Improving Soil Health and Crop Productivity By Utilizing Diverse and High-Residue Cover Crops in Virginia.

We propose to increase cover crop diversity, improve soil health, reduce nematode pressure, and improve overall cash crop system management by assessing soil health, disease and nematode control, and system productivity. On the Eastern Shore of Virginia, our soils generally contain low organic matter concentrations, are often conventionally tilled, and many fields have developed nematode problems due to host plants consistently being included in the rotation. The overall goal is to document, demonstrate, and teach stakeholders, (including not only producers but watershed residents), Extension personnel, NRCS staff, and students of the benefits of transitioning land from traditional high intensity and low biomass production to systems utilizing high-residue, diverse cover crop species, or alternative summer cover crops. At three different sites on the Eastern Shore, we will demonstrate 10 different cover crop rotation systems. These systems include: 1. No winter cover crop with summer cash crop; 2. High-residue nitrogen scavenging system (cereal rye cover crop) with summer cash crop; 3. High-residue system fertilized with nitrogen for biomass production (cereal rye cover crop) with summer cash crop; 4. High residue diverse species mix cover crop with summer cash crop; 5. Nitrogen-fixing legume cover crop (hairy vetch cover crop) with summer cash crop; 6. Continuous cover crop to maximize biomass production for soil health (nitrogen scavenging cereal rye in the winter and nitrogen fixing legume in the summer) with no cash crop; 7. Summer cover crop (nitrogen fixing sunn hemp) with winter cash crop; 8. Summer cover crop (nitrogen scavenging sudangrass) with winter cash crop; 9. Nematode reduction (nematode resistant vetch winter cover crop) with soybean summer cash crop; 10. Nematode fumigation (Caliente mustard in the winter to fumigate nematodes for following summer soybean cash crop). We will demonstrate soil quality improvements by measuring soil moisture, total carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), total sulfur (S), organic matter concentration, and nematode populations. Plant parameters will include total cover crop biomass produced, plant N concentration, total N uptake, emergence, disease incidence and severity, and overall plant yield. Field day events, production meetings, agency trainings, fact sheets, and social media will be used to disseminate information to stakeholders around Virginia. The location of the demonstration fields will allow easy access to all farmers on the Eastern Shore of Virginia to see various cover crop species and mixes first hand. Overall impact of this project will increase the use of cover crops, increase use of alternative and mixed cover crop plantings (as compared to traditional winter grass species), and possibly incorporate summer cover crops into Eastern Shore systems while improving overall soil quality.