Cover Crops and Green Manures in Organic Production
Practical Resources
General cover crop resources
Cover crop selection and production guides
Cover crops for soil health and fertility
Cover crops for weed and pest management
Scientific Results
General cover crop research
Cover crops for soil health and fertility
- Accumulation of biologically fixed nitrogen by legumes cultivated as cover crops in Switzerland
- Plant and Soil (2015) 393: 163-175
- Achieving Diverse Cover Crop Mixtures: Effects of Planting Date and Seeding Rate
- Agronomy Journal (2017) 109: 259-271
- Alternative Strategies for Transitioning to Organic Production in Direct-Seeded Grain Systems in Eastern Washington II: Nitrogen Fertility
- Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (2012) 36: 461-477
- Arable weeds, cover crops, and tillage drive soil microbial community composition in organic cropping systems
- Applied Soil Ecology (2013) 72: 232-241
- Barley–hairy vetch mixture as cover crop for green manuring and the mitigation of N leaching risk
- European Journal of Agronomy (2014) 54: 34-39
- Biomass and Nitrogen Content of Hairy Vetch–Cereal Rye Cover Crop Mixtures as Influenced by Species Proportions
- Agronomy Journal (2015) 107: 2069-2082
- Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Legume Crop Residues for Three Subsequent Crops
- Soil Science Society of America Journal (2015) 79: 1650-1659
- Contribution of relay intercropping with legume cover crops on nitrogen dynamics in organic grain systems
- Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems (2014) 98: 1-14
- Cover Crop Biomass Production and Water Use in the Central Great Plains
- Agronomy Journal (2015) 107: 2047-2058
- Cover crop effect on corn growth and yield as influenced by topography
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2014) 189: 229-239
- Cover Crop Impact on Nitrogen Availability and Dry Bean in an Organic System
- Agronomy Journal (2016) 108: 329-341
- Cover crop mixtures including legume produce ecosystem services of nitrate capture and green manuring: Assessment combining experimentation and modelling
- Plant and Soil (2016) 401: 347-364
- Cover Crop Termination Timing is Critical in Organic Rotational No-Till Systems
- Agronomy Journal (2017) 109: 272-282
- Cover cropping frequency is the main driver of soil microbial changes during six years of organic vegetable production
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2017) 109: 188-204
- Cover Crops and Ecosystem Services: Insights from Studies in Temperate Soils
- Agronomy Journal (2015) 107: 2449-2474
- Cover crops reduce nitrogen leaching and improve food quality in an organic potato and broccoli farming rotation
- Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (2017) 72: 539-549
- Cover crops to increase soil microbial diversity and mitigate decline in perennial agriculture. A review
- Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2016) 36: 48
- Crop yield, root growth, and nutrient dynamics in a conventional and three organic cropping systems with different levels of external inputs and N re-cycling through fertility building crops
- European Journal of Agronomy (2012) 37: 66-82
- Do cover crop species and residue management play a leading role in pepper productivity?
- Scientia Horticulturae (2014) 166: 97-104
- Dry matter and nitrogen accumulation by three leguminous green manure species and the yield of a following winter wheat crop in an organic production system
- Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (1996) 57: 189-196
- Effect of green manure and supplemental fertility amendments on selected soil quality parameters in an organic potato rotation in Eastern Canada
- Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems (2014) 100: 135-146
- The effect of nitrogen catch crops species on the nitrogen nutrition of succeeding crops
- Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems (1994) 37: 227-234
- Effects of contrasting catch crops on nitrogen availability and nitrous oxide emissions in an organic cropping system
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2015) 199: 382-393
- Effects of grass-clover management and cover crops on nitrogen cycling and nitrous oxide emissions in a stockless organic crop rotation
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2013) 181: 115-126
- Effects of mulching and cover cropping on soil microbial parameters in the organic growing of black currant
- Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis (1997) 28: 913-925
- The Feasibility of Organic Nutrient Management in Large-scale Sweet Corn Production for Processing
- HortTechnology (2012) 22: 25-36
- First evidence for a major cover crop effect on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and organic maize growth
- Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2014) 34: 841-848
- Forage potential of six leguminous green manures and effect of grazing on following grain crops
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2015) 30: 503-514
- Forage radish and cereal rye cover crop effects on mycorrhizal fungus colonization of maize roots
- Plant and Soil (2010) 328: 507-521
- A framework for evaluating ecosystem services provided by cover crops in agroecosystems
- Agricultural Systems (2014) 125: 12-22
- Grass–Legume Mixtures and Soil Fertility Affect Cover Crop Performance and Weed Seed Production
- Weed Technology (2011) 25: 473-479
- Green manure-15N absorbed by broccoli and zucchini in sequential cropping
- Scientia Horticulturae (2017) 214: 209-213
- Hairy Vetch Seedbank Persistence and Implications for Cover Crop Management
- Agronomy Journal (2015) 107: 2391-2400
- Improving green manure quality with phosphate rocks in Ontario Canada
- Aspects of Applied Biology (2006) 79:283-287
- Influence of Seeding Ratio, Planting Date, and Termination Date on Rye-Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Mixture Performance under Organic Management
- PLoS ONE (2015) 10(6): e0129597
- Late-season catch crops reduce nitrate leaching risk after grazed green manures but release N slower than wheat demand
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2015) 202: 31-41
- Legume-based cropping systems have reduced carbon and nitrogen losses
- Nature (1998) 396:262-265
- Legume cover crops with winter cereals in southern Manitoba: Fertilizer replacement values for oat
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2005) 85: 645-648
- Legume cover crops with winter cereals in southern Manitoba: Establishment, productivity, and microclimate effects
- Agronomy Journal (2001) 93: 1086-1096
- Legume Proportion, Poultry Litter, and Tillage Effects on Cover Crop Decomposition
- Agronomy Journal (2015) 107: 2083-2096
- Management of organic hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) cover crops in establishment year
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2017) 97: 1-5
- Management of Overwintering Cover Crops Influences Floral Resources and Visitation by Native Bees
- Environmental Entomology (2015) 44: 999-1010
- Microbial community assimilation of cover crop rhizodeposition within soil microenvironments in alternative and conventional cropping systems
- Plant and Soil (2012) 356: 315-330
- Microbial community structure and abundance in the rhizosphere and bulk soil of a tomato cropping system that includes cover crops
- Applied Soil Ecology (2014) 77: 42-50
- Nitrate leaching from organic arable crop rotations is mostly determined by autumn field management
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2011) 142: 149-160
- Nitrogen Contribution of Legume/Cereal Mixed Cover Crops and Organic Fertilizers to an Organic Broccoli Crop
- HortScience (2011) 46: 1154-1162
- Nitrogen contribution of rye–hairy vetch cover crop mixtures to organically grown sweet corn
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2013) 28: 59-69
- Nitrogen dynamics in stockless organic clover–grass and cereal rotations
- Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems (2012) 92: 363-378
- Nitrogen Release Dynamics and Decomposition of Buried and Surface Cover Crop Residues
- Agronomy Journal (2016) 108: 1735-1741
- Optimizing Cover Crop Benefits with Diverse Mixtures and an Alternative Termination Method
- Agronomy Journal (2012) 104: 1425-1435
- Organic Fertilization, Green Manure, and Vetch Mulch to Improve Organic Zucchini Yield and Quality
- HortScience (2013) 48: 1027-1033
- Pea green manure management affects organic winter wheat yield and quality in semiarid Montana
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2011) 91: 497-508
- Phosphorus Leaching from Two Soils with Catch Crops Exposed to Freeze–Thaw Cycles
- Agronomy Journal (2013) 105: 803-811
- Planting Date and Staggered Seeding of Rye–Vetch Mixtures: Biomass, Nitrogen, and Legume Winter Survival
- Agronomy Journal (2015) 107: 33-40
- Plant species and mulch application rate affected decomposition of cover crop mulches used in organic rotational no-till systems
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2016) 96: 59-71
- Productivity and nitrogen benefits of late-season legume cover crops in organic wheat production
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2014) 94: 771-783
- Repeated use of green-manure catch crops in organic cereal production - grain yields and nitrogen supply
- Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B - Plant Soil Science (2011) 61: 164-175
- Residues from a buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) green manure crop grown with phosphate rock influence bioavailability of soil phosphorus
- Canadian Journal of Soil Science (2010) 90: 257-266
- Review of published literature on applications of cover crops as part of integrated weed management systems in field vegetable crop production in Canada
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 2010
- The role of catch crops in the ecological intensification of spring cereals in organic farming under Nordic climate
- European Journal of Agronomy (2012) 44: 98-108
- Root size fractions of ryegrass and clover contribute differently to C and N inclusion in SOM
- Biology and Fertility of Soils (2010) 46:293-297
- Rye–Vetch Mixture Proportion Tradeoffs: Cover Crop Productivity, Nitrogen Accumulation, and Weed Suppression
- Agronomy Journal (2014) 106: 904-914
- Rye–Vetch Spatial Arrangement and Tillage: Impacts on Soil Nitrogen and Sweet Corn Roots
- Agronomy Journal (2017) 109: 1013-1023
- Selection of fungi by candidate cover crops
- Applied Soil Ecology (2016) 103: 72-82
- Short-term nitrogen mineralization from warm-season cover crops in organic farming systems
- Plant and Soil (2015) 396: 353-367
- Soil microbial biomass, functional microbial diversity, and nematode community structure as affected by cover crops and compost in an organic vegetable production system
- Applied Soil Ecology (2012) 58: 45-55
- Structure, functions and interguild relationships of the soil nematode assemblage in organic vegetable production
- Applied Soil Ecology (2012) 61: 16-25
- Suitability of legume cover crop-winter wheat intercrops on the semi-arid Canadian Prairies
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2010) 90: 479-488
- Tillage System and Cover Crop Effects on Soil Quality: I. Chemical, Mechanical, and Biological Properties
- Soil Science Society of American Journal (2014) 78: 262-270
- Tillage System and Cover Crop Effects on Soil Quality: II. Pore Characteristics
- Soil Science Society of American Journal (2014) 78: 271-279
- Topography Mediates the Influence of Cover Crops on Soil Nitrate Levels in Row Crop Agricultural Systems
- PLoS ONE (2015) 10(11): e0143358
- Using cover crops in headlands of organic grain farms: Effects on soil properties, weeds and crop yields
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2016) 216: 322-332
- Winter cereal yields as affected by animal manure and green manure in organic arable farming
- Winter cover crop effects on soil structural stability and microbiological activity in organic farming
- Biological Agriculture & Horticulture (2016) 32: 170-181
- Winter Cover Crop Seeding Rate and Variety Effects during Eight Years of Organic Vegetables: III. Cover Crop Residue Quality and Nitrogen Mineralization
- Agronomy Journal (2013) 105: 171-182
- Winter legume cover-crop root decomposition and N release dynamics under disking and roller-crimping termination approaches
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2016) 31: 214-229
Cover crops for weed and pest management
- Brassica cover cropping for weed management: A review
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2004) 19: 187-198
- Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) Suppression with Buckwheat or Sudangrass Cover Crops and Mowing
- Weed Technology (2009) 23: 556-563
- Combining mechanical rhizome removal and cover crops for Elytrigia repens control in organic barley systems
- Weed Research (2013) 53: 461-469
- A Comparison of Drill and Broadcast Methods for Establishing Cover Crops on Beds
- HortScience (2014) 49: 441-447
- Cover Crop Effects on Light, Nitrogen, and Weeds in Organic Reduced Tillage
- Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (2015) 39: 647-665
- Cover Crop Impact on Weed Dynamics in an Organic Dry Bean System
- Weed Science (2016) 64: 261-275
- Cover Crop Species and Management Influence Predatory Arthropods and Predation in an Organically Managed, Reduced-Tillage Cropping System
- Environmental Entomology (2018) 47:340-355
- Cover-Crop Species as Distinct Biotic Filters in Weed Community Assembly
- Weed Science (2015) 61: 282-295
- Cover crop termination techniques affect ground predation within an organic vegetable rotation system: A test with artificial caterpillars
- Biological Control (2018) 117:109-114
- Cropping system effects on giant foxtail demography: I. Green manure and tillage timing
- Weed Science (2003) 51: 919-929
- Determining optimum plant population densities for three annual green manure crops under weedy and weed-free conditions
- University of Saskatchewan, MSc Thesis. 2004
- Do green manures as winter cover crops impact the weediness and crop yield in an organic crop rotation?
- Biological Agriculture & Horticulture (2016) 32
- Effect of cover cropping systems on invertebrate seed predation
- Weed Science (2005) 53: 69-76
- Effect of cover crops in smothering weeds and volunteer plants in alternative farming systems
- Crop Protection (2016) 91: 74-81
- Effect of Cover Crops on Aphids, Whiteflies, and Their Associated Natural Enemies in Organic Squash
- Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (2012) 36: 382-403
- Effect of sweetclover cultivars and management practices on following weed infestations and wheat yield
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2007) 87: 973-983
- Fall-sown cover crops as mulches for weed suppression in organic small-scale diversified vegetable production
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2017) 32: 349-357
- Grass–Legume Mixtures and Soil Fertility Affect Cover Crop Performance and Weed Seed Production
- Weed Technology (2011) 25: 473-479
- Hairy Vetch Biomass across the Eastern United States: Effects of Latitude, Seeding Rate and Date, and Termination Timing
- Agronomy Journal (2017) 109: 1510-1519
- Increased pepper yields following incorporation of biofumigation cover crops and the effects on soilborne pathogen populations and pepper diseases
- Applied Soil Ecology (2013) 63: 67-77
- Influence of annual forages on weed dynamics in a cropping system
- Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2000) 80: 187–198
- The influence of cover crop variety, termination timing and termination method on mulch, weed cover and soil nitrate in reduced-tillage organic systems
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2015) 30: 450-460
- The Influence of Different Cover Types on American Robin Nest Success in Organic Agroecosystems
- Sustainability (2013) 5: 3502-3512
- Influence of Winter Cover Crop Mulch on Arthropods in a Reduced Tillage Cucurbit System
- Environmental Entomology (2018) 47:292-299
- In-Season and Carry-Over Effects of Cover Crops on Productivity and Weed Suppression
- Agronomy Journal (2016) 108: 1624-1635
- Insect communities in soybeans of eastern South Dakota: The effects of vegetation management and pesticides on soybean aphids, bean leaf beetles, and their natural enemies
- Crop Protection (2013) 43: 104-118
- Manipulation of rhizosphere bacterial communities to induce suppressive soils
- Journal of Nematology (2007) 39: 213-220
- Mechanical Termination of Diverse Cover Crop Mixtures for Improved Weed Suppression in Organic Cropping Systems
- Weed Science (2013) 61: 162-170
- Mechanical wounding under field conditions: A potential tool to increase the allelopathic inhibitory effect of cover crops on weeds?
- European Journal of Agronomy (2013) 52: 229-236
- Mechanisms of weed suppression in cover crop–based production systems
- HortScience (1996) 31: 410-413
- Optimizing Cover Crop Benefits with Diverse Mixtures and an Alternative Termination Method
- Agronomy Journal (2012) 104: 1425-1435
- Rapeseed rotation, compost and biocontrol amendments reduce soilborne diseases and increase tuber yield in organic and conventional potato production systems
- Plant and Soil (2014) 374: 611-627
- Reducing the germinable weed seedbank with soil disturbance and cover crops
- Weed Research (2010) 50: 341-352
- Review of published literature on applications of cover crops as part of integrated weed management systems in field vegetable crop production in Canada
- Pesticide Risk Reduction Program. 2010
- Rye–Vetch Mixture Proportion Tradeoffs: Cover Crop Productivity, Nitrogen Accumulation, and Weed Suppression
- Agronomy Journal (2014) 106: 904-914
- Seeding Rate and Planting Arrangement Effects on Growth and Weed Suppression of a Legume-Oat Cover Crop for Organic Vegetable Systems
- Agronomy Journal (2009) 101: 979-988
- Smother Crop Mixtures for Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) Suppression in Organic Transition
- Weed Science (2012) 60: 618-623
- Species-Specific Contributions to Productivity and Weed Suppression in Cover Crop Mixtures
- Agronomy Journal (2017) 109:2808-2819
- Suppression of spinach wilt disease by biological soil disinfestation incorporated with Brassica juncea plants in association with changes in soil bacterial communities
- Crop Protection (2013) 54: 185-193
- Using a Buckwheat Cover Crop for Maximum Weed Suppression after Early Vegetables
- HortTechnology (2013) 23: 575-580
- Weed Control in a Newly Established Organic Vineyard
- HortTechnology (2012) 22: 757-765
- Weed growth and crop performance following hairy vetch, rye, and wheat cover crops in a cool semiarid region
- Organic Agriculture (2013) 3: 149-161
- Weed suppression by cover crops: comparative on-farm experiments under integrated and organic conservation tillage
- Weed Research (2015) 55: 586-597
- Weed Suppression in Spring-Sown Rye (Secale cereale)–Pea (Pisum sativum) Cover Crop Mixes
- Weed Technology (2000) 14: 545-549
- Winter Annual Weed Suppression in Rye–Vetch Cover Crop Mixtures
- Weed Technology (2012) 26: 818-825
For more information about Organic Science Cluster research on green manures in organic production, please see the following Research Activities:
