Part 1, Section 10: Cover Crops
Cover Crops
COVER CROP SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT
Perennial cover crops
Red clover is a short-lived leguminous perennial. It can be frost-seeded late in the winter, it can be broadcast into 10-inch tall corn at time of last cultivation, and it can be established after wheat harvest or into standing soybeans that shed their leaves. Red clover can be killed in the spring of the following year by tillage or herbicides. It will fix a moderate amount of nitrogen.
White clover is a longer-lived leguminous perennial that grows more slowly than red clover and produces less nitrogen. Use similar establishment procedures as for red clover.
Leguminous perennial cover crops established for the long term are crownvetch and birdsfoot trefoil. These cover crops are excellent roadside covers. Perennial grasses that can provide permanent cover are fescue, bluegrass, bromegrass, orchardgrass and timothy.