U.S. cereal rye winter cover crop growth database

Alexandra M Huddell^{1

2}, Resham Thapa³, Guillermo S Marcillo⁴, Lori J Abendroth⁵, Victoria J Ackroyd⁶, Shalamar D Armstrong⁷, Gautam Asmita⁷, Muthukumar V Bagavathiannan⁸, Kipling S Balkcom⁹, Andrea Basche¹⁰, Shawn Beam¹¹, Kevin Bradley¹², Lucas Pecci Canisares¹³, Heather Darby¹⁴, Adam S Davis^{15

16}, Pratap Devkota¹⁷, Warren A Dick¹⁸, Jeffery A Evans¹⁹, Wesley J Everman²⁰, Tauana Ferreira de Almeida¹⁰, Michael L Flessner¹¹, Lisa M Fultz²¹, Stefan Gailans²², Masoud Hashemi²³, Joseph Haymaker²⁴, Matthew J Helmers²⁵, Nicholas Jordan²⁶, Thomas C Kaspar²⁷, Quirine M Ketterings²⁸, Eileen Kladivko⁷, Alexandra Kravchenko²⁹, Eugene P Law³⁰, Lauren Lazaro³¹, Ramon G Leon²⁰, Jeffrey Liebert^{32

33}, John Lindquist¹⁰, Kristen Loria³², Jodie M McVane⁸, Jarrod O Miller³⁴, Michael J Mulvaney³⁵, Nsalambi V Nkongolo³⁶, Jason K Norsworthy³⁷, Binaya Parajuli³⁸, Christopher Pelzer³², Cara Peterson⁶, Hanna Poffenbarger¹³, Pratima Poudel³⁸, Mark S Reiter²⁴, Matt Ruark³⁹, Matthew R Ryan³², Spencer Samuelson⁸, John E Sawyer⁴⁰, Sarah Seehaver²⁰, Lovreet S Shergill⁴¹, Yogendra Raj Upadhyaya¹⁷, Mark VanGessel³⁴, Ashley L Waggoner³⁹, John M Wallace⁴², Samantha Wells²⁶, Charles White⁴², Bethany Wolters⁴³, Alex Woodley²⁰, Rongzhong Ye³⁸, Eric Youngerman³², Brian A Needelman⁴⁴, Steven B Mirsky⁴⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Science & Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. ahuddell@udel.edu.
² Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA. ahuddell@udel.edu.
³ Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁴ Department of Agricultural Sciences, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX, USA.
⁵ USDA-ARS, Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit, Columbia, MO, USA.
⁶ Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
⁷ Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
⁸ Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
⁹ USDA-ARS, National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, Auburn, AL, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
¹¹ School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
¹² University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
¹³ Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
¹⁴ University of Vermont Extension, St. Albans, VT, USA.
¹⁵ USDA-ARS, Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit, Urbana, IL, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
¹⁷ West Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Jay, FL, USA.
¹⁸ School of Environment and Resources, Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA.
¹⁹ Farmscape Analytics, Concord, NH, USA.
²⁰ Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
²¹ School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
²² Practical Farmers of Iowa, Ames, IA, USA.
²³ Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.
²⁴ Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech, Painter, VA, USA.
²⁵ Iowa Nutrient Research Center, Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
²⁶ Agronomy and Plant Genetics Department, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
²⁷ USDA-ARS, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, IA, USA.
²⁸ Nutrient Management Spear Program, Department of Animal Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
²⁹ Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
³⁰ Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
³¹ Blue River Technology, and Lousiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
³² Soil and Crop Sciences Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, US.
³³ Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
³⁴ Carvel Research and Education Center, University of Delaware, Georgetown, DE, USA.
³⁵ Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA.
³⁶ Navajo Technical University, Crownpoint, NM, USA.
³⁷ University of Arkansas Systems Division of Agriculture, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
³⁸ Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Florence, SC, USA.
³⁹ Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
⁴⁰ Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
⁴¹ Southern Ag Research Center, Montana State University, Huntley, MT, USA.
⁴² Department of Plant Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
⁴³ Department of Agriculture, Geosciences and Natural Resources, University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, TN, USA.
⁴⁴ Department of Environmental Science & Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
⁴⁵ U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Station, Beltsville, MD, USA.

PMID: 38351049
PMCID: PMC10864324
DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-02996-9

U.S. cereal rye winter cover crop growth database

Alexandra M Huddell et al. Sci Data. 2024.

. 2024 Feb 13;11(1):200.

doi: 10.1038/s41597-024-02996-9.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Science & Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. ahuddell@udel.edu.
² Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA. ahuddell@udel.edu.
³ Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁴ Department of Agricultural Sciences, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX, USA.
⁵ USDA-ARS, Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit, Columbia, MO, USA.
⁶ Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
⁷ Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
⁸ Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
⁹ USDA-ARS, National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, Auburn, AL, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
¹¹ School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
¹² University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
¹³ Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
¹⁴ University of Vermont Extension, St. Albans, VT, USA.
¹⁵ USDA-ARS, Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit, Urbana, IL, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
¹⁷ West Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Jay, FL, USA.
¹⁸ School of Environment and Resources, Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA.
¹⁹ Farmscape Analytics, Concord, NH, USA.
²⁰ Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
²¹ School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
²² Practical Farmers of Iowa, Ames, IA, USA.
²³ Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.
²⁴ Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech, Painter, VA, USA.
²⁵ Iowa Nutrient Research Center, Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
²⁶ Agronomy and Plant Genetics Department, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
²⁷ USDA-ARS, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, IA, USA.
²⁸ Nutrient Management Spear Program, Department of Animal Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
²⁹ Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
³⁰ Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
³¹ Blue River Technology, and Lousiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
³² Soil and Crop Sciences Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, US.
³³ Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
³⁴ Carvel Research and Education Center, University of Delaware, Georgetown, DE, USA.
³⁵ Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA.
³⁶ Navajo Technical University, Crownpoint, NM, USA.
³⁷ University of Arkansas Systems Division of Agriculture, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
³⁸ Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Florence, SC, USA.
³⁹ Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
⁴⁰ Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
⁴¹ Southern Ag Research Center, Montana State University, Huntley, MT, USA.
⁴² Department of Plant Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
⁴³ Department of Agriculture, Geosciences and Natural Resources, University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, TN, USA.
⁴⁴ Department of Environmental Science & Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
⁴⁵ U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Station, Beltsville, MD, USA.

PMID: 38351049
PMCID: PMC10864324
DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-02996-9

Abstract

Winter cover crop performance metrics (i.e., vegetative biomass quantity and quality) affect ecosystem services provisions, but they vary widely due to differences in agronomic practices, soil properties, and climate. Cereal rye (Secale cereale) is the most common winter cover crop in the United States due to its winter hardiness, low seed cost, and high biomass production. We compiled data on cereal rye winter cover crop performance metrics, agronomic practices, and soil properties across the eastern half of the United States. The dataset includes a total of 5,695 cereal rye biomass observations across 208 site-years between 2001-2022 and encompasses a wide range of agronomic, soils, and climate conditions. Cereal rye biomass values had a mean of 3,428 kg ha^-1, a median of 2,458 kg ha^-1, and a standard deviation of 3,163 kg ha^-1. The data can be used for empirical analyses, to calibrate, validate, and evaluate process-based models, and to develop decision support tools for management and policy decisions.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Map of research locations with the point color scaled by the number of available observations.

**Fig. 2**
Histogram of cereal rye shoot dry biomass data.

**Fig. 3**
Cereal rye shoot biomass versus time elapsed between cereal rye planting to termination date.

**Fig. 4**
Summary of planting method data.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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1. Poeplau C, Don A. Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils via cultivation of cover crops – A meta-analysis. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 2015;200:33–41. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2014.10.024. - DOI
1. Ryan MR, Mirsky SB, Mortensen DA, Teasdale JR, Curran WS. Potential Synergistic Effects of Cereal Rye Biomass and Soybean Planting Density on Weed Suppression. Weed Sci. 2011;59:238–246. doi: 10.1614/WS-D-10-00110.1. - DOI

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U.S. cereal rye winter cover crop growth database

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U.S. cereal rye winter cover crop growth database

Authors

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Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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