Abstract
Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) – summer fallow rotations in the Southern Great Plains (SGP) have numerous sustainability issues, such as low precipitation use efficiencies and increased soil erosion. Replacing summer fallow with a legume grown as a green manure would help reduce soil erosion, improve precipitation use efficiency, and add nitrogen (N) credits for the subsequent wheat crop. A two-year field experiment evaluated the capabilities of three summer pulses: soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], moth bean [Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal], and tepary bean [Phaseolus acutifolius (A.) Gray] to serve as green manures and soil cover. We examined their performance across two row spacings (38 and 76 cm) and two moisture regimes (rainfed and irrigated). Narrow row spacing (38 cm) provided greater canopy cover, aboveground biomass, and N accumulation than the broad row spacing (76 cm) during the early growing season. Among species, tepary bean demonstrated consistent and higher canopy cover early in the season. Soybean produced the highest aboveground biomass (5,327–8,855 kg ha−1) and N accumulation (115–269 kg ha−1) among the three pulses. Multilinear regression (MLR) models suggested that canopy height and canopy cover could estimate both aboveground biomass (R2 = 0.62) and N accumulation (R2 = 0.55) for tested pulses. Based on results, soybean was the most promising choice among tested pulses, considering its higher aboveground biomass and N accumulation. Modelling studies to simulate growth of these crops with long-term weather scenarios are encouraged to identify the most reliable cover crop for different areas of the SGP.
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