Effective Cover Crop Species and Early Establishment Techniques for Reducing Winter Erosion in Muck Soil of the Holland Marsh

Abstract

The Holland Marsh is the largest cultivable area of high organic matter content (muck) soil in Ontario, Canada. Soil loss by wind erosion, particularly during fall and winter months, is a major soil management concern for this region. Incorporating cover crops into the production system is a proposed strategy to reduce wind erosion. However, cool fall temperatures and a short growing window, especially after carrot harvest, is a challenge, as is the preference for a cover crop that dies over the winter and does not interfere with following year’s main crop. Field trials assessed various cover crop species and methods for their establishment after onion and carrot harvests. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) (55%) and barley/daikon radish (Raphanus sativus L. var. longipinnatus) mixtures (60%) produced higher canopy coverage when seeded after onions, supporting the current farmer practice of using mainly barley as a cover crop in this area. Barley seeded at a high seeding rate (420 seeds m-2) before carrot harvest achieved greater canopy coverage compared to barley or fall rye (Secale cereale L.) seeded after harvest. Transplanting barley after carrot harvest provided the highest canopy coverage (25-31%), but the associated cost is a concern. Seed priming did not enhance cover crop establishment in field. Direct seeding of cover crop before or after carrot harvest produced canopy coverage below 30%, the critical level of residue cover for reducing soil loss by erosion. Future research on cover crop agronomy in the Holland Marsh including additional species and methods for establishment is recommended.