Data from: Pennycress reduces potential for nutrient loss in Illinois
Nutrient export of nitrogen and phosphorus from row crop agriculture in the Upper US Midwest is a threat to the structure and function of aquatic systems. To meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nutrient reduction goals, the Upper US Midwest needs to implement strategies to reduce nutrient export from agriculture. Studies demonstrate the potential of cover crops to reduce the export of nitrate-nitrogen from the Upper US Midwest. We investigated the impact of the economically viable winter cash cover crop pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) on soil porewater nutrients and soil nutrients and characteristics. We used nine replicated 0.8 ha plots (n = 3 per treatment) at a production scale research farm over 4 years with pennycress and fertilized pennycress (56 kg ha−1 of urea) treatments compared to a fallow reference. Over the study period, soil porewater nitrate-nitrogen was reduced by 53% in pennycress plots and 34% in fertilized pennycress plots relative to the fallow reference at a depth of 45 cm. Early season establishment was crucial in providing nutrient reduction potential. In 2021, poor pennycress establishment resulted in porewater nitrate-nitrogen concentrations 141% higher than in 2022 with excellent pennycress establishment. Following pennycress termination, soil nitrate-nitrogen was reduced by 24% in pennycress and 26% in fertilized pennycress compared to the fallow reference in the top 30 cm of soil. Following 4 years of pennycress planting, nitrate-nitrogen concentrations were significantly reduced with no broad effect on soil characteristics. We conclude that the novel pennycress crop has potential to reduce nutrient loss from row crop agriculture in the Upper US Midwest.
Funding
Oilseed Pennycress - A new cash cover-crop for the Midwest
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Find out more...History
Data contact name
Perry, William, L.Data contact email
wlperry@ilstu.eduPublisher
Ag Data CommonsIntended use
The data is soil porewater, chemistry, plant biomass and soybean cyst nematode data underneath pennycress cover crops and reference plots. This data is useful to document the changes is soil porewater chemistry associated with growing pennycress.Use limitations
The data is limited to central illinois soils under pennycress crops with the associated biomass.Temporal Extent Start Date
2020-04-01Temporal Extent End Date
2024-04-30Frequency
- irregular
Theme
- Non-geospatial
Geographic Coverage
{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[{"geometry":{"type":"Point","coordinates":[-88.777528,40.673806]},"type":"Feature","properties":{}}]}Geographic location - description
Illinois State University Research Farm, 25578 ISU Farm Lane, Lexington, IL 61753 (40°40'25.7"N 88°46'39.1"W) Plots were Northwest of the farm office and due west.ISO Topic Category
- farming
- environment
National Agricultural Library Thesaurus terms
Heterodera glycines; cover crops; nitrogen; rowcrops; environmental protection; nitrate nitrogen; Thlaspi arvense; nutrients; soil nutrients; fallow; soil properties; phytomass; IllinoisOMB Bureau Code
- 005:20 - National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Pending citation
- No
Public Access Level
- Public