Description
The use of living mulch (LM) in the Southeastern U.S. has yet to be assessed for its potential for grazing operations to increase land use efficiency. Therefore, the need to determine the viability of the system is warranted. The objective of this study was to evaluate the benefits of white clover LM and crimson-clover cereal rye annual mulch in corn silage and grain production, and to evaluate the potential of LM grazing before and after the corn growing season in spring and fall. The study was conducted at the Middle Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center (MTREC), University of Tennessee, in Spring Hill, TN (35.68o N, 86.91o W, 810 ft altitude), from October 2018 to April 2021. The experimental design was comprised of 12 large paddocks (0.7 ha-1). Paddocks were arranged in a complete randomized design (CRD) in triplicate, totaling 12 plots (2 corn treatments x 2 cover crop treatments x 3 replicates). The paddocks contained either corn silage or grain, grown with either perennial “Durana” white clover (Trifolium repens L.) [WC] or with a mixture of crimson clover (“AU Sunrise” Trifolium incarnatum L.) and cereal rye (“Wintergrazer” Secale cereale L.) [CCCR]). Grazing was performed in spring and fall of 2020 and 2021 before and after corn planting and harvest, respectively. In spring of both years, the LM proportion was greater in CCCR than WC, and a greater proportion of broadleaf weeds (BLW) were observed in WC. In the fall of 2020, LM proportion was greater in WC than CCCR, but no differences were observed in the fall of 2021. Meanwhile, the greatest MM was observed in WC at the beginning of the grazing period. White clover can reduce weed pressure under grazing systems. White clover as a LM also showed positive applications in grazing systems with greater MM.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Grazing Corn Produced Under Living Mulch Systems in Tennessee
The use of living mulch (LM) in the Southeastern U.S. has yet to be assessed for its potential for grazing operations to increase land use efficiency. Therefore, the need to determine the viability of the system is warranted. The objective of this study was to evaluate the benefits of white clover LM and crimson-clover cereal rye annual mulch in corn silage and grain production, and to evaluate the potential of LM grazing before and after the corn growing season in spring and fall. The study was conducted at the Middle Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center (MTREC), University of Tennessee, in Spring Hill, TN (35.68o N, 86.91o W, 810 ft altitude), from October 2018 to April 2021. The experimental design was comprised of 12 large paddocks (0.7 ha-1). Paddocks were arranged in a complete randomized design (CRD) in triplicate, totaling 12 plots (2 corn treatments x 2 cover crop treatments x 3 replicates). The paddocks contained either corn silage or grain, grown with either perennial “Durana” white clover (Trifolium repens L.) [WC] or with a mixture of crimson clover (“AU Sunrise” Trifolium incarnatum L.) and cereal rye (“Wintergrazer” Secale cereale L.) [CCCR]). Grazing was performed in spring and fall of 2020 and 2021 before and after corn planting and harvest, respectively. In spring of both years, the LM proportion was greater in CCCR than WC, and a greater proportion of broadleaf weeds (BLW) were observed in WC. In the fall of 2020, LM proportion was greater in WC than CCCR, but no differences were observed in the fall of 2021. Meanwhile, the greatest MM was observed in WC at the beginning of the grazing period. White clover can reduce weed pressure under grazing systems. White clover as a LM also showed positive applications in grazing systems with greater MM.
