Crop production systems in the water-limited environment
of the semiarid central Great Plains may not have potential to
profitably use cover crops because of lowered subsequent wheat
(Triticum asestivum L.) yields following the cover crop. Mixtures
have reportedly shown less yield-reducing effects on subsequent
crops than single-species plantings. This study was conducted
to determine winter wheat yields following both mixtures
and single-species plantings of spring-planted cover crops. The
study was conducted at Akron, CO, and Sidney, NE, during
the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 wheat growing seasons under
both rainfed and irrigated conditions. Precipitation storage
efficiency before wheat planting, wheat water use, biomass, and
yield were measured and water use efficiency and harvest index
were calculated for wheat following four single-species cover
crops (flax [Linum usitatissimum L.], oat [Avena sativa L.], pea
[Pisum sativum ssp. arvense L. Poir], rapeseed [Brassica napus
L.]), a 10-species mixture, and a fallow treatment with proso
millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) residue. There was an average 10%
reduction in wheat yield following a cover crop compared with
following fallow, regardless of whether the cover crop was grown
in a mixture or in a single-species planting. Yield reductions
were greater under drier conditions. The slope of the wheat
water use–yield relationship was not significantly different for
wheat following the mixture (11.80 kg ha–1 mm–1) than for wheat
following single-species plantings (12.32–13.57 kg ha–1 mm–1).
The greater expense associated with a cover crop mixture
compared with a single species is not justified