Despite what the natives may say, the polar vortex isn't hitting Kentucky THAT hard... But this early cold weather may be enough to kill my oat cover crop! It was 30 F this morning at Spindletop Farm and the oats were not looking too happy. Next week's low temperatures are forecast to be in the high teens, which is unusual for this time of year but not unheard of. Stay tuned to see if the oats survive...
In the meantime, here are some photos that illustrate how oats and cereal rye differ in the amount of ground cover they produce. These were planted on the same day--October 9. From a weed management perspective, covering more ground is a good thing for a cover crop to do as it competes with weeds for light. You'll see in these photos, however, that more ground cover does not necessarily mean more weeds! This is what makes studying cover crops and weed population and community dynamics soooooooo much fun...
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AuthorErin Haramoto, University of Kentucky weed science Archives
May 2018
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