Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Baldwin, Brian S.

Committee Member

Morrison, Jesse I.

Committee Member

Tseng, Te-Ming P.

Committee Member

Cebert, Ernst

Date of Degree

5-12-2023

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

Cover crops play a part in improving sustainability by reducing negative environmental impacts such as soil erosion and nutrient runoff. Energycane could benefit from cover crops due to its row spacing. This study was conducted at the Bearden Dairy Research Center to determine differences in nitrogen accumulation, weed suppression, and energycane yield among treatments. Four cool-season species (planted in the fall of 2020 and 2021) [balansa clover (Trifolium michelianum), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), white clover (T. repens) and winter pea (Pisum sativum subsp. arvense)], and four warm-season species (planted in the spring of 2021 and 2022 [alfalfa (Medicago sativa), alyceclover (Alysicarpus vaginalis), soybean (Glycine max), and sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea)] plus negative and positive controls (0 and 168 kg N ha-1) were used. Regarding cool-season cover crops, significant differences were seen in all previously mentioned metrics. Warm-season cover crops only showed differences regarding nitrogen accumulation and weed suppression abilities.

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