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Impacts Of Cover Crop Mixtures On Productivity Of Cropping Systems, Brionna Lee West

MSU Graduate Theses

A field study and a meta-analysis were conducted to compare the impact of cover crops on carbon and nitrogen dynamics and cash crop yield. The field study included six treatments: winter cereal rye, winter cereal rye-Austrian winter pea at two seeding rates, cereal rye-Austrian winter pea-radish at two seeding rates, and a no cover control. Meta-analysis data sets were compiled from studies published between 1994 and 2017. Treatments were grouped into the following classifications: monoculture, binary mix, polyculture, or control. In both the field study and meta-analysis, cover crops did not affect cash crop yield. However, plant biomass and plant …