Abstract
Water and nitrogen availability may limit the growth of the main crop competing with a cover crop in a living mulch system. Some aspects of the dynamics of water (soil water content and deep percolation) and nitrogen (concentration in soil solution and leachate) were studied in maize (Zea mays L.) sown into a bare soil (BS, conventional cropping) or into a living Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) mulch (LM) during three years. Eight lysimeters (1.0 by 1.0 m square surface area and 1.1 m deep) with ceramic suction cups, TDR probes and a drainage pipe were used each. In LM a 0.3 m wide strip was kept free of grass around the maize row. The living mulch reduced the soil water content between 0.3 and 0.9 m soil depth, which remained lower even after intense rainfall. Deep percolation over the entire maize crop season was at least 40% lower in the LM compared to the BS treatment. In LM the nitrate concentrations in the soil solution and in the leachate (usually <10 mg L−1) were very low. In BS the nitrate concentration in the leachate reached as much as 70 mg L−1. Losses of N in LM did not reach 1% of the values observed in BS. Reduced water and N availability in LM contribute to explain the decrease in growth and yield of the maize plants, and are in good agreement with the dense root system developed in this cropping system as compared to BS. The challenge for the development of living mulch systems is to improve the uptake of water and nitrogen by the roots of the main crop in a competitive environment without affecting the capacity of the cover crop to prevent N losses by leaching.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams W E, Pallas Jr J E and Dawson R N 1970 Tillage methods for corn-sod systems in the Southern Piedmont. Agron. J. 62, 646–649.
Al Kaisi M, Brun L J and Enz J W 1989 Transpiration and evapotranspiration from maize as related to leaf area index. Agric. Forest Meteo. 48, 111–116.
Bigler F, Ammon H U, Högger C, Jäggi W, Schubiger F X, Waldburger M, Walther U, Weisskopf P and Fried P M 1995 Vier Maisanbauverfahren 1990 bis 1993. Ökologie und Ökonomie in den Verfahren — eine Bilanz. Agrarforsch. 2, 389–392.
Box Jr J E, Wilkinson S R, Dawson R N and Kozachyn J 1980 Soil water effects on no-till corn production in strip and completely killed mulches. Agron. J. 72, 797–802.
Burman B and Pochop L O 1994 Evaporation, evapotranspiration and climatic data. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 278 pp.
Carreker J R, Box Jr J E, Dawson R N, Beaty E R and Morris H D 1972 No-till corn in fescuegrass. Agron. J. 64, 500–503.
Cox W J and Cherney D J R 2001 Row spacing, plant density, and nitrogen effects on corn silage. Agron. J. 93, 597–602.
De Haan R L, Wyse D L, Ehlke N J, Maxwell B D and Putnam D H 1994 Simulation of spring-seeded smoother plants for weed control in corn (Zea mays). Weed Sci. 42, 35–43.
Duda G P, Guerra J G M, Monteiro M T, De Polli H and Teixeira MG 2003 Perennial herbaceous legumes as live soil mulches and their effects on C, N and P of the microbial biomass. Sci. Agric. 60, 139–147.
Eberlein C V, Sheaffer C C and Oliveira V F 1992 Corn growth and yield in an alfalfa living mulch system. J. Prod. Agric. 5, 332–339.
Enache A J and Ilnicki R D 1990 Weed control by subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) used as a living mulch. Weed Technol. 4, 534–538.
FAL / RAC. 2001. Guidelines for fertilizer use in field and fodder crops 2001. Agrarforsch. 8, 3–80.
Feil B, Garibay S V, Ammon H U and Stamp P 1997 Maize production in a grass mulch system-seasonal patterns of indicators of the nitrogen status of maize. Eur. J Agron. 7, 171–179.
Feil B and Liedgens M 2001 Crop Production in Living Mulches-a Review. Pflanzenbauwissenschaften 5, 15–23.
Garibay S V, Stamp P, Ammon H U and Feil B 1997. Yield and quality components of silage maize in killed and live cover crops. Eur. J. Agron. 6, 179–190.
Gibbons J D and Chakraborti S 1992 Nonparametric statistical inference. Marcel Dekker, New York. 544 pp.
Heyland K U and Werner A 1988 The formation of yield and the dynamics of system-conditions in mixed cultivations and their mathematical description with the example of populations consisting of maize and companion-plants. Bodenkultur 39, 233–250.
Kaluli J W, Madramootoo C A, Zhou X M, MacKenzie A F, Smith D L 1999 Subirrigation systems to minimize nitrate leaching. J. Irrig. Drain. Eng. 125, 52–58.
Kumwenda J D T, Radcliffe D E, Hargrove W L and Bridges D C 1993 Reseeding of crimson clover and corn grain yield in a living mulch system. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 57, 517–523.
Kurtz T, Appleman M D and Bray R H 1946 Preliminary trials with intercropping of corn and clover. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 11, 349–355.
Kurtz T, Melsted S W and Bray R H 1952 The importance of nitrogen and water in reducing competition between intercrops and corn. Agron. J. 44, 13–17.
Liedgens M, Soldati A and Stamp P 2003 Interactions of maize and Italian ryegrass in a living mulch system: (1) Shoot growth and root patterns. Plant Soil (in press).
Liedgens M, Richner W, Stamp P and Soldati A 2000 A rhizolysimeter facility for studying the dynamics of crop and soil processes: description and evaluation. Plant Soil 223, 87–97.
Littell R C, Milliken G A, Stroup W W and Wolfinger R D 1996 SAS® system for mixed models. SAS Inst, Cary, 633 pp.
Martin R C, Greyson P R and Gordon R 1999 Competition between corn and a living mulch. Can. J. Plant Sci. 79, 579–586.
Nicholson A G and Wien H C 1983 Screening of turfgrasses and clovers for use as living mulches in sweet corn and cabbage. J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 108, 1071–1076.
Ntahimpera N, Ellis M A, Wilson L L and Madden L V 1998 Effects of a cover crop on splash dispersal of Colletotrichum acutatum conidia. Phytopathology 88, 536–543.
Perin A, Guerra J G M, Teixeira M G, Pereira M G and Fontana A 2002 Effect of herbaceous leguminous species as live mulching on soil aggregation. Rev. Bras. Cienc. Solo 26, 713–720.
Rämert, B 1996 The influence of intercropping and mulches on the occurrence of polyphagons predators in carrot flies in relation to carrot fly (Psila rosae (F.)) (Dipt., Psilidae) damage. J. Appl. Ent. 120, 39–46.
Rasse D P, Smucker A J M and Schabenberger O 1999 Modifications of soil nitrogen pools in response to alfalfa root systems and shoot mulch. Agron. J. 91, 471–477.
Robertson W K, Lundy H W, Prine G M and Currey W L 1976 Planting corn in sod and small grain residues with minimum tillage. Agron. J. 68, 271–274.
Rüttimann M 2001 Boden-, Herbizid-und Nährstoffverluste durch Abschwemmung bei konservierender Bodenbearbeitung und Mulchsaat von Silomais. Physiogeographica 30. Basel, 241 pp.
Sato S, Tateno K, Kobayashi R and Sakamoto K 1999 Effect of sowing date and living mulch on the growth of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic.) in forage corn (Zea mays L.). Grass. Sci. 44, 374–377.
Teasdale J R 1996 Contribution of cover crops to weed management in sustainable agricultural systems. J. Prod. Agric. 9, 475–479.
Tolk J A, Howell T A and Evett S R 1999 Effect of mulch, irrigation, and soil type on water use and yield of maize. Soil Tillage Res. 50, 137–147.
Topp G C, Davis J L and Annan A P 1980 Electromagnetic determination of soil water content: Measurement in coaxial transmission lines. Wat. Resour. Res. 16, 574–582.
Venables W N and Ripley B D 2002 Modern Applied Statistics with S. Springer, New York. 495 pp.
Weston L A 1996 Utilization of allelopathy for weed management in agroecosystems. Agron. J. 88, 860–866.
Wilkinson S R, Devine O J, Belesky D P, Dobson Jr J W and Dawson R N 1987 No-tillage intercropped corn production in tall fescue sod as affected by sod-control and nitrogen fertilization. Agron. J. 79, 685–690.
Zemenchik R A, Albrecht K A, Boerboom C M and Lauer J G 2000 Corn production with kura clover as a living mulch. Agron. J. 92, 698–705.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liedgens, M., Frossard, E. & Richner, W. Interactions of maize and Italian ryegrass in a living mulch system: (2) Nitrogen and water dynamics. Plant and Soil 259, 243–258 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PLSO.0000020965.94974.21
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PLSO.0000020965.94974.21