K-State Research and Extension news service
In this video, K-State Research and Extension agronomist Peter Tomlinson discusses the potential of cover crops to provide nitrogen when they are included in rotations with farm crops.
The current study – which is being conducted at the Ashland Bottoms research plots south of Manhattan – may provide greater understanding “of how we can maximize the efficient use of fertilizer (such as nitrogen or phosphorus) and how we can adjust the management decisions when we have cover crops in the rotation,” Tomlinson said.
He said understanding the effect of cover crops could not only help farmers maximize the use of nitrogen and phosphorus, but also maximize the farmer’s profitability.
“If we can find cover crops that will allow us to produce some of our own nitrogen – such as legume cover crops – that may present an opportunity where we can reduce our nitrogen rates,” he said. “For the producer, it gets to how can we maximize profitability while balancing with the need to protect the environment as a whole.”
K-State Research and Extension video provided by Dan Donnert
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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county extension offices, experiment fields, area extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.ksre.ksu.edu. K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Story by:
Dan Donnert
[email protected]
More information:
Peter Tomlinson
785-532-3198
[email protected]
