Cover Crops and Conservation Tillage
for Soil Erosion Control on Cropland
Corn after corn - Rotations in Established Crownvetch
Corn can probably be grown after corn forever in a birdsfoot trefoil/ crownvetch living mulch. The goal is to suppress the cover 95 to 98% for the first six weeks after planting and then let it recover. The herbicide program for cover crop suppression and weed control can be any of those listed in Table 4. If corn is planted late and birdsfoot trefoil or crownvetch should appear to be making too much growth (more than 6 inches), suppress it with a burndown treatment of Gramoxone with dicamba (Banvel or Clarity) plus Basis or Basis Gold. If the cover crop gets out of hand after the corn is planted (more than 6 inches of growth before corn has six leaves), suppress it with a normal rate of dicamba (Banvel or Clarity) + Basis or Basis Gold (Treatment 16, Table 4). Basis or Basis Gold reduces activity of dicamba on crownvetch so as not to kill it.