Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

J. Brett Rushing

Committee Member

Ferguson, J. Conner

Committee Member

Ferguson, J. Conner

Committee Member

Lemus, Rocky W.

Committee Member

Maples, Josh G.

Date of Degree

12-10-2021

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Agronomy

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences

Abstract

There is growing interest within the agricultural industry on how cover crop systems affect soil health and economic productivity in integrated crop-livestock systems. This study investigated the combined effects of cover crop species; no-till and conventional till; and grazed (G) and un-grazed (UG) in a continuous corn (Zea mays) production system in east-central Mississippi. Cover crops were established in the fall of 2019 and 2020 in two separate field studies. Corn yield was not affected by grazing or tillage but was affected by cover crop species. We then compared the difference in cover crop species treatments with their respective corn yield and observed the greatest net return with the control ($252.09 ac-1). Organic matter was greater with the G area (1.03%) as compared to the UG (0.88%). Grazing resulted in bulk densities of 1.45 and 1.47 g cm3-1 for UG and G, respectively.

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