ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Agron.
Sec. Field Water Management
Water Use of Interseeded Cover Crops in Rainfed Maize–Soybean Rotations in the Northern U.S
- SL
Shuhui Liu 1,2
- HL
Hannah L. Rusch 3
- GA
Gregg A. Johnson 3,4
- JS
Jeffrey Strock 5,2
- LS
Lisabeth Stahl 6
- AG
Axel Garcia y Garcia 7
1. Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, China
2. University of Minnesota, Southwest Research and Outreach Center, Lamberton, MN, United States
3. Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, United States
4. University of Minnesota, Southern Research and Outreach Center, Waseca, MN, United States
5. Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, United States
6. Crops, Regional Office, University of Minnesota Extension, Worthington, United States
7. University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, United States
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Abstract
Cover crop adoption in U.S. crop rotations is steadily increasing. In the upper Midwest, where the conventional maize (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation is mostly rainfed, there is legitimate concern that cover crops may affect available soil water and the establishment of the subsequent main crop. A study was conducted to evaluate 1) the effect of interseeded cover crops on soil moisture at seeding and termination, and subsequent maize and soybean yields, and 2) seasonal evapotranspiration (ET) or water use of the main crops and cover crops. Field trials were conducted from 2016 to 2019 at three locations in the upper Midwest using four treatments: monoculture cereal rye (Secale cereale L.), two-species rye + crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), three-species rye + clover + forage radish (Raphanus sativus L.), and a fallow (no-cover planted) as the control. The ET of cover crops varied between 52 and 110 mm, 70% of which was attributed to its evaporation component. Meanwhile the ET for maize and soybean ranged from 364–516 mm and 378–503 mm, respectively, 20% of which was attributed to evaporation. Regardless of the interseeding strategy, the biomass of cover crops was low in two out of the three experimental years due to weather conditions, resulting in little to no effect on soil water content or crop yield. Our findings suggest that late interseeded cover crops for conditions in the northern U.S. may have limited impact on soil available water or the productivity of the subsequent crop when cover crop growth is low.
Summary
Keywords
corn, cover crop mixes, Crimson clover, evapotranspiration, Forage radish, soy, Winter rye
Received
05 December 2025
Accepted
27 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Liu, Rusch, Johnson, Strock, Stahl and Garcia y Garcia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Axel Garcia y Garcia
Disclaimer
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