Optimizing Cover Crops with Solar Corridors

Joel Gruver

Associate Professor of Soil Science & Sustainable Ag

Western Illinois University

Joel Gruver shares how solar corridor planting systems create new opportunities for successfully intercropping cover crops with corn on conventional and organic farms.

He'll also explore how strategic adjustment of crop spacing, both in-row and between rows, and complementary practices like banding of nitrogen can greatly increase cover crop productivity while minimizing loss of crop productivity.

Closer in-row spacing of corn plants increases their competitive advantage over weeds and wider inter-row spacing enhances light penetration allowing significant growth of intercropped legumes and N fixation during the corn production season.

Gruver will summarize lessons learned from 3 years of investigation on his research farm and other farms experimenting with the practice.