Cover crop monocultures and mixtures affect soil health indicators and crop yield in the southeast United States

Abstract The southeastern United States has a long history of soil degradation due to intensive agriculture and climatic factors. Conservation management practices such as cover cropping aim improve productivity restore health. Our objectives were evaluate the performance crops their short‐term effects on health indicators for two types. Cover crop experiments conducted at Wiregrass (WREC) Tennessee Valley (TVREC) Research Extension Centers in Alabama from 2017 2021. treatments included winter fallow, monocultures, two‐ three‐way mixtures cereal rye ( Secale cereale L.), crimson clover Trifolium incarnatum forage radish Raphanus sativus L.) preceding cotton Gossypium hirsutum L.)–legume {peanut [ Arachis hypogaea L.] or soybean Glycine max (L.) Merr.]} cash rotation. At TVREC, aboveground biomass both greater than radish. All crops, except monoculture, increased organic carbon (SOC) 19–30% top 5 cm TVREC compared with fallow. Similarly, some permanganate oxidizable (POXC) fallow control. However, this effect was not observed WREC. did produce many meaningful aggregate stability differences either location. Treatments containing decreased strength . by 14–22% after 4 yr utilization. Short‐term use improved selected reversed one location evaluated, but these benefits dependent type selection.