Cover Crop
Benefits
Crop
Yields Soil
Quality Beneficial
Insects Diseases
and Nematodes Weeds Nutrient
Availability Soil
Compaction Soil
Moisture Erosion Runoff Organic
Matter Infiltration
Cover Crops and Soil Quality
"Soil quality is the capacity of a specific soil to function," according to Mike Hubbs, NRCS Soil Quality Institute. "Soil quality is not the end, but a means to an end." In the case of farming, that end is healthy, productive crops. And cover crops are one of your main tools in improving your soil quality, and thereby achieving that end. The Soil Quality Institute has information about cover crops and soil quality assessment.
Although farmers often incorporate cover crops into the soil as green manure, there are many soil quality benefits that come from reduced or conservation tillage. Cover crop systems that use conservation tillage often kill the cover crop by mechanical or chemical means and leave the residue on the surface as mulch.
According to the Conservation Technology Information Center, conservation tillage:
- Reduces labor, saves time
- Saves fuel
- Reduces machinery wear
- Improves soil tilth
- Increases organic matter
- Traps soil moisture to improve water availability
- Reduces soil erosion
- Improves water quality
- Increases wildlife
- Improves air quality
When used together, cover crops and conservation tillage can improve your soil faster than either practice alone.
Soil Quality/Biology Links
Soil Quality InstituteSoil Health Slide Show
Soil Biology Primer
Soil Biology Movies
Soil Quality links
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