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In agriculture, cover crops are plants that are planted to cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested.Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in an agroecosystem—an ecological system managed and shaped by humans.
Cover crops then need to be killed so that the newly planted crops can get enough light, water, nutrients, etc. [35] [36] This can be done by rollers, crimpers, choppers and other ways. [37] [38] The residue is then planted through, and left as a mulch. Cover crops typically must be crimped when they enter the flowering stage. [39]
In agriculture, a living mulch is a cover crop interplanted or undersown with a main crop, and intended to serve the purposes of a mulch, such as weed suppression and regulation of soil temperature. Living mulches grow for a long time with the main crops, whereas cover crops are incorporated into the soil or killed with herbicides.
The United States aims to double the country's cover crop plantings to 30 million acres by 2030 under a new Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation program launched on Monday.
Limitations to consider in the use of green manure are time, energy, and resources (monetary and natural) required to successfully grow and utilize these cover crops. Consequently, it is important to choose green manure crops based on the growing region and annual precipitation amounts to ensure efficient growth and use of the cover crop(s).
Cover crops may be used to manage soil erosion, soil fertility, water content, weeds, pests, agricultural diseases, and biodiversity on land that is repeatedly farmed. They are commonly off-season crops planted after harvesting a cash crop in order to help conserve the integrity of the land through a fallow period.
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