One important benefit of cover crops to our production system is providing an alternative selection pressure on weed populations. Cereal rye has the best potential to suppress weeds because it accumulates more biomass than other cover crop species. Read more in this article from Iowa State University Extension.

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Triticale has much better resistance to common viruses, its biomass production is greater than winter wheat and barley and its winter hardiness is sufficient, says University of Nebraska Extension.

A study found that legume covers actually supplied little total nitrogen due to low biomass production, while the nitrogen contained in cereal rye residue was likely readily available for the next corn crop.

Researchers found that a grass and legume cover crop combination produced the most biomass and reduced emergence of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth by half.