Summer Cover Crops: Weighing Soil Benefits Against Water Use

Can summer cover crops improve soil health in Mallee farming systems? Or will they use water needed by the following winter crop?

At an MSF Crop Walk at Murrayville in August, Soil CRC Project Leader and Southern Cross University Professor Terry Rose discussed research into ways of increasing plant diversity in cropping systems. He talks about temporary intercropping, summer cover crops and how these approaches compare with the pasture phases used in some farming systems.

Terry shares findings from trials in the Mallee and other regions. Summer cover crops have consistently used water from the soil profile, while dry, hot conditions have often limited their growth. So far, researchers have seen few lasting changes in soil biology or function, and the potential effects on following crop yields remain an important consideration.

Terry explores why results from overseas may not apply directly to Australian low-rainfall systems, and whether cover crops could be more useful in situations with low ground cover or summer runoff. The research is ongoing, and Terry explains why the benefits and risks depend on rainfall, available water and the farming system.

📚For more information on the project, visit the Soil CRC project page:
Building soil resilience and carbon through plant diversity – Soil CRC

📚For more information from the Soil CRC Adoption Activities project, visit the MSF project page:
Soil CRC Adoption Activities – Mallee Sustainable Farming

This work has been supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils, whose activities are funded by the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program.

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