Addition of Cover Crops Enhances No-Till Potential for Improving Soil Physical Properties

Inclusion of cover crops (CCs) may be a potential strategy to boost no-till performance by improving soil physical properties. To assess this potential, we utilized a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] rotation, four N rates, and a hairy vetch (HV; Vicia villosa Roth) CC aft er wheat during the first rotation cycles, which was replaced in subsequent cycles with sunn hemp (SH; Crotalaria juncea L.) and late-maturing soybean [LMS; Glycine max (L.) Merr.] CCs in no-till on a silt loam. At the end of 15 yr, we studied the cumulative impacts of CCs on soil physical properties and assessed relationships between soil properties and soil organic C (SOC) concentration. Across N rates, SH reduced near-surface bulk density (rho(b)) by 4% and increased cumulative infiltration by three times relative to no-CC plots. Without N application, SH and LMS reduced Proctor maximum rho(b), a parameter of soil compactibility, by 5%, indicating that soils under CCs may be less susceptible to compaction. Cover crops also increased mean weight diameter of aggregates (MWDA) by 80% in the 0- to 7.5-cm depth. The SOC concentration was 30% greater for SH and 20% greater for LMS than for no-CC plots in the 0- to 7.5-cm depth. The CC-induced increase in SOC concentration was negatively correlated with Proctor maximum rho(b) and positively with MWDA and cumulative infiltration. Overall, addition of CCs to no-till systems improved soil physical properties, and the CC-induced change in SOC concentration was correlated with soil physical properties.