Soil Fertility and Management
Cover crops play a crucial role in ensuring your soil provides a strong growing foundation for many years to come. Use Penn State Extension’s comprehensive resources on cover crops and soil fertility. You’ll also find advice on preventing soil compaction and erosion using cover crops, determining levels of nitrogen, potassium, and other vital soil nutrients.
Cover Crops and Soil Health
Profitable, productive, and sustainable agronomic production is not possible without healthy soil. To make the most of their soil, agronomic producers should understand the physical, chemical, and biological components of healthy soil and how to manage them.
Penn State Extension runs a series of Soil Health Twilight Meeting workshops and Crops Days workshops that give producers the opportunity to get hands on with different types of soil, explore a soil pit, and share ideas. At these workshops producers also discuss common soil health misconceptions and the latest innovations for the coming season.
There are many different ways producers can improve the health of the soil, such as transitioning to no-till planting. Using cover crops as part of a soil management plan is also a way to add organic matter to the soil, protect soil from erosion, and can be advantageous for the management of weeds and pests.
Cover crops are known to help prevent soil compaction. This is a serious problem for agronomic producers, especially during grain harvesting and when grazing livestock. Wet conditions in fall and spring also increase the risk of severe soil compaction and lead to compaction infiltration.
Cover Crop Residue and Green Manure Benefits
The killing of cover crops is a necessary step in soil preparation for the next agronomic crop. There are several ways to manage cover crop residue. One way is to use cover crop rollers, which are very effective for high residue conservation tillage. Another option is to let livestock graze on the cover crop residue. Not only does this extend the grazing system, but the residue cover crops also prevent soil compaction.
Cover crops can also be mowed once they’ve flowered, killed using herbicides or naturally by winter injury, or by plowing into the soil. All of which ultimately have a positive effect on soil quality.
Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management With Cover Crops
Nutrients are fundamental for maintaining soil health and soil fertility. Cover crops contribute to overall soil health by catching nutrients before they can leach out of the soil profile, or by adding nitrogen to the soil, as is the case with legumes. The roots of cover crops can even help unlock some nutrients and convert them into more available forms.
The most critical nutrients in supporting healthy soils, maintaining crop yields, and affecting the environment are carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Nitrogen is all around us as it makes up almost 80% of the air. Plants can only use it, however, after it is fixed in the soil, or taken from the air as part of the nitrogen cycle. Legumes are very effective at taking nitrogen from the air and transforming it into a form that plants can use.
Different cropping system management practices such as using organic nutrients, crop rotations, tillage type and frequency, use of manures, composts or fertilizers, and cover crops, can have a positive or negative effect on the dynamics of soil carbons and nitrogens.
Being able to assess what nutrients are available in the soil is crucial. A selection of tools is available to help, such as the nitrogen recommendation tool.
On this page, find abundant resources by Extension Educators on cover crop usage for soil health, fertility, and management.
- News
Cover Crop Planting Season Has Started
Date Posted 8/20/2024Having the drill ready and cover crop seed on hand will allow for timely cover crop establishment to maximize soil erosion and compaction protection, nutrient recycling, and potential forage provision. - Articles
Planting Green 101: Penn State Research Summary
This article explains the "why" and "how" of planting green with corn and soybeans, including practical management recommendations based on results from 3 years of research across 5 locations in Pennsylvania. - Articles
Effects of Biosolids on Soil and Crop Quality
Results of a three-year research project that investigated how agronomic biosolids utilization has affected soil and crop quality. - Articles
Economics of Cover Crops
Are cover crops economical? That is a question that is discussed by Dr. Humberto Blanco in the September/October issue of the Crops & Soils Magazine of the American Society of Agronomy. - Articles
Winter Survival of Small Grains and Cover Crops at Risk
A warm fall and excessive growth can set up your small grains or cover crops for winter injury. - Articles
Intensive Grazing Management of Cover Crops for Soil Health
With the new interest in grazing cover crops, are there effects on soil health and compaction? The results of an on-farm Pennsylvania study looking into this are presented here. - Articles
Plant Cover Crops ASAP
Cover crops are an important component of any cropping system. Planting them immediately after silage or grain harvest is key to success. - Articles
Soil Organic Matter and Cover Crop-based Nitrogen Recommendations for Corn
A new N recommendation system for corn that accounts for N availability from soil organic matter and cover crops is being developed by Penn State. - Articles
Using an NDVI Sensor to Estimate Cover Crop Nitrogen Content
An NDVI sensor is a quick way to non-destructively estimate cover crop biomass N content. - Webinars
Free
Ecosystem Research: Mapping with Drones
When Watch NowLength 1 hourRecorded May 12, 2023Event Format On-Demand | RecordedLearn how drones are used to make maps for agricultural purposes and measure the moisture in soil. - News
Government Program Funding for Conservation Practices
Date Posted 5/9/2023Basic overview of a few government programs for Pennsylvania farmers. - Articles
Strategies to Improve Water Use Efficiency: Part 1
We consider the different components of the water balance and how they are affected by our management. - Articles
Interpreting Your Soil Test Reports
After you send in your soil sample to the lab you wait patiently for your test results, but when they arrive do you know what it all means? - Articles
Integrating Grazing into Cropping Systems: Cover Crop Species and Crop Rotations
Learn how cover crops can be used to prevent soil erosion and increase soil health, along with how producers can achieve maximum returns from cover cropping. - Articles
Integrating Grazing into Cropping Systems: Livestock Class Considerations
Learn how cover crops within crop rotations can provide low-cost forage for grazing, along with highlighting the importance for the livestock owner to understand nutritional, infrastructure, and other needs of their class of livestock. - Articles
What Cover Crop Should I Plant?
Keep your goals in mind when selecting cover crops and cover crop mixtures. - Videos
Immobilization and Mineralization of Nitrogen in Agricultural Soils
Length 5:41Nitrogen availability in soils is controlled by a process called the nitrogen cycle. This video explores two pieces of the cycle - immobilization and mineralization. - Articles
Interpretation of Soil Health Tests
Management to improve soil health has many benefits, but care is needed when interpreting soil health test results. - Articles
Web Soil Survey: A Valuable Source of Information for New and Not So New Farmers
Check the soil map before you do anything to ensure you are planting a crop that is appropriate for the soil type you have. - Articles
Introduction to Soils: Soil Quality
Soil quality is how well soil does what we want it to do. A healthy, high-quality soil is fertile, has good soil structure, and is biologically active. - Guides and Publications
Starting at $15.00
The Penn State Agronomy Guide
Featuring a brand-new look for the 2023 edition, this guide features revised weed-management recommendations. - Articles
Introduction to Soils: Managing Soils
This article provides information on how different soil management practices affect soil quality and crop production. - Articles
Introducción a los Suelos: La Calidad de los Suelos
La calidad del suelo es lo bien que el suelo hace lo que queremos que haga. Un suelo sano y de alta calidad es fértil, tiene buena estructura del suelo y es biológicamente activo.