage and segregated plantings
Not reportedDirection
Verbatim
e0“In contrast, sweet corn roots were responsive to relatively small changes in the distribution of soil N or moisture resulting from strip‑tillage and segregated plantings”
Claim · model-written summary
Strip-tillage and strip-intercropping show promise for adapting reduced-till systems to organic production
Verbatim
t0“Sweet Corn Roots”
e1“Strip‑tillage and strip‑intercropping show promise in adapting reduced‑till systems for organic production”
The same questions in other papers
tillage · growth · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
195 papers in the same direction as this paper · 81 in the opposite direction · 6 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
- negative
279 papers more in this group
See all 283 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.