Abstract
In regions dominated by intensive maize (Zea mays L.) production systems, such as the US Midwest, sustainable agricultural practices such as cover crops and livestock integration are gaining interest for their potential to improve soil, plant, and environmental health. Traditionally, annual cover cropping systems (ACCs) have been used to maintain soil quality and crop performance without compromising ecosystem services. However, the high establishment and management costs of ACCs highlight the need for alternative approaches, such as perennial cover crops (PCCs). Grown as companion crops with maize, PCCs provide extended soil cover and can improve soil biochemical properties (e.g., total C and N, soil respiration, total inorganic N, microbial biomass, and community structure), crop performance, weed suppression, and yield in southern Minnesota maize production systems.
A ~1 ha field experiment was conducted with three wide-row (152 cm) PCC treatments (grass, legume, and grass-legume mix), a conventional control (C, 76 cm rows), and two livestock integration (live turkey, T) treatments (with and without). This design evaluated and compared soil and plant health in the standard maize production (76 cm rows) to wide-row maize interseeded with PCCs and integrated with live Turkey. Soil samples (0-15 cm depth) were collected in Fall 2023 and 2024 while plant data were collected throughout the 2024 growing season with height, greenness, aboveground biomass, and yield measured in both 2023 and 2024. Across PCC treatments, most soil biochemical health indicators (except bacterial and fungal biomass) were significantly (p< 0.05) higher in 2024 than in 2023, regardless of T integration. Improvements included increases of approximately 8% in soil C, 6% in total N, 38% in inorganic N, 16% in soil respiration, and 24% in soil microbial biomass. Plant responses included 79-91% greater height, 26.7-30.9% greater greenness, and 1095-1411% greater yield in conventional C compared to PCCs in 2023. In contrast, plant height, greenness, and yield were 34-37%, 6-9%, and 363-418% greater in PCCs compared to conventional C in 2024. Weed pressure was highest in convention C, dominated by woolly cupgrass. Despite limited adoption of diverse cropping systems and livestock integration in the US Midwest, these findings support PCC-T approach in improving soil (predominantly chemical and biological) and plant health within three years, though long-term monitoring studies are needed to fully understand their impact under variable climatic conditions, soil types, row spacing, CC species, and maize hybrids.
Advisor
Mriganka De
Committee Member
Ryan Wersal
Committee Member
Mark Bowen
Date of Degree
2026
Language
english
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Science (MS)
Program of Study
Biology
Department
Biological Sciences
College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Recommended Citation
Bhattarai, S. (2026). Evaluating soil and plant health in a wide-row Maize (Zea mays L.) production system integrated with perennial cover crops and turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1602/
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