Development of a Cover Crop Inter-Seeder and Applicator for No-till Corn.

There is a growing need to establish cover crops in areas where full season corn or soybean production does not allow adequate time in the fall for successful cover crop establishment.  Inter-seeding cover crops is one possible alternative but is difficult in no-till systems and is often unsuccessful if seed is broadcast on the soil surface.  We designed a machine that performs in-row tillage, seeds cover crops, applies fertilizer, and a post-application herbicides simultaneously.  This increases the potential for the establishment of the cover crop and reduces the cost of inter-seeding since it is done during the application of other crop inputs.  The machine uses vertical coulter tillage using 5cm wave coulters to till 40 cm bands within the corn or soybean rows that prepares a seedbed for cover crop establishment.  Seed is then broadcast over this area and then incorporated with a cultipacker and a drag chain.  Nitrogen is applied from a tank on the inter-seeded in a directed stream 10 cm from the corn row to help to maximize N fertilizer efficiency.  Another tank on the inter-seeder is used for a postemergent herbicide such as glyphosate and this is applied over the inter-seeded rows utilizing wide angle flat fan nozzles.  This results in a directed application under the corn canopy with minimal interception by the corn crop.  This helps to improved herbicide use efficiency compared to an application overtop the entire corn canopy.  The inter-seeding operation takes place when the corn is in the V6 to V8 growth stage, or when the corn or soybeans are less than 61 cm in height.  This is the time when normally a second application of nitrogen is applied to the corn crop as well as a post emergent herbicide application.