Cover Crop and No-till Impacts on Soil Health in Indiana Cropping Systems.

The integration of cover crops and no-till systems into Midwestern cropland offers a number of potential benefits to improve regional soil health.  In Indiana, a three-year initiative was begun in 2012 to examine the impacts of cover crops and no-till management on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil at 17 sites across the state.  These sites were selected in part to reflect the varying soil types, weather, and topography representative of Indiana.  The locations include three Purdue University research centers, twelve farmer cooperators, and two non-private, non-university-affiliated sites.  This poster includes results from the three Purdue University locations and four farmer cooperator sites.  The Purdue University research center sites contained plots of rotating corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) managed under no-till and planted subsequently to the following treatments: cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) before soybean, a two-way mixture of oat (Avena sativa L.) and daikon radish (Raphanus sativus L.) before corn, a three-way mixture of oat, radish, and cereal rye before soybean, a four-way mixture of oat, radish, cereal rye, and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) before corn, and a no-cover control before both corn and soybean.  Treatments at the farmer cooperator sites included a cover crop treatment versus no-cover managed in a no-till system.  One cooperator location offered a no-till to conventional till comparison.  Measurements taken included cover crop biomass and N uptake, soil NO₃-N and NH₄-N concentrations, soil temperature and moisture, soil fertility, aggregation, penetration resistance, water retention, bulk density, and soil biological health.  Results from the third year of measurements will be presented in this poster.