Legume Cover Crops as One of the Elements of Strategic Weed Management and Soil Quality Improvement. A Review

• Published in: Agriculture (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 9; p. 394
• Main Authors: Kocira, Anna, Staniak, Mariola, Tomaszewska, Marzena, Kornas, Rafał, Cymerman, Jacek, Panasiewicz, Katarzyna, Lipińska, Halina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2020
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Agricultural production; agriculture; Biological properties; Biomass; Conservation practices; Cover crops; Crops; Cultivation; Herbicides; Hydraulic properties; Infestation; legume cover crop; Legumes; Microorganisms; Morphology; Natural resources; Nitrogen; nitrogen content; Organic farming; Organic matter; Pathogens; Physicochemical properties; Quality control; Seeds; Soil compaction; Soil degradation; Soil erosion; Soil fertility; Soil improvement; Soil microorganisms; soil physical and biological properties; Soil properties; Soil quality; Soils; Weed control; Weeds
• ISSN: 2077-0472; 2077-0472
• DOI: 10.3390/agriculture10090394

The benefits of conservation practices increased the interest of farmers in the cultivation of cover crops (CCs). This review aims to present and analyze the state of the art on the cultivation of legume CCs, including their importance in protecting crops against weeds, as well as their effects on organic matter and nitrogen content in the soil, physical and biological properties of the soil, and its erosion. The multi-purpose character of legume CCs is visible in their positive effect on reducing weed infestation, but also on the soil: reducing its compaction and erosion, improving its structural and hydraulic properties, increasing the content of organic matter and activity of soil microorganisms, or increasing its nitrogen content due to symbiotic N2 fixing. This review demonstrates that a wider use of legume CCs in organic farming is needed. The benefits of legume CCs for successive crops in these cultivation conditions, both in terms of inhibiting weed populations and improving fertility and soil properties, also need to be identified. Further research is also needed to determine the potential impact of legume CCs on the improvement of the quality of degraded soils, or those with less favorable physicochemical properties.