Long-term Objectives:

1. Evaluate the integration of winter annual cover crops and the production of silage crops within the frame work of a dairy forage system.

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Short-term objectives:

1. Characterize the distribution of selected agricultural chemicals in Coastal Plain and Piedmont soils subjected to continuous tillage practices for six years.

2. Evaluate the effects of tillage system and rainfall intensity on runoff potential and herbicide transport under field conditions.

3. Evaluate the ability of several winter annual cover crops to recover residual fertilizer N that might otherwise be lost to leaching.

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Accomplishments:

1. Results from long-term tillage studies indicated higher soil nitrate levels under conventional compared to no-tillage, with the greatest accumulation occurring at a depth below significant rotting activity.

2. In these same long-term tillage studies, there was no evidence of appreciable herbicide concentrations in soils to any significant depth.

3. Rainfall simulation experiments showed that both tillage system and rainfall intensity influenced runoff and chemical transport to a greater extent on Piedmont than Coastal Plain soils.

4. Winter annual cover crops of rye and rye-legume bicultures have demonstrated the ability to effectively scavenge residual fertilizer N on sandy Coastal Plain soils, thereby minimizing nitrate leaching from the plant rooting zone.

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Significance:

There are many challenges facing agriculture related to sustainable production systems, water quality initiatives, and conservation provisions of the 1995 Food Security Act. Information from this research has helped to identify sustainable methods that maintain soil productivity and promote economically viable, environmentally sound cropping systems.

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Future Plans:

1. Begin to incorporate results from component research into a holistic, integrated approach to cropping systems evaluations.

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